2019-20 michigan state #1
hoops game recaps
zavier simpson
cassius winston
jon teske
eli brooks
brandon johns
austin davis
colin castleton
franz wagner
juwan howard
his house [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

Michigan State 87, Michigan 69 Comment Count

Ace January 5th, 2020 at 4:30 PM

It's hard to do much but tip your cap.

Juwan Howard, Zavier Simpson, and Michigan's defense threw everything they had at Cassius Winston. When Winston hit a series of pull-ups against drop pick-and-roll coverage, the Wolverines started trapping, only for MSU's All-American senior to find his teammates for layups. And that was just in the halfcourt. Winston's ability to constantly push the pace, combined with poor transition defense, led to a lot of easy buckets, even after Michigan makes.

Winston was a marvel, scoring a career-high 32 points on 24 shooting possessions with nine assists against only two turnovers. He punished mismatches, controlled the flow of the game, and made shot after shot.

When Winston wasn't scoring, he was creating quality shots. [Campredon]

Without Isaiah Livers, who's out indefinitely with a groin injury, Michigan had trouble keeping pace all game. His replacement, Brandon Johns, scored 12 points, but his hesitation to pull from three-point range allowed the Spartans to send extra help at Simpson and Jon Teske. Franz Wagner, a potential source of three-point shooting to cover for Livers's absence, got off to a slow start and scored most of his ten points when the game was largely decided.

Teske's persistent second-half foul trouble and a lack of lineup flexibility—particularly with Wagner, Johns, and Simpson all dealing with at least three fouls of their own—led to 15 minutes of Austin Davis on the court. While Davis proved more game than Colin Castleton at dealing with MSU's big men, and he even scored seven points with a couple nice post finishes, his presence also limited what M could do on both ends.

Yeah, that's pretty far onto the court. [Campredon]

This made for a frustrating game. Every time Michigan got one run away from making it tight, Winston would hit a dagger, or the offense would stall, or both. The Wolverines started 6-for-10 from the field; they went 19-for-59 thereafter. The Spartans also opened 6-for-10; they closed 22-for-43. Michigan also struggled from the free-throw line. Simpson, trying his hardest to match Winston, needed 20 shot equivalents for his 14 points; Teske needed 14 for his team-high 15 points; Eli Brooks disappeared, scoring his only two points on a designed play for a layup; David DeJulius went 3-for-9 from the field.

That frustration boiled over even for mild-mannered Juwan Howard with his team down 15 early in the second half. After Julius Marble made a particularly physical stop on Davis with no whistle, Howard ran onto the court to protest, actually stopping an MSU fast break in progress as the officials gave him a technical. Michigan managed to cut the deficit to single digits twice after that; both times, MSU answered before the Wolverines could score again.

Michigan falls to 10-4 overall and 1-2 in Big Ten play. It won't get too much easier in the next week, when they host Purdue on Thursday before a trip to Minnesota on Sunday. If Livers isn't ready to come back soon, this could be a tough stretch; today showed just how critical a piece he is to this team on both ends of the court.

[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]

Comments

blue90

January 5th, 2020 at 8:38 PM ^

Still love Juwan and these kids though it wasn't pretty. Why didn't we go to 2-3 zone more to contain Cassius? I remember a thread a while back about Cassius vs Zavier and no on can honestly say Zavier, he's been outplayed by Cassius every game they've played I think. Come back Livers, we need him badly to be a force.

Joined: 12/24/2015

MGoPoints: -18

Forsakenprole

January 5th, 2020 at 4:39 PM ^

Tough but MSU played very well. Michigan will find more consistency as the team gels. I’m confident we will get ‘em in Ann Arbor when Livers returns. Boys will bounce back. 
Go Blue!

Joined: 09/18/2018

MGoPoints: 1061

Ham

January 5th, 2020 at 4:44 PM ^

If you only look at what Michigan has done after the Bahamas, they’re a subpar team. 1 win against top-200 teams. 4 losses. If they don’t right the ship quickly, this season could go haywire, especially if Livers is gone for multiple weeks+. 2 of next 3 on road. Purdue at home Thursday is a must-win or any chance at winning the B1G is gone (not to mention the possibility of being on the bubble if things really turn sour).

Joined: 01/10/2011

MGoPoints: 37223

Mgthefrenchy

January 5th, 2020 at 4:52 PM ^

Not sure. If Michigan really ever had a chance to snatch that B1G.


Unless MSU failed on their own, it looks pretty difficult for any teams to contend them on that one.
Let's be realistic.
Like MSU loose several game and who ever beat them at the end need to have a pretty near perfection season.

Tournament is different because one game can change everything.

Joined: 06/22/2017

MGoPoints: 3811

bronxblue

January 5th, 2020 at 4:57 PM ^

Sure, but by this same logic they have a win over the #21 team by 12 and their worst loss is by 9 on the road to the #44 team in the country.  That's not a and resume and they'll get a couple of wins going forward against solid teams.

This isn't a national contender, but it's better than I thought first year Howard would be.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171779

Mgthefrenchy

January 5th, 2020 at 10:22 PM ^

ok - We agreed.

Michigan in B1G was projected seed 4, 5 or 6.


At the beginning of the season looking at our schedule I was like we should at least be 8-6 after MSU. Being at 10-4 especially with the victory over Gonzaga is very good and Howard is clearly doing well.

If somehow we had won today, I would have been pumped but would have still be miles away of imaging we could get the B1G...

Joined: 06/22/2017

MGoPoints: 3811

blueboy

January 5th, 2020 at 10:25 PM ^

I mean you could look at it that way, but 3 of the 4 losses were on the road and 3 of the 4 losses were against Top 10ish teams. It's been a rough schedule. For the most part, they've taken care of business when they had to and lost competitive games against tough competition on the road.

Any talk of missing the tournament is absurd at this point. If they start dropping conference games at home or getting blown out on the road, I'll start to worry.

Joined: 12/17/2012

MGoPoints: 414

Detroit Dan

January 5th, 2020 at 4:48 PM ^

Winston was unreal.  He hit something like 3 step back 3s in a row.  As Ace said, sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the opponent.

Officiating was frustrating -- They called it way too tight IMO.  

Joined: 11/02/2013

MGoPoints: 922

bronxblue

January 5th, 2020 at 4:53 PM ^

It's tough to win on the road anywhere in conference, doubly so in Breslin.  Add in Livers being out and Winston on fire and it's not surprising they lost.  I did like how they kept fighting back in the second half; they'll need that resiliency going forward.  

The foul situation wasn't the reason UM lost, and credit to MSU for a great gameplan and execution, but about midway through the first half MSU had something like a 10 FT advantage and it was exasperating because I've seen this movie dozens of times.  And I sorta doubt UM will get the same whistle at home, as Izzo seems permanently immune to his antics actually being punished.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171779

xtramelanin

January 5th, 2020 at 4:57 PM ^

i only watched a few bits and parts, but i swear every time i peaked into the game that little gnome was red-faced screaming at refs and at his players.  literally, every time.  he's like a tiny brian kelly, though more red than purple at maximum agitation.  i have no idea how his 'bo ryan index' isn't 100%.  

Joined: 12/09/2014

MGoPoints: 15439

bronxblue

January 5th, 2020 at 4:59 PM ^

He stepped to a ref at one point and was legit 6 inches shorter than him and the ref sorta shooed him away.

Also, they cut to Izzo at the end of the half when Winston wasn't granted another cheap foul as he ran into Wagner and mouthed "no foul?" and I nearly threw my remote.  It is astounding how much he gets away with, most of it seemingly unearned.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171779

True Blue Grit

January 5th, 2020 at 6:11 PM ^

I hate watching games at Breslin because it seems like from the get-go, we're fighting two opponents - MSU and the refs.  Whizzo gets so many calls and non-calls in his favor, it's got to be at least an 8 point advantage every game.  Winston is treated like the Golden Child.  You can't touch him when he has the ball without a foul being called.  On defense, if Michigan knocks the ball away, it's usually a foul.  If MSU does it, it's a steal.  Blocked shots  by MSU are fouls when Michigan does exactly the same thing.  

The technical on Whizzo when he went out the box (as usual) was an aberration and probably a bone thrown by the refs to make it look like they're being objective. 

You can't beat those a-holes there unless you shoot the lights out and even then, the refs will give MSU and Whizzo a chance to win.

 

Joined: 01/21/2011

MGoPoints: 32373

MNWolverine2

January 5th, 2020 at 4:54 PM ^

Why is there an assumption that Livers will be back next game. He can’t even run yet according to my buddy who’s a student manager. Should be back by the big ten tournament, but for sure won’t be back in a month. 

Joined: 08/07/2017

MGoPoints: 3093

njvictor

January 5th, 2020 at 5:04 PM ^

Cassius Winston was responsible for 52 of MSU's 87 points today which is absurd. Looking forward to playing them next year without him. We lost fair and square this game.

However, I'm sick and tired of the same pattern happening every single MSU game. Izzo barks to the refs as soon as the game starts resulting MSU getting all the calls in the world, which then results in Michigan playing differently and less aggressive the rest of the game. Just once I would like to see the refs tell Izzo to shut the fuck up

 

Joined: 07/20/2017

MGoPoints: 65159

Ty Butterfield

January 5th, 2020 at 5:17 PM ^

Screw those bastards. Don’t see how Michigan makes the tournament at this point. Even with Livers healthy this team was trending down. Head scratching how bad they have looked after starting so well.

Joined: 09/07/2009

MGoPoints: -81685

ijohnb

January 5th, 2020 at 5:51 PM ^

I think we are probably bubble-in.  At this point, unless Livers is back like next week, I think the 8-9 seed is most likely.

It doesn’t look great.  Needed more immersion from Wagner and DDJ by now.  It is getting a bit late now.

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 69986

ijohnb

January 6th, 2020 at 5:21 AM ^

We are 1-2 in the toughest conference in the nation, losing 4 of our last 6, and will be playing without our best player for a large portion of the season.  If we are 4-4 in the conference 3 weeks from now it is going to be a small miracle.  Ken Pom is just a snap shot in time.  An 8 or 9 seed is a fairly likely projection.

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 69986

SHub'68

January 5th, 2020 at 5:24 PM ^

Michigan is good, but not real good. Missing Matthews as a lock down defender who can get stops to trigger 6, 8 point runs. Not strong enough going to and at the basket; some of the point blank misses are strength- and aggression-related. Some of the guys get tentative from outside, choosing to pass up shots. Sometimes with good reason; shooting isn't good enough. Livers' return will help with this, but we've seen these issues even before his injury.

Michigan is a nice collection of good players in need of one or two who can really turn up the volume when it's needed on offense and lock down on defense.

Joined: 09/29/2010

MGoPoints: 6663