lewis garrison

2/1/2019 – Michigan 59, Iowa 74 – 20-2, 9-2 Big Ten

Some losses are hard to decipher. This was not one of them. Michigan played five different guys at center, one of them by choice, and there you go. Teske was +3 in 13 minutes; Michigan lost the other 27 by 18. Teske had 8 points and eight rebounds, four offensive, in his 13 minutes. Johns, Davis, Castleton, and Livers combined for three points and three rebounds.

Without the Big Sleep, Michigan had no one to attack the part of Iowa's defense that makes them real real bad: Garza. Non-Teske Cs attempted just two twos. Meanwhile Garza spent his time against Johns dunking after Johns tried to front him and found out that was a not good idea. Garza finished 7/9 from two.

Michigan has one bench guy, who is only a center in certain limited circumstances, and when foul trouble strikes Michigan can quickly morph from conqueror to baffled cheese merchant. We are back in the Oh No A Foul Zone of two years ago, when Moe Wagner was backed up by Mark Donnal. I loved last year, the year when Michigan's backup center was pretty kickass.

No more.

Let's talk about risk management. This whole thing started when Teske got a reach-in foul on a perimeter hedge 90 seconds into the game. Don't get me wrong: I love the perimeter hedge swipe. Teske's excellent at it, and this is maybe the third or fourth time this season he's fouled attempting it. But there is a time to avoid the risk, and that is 90 seconds into a game. Zero fouls with 15 minutes gone? Swipe away. Autobench beckoning? Just say no.

Let's talk about verticality. On the other hand, Teske's second was a massively wrong, incredibly consequential call where he did the exact thing you're supposed to: jump vertically to try to block the shot.

Tyler Cook barreled into him, the ball went wherever, and Michigan got hit with a horrible, game-deciding foul call. I've praised the NCAA's rule changes over the last few years, but you've got to actually adhere to them. Lewis Garrison did not.

In general this game was a terrible ref show with a zillion bad, game-changing calls in the first half and then inexplicably swallowed whistles in the second. I about lost my mind when Brazdeikis got hammered by Cook in transition in the second half and there was no call. After the ticky-tack first half that sent me down a Craig Ross spiral of conspiracy theories and recriminations.

And…

Lewis Garrison and DJ Carstensen both did the game in the Trohl Center. IT'S REAL.

[After THE JUMP: discussions of things other than Teske fouls]