I started typing up my thoughts on the OSU game and realized that what I was putting down were the reasons why Michigan will beat OSU in Ann Arbor. Those reasons, for your enjoyment, edification, and possibly even sexual gratification, are below.
You may ask at this point why you care about my thoughts on Michigan basketball. In response, I direct you to the fact that I am the captain of a Chilean submarine, one of the world’s top 100 wiffle ball players, and a relative of Cazzie Russell (in the sense that all humans – or proto-humans – originated in a small band in Africa and therefore are all distant relatives). I also have 3700-something Mgopoints, which means that my IQ is exactly that high. Anyway, on to my thoughts…
- Michigan lost in large part because it simply didn’t box OSU out. Michigan has been better about this in other games, and the loss of Morgan to foul trouble obviously hurt severely on this front. I thought that Morgan played Sullinger to a draw in the first half. This brings me to my next point…
- Two of the calls against Morgan were awful. A player should not be called for a foul when an opponent jumps into him. I don’t think that those plays should have been charges either – they should have been nothing. Big Ten refs are aware of the possibility of the no-call - How many times have we seen Trey Burke hit the ground after finishing near the rim this year with no foul called?
- Big Ten refs are always somewhere between poor and horrendous, but they’re usually pretty even sided in their awfulness. Sunday, though, they took away whatever chance Michigan had.
- OSU doesn’t have a particularly impressive perimeter game. Craft is a very good player, but he’s not a particularly threatening offensive presence. More, Buford disappears at times and doesn't create for others. Michigan showed that it can defend the post against OSU as far as denying entry passes. They just have to box out. Do this, and OSU won't score much.
- Michigan badly missed Horford on Saturday. McLlimans and Smotrycz can’t be counted on to secure rebounds like Horford can be.
- Deshaun Thomas’s flop was absurd. It should have been a technical foul.
- Michigan won’t (can’t –right?) shoot as badly the next time the teams play.
Since some of the above sounds like sour grapes, I should say this: I think that OSU is the better team. But I also believe that Michigan will play much better against OSU in Ann Arbor (especially if Horford comes back) and win the game. So be it...And now I must dive back to the bottom of the sea so that the Argentine ships do not detect my sub.