Michigan 90, Detroit 58 Comment Count

Ace



Detroit couldn't break through the Wall of Teske. [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Mercy.

Fine, some notes:

Detroit was awful. I need to get this out of the way before discussing anything else from this game. Detroit came out looking like a team that had quit on Bacari Alexander, going 5-for-23 from the field in the first half with as many turnovers (15) as rebounds while allowing a parade of open threes for Michigan. Things didn't improve much in the second half. Unfortunately, Alexander may not be long for that job—there's only so much to take away from this game on the Michigan side because of how poorly Detroit played.

While Moe Wagner sat, Jon Teske balled out. As expected, Wagner's minor ankle sprain kept him out. Michigan didn't miss a beat with Teske in the middle, as Detroit simply couldn't handle his size on either end of the floor. In 28 minutes, he scored 15 points on 14 shot equivalents, pulled down six of his ten rebounds on the offensive end, came up with two steals, and somehow didn't record a block while impacting a number of shots. Teske's stamina got tested a bit as Austin Davis fouled out in seven minutes (Davis did provide four points before his exit) and he held up well.

Charles Matthews had a great second half. Matthews didn't even arrive at the arena until 45 minutes before tipoff. Per The Athletic's Brendan Quinn, Matthews's grandmother passed away last week, and Charles went with assistant coach DeAndre Haynes to the funeral yesterday before flying back to Detroit this morning. After a slow start, Matthews was brilliant in the second half, scoring 17 of his 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting while getting to the rim at will.

(Almost) everyone shot well. Duncan Robinson broke out of his funk with a 3-for-4 performance from downtown; Zavier Simpson hit both his triples and 3-of-5 twos; Jordan Poole scored 12 points on ten shots in just 15 minutes; even Ibi Watson got into the act, making 2-of-3 threes. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Eli Brooks were the main exceptions, going a combined 2-for-10.

Isaiah Livers is getting close. He played with great energy, recording five offensive rebounds and two blocks. He showed off his passing skill with three assists, including couple really nice post feeds. He's on the verge of a breakout, but after missing his only three-point attempt, he's 2-for-15 from beyond the arc this season. His form looks fine; if/when those shots start falling, he's going to push for a bigger role and quite possibly Robinson's starting spot.

[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]



[Campredon]

Comments

snarling wolverine

December 16th, 2017 at 3:10 PM ^

3-point shooting was terrific; hopefully Duncan's snapped out of his funk for good.  I'm really liking the newly assertive Simpson and his much-improved stroke.

Impressive that we only turned it over nine times in a high-possession game where we had a huge lead, which could have caused our concentration to waver.

Only downside: FTs still iffy.

 

TrueBlue2003

December 16th, 2017 at 4:46 PM ^

and Detroit was wooooow, terrible.  That's the worst coaching I've seen in a long time. When their PG dribbled up the court after a made basket (no fast break, last one up the court) and jacked up a three from 10 feet behind the line with a guy in his face, and Bacari didn't even react...just embarrassing because they have talent.

Duncan was 4-7 against No Florida, 4-8 against So Miss and 4-9 against Chaminade.  Need to see it against a team with competent coaching that will make it harder on him.

The Man Down T…

December 16th, 2017 at 3:12 PM ^

they clubbed the hell out of an overmatched baby seal.  Give Wagner another game off then bring him back for a few minutes in the 3rd game and full time after that.  Against this competition, we're fine without him.  Going to need him 100% for the conference though

MGoBender

December 17th, 2017 at 12:08 PM ^

Maybe, but maybe not.  He's a great shooter and he was getting some open looks that were against legit teams that were rattling out.  Here, he hit those same open looks.  Regression to the mean was coming, regardless of the opponent.

TrueBlue2003

December 17th, 2017 at 3:32 PM ^

that he's a great shooter and isn't going to shoot 30% for the rest of the season (like he started out).  But there's also no question that it's easier to snap out of a funk when you're playing a horrible team that's giving you 15 feet and all day to shoot.  Good offensive performances are more likely to come against bad defenses.  They don't just happen completely randomly. I'm merely pointing that out.

He's 39 percent against teams kenpom considers A or B tier teams (essentially top 100ish games by degree of difficulty) and 46 percent in other games in his career. Sample sizes are around 200 in each category.  The difference is significant.

Regression to the "mean" i.e. shooting better than 30 percent was coming, but the "mean" is different for good teams than bad teams.

anwonadell

December 16th, 2017 at 3:25 PM ^

Did anyone else see Coach’s handshake with Bacari after the game? It kinda looked like he blew him off. Surely there wouldn’t be bad blood for Bacari leaving to take this opportunity. Anyone else catch that?

MGoBender

December 17th, 2017 at 12:13 PM ^

Can you provide links?

I've always thought Brian's complaints of the schedule were excessive.  Sure, you want to avoid dumpster games, but there's only so much you can do, logistically.  Theoretically, UDM should have been a good game to schedule.  You get to play downtown, which is good for recruiting, it's a game fans are interested, etc.

Plus, travelling to a mid-level game where you could lose is risky.  Playing a top 150 program on the road might result in disaster.

TrueBlue2003

December 17th, 2017 at 4:36 PM ^

good for recruiting in the Detroit area, neutral site games aren't discounted by the RPI (there is a 0.6 discount for home games and a 1.4x bump for road games) so better to play on a neutral court than at home, at least for RPI "gaming" purposes, and Detroit is usually a top 200 team, as Ace mentioned in his preview.

Only under Bacari have the cratered to being ranked 300+ and being completely terrible, so can't really fault the schedule makers for that.

It's the SWAC, MEAC and non-Lipscomb/FGCU A Sun games we schedule that are annoying moreso that they're completely uninteresting glorified scrimages (at least when you play the Detroits, Oaklands, and directional Michigan MAC teams, you'll see some names you knew from their Michigan HS basketball days or you're likely to know someone that went to those schools, prehaps to attend the game/talk about the game with or something that makes you care a little about those games). Yet somehow we schedule 3+ of these scrimages per year.  That those teams are gauranteed to be in the 300s and hurt our RPI, just adds to the annoyance.

matty blue

December 18th, 2017 at 8:57 AM ^

i get the arguments re: schedule / rpi and prep for later, tougher games.  agreed.  don't care, though - u-d remains an important program in this state and in the city of detroit, and we should be scheduling them because it's the right thing to do.  i like playing them even when they're lousy...couldn't care less about whether we play wmu, cmu, or emu, but detroit?  every year. 

mistersuits

December 16th, 2017 at 3:31 PM ^

Happy with the result, glad Teske got some extra minutes and Wagner gets some recovery time. I have one question - is this the worst free throw shooting team in Beilein's coaching history?

93Grad

December 16th, 2017 at 3:49 PM ^

It would be really cool for the city if they could build a quality hoops program, but they seem pretty far off at the moment.

As for Michigan this was a nice game to watch some players break out of funks and get some PT for the bench.

Maize4Life

December 16th, 2017 at 4:55 PM ^

the  team "Quit" on Bacari is totally unfair and a very strong accusation..I watched the game I dont think they "Quit" You owe them a apology in my opinion

In reply to by Maize4Life

ST3

December 16th, 2017 at 7:09 PM ^

Granted, we weren't playing at 100%, but I agree, UDM hasn't quit on Bacari. They just aren't very good. Way too many turnovers. Traveling isn't a sign of quitting.
I know Kam struggled with us, but it takes time for some players. I'd take him at the four over Duncan. Kam gives you a lot more on the defensive end and rebounds.

In reply to by Maize4Life

TrueBlue2003

December 17th, 2017 at 4:21 PM ^

they played hard enough, especially in the second half when they were down 100 and quitting would have been more understandable.. 

They just came out flat and don't play disciplined on offense (turn it over way too much, shoot terrible shots) and they played so far off our shooters in the first half it was like they were more worried about our inside game/penetration.  That's more a lack of discipline and a bad gameplan than a lack of effort (even though one could argue the lack of discipline is tied to effort/lack of focus).

ST3

December 16th, 2017 at 5:28 PM ^

I actually thought he was abashed in the second half. He passed up some shots I wanted him to take. But, yeah, he is never going to lead the team in assists.