UCLA 51, Michigan 49, Season Over
I'm drained and disappointed. I imagine anyone reading this is, too.
In a slow, ugly game, Michigan missed chance after chance to push past UCLA and into the Final Four. After trailing for most of the second half, the Wolverines twice took the lead, the final time on a Hunter Dickinson free throw with 4:30 to play. They'd stay within a possession for the rest of the game.
They wouldn't make another shot from the field, missing their last eight and getting only a pair of Franz Wagner free throws. Wagner had the cleanest look at a potential game-winner only to airball a wide-open three-pointer following a Michigan timeout with 19.8 seconds left. Eli Brooks tried to put back the miss on the fly with a reverse layup and left it short.
UCLA's Johnny Juzang split a pair of bonus free throws with six seconds left to give Michigan another crack. Smith pulled up and had the space for a good look from beyond the arc but missed the mark. Yet the Wolverines still clung to life when UCLA knocked the ensuing rebound out of bounds with what the officials determined was 0.5 seconds remaining, enough time to catch and fire. Wagner's desperation three at the buzzer never came close.
Johnny Juzang, walking bucket [Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images]
Michigan is a better team than UCLA, even without Isaiah Livers. Juzang had to be spectacular, pouring in a game-high 28 points—more than a quarter of the game's total—on 11-for-19 field goals with a high degree of difficulty. Michigan got no such performance out of their main players. Hunter Dickinson led the team with only 11 points, and while he made 5/10 shots from the field, he went 1/4 from the free throw line and committed four turnovers. Wagner shot 1/10 in arguably his worst game of the year; the only other candidate is the ugly loss to Illinois. Smith finished 1/7 and didn't record a second-half assist.
UCLA's secondary scoring paled in comparison to that of Michigan, which got quality contributions out of Brandon Johns, Chaundee Brown, and Austin Davis. Juzang's game-long heater and the immense struggles of his opponents' headliners negated that advantage. It's a game of making shots; UCLA's top bucket-getter played at his best while M's sat on the bench in a walking boot. It can be a cruel game.
In the light of day, it'll be time to celebrate the accomplishments of a team that was picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten before the season, won the conference, earned a one seed, and came within one shot (or several one shots) of a Final Four in Juwan Howard's first NCAA Tournament as a head coach. This season was an unequivocal success.
Tonight, it's tough to get over the missed shots against a beatable opponent. I was prepared to see Michigan not have enough firepower to keep up with Gonzaga; seeing that come to pass against a UCLA team that had two players score more than four points is more difficult to accept in the immediate aftermath, even if that's the nature of a game that's already produced a wild tournament.
The excitement of a top-ranked incoming recruiting class will be of considerable comfort, too. Howard is just beginning his head coaching career. The program is in as good a place as its ever been. If any program knows there are only so many clean shots at Final Fours and national championships, though, it's Michigan, and it's sad to see this team come so close to adding more banners only for a terrible shooting night to do them in.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]
March 31st, 2021 at 12:52 AM ^
I'm pretty sure that Wagner airball play was designed to be a drive once he got the ball; however, he realized he was so wide open he pulled the trigger anyway playing right into UCLA's hands. I think Dylan, from UMHoops, said he expected UCLA to sag off Wagner b/c the likelihood of him beating you draining jumpshots is far lower than him beating you driving. Spot on.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:54 AM ^
agree. just baffling how we had both the smith and wagner opportunity to drive with plenty of time yet both times the opted for a three.
I wouldn’t say that Smith had plenty of time. That was probably the best look he was going to get.
Yes snarling - I don't understand why people were upset with Smith's shot. He got a really good look. Not likely to get a better shot than that when you have to go the length of the court in 6 seconds.
Time was really short; I think you have to put the ball in your pg's hands there, just to be sure you get a shot off. If he drove deeper, it miiiiight have worked - but he's tiny, and we've seen a lot of his layup attempts swatted. I don't think there was time to pass to anyone else - might not get a shot off at all.
Franz's shot? Woof. Really not good.
It was a decent shot but he had plenty of time to get to the rim and the pg was on his heels. Not liking it with the shooting night he was having.
I'm not buying these ref swallows the whistle comments by some others. You draw contact and you're gonna get the call.
I agree, but he should have set up and shot it. He had room for that. He took it while his momentum still had him flying forward.
Taking the ball up court with 6 sec's is not enough time to force it to the basket. You take the shot that's given, and it was a clean shot. I wouldn't leave anything in the hands of those refs.
Yeah, they were in the double bonus. I thought for sure they’d have their best FT shooter drive for a bucket, as it’d give them multiple scenarios to tie it up or even win if a bucket got an and-one opportunity & they sunk the FT.
I’m not sure Smith would have gotten a more plausible shot by driving. With that amount of time you’ve pretty much got to take the first good look you can get. As it was, he got an open 3 off with enough time to contest the rebound (leading to one final chance).
Also high chance an official swallows his whistle in that case. Smith got the clean look partly because his defender was trying to take away the drive.
Wagner is a 35% on the season, that isn't great but still good. If UCLA's plan was to give up that clean of a look to a good shooter on the season then they should consider themselves very lucky. Same thing with allowing Smith a relatively clean look.
On the other hand Franz was 0-4 from 3 against FSU on all clean looks and 0 for 2 last night before the last 2, so that was at least a string of 0-6 with clean looks and his confidence was shot. He hesitated multiple times last night when he had an additional clean look instead passing or driving. Chaundee was the only one that appeared to have any confidence in his shot.
March 31st, 2021 at 10:16 AM ^
Then I would argue he was due. Eventually water finds it's level with regards to shooting percentages. So again if UCLA wanted to give a good shooter over the course of the season a wide open look they got lucky.
March 31st, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^
It was evident they started to pucker around the perimeter once the 3s weren’t falling hence when they kept giving Hunter the ball down low.
This is now 2 years in a row where Michigan bows out of the tourney b/c the offense just completely stagnates.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:30 PM ^
I just watched a replay. If Franz hits the iron Hunter is all alone in front of the rim ready for the put back. There was no box out.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:52 AM ^
Crushed by UCLA's magical ft and wide open 3 defense. What an awful shit show.
I wrote the following as a tweet but it's worth sharing here too:
2020-21 Michigan finished the season 23-5 with a stunning loss in the Elite 8. Michigan could have and should have won but missed its last 8 FGs including some inside the post. In all of Michigan's losses, there was a consistent theme: the team shot below 43%.
Tonight? 39%. Ouch.
If there's anything to improve upon going into next season, it's offensive consistency and turnovers.
Juzang struggled to score when Coach Howard switched Brooks onto him. At an absolute minimum, I hope Eli Brooks returns next season. He would provide invaluable leadership, experience, and defense for next season.
Have a feeling Gonzaga is going to provide a huge corrective to Mick's FT and 3 pt defensive numbers
It doesn't really matter who won tonight. Gonzaga was going to take either team's lunch money, buy a Twinkie, then shove it down that team's throat. UCLA gets to hang a Final Four banner...yay. Enjoy the blood bath next week. I don't say this out of hate for UCLA. It's just reality. Same would happen to Michigan.
I didn't believe in Gonzaga, at all, until I watched them in the tournament. They look like an NBA G+ league team. I even stupidly took USC plus 8.5 and got four points on a teaser. They took a solid USC team behind the woodshed. It wasn't ever close.
A Final Four banner is a great accomplishment. Don’t minimize that. We’d be on cloud nine if we had won this.
Different night, different game. When Michigan played at their best, they were as good as anyone in the country.
The team that played FSU may well have given the Zags a run for their money. Tonight's team, however, would be annihilated.
Michigan only played poorly a few times this year, but when they did - they really looked bad.
I only saw ~10 games this season, but 4 were loses. Chaundee Brown and Brooks had games where they were money. Dickinson was unstoppable in some of the wins, but in the losses there wasn’t a goto guy. Even when we had Livers. Great year over all.
Good call. This team did not have the athletic talent to overcome poor play. But for most of the year they were a spectacular clinic of scintillating play. Otherwise, they were a joy to watch. So sad it ended this way.
I'd be on Cloud 9 if they'd cut down the nets, a great accomplishment in any season! At the same time I was dreading playing Gonzaga, the way they played tonight.
And I mean both the way Michigan played and the way the Zags played.
This was a season that surpassed anyone's expectations, both the season beginning expectations & the expectations after Livers was lost.
Kind of a shame to see so many people bitter about that on here! To me the team looked gassed, mentally & physically. The fsu game was one of the great Michigan team wins I've ever seen. I'm keeping that on my dvr - this game is already deleted!
The future is unlimited with this coach! Go Blue!
They clearly said on the broadcast UCLA only hangs championship banners
March 31st, 2021 at 12:52 AM ^
Amen
March 31st, 2021 at 12:54 AM ^
Good write-up, Ace. Thanks. Pretty much sums it up. Tomorrow I'll be fine. Tonight this stings. So many opportunities. So much tight play.
Absolutely agree. Ace's report is on the money. It's tomorrow morning now. Have noticed that the sun came up. A victory for all of us above the grass.
As for last night, as frustrating as it was for us fans, it must be excruciating for the coaches and team. It wasn't just that there were missed opportunities, though there were plenty. M actually dominated or performed the same as UCLA in almost every statistic. Unfortunately, a key one was turnovers. Amazing that they outrebounded UCLA by 10!
I get the idea that many people point to Franz Wagner as the difference. What a time for him to have his worst game. I chalk this up to someone has to win; someone has to lose. M would probably beat UCLA 99 times out of 100 with the same performance in the same scenario; the ball bounced UCLA's way one or two times too many. What the heck: M shut down almost UCLA's entire offense except for the offending Juzang. And he did much of his damage against decent defense. Though Wagner and Smith were offensively disappointing, they did contribute in other ways.
Our dear Coach Howard may have also had an off day. But after the kind of season that he inspired from Day One, it seems impossible to point a finger or complain. We must move on!
Go Blue!
March 31st, 2021 at 12:54 AM ^
Amazing season. Deflating ending. I guess if I could re-write the last shot, it would be getting the ball to Chaundee since he doesn't seem to give a F if someone is in his face or not, he just elevates and gets the shot off.
Cruel. That's sports, man. And that's especially Michigan sports.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:55 AM ^
UCLA guarded Chaundee hard. They wanted to let the cold guy shoot it. Would have been sweet redemption for Wagner to hit it after the terrible game he had, but wasn't meant to be
Love the coaching staff but would have loved to have seen some set play drawn up for Chaundee. Also Davis was playing great.. Hunter was not.
Agree that Chaundee should've been option A. If he was UCLA's focus, then it should've been Hunter. If Juwan wanted to get tricky, I would've been OK with the ball in Eli's hands. Smith and Wagner wouldn't have been my choices.
Writing this in the morning after, I'm mostly positive about this surprisingly good season. This team beat serious expectations to win a conference title and acquitted themselves extremely well in the tourney following Livers' injury. Last night's game is still infuriating, especially those last 2 minutes, but trying to focus on the positives and the future.
And for the last time, fuck the NCAA in the ear for putting tipoff at 10pm EDT.
March 31st, 2021 at 10:09 AM ^
This x 1,000,000 my 9 year olds were telling me Chaudee should be getting the ball, he looked like the only person on the team that had a chance to make a shot last night.
Truly amazing that Michigan shot how they did and still should have won the game. It's a testament to Juwan's system and the teams defense. It'll be interesting to see how that all looks with top flight recruits next year. He can get them to run the offense and play D the same way it could be scary.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:54 AM ^
Astonishingly atrocious end to an overall spectacular season. Hard to make peace with that juxtaposition, but it's true.
This is certainly the worst loss in the Juwan era, but we will be back. Future is bright.
Lol worst loss? You need to go to bed and think about life.
WTF are you talking about? What loss is worse?
Maybe getting smoked by an awful minnesota squad during the regular season? We made it to the elite 8 and UCLA is not crazy, but not exactly a bunch of bums.
Lopsided regular season losses to Minnesota and Illinois were meaningless. They won the conference. This was to go to the Final Four and they scored 49 points. There’s no question it was the worse loss of the Juwan era because of what was on the line and the poor performance. Maybe you need regular glasses instead of a monocle.
Exactly, this was a huge opportunity, There was a lot on the line and they blew it. It's hard to imagine them playing worse than they did last night. And this was a gift of an 11-seed Elite 8 opponent (UCLA is much better than that but still) that Michigan matched up well against. This is the worst tournament exit Michigan has had in a while (I didn't watch the Tex Tech game a few years ago but I bet it was similar to this, but at least Tech was an excellent team).
This was certainly a disappointing game and way to end what was a great season for these guys. I hope this game sticks with these players and coaching staff and tastes bitter. They're better than this and they know it, I hope it drives them to never lose this way again.
March 31st, 2021 at 10:02 AM ^
Any time M loses a tournament game, it goes into the pantheon of "worst losses" as about the same. However, the ones at the more advanced rounds sure seem worse. How about M v UCLA in 1965? Few of you would have been alive to witness that, but I guarantee you that many of us still extant fans were counting on M to live up to its #1 poll ranking. How about M's loss to Indiana in the 1976 final? While it may seem inevitable in retrospect since Indiana had a perfect season, it was still an opportunity for payback and recognition that was missed. And the North Carolina game in 93? Enough said. Last night was definitely painful but hopefully will serve as a stepping stone (for players, coaches, and fans alike) on the road to a bright future. Go Blue! (anyway)
From one of the 'extant' who shares your disappointment at the 1965 loss: hell, yeah. That hurt.
For devoted fans who engage in discussions on this blog, no loss is easy, actually, no matter when it comes, though some are more infuriating than others. Wide or narrow margin of defeat? Pick your poison . . . .
Better yet, celebrate the achievements. The team exceeded expectations by winning the Big 10 regular season championship, went further in March Madness than expected after Livers' injury, players and coach won numerous awards, #1 recruiting class. And provided some very satisfying and entertaining games to watch under a coach whom other schools envy us having.
They did well.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:56 AM ^
Disappointing is the only word for that game. This team deserved so much better in their last game.
The future is bright, but I’ll still have a hard time getting over this one. It was a golden opportunity for a Final Four, and those are rare regardless of how great of a program you build.
I’d rather lose by 20 than lose like this. One more made bucket and free throw and we are playing Saturday.
No bitching or finger pointing here. Leave that shit for those in Columbus and EL.
Thanks for a great season fellas.
No one deserves anything in sports except for the result they get.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:56 AM ^
Someone needs to start an investigation into what voodoo UCLA is using to make their opponents all have statistical outliers from the FT line in the tourney
Yeah, that was my thought also. 'Bama also had a statistically bad, uncharacteristic game against UCLA, right down to the crappy FT shooting.
Sports.
March 31st, 2021 at 11:06 AM ^
BYU: 56% on FT
Abilene Christian: 46% on FT
Alabama: 44% on FT
Michigan: 54% on FT
I'm genuinely curious what the odds are of all of those teams shooting that poorly from the line
March 31st, 2021 at 12:58 AM ^
Kinda shocked to see Franz with a positive +/- in this game
While Franz had an AWFUL game shooting, he played excellent defense.
As a defensive coach, I was playing particular close attention to how we guarded. Our defense was EXCELLENT.
If we convert on a number of close shots we normally make, we win this game by at least 10. It was THAT bad of an offensive performance. The number of shots we missed in the lane and in the post was jarring.
I was thinking the same thing. Bottom line, we held an opponent in the Elite Eight to 51. That's impressive team defense. And it was no fluke. We weren't giving up many easy shots. Juzang had to make insane shots for them to hang. And we kept it up all game.
But you are right that, as good as we played defensively, we played that bad on offense. The only thing we did decently on offense was get the ball into Dickinson, who managed to foul out Riley and get 3 from Nwuba. But even Dickinson seemed a little off.
One thing UCLA seemed to do well (or get away with well) was to get their hands on the ball while we were holding it low, before we could raise the ball up for a shot or a pass. That didn't result in many TO's for them but it sure disrupted our offensive flow. Dickinson juggled the ball several times due to pressure and I'm sure that he will work on that into the future.
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