December 5th, 2017 at 12:39 PM ^
Thanks. I stand corrected.
December 5th, 2017 at 4:20 PM ^
I love Beilein but his teams do make me crazy. These early season boners kill me, because he is better than this, as is the team.
But then I think about the number of legendary coaches he has beaten in head-to-head matchups while he's been at Michigan and its amazing:
Pitino, Coach K, Boeheim, Izzo, Self, Billy Donovan, Bo Ryan, Jim Calhoun. Came within a hair of beating Calipari (and additional games vs Pitino & K) in the tournament. And of course there are others, Huggins, Chaka Smart, Rick Barnes and he's beaten excellent IU & OSU teams under Crean & Matta. That list is freaking impressive and I wonder how many other coaches have recorded wins over those guys. And Beilein has only been here for 10 years.
December 5th, 2017 at 8:10 PM ^
...a lot of coaches, good and bad, can claim wins over those great coaches at some point in time. When you coach as long as JB he has, you going to win one or two against some good coaches.
To put it in perspective, I don't think JB ever beat Boeheim while in the Big East at West Virginia, but he did at Michigan.
December 5th, 2017 at 3:57 PM ^
They're right there with us. They've been more consistently good (115 conference wins to our 98, only missed the tourney once to our three misses) and just lacked the one Final Four run that we had:
2 conference titles
3 Sweet Sixteens
0 Elite Eight
0 Final Four
0 Title Game
0 Titles
By a mile the best programs in the last ten years in the Big Ten have been MSU and Wisconsin.
OSU stands alone as third.
Michigan, IU and Purdue are very close for fourth-sixth.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:07 PM ^
Awful outcome.
UCLA comes in to Ann Arbor this week sans Big Baller Brand's son.
Let's Go Blue!
Also, NCAA refs, please stop high-fiving players. It's inappropriate. Try to maintain decorum and professionalism.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:08 PM ^
Beilein is amazing at player development and conceptual coaching but has never been a great in game tactician.
The amount of late shot clock heroics needed because we were passing the ball around the perimeter without any clear intent can be difficult to watch at times.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:10 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 9:14 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 9:16 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 9:18 PM ^
This game sucked. This team has no toughness to it and seemingly no leadership. A MAC team should be able to put OSU way when spotted a 20 point lead. Awful all the way around.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:18 PM ^
December 5th, 2017 at 2:16 AM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 9:20 PM ^
Here's the shot chart for Moe, MAAR, Mathews, and Robinson in the second half. 1-20. 5 percent. 2 seniors and 2 juniors.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:30 PM ^
December 5th, 2017 at 2:07 AM ^
at about 12 min left when we had given up a full 13 point halftime lead. Then we played even for a while, then put Duncan back in....sigh.
December 4th, 2017 at 10:12 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 11:53 PM ^
You are continuing to prove my point. That isn't coaching ineptitude, and it isn't lack of skill. It is extremely bad luck. Even if you took the heat maps of the absolute worst team in D-I, they'd be making at least 30% of those shots -- and I'm been extraordinarily generous. Those four players are not worse than the worst team in D-I.
December 5th, 2017 at 10:32 AM ^
I disagree. That shooting map is out of context. It doesn't show Michigan's poor shot selection and the defense of Ohio State. Just because a shot is taken 5 feet from the rim doesn't mean its a good shot. A well-defended shot isn't likely to fall. Most of those shots were strongly contested and a lot of them came late in the clock. Michigan couldn't generate space for themselves and therefore couldn't create open looks.
Michigan needs to make its own damn luck for a change.
December 5th, 2017 at 11:22 AM ^
That's not what I remember. I remember a lot of open 3s drawing iron, and an inexplicable number of layups falling off of the rim. Yes, there were some possesions where they didn't get up a good shot, but not 19 out of 20. Shots within 5' are made at a 50%+ clip. Sure, that includes dunks and shots made against Michigan's interior defense, but it also includes other teams' late-shot-clock heroics. In general, the most effective way to defend the basket is to deny entry passes and keep the ball from getting that close in the first place, especially in modern college basketball, where few teams have legitimate shot-block threats. While you still have more of a chance to affect 2-point shots than you do 3-point shots, no defense is so good that they can cause a 1-20 shooting night, and no offense is so bad that they'll go 1-20. I might be able to go 1-20, and I wasn't even athletic enough to play middle school basketball.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:29 PM ^
THis was just like last year's game vs Virginia Tech - Michigan played well for a while and built a lead but when VT started playing hard Michigan wilted. They didn't respond and VT straight up outplayed and outhustled them and just took the game. Beilein teams let this happen a lot and its fucking infuriating.
THe bullshit 5 point play woke up Ohio State. They started playing hard and Michigan didn't what to do. And that was all she wrote. They were running with UNC until Robinson biffed that layup and the HEels made a hustle play the other way. The momentum totally shifts the other way and Michigan gets run off the court. Beilein has to get these guys to play with some passion and attitude if they want to win these games. Michigan is better than Ohio STate but they let them eat their lunch. Pathetic.
So many of these early season losses simply come down to Michigan playing hard. If they play hard, they win. But, they don't To me that's the easiest fucking thing about sports: playing my ass off to beat my opponent - especially my archrival.. Michigan hasn't beaten Ohio State in anything in freaking forever and blew a goddamn 20 point lead: this enrages a competitive person like me. And the fans were rubbing it our face. FUCK THAT - its time for Michigan to get pissed and take it to these motherfuckers in every sport, from football to synchronized swimming to fucking checkers.
I briefly played rugby for UM at the end of my athletic career and those dudes were tough as nails- they constantly repeated the saying: GOTTA WANT IT. Can't get what you want if you don't want it. That's what Beilein needs to get these guys to realize. I hope tonight's debacle lights a fire under this team's ass.
Also : more LIvers and Teske please. They looked noticeably tougher and more competitive with those guys out there.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:35 PM ^
It's still early in the season, but there doesn't seem to be a top-level point guard on this team. Would there be any justification for starting Teske and Wagner together with Abdur-Rahkman, Livers and Matthews, with Brooks, Simpson, Poole and Robinson in reserve?
December 4th, 2017 at 10:26 PM ^
I bet that lineup would be a problem for lots teams - I like it. Michigan has talent and can play - it's a shame that they throw games away like this because he doesn't have the best guys on the floor at the right time. Keep in mind Beilien kept Wagner on the bench for the vast majority of his freshman season for unknown reasons. And his seniors rarely seem to be bothered by losing. Thank god Walton and Irvin woke up just in time last year to help them realize their potential. It was almost too late. Losing sucks and the seniors should fucking HATE it.
Poole seems decent but I think he won't be consistent but will have a few one-off positive performances like Saturday against Indiana. Teske brings a certain attitude and plays D and will crash the boards - so he should be out there a lot. And I like Livers - has a strong build and brings a good energy and sense of urgency to the floor. Even Watson made some plays out there tonight. So yes - I would like that lineup you mentioned - and see Brooks get a lot of run as well.
Rahkman is disturbingly quiet this season and Robinson is just a straight -up DRAG. His +/- must be in the freaking basement right now. Bring him off the bench.
I was hoping I wouldn't be reminded about the dude from Illinois last year who said something to the effect of "Everyone in the Big Ten knows that all you have to do to beat Michigan is play hard." But he's not wrong. Hoped it would be different this year.
December 5th, 2017 at 3:02 AM ^
Tonight our three PGs were very productive and efficient combined.
Someone made the point above that MAAR, Matthews, Duncan and Wagner were 1-20 combined in the second half. One. For. Twenty. That's it. Ball game. And none of those guys are PGs.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:30 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 9:34 PM ^
Me in the first half:
We're gonna win the Big 10 this year.
Me in the second half:
Turns off the TV and on to shit that matters in my life.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:34 PM ^
"Its December, it takes time for JB to figure out the rotation"
"I learned not to judge the team until February"
Seriously, these excuses have to stop. And these excuses aren't really that true.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:45 PM ^
EVERYONE is in December.. every team, every coach.. no excuses
December 4th, 2017 at 9:36 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 9:44 PM ^
December 5th, 2017 at 2:16 AM ^
but they did turn it around to get to .500 in the conference at 9-9 and make the tournament.
This team isn't that far away. If we just reduce Duncan to 10-15 min off the bench and get more Teske and Livers minutes, we're immediately a 3-5 ppg better team and those guys will continue to get better.
The good part about these last few games is that Matthews looks like he's not on his way to the NBA. I guess that's a silver lining?
December 5th, 2017 at 11:43 AM ^
Either could easily blow up by the end of the year. DJ Wilson anyone? This team would be a lot better had he stayed.
December 5th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^
DJ Wilson blew up long before B1G play last year. He was our best player in that tournament against SMU and Marquette.
December 5th, 2017 at 4:03 PM ^
of course either could blow up and I hope they do if it leads to winning games.
December 4th, 2017 at 9:49 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 10:05 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 10:19 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 10:21 PM ^
...what does that say about our coach?
December 4th, 2017 at 11:10 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 10:26 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 10:08 PM ^
December 5th, 2017 at 12:14 AM ^
December 5th, 2017 at 3:04 AM ^
by Livers getting 20+.
EDIT: sorry I thought you said reduced by half.
December 4th, 2017 at 10:10 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 10:16 PM ^
I've stopped believing that Beilein team X is going to be any different the Beilein team X-n.
Lackadasical defense, predictable offense, win when they shoot above average from three, lose when they don't.
December 4th, 2017 at 10:16 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 10:22 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 10:27 PM ^
December 4th, 2017 at 11:18 PM ^
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