Michigan 75, Indiana 63
Wagner hits 3, runs over Tom Crean. pic.twitter.com/YdwT35WGlv
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) February 12, 2017
In one sense, this felt deeply unfamilar. Michigan entered today's game with zero road wins on the season and one victory in 17 tries at Assembly Hall since 1996, that an overtime win over a terrible 2008-09 Indiana squad. They never trailed the Hoosiers or even came particularly close to relinquishing their lead.
In another sense, this felt pleasantly familiar. Michigan turned up the defensive intensity, forced 15 turnovers—ten in the first half—and rode hot perimeter shooting and another tremendous game from Derrick Walton for a comfortable victory over the Hoosiers.
If this wasn't a must-win game, it was damn close to it, and Walton once again played with an intensity that matched the stakes. He scored 25 points, going 7-for-13 from the field and 9-for-9 from the line, while adding five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. It was a masaterful performance that had the CBS announcers full-on fawning over his play:
"How did he do that??" @umichbball https://t.co/BSlyh9p2xV
— CBS Sports CBB (@CBSSportsCBB) February 12, 2017
Much like in the first contest, Walton's main scoring support came from big men Moe Wagner and DJ Wilson. Wagner overcame a series of extremely questionable calls to post an 11-point, ten-rebound double-double while helping keep star IU center Thomas Bryant (8 points on 8 shots, 3 turnovers) in check. Wilson did a little bit of everything on both ends; he showed off an NBA-caliber array of shotmaking to net his 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting and his NBA-caliber combination of size and coordination to tally three blocks and three steals.
Other than Zak Irvin (5 points, 1-for-8 FG), whose offensive woes continued, the supporting cast had another strong outing. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman needed only four shot equivalents for his seven points and once again made James Blackmon Jr. a relative non-factor; Blackmon scored only six points, three of which came on a meaningless garbage-time shot. Duncan Robinson hit a couple timely threes, playing his part in making sure IU paid dearly for their live-ball turnovers. Xavier Simpson followed his breakout MSU game by converting a strong take the hoop on his only shot attempt and chipping in two assists and a steal in 12 minutes.
The first road win of the season couldn't have come at a better time. Michigan is now 16-9, 6-6 in the Big Ten, and they'll be in the field in the next round of NCAA tournament projections; in many of them, they'll be taking Indiana's place. A 3-3 finish down the stretch, which features four road games and tough home contests against Wisconsin and Purdue, should have the Wolverines in position for an at-large bid. That looks a whole lot more realistic this afternoon than it did a week ago.
February 12th, 2017 at 4:20 PM ^
A bit later than expected, but we'll take it
February 12th, 2017 at 4:24 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 4:38 PM ^
Or maybe - like a coach should be - he's adaptable and has adjusted his offense and defense to fit his personnel.
It's funny how some people are so desperate to win a dumb internet argument that they're actually unhappy when Michigan is successful. Maybe it's more sad than funny.
February 12th, 2017 at 4:42 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 5:00 PM ^
Dude, we just won in Bloomington for the first time in forever. Enjoy the win.
February 12th, 2017 at 5:06 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 7:28 PM ^
We can't have nice things.
February 12th, 2017 at 5:46 PM ^
OK, so Darius Morris played two seasons, 2010 and 2011. In 2010, Michigan's adjusted offensive rating was 103.6 -- 103.6 points in 100 possessions vs. an average team -- good for 104th nationally. In 2011, they improved to 108.6, or 39th nationally.
Since Morris left, Michigan's AdjO and national rank:
- 2012: 111.5 (20th)
- 2013: 120.2 (1st)
- 2014: 123.3 (3rd)
- 2015: 107.8 (67th)
- 2016: 113.6 (30th)
- 2017: 119.7 (8th)
The Beilein offense works. There's plenty to criticize about the defense, but you, and the rest of the Beilein detractors, look 20+ years out of date when you start complaining about the offense (get off my lawn!)
Michigan's offense is predicated around two things: ball protection and shooting. Yes, they take a lot of outside shots, but Michigan's two-point shooting is exceptional -- they're currently 20th in the country at 54.8% inside the arc. I understand that some people prefer a more physical style of play. Personally, I prefer a more effective style of play, and that's what John Beilein has brought. (BTW: the offenses better than Michigan so far this year: UCLA, Oklahoma St., Villanova, Gonzaga, Kansas, North Carolina, and West Virginia. I'd put only the latter two in the physical play category).
February 13th, 2017 at 9:57 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 11:29 AM ^
So, I actually went through and computed the variance for the ORtg and DRtg for Michigan over the past five seasons, and then gave up because I didn't have anything obvious to use as the basis for comparison. In a vacuum, I agree; if Michigan is the more talented team, they can maximize the likelihood of a victory by minimizing the variance.
However, is that even an option? This "high variance" narrative seems to be based upon the idea that three-point shooting is erratic. Here are the three-point shooting percentages -- and ORtg -- for Michigan's losses:
- 7.7% @ South Carolina [73.8]
- 37.0% vs. Va. Tech [110.0]
- 53.8% @ UCLA [130.5!]
- 34.3% @ Iowa [117.3]
- 38.1% vs. Maryland [113.5]
- 50.0% @ Illinois [114.5]
- 47.6% @ Wisconsin [101.9]
- 26.9% @ Michigan St [100.0]
- 37.1% vs. Ohio St [101.7]
The South Carolina game was definitely a poor offensive showing. The loss to Michigan State was below average. The others? This team's problem is not the offense. Michigan is 16-9. If they had held each opponent to less than 1.1 points per possession, they would be 21-4.
Now, admittedly, that's a tough standard -- even great defensive teams don't do that. For example, Louisville's national championship team (Burke got all ball!) gave up >1.1 points per possession three times: vs. Syracuse in the regular season and both Final Four games. This year's #1 DRtg team in KenPom, South Carolina, has done it twice so far: @ Kentucky in a loss, and vs. Georgia in a win. Still, I think the point is clear: this team's problems are on defense.
February 12th, 2017 at 6:16 PM ^
not like the offense since darius. except they set ncaa records for offensive efficiency the years they made the deep tourny runs. they are in the top 10 again this year.
taking care of the ball and creating/knocking down open shots, especially 3s, is the key to offensive success. and JB's teams do this as well or better than anyone.
February 12th, 2017 at 7:35 PM ^
You're saying you didn't like the offense of the team that went to the National Championship Game?
Um, OK.
February 13th, 2017 at 6:45 AM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 5:37 PM ^
word salad
February 12th, 2017 at 7:31 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 4:30 PM ^
let their guard down..There is Still lots of work to be done...but their is Life now
February 12th, 2017 at 4:30 PM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 6:46 AM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 4:36 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 4:42 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 5:12 PM ^
This would call for Muppets.
February 12th, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 5:46 PM ^
@ South Carolina would have been an even better time.
February 12th, 2017 at 5:02 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 5:04 PM ^
will tell us a lot. Wisconsin comes calling. We'll see how much we've improved then. If we keep this going and beat them, we're on our way.
February 12th, 2017 at 5:12 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 5:30 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 7:28 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 5:45 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 5:47 PM ^
DW is playing with the swagger we have not seen since Trey Burke. We've been looking for a leader, and finally found one.
February 12th, 2017 at 6:48 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 7:37 PM ^
I think Stauskas had plenty of swagger his sophomore year but I definitely agree with the larger point that Derrick is playing the best ball of his life and letting everyone know.
February 13th, 2017 at 11:36 AM ^
had so much swagger...loved that dude..didnt give a rip who he was up against he knew he was one of hte best out there and played like it.
Walton looks like a senior out there, he has no fear with what he is doing right now. Mad props to him
He is definitley earning that respect
February 12th, 2017 at 5:54 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 5:58 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 6:27 PM ^
The offense just runs better if it is out of his hands. He's a decent facilitator. He is much more tolerable with less shooting and more passing. I can handle the awful airballs and bricks in limited numbers.
I like this Zak.
February 12th, 2017 at 7:10 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 7:19 PM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 6:51 AM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 7:10 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 7:10 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 7:44 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 9:17 PM ^
I hope this will quiet the Fire Beilein crowd (which seemed to be just about everybody around here).
Michigan is finally getting some solid play out of their bigs (i.e. more than one); finally getting some good defense; and finally finding some leadership and inspiration on the floor, which was missing (and there is only so much coaches can do about that).
If the Wolverines continue to get better at defense and rebounding- those things you have control over at times when shooting goes cold and especially on the road, I think the future is bright once again. The system is evolving, and in a good direction. Yes, it has taken longer than we liked, there have been many frustrations, and recruiting needs some improvement. But I think MBB is in good hands, being steered in the right direction.
February 12th, 2017 at 9:38 PM ^
We're starting to see more consistency out of all the players.. Dj and Moe are playing well together, MAAR is returning to form and Robinson has seem to settle into his role as gunner off the bench.
The team rebounding has really gotten better along with the defensive effort. Irvin will come around and I can't wait to see how the team looks when it happens.
I always viewed this as a young team, I know the backcourt has a lot of experience, but DJ, Moe, Duncan, and the entire bench are still relatively green.. I think people fail to realize it takes time to process what the coaching staff is teaching them and then also to go out and play with confidence out on the court. That is starting to kick in now and it's fun to see.
February 13th, 2017 at 5:49 AM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 8:28 AM ^
It's quieted me. Keep playing defense like that, and I will accept "the light has come on" with the new style of defense they wanted to install this year.
OBTW, you didn't ask me (thread jack!), but it would have been a pleasure to hear national basketball journalists talk as much about Michigan's injuries in prior seasons as they talk about how short-handed Michigan State (this year and EVERY GOSH DARN YEAR before that) or Indiana are this season. McGary the season after the National Runner-Up season, and then at least 2 starters/6th man (and often the first and/or second best players on the team!) every season after that until this year. The impact of Indiana's loss of players this year is indisputable, but my God, a Spartan misses a couple of games with a hangnail, nasty dose of the flu, or self-inflicted injury suffered off the court, and we hear endless paeans to Izzo's genius covering for his crippling losses, and how much better he deserves. (Gag me with a spoon!)
February 13th, 2017 at 1:23 PM ^
February 12th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
February 13th, 2017 at 9:17 AM ^
Critical of Beilein, including myself, were not wrong to be disappointed in how this season has gone so far. And quite honestly, this week hasn't put my fears to bed, far from it. Michigan still needs a signature win, and has a few more solid opportunities left.
I'm definitely pleased that this team is starting to look more competent on defense and fluid offensively.
However, that absolutely does not excuse what we've been watching up until now. Michigan is STILL on the bubble, believe it or not, and has to do more work to get in. This shouldn't be the case year in and year out, with the exception of 13,14.
Two wins over a couple of average teams does not suddenly make a coach "safe." I don't think he was on the hot seat to begin with, because the administration won't fire him.
This whole "You Beilein haters should shut up" is non-sense. Life isn't treated in a vacuum, it's fluid. And up until now, this team looked like they couldn't play in the SWAC.
February 13th, 2017 at 12:38 PM ^
Alas, at MGoBlog, as in recent politics, irrationally jumping on and shouting from the rooftops every minor blip of fact that may in a small kind of way support your preconceived, already-set-in-stone conclusion is the way it goes.
One road win at a middling IU and the coach is a hall of famer.
One loss against a middling OSU team at home and the coach is a complete idiot.
Welcome to 2017, such as it is.
Comments