Michigan is 2-3 versus high-major opponents this season after a heartbreaking loss to a depleted Oregon team on the road. Following the loss to Texas Tech, the Wolverines had more than a week off to work out the kinks defensively and I was very curious to see how things looked on that end of the court. In short, things did not look good. 

That much is fairly obvious to even the most casual Michigan hoops fan, but the question is why? Let's take a look under the hood to better understand the root issues the team is facing. 

Sleepwalking Bigs

It certainly wasn't the only issue, but the bigs falling asleep defensively was definitely among the more prominent problems. Early in the game and Tarris Reed is matched up one-one-one against Jermaine Couisnard in a late-clock scenario. Reed is generally a very good perimeter defender when switched against guards. Terrance Williams is also in help position at the nail area. 

Nkamhoua completely leaves Kwame Evans to camp out in the paint..........before Couisnard even takes a dribble. Tarris easily beats Couisnard to the spot and forces a kickout. But Kwame Evans has relocated and is now a viable release valve for Couisnard as Olivier is nowhere to be found. Easy triple for Evans. 

This was a recurring issue for for Nkamhoua. A few minutes later TWill/Olivier easily execute a switch as Jadrian Tracey gets the ball on the left wing. Williams is in perfect position and shading him baseline with Tschetter in help position on the weakside. Again, Nkamhoua completely vacates Couisnard on the wing to provide unnecessary help and gives Oregon a viable release valve.

Couisnard isn't able to connect, but the process is bad. 

[AFTER THE JUMP some issues with miscommunication, rebounding and the small guards]

Fast forward to the second half and Olivier commits the same sin. Nkamhoua/Twill once again execute a seamless switch. Terrance is now matched up against a 5ppg scorer in Mahamadou Diawara. There is simply no need to help. But Olivier drops down to the nail once Diawara catches the ball.

Kario Oquendo immediately notices this and promptly exploits it by setting a pin-in screen on Nkamhoua. Cousinard misses again, but this simply shouldn't be happening with such frequency given the specific context in each of the aforementioned possessions. 

While Olivier was the major culprit, he wasn't alone in falling asleep and/or overhelping. The Wolverines are running a press in the clip below which turns into man-to-man once Oregon gets the ball over half-court. Take a close look at Tarris Reed. He identifies Nkamhoua close-out to the corner and immediately drops back to the paint. Good decision to replace Michigan's other big near the paint.

But what he does after that is not a very good decision. He gets a hand on Couisnard and clearly identifies that player as his assignment. The ball swings to Keeshawn Barthelemy on the left wing and Reed gets caught ballwatching for a few moments. Couisnard relocates and provides a release valve for Barthelemy. Easy triple against a late closeout and you can see the frustration from the Michigan coaching staff. 

Miscommunication

The Wolverines also struggled with communication and/or assignment integrity at times. This possession is likely the most egregious. The Michigan defense is able to set up after a made basket on a nifty runner from Dug. Take a close look at the :08 mark of the clip. Both Nkamhoua and Reed are pointing at the same man..........then proceed to have a staring contest with one another for a nanosecond as Tracey has a free walk to the rim.

You can see assistant coach Saddi Washington is furious and you can't blame him. Tracey doesn't score but this is completely unacceptable after a made basket. 

Rebounding

Michigan has not been a particularly good defensive rebounding team this season (#243 in Dreb rate per Torvik) despite playing two-big lineups most of the time. Hitting the glass is very much a team effort, but Will Tschetter has really struggled in this facet. Tschetter's defensive rebounding rate currently sits at 6.3, which is nearly unfathomable given his position. 

Here, Will does a good job of showing a step below screen level + recovering to Evans on the roll. But Oregon is intent on getting Kwame the ball and gives him the post-entry pass. Tschetter does well by walling up + bumping Evan off his spot to force a somewhat off-balance jumphook. But look at what happens after the initial shot is released.  

Will watches TV as Kwame gives multiple efforts to get the offensive rebound and ultimately convert a layup. A livid Juwan Howard rises from the bench the precise moment he identifies the lack of effort (definitely prior to the layup conversion) from Tschetter. 

This wasn't a one-time deal for Will either. Michigan up 1 with the game hanging in the balance with under a minute left in regulation. Again, Tschetter does a really good job initially, switching to Tracey after the DHO and beating him to the spot. Will doesn't bump on the shot-fake, then bumps Tracey off his spot a bit to force Tracey to drift left on the layup attempt.

But after that? Same story. Tschetter watching TV as Tracey gives multiple efforts to come up with the offensive rebound and a second-chance opportunity. Oregon isn't able to cash-in, but there's simply no way the staff can tolerate the lack of effort here, particularly when Will has the size advantage. 

Lineups

As an avid NBA fan, I cringe nearly every time I notice a coach using a three-guard lineup, as it generally spells disaster on the defensive end. I quickly adjusted my brain to college-mode, as this is indeed viable at the CBB level since bigs are typically bad.

But the 3-guard lineup for Michigan was in fact disaster this game. The Dug McDaniel/Nimari Burnett/Jaelin Llewellyn trio was -8...............in 3.5 minutes during the first half. 

The possession below captures the fundamental issue, the sheer lack of size. 

The first 25 seconds were solid. Oregon is now in a late-clock scenario that should play into Michigan's favor. But Jackson Shelstad easily blows by an undersized McDaniel...........with Llewellyn as the strongside low-man on the rotation. Shelstad bails the Wolverines out by settling for a pull-up rather than attacking Llewellyn, but the rebound comes off long.

Near the rim on the right side, Michigan has Llewellyn/McDaniel/Burnett. All three stare at the action as Rigsby comes in for the tip-in before Oquendo cleans it up. 

Llewellyn deserves some leeway, as this was his first game back from a significant injury. But this possession was a real headscratcher. First Shelstad blows-by him with ease from the left wing, but he decides to kick-out to the corner rather than attack. That's completely understandable given the rust + injury. But after that is when the real fireworks begin.

Jaelin gets completely lost once Shelstad dives............literally does a complete 180 at the :07 mark. Llewellyn's blunder forces a switch and Oregon identifies it. Shelstad re-directs and kicks it to the corner for the entry pass with a better angle. From there it's pure bully-ball for Couisnard with a mouse in the house.

You can't be undersized and poor with off-ball rotations. There's simply no margin for error.