Michigan 67, Tulsa 62
Zak Irvin making plays late. pic.twitter.com/R5Ia8IbGsp
— Big Ten Geeks (@bigtengeeks) March 17, 2016
Zak Irvin had been, for lack of a better word, terrible. His last shot had barely grazed the rim. His last drive had resulted in a depressingly predictable turnover. He'd made one three-pointer all game.
But when Irvin's defender ducked under a Moe Wagner screen, he didn't hesitate to rise and fire with Michigan down a point and less than a minute on the clock. Despite some trepidation from onlookers...
The look on John Beilein's face on that Irvin 3 pic.twitter.com/FbrqNjs3gH
— Patrick Barron (@BlueBarronPhoto) March 17, 2016
...Irvin's shot found twine. A couple stops and five free-throws later, Michigan booked a trip to Brooklyn to face six-seed Notre Dame.
While the game got the desired result, it's not one Michigan fans are likely to want to relive. Both teams went through first-half scoring droughts that exceeded six minutes. After the Wolverines finished the half on a drawn out 19-4 run to take an eight-point lead, they gave it all back in the first three minutes of the second before both teams went ice-cold.
John Beilein played Andrew Dakich for five frustrating minutes while Derrick Walton sat on the bench with foul trouble. For murkier reasons, he sat Wagner—Michigan's biggest bright spot all game—in favor of Mark Donnal and Ricky Doyle before rectifying that error for the home stretch.
While the Wolverines were effective when they attacked the basket against an undersized Tulsa squad, only Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman—and on a couple surprising occasions, Wagner—was willing to drive to the paint with any consistency. MAAR wasn't a paragon of efficiency with 16 points on 5/16 FG, but he created havoc on the Tulsa defense that led to putback opportunities and drew enough contact to get extra points at the line (6/8 FT).
Wagner, meanwhile, played like he should be the clear-cut starter at center. After recording two blocks all season, he had four tonight in addition to pulling down eight rebounds and making both his shot attempts, including a poster-worthy slam on a second-chance opportunity to give M a late three-point lead. Michigan functioned better on both sides of the court with Wagner on the floor.
Duncan Robinson opened the game with a three; while he wouldn't hit another until late in the game, he found other ways to contribute—he grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out a team-high four assists, and finished a few forays to the hoop to tally 13 points. The contributions of MAAR, Wagner, and Robinson—a sophomore no major program wanted, a freshman who barely clung to a role this season, and a D-III transfer—allowed Michigan to overcome underwhelming performances from their two go-to guys.
Then, with the pressure on, Irvin delivered. It wasn't pretty. It was, in fact, cringeworthy, as Beilein's face can attest. At this point in the year, however, the final score is all that matters.
Now somebody grab me a drink.
One more in the column.
Move on to the next.
If we lose, I don't think anyone would be too surprised or disappointed. I think we have very little pressue on us after the last three wins. I think we'll play a lot better.
Excited to watch us play well against (to hell with) Notre Dame.
It's not just bad shooting. You cannot watch this team at either end and think they are well-coached. Last night was like an AAU game.
If we make even an average number of wide open 3s last night, we win in a blowout. This team definitely struggles in many ways, but you have to make your open shots and this team just doesn't some games.
Personally I'm impressed that they've been able to win a number of tough games when the shots aren't falling. Tulsa and Purdue are good examples.
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They haven't been shooting well from the 3 point line in a while. Over the last 10 games the 4 main 3 point shooters have gone:
Walton 13-53, 24.5%
MAAR 9-31, 29%
Irvin 15-52, 29%
Robinson 15-46, 33%
March 17th, 2016 at 10:22 AM ^
Bullshit this offense is as big a disaster as the defense. They all stand there at he 3 pt line watching someone try and play hero ball. When the bll handler inevitably fails to turn the corner or gets cut off on his path to the basket the defenders are all in position to deny any kickouts orhave a hand in the face. They never shoot in rhythym and are afraid to even shoot at times.An team of 8 year olds sets better ball screens. They look completely clueless out there.
on how the offense works
Survive and advance. On to Notre Dame.
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Expecting a big improvement in Wagner going into year 2. His innate skill set is far better than any of the others.
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March 17th, 2016 at 11:27 AM ^
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John Beilein with the "HRRNNNNGGG" face
That was the worst college bb game I've ever watched. Like the MOON football game.
At some point our shooting has to revert to the mean?
Check out our 3-Point % in the back half of the Big Ten Season (i.e. the part where we actually played decent team), we are at the mean.
There's a big difference between shooting wide open 3s and contested ones.
Next game will swing wildly on Irvin and whoever plays center. Irvin has a speed mis-match on Colson. Auguste should be salivating at our centers. If we win those match-ups, we win the game.
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It is important to look at individual stats as well as the total stat line. Despite the blogger's running down of Irvin (who is usually the preferred shooter of last resort), he shot 2 of 5 from 3 point land and 6 of 12 overall. He had three turnovers and two rebounds so he didn't have a great game, but it was okay. Robinson shot 5 for 10, 2 for 5 from 3 pt. Walton shot 4-10, 2-7 from 3 point land.
Everybody--everybody--else put up zeros from 3 point land. Chatman is taking shots but didn't make any of the 5 he took. Neither did Dawkins. MAAR was 0 for 3, and 5 for 16 overall, two assists and no turnovers. I don't care how often he outquicks somebody, these are bad numbers for a night, and I saw him take several ill-advised shots.
Wagner looked good tonight, but the blogger just doesn't get it. It doesn't matter whether he, Donnal, or Doyle starts; it matters who is playing the best that night. They will all get opportunities during the game.
I hope next year all three (and everybody else) improve in consistency through commitment and experience.
March 17th, 2016 at 10:00 AM ^
24% isn't to far off the mean over the last 3rd of the season. Over the last 13 games UM has only shot above 33% from the 3 pt line 4 times:
IU- .304
MSU - .286
Minny - .560
Purdue - .250
OSU - .208
Maryland - .481
NU - .267
Wisky - .385
Iowa - .235
NU - .414
IU - .286
Purdue - .240
Tulsa - .240
March 17th, 2016 at 10:25 AM ^
A wide open three doesnt mean shit if you arent taking it in rhythym and this team rarely does.
That was the worst basketball game I've ever seen. A guy at work this morning (I live in Kentucky) said it reminded him of his time coaching 5th graders. Nonbody doing anything on offense, like at all, then just some random kid taking a crazy shot at some point for no reason.
I'm happy we are in and we won, etc. but this is so painful to watch. This team is clueless.
Can anyone imbed it? This is the play where someone from UofM threw up a brick from long range on the right side. The ball clanged off the rim and hit a Tulsa player on the left side of the court right in the head. It almost knocked him over. My viewing partners (Tulsa grads) and I almost fell out of our chairs laughing. Even the announcers were giggling at it. Best play of the year.
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March 17th, 2016 at 10:10 AM ^
Personally I was thrilled at the victory last night, even if it wasn't the prettiest game. Survive and advance!
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I've seen people suggest that Michigan needs to get to the Sweet 16 every single year to meet their baseline expectations, so even beating ND and losing to Kenpom's #6 team, WVU, would be considered disappointing. A portion of this fanbase just loves to be unhappy
March 17th, 2016 at 10:13 AM ^
March 17th, 2016 at 10:40 AM ^
If Michigan fails to make the playoff, the negative Harbaugh talk will start this season.
March 17th, 2016 at 10:50 AM ^
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March 17th, 2016 at 11:15 AM ^
March 17th, 2016 at 11:37 AM ^
It's been clear all season that 93Grad has a crystal ball, and the outlook is bleak
March 17th, 2016 at 10:21 AM ^
Zak Irvin had been, for lack of a better word, terrible.Uhh... that's the word that describes 16 points on 50% shooting?
March 17th, 2016 at 11:55 AM ^
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3 turnovers over the course of the game. Ok. Not great. Shot selection? He has a mid-range game and he shot at 50%. 1-2 forced TOs and 1-2 questionable shot attempts from a guy that led you in scoring and shot 50%? That's far from terrible.
March 17th, 2016 at 10:29 AM ^
Of course I'll be disappointed when we lose but at this point in this season considering all the adversity I'd say we've met expectations. If we beat ND then I'd say we've exceeded expectations. The team has improved a lot from last year which is good and has done so without two very important players.
Any more wins at this point are gravy IMO. I just would like to go down swinging and not get blasted out of the gym if possible. That's been the biggest disappointment for me given what's happened this year. Not the number of losses, but the average margin of defeat.
All that said, beat Notre Dame and Go Blue.
March 17th, 2016 at 11:55 AM ^
I feel like this post is overly negative. Irvin played way better than described and Wagner was incredible. I wish some fans could enjoy the ride without squeezing every ounce of negativity out of every game. I actually think this team has developed a bit of mental toughness in close games. Are the offensive droughts and defensive lapses frustrating? Yes. But this team seems to fight harder now than they did earlier in the year, and no matter what happens from here on out the experience from this tournament should pay dividends for next year. I look at it like Michigan is a year behind expectations, so a similar year to this next year will be disappointing, but this year it's time for the team to have fun with house money!
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