Slow day board question: what are your keys to victory Saturday?
Slow day so far so I thought I'd just throw out the simple question: what does Michigan need to do to win Saturday?
This is arguably our toughest game of the year so our guys are really going to need to step it up. I think Simpson and Teske need to play better than last time defensively (limit Winston and take away inside looks) and play efficient offensively (don't need a lot of points but shoot on good looks and get decent percentage).
But the key to me is our shooters (Iggy, Poole, Matthews/Livers) all need to have a good day on offense, i.e. at least 10 points each. Seems like in all of our losses one of these guys is in a slump and we just can't have that Saturday if we're going to win.
Oh and stay out of foul trouble, everyone. What do you think?
That's better than sex panther. 89% of the time, it works every time.
A few thoughts:
(1) Michigan defenders need to stop jumping on MSU's head/hand fakes. Fakes are a staple of MSU's offense and any film session will demonstrate how effective they have been when the defender leaves their feet.
(2) Michigan needs to have all five defenders actively looking to grab defensive rebounds. There is no need to have anyone leaking out for a potential fast break. Most of Michigan's fast breaks should be triggered by MSU turnovers.
(3) Michigan needs to completely avoid defensive fouls outside the 3-point line and offensive fouls (when not aggressively going for a layup at the basket).
(4) If and when MSU tries a full-court press, Michigan needs to keep the ball in the middle of the court and aggressively push the ball to take advantage of numbers advantages after crossing half-court.
(5) The Michigan defenders assigned to Goins, McQuaid & Winston need to stay on them at the 3-point line and not leave them for a double-team.
If we start aggressive trying to get looks right at the rim we will set the tempo for a good day. This team can get in to trouble when they start settling for long jump shots early in the shot clock. If we get Z/Poole/Iggy penetrating the lane early I think it opens up the floor for the rest of our offense.
like we are with teske, get tillman into foul trouble and state will get crushed.
Be more alpha. They did that last year and didn't this year.
Allow fewer point than they score. Works every time.
Avoid early foul trouble for teske and Simpson. Make shots at an average rate. Just play our game and hope we don't make mistakes while also hoping they don't get lucky. I think we win if we don't have a lot of variables.
Per Iggy, from round 1:
“We didn’t expect the double ball screens where they both came off, and they slipped a lot which created a lot of space for them," Brazdeikis said. "They had a great game plan.”
Per Beilein:
“If you’re hedging it hard, then everybody’s got to come in and go back, and in the first half we had some problems with that and getting back to a couple guys."
When Michigan went cold offensively down the stretch in game 1 we couldn't get a stop on defense in critical spots, let alone most of the game (yes, Poole's poor D had something to do with that, too, not just MSU's game plan). We're going to have to be able to make stops, period. This time we'll know what's coming and should be able to slow them down. No surprises this time around.
I hate to break it to you, guys, but Michigan will not win Saturday night. So try not to be too disappointed.
However, you should like their chances in the BTT.
If we lose Saturday, we will win the BTT. MSU will not try in the BTT with a win on Saturday, increasing our chances to win significantly.
But yeah, if Matthews doesn't play, I don't have a great feeling about Saturday. We'll see though. Coach will draw up a great plan, we just have to see if the guys can shake their road blues again. They could have turned a corner against Maryland, but 1 game isn't enough to convince me right now. I'll believe it when I see it against MSU
I'm not going to be heartbroken if we don't win Saturday and/or don't win the BTT. Conference titles are nice, but the NCAA is more important. Winning six in a row in the NCAA is a tall enough order, and adding 5 more games to that streak isn't an optimum recipe for winning it all.
I don't think we've got the team to make it to the FF, but with Beilein in charge you never know.
I keep seeing this, but I just disagree with the logic. This statement is one through a lense of hindsight, which is not available right now.
Like if we get ousted in the S16, I'd like to have that regular season title to attach to this season.
Or picture this: we both get ousted in the E8 again like in 2014. It was sure nice to have two wins over Sparty and the conference title as bragging rights.
I often think this way, too, but there's no logic to it. The reason it's hard to win 11 games in a row is because it's hard to win. Michigan is not less likely to win, say, a regional final matchup against Tennessee, because they beat Michigan State in the last game of the regular season.
The fact is that you try to win every game and you're not likely to win all of them.
Personally speaking, I agree that the postseason is more important; if it weren't both a road game at our bitter rival and a game with a conference banner on the line, I would be a lot less attached. But it is those things.
Win The Game.
Call me crazy, but I think winning against MSU, winning the BTT and winning the national title is the optimum recipe.
Drive to the basket and don’t let Winston get damn near 30 points.
The flipside of the Beilein evolution is that our shooting has gotten uncharacteristically inconsistent. That needs to be fixed (or, at the very least, Saturday needs to fall into one of the 'on' phases of the flickering light bulb).
I think Poole is the key. If Poole can pull it together and get us 15+ from the perimeter, then we have a great shot at winning.
Well, I think one key approach would be to score more points than MSU. To quote John Madden, "the team that scores more points, usually wins the game!"
In a more serious response, number 1 is when we get good looks we have to make them (with 1b getting those open looks, which were few and far between in game 1). That has been a recurring problem. We're also going to need Simpson to be the lockdown bulldog he usually is; Winston had a great game 1, and we can't allow that again). Lastly, I think the D (especially Poole) needs to do a better job of sticking with their guys and denying easy looks. If they make tough shots so be it, but no open 3s or easy uncontested drives.
I'm really interested to see how they prepared with 5 days between games. I think JB will have them much better prepared and hopefully being well rested helps. Hopefully the hard hedge changes and Simpson stays tight on winston. I'm sure whatever they do it'll work out better than last time. We act like it was a blowout but that was a tight game throughout.
It wasn't a blowout, but it also wasn't a game that turned on just one shot at the end. MSU won and they won conclusively in our building.
They did not win conclusively. Maybe convincingly. Maybe not.
1. Let Winston get his points and shut down Goins and McQuaid.
2.Keep Tillman off the boards and away from second chances
3. Teske needs a monster game
4. Poole cannot get abducted by aliens like he was in the first game.
5. Get MSU to turn it over their normal 12 times a game.
6. Get some productive bench minutes from Castleton to hold down the fort while Teske rests.
Winston's too efficient to just let him score. He'll get his, but he has to work for it a bit. If Michigan just leaves him alone at the arc we're in trouble.
However, I'm open to an experiment of trimming the hedge a bit to see what he does.
I’ve just got 2:
1). Stop Winston (including pick n roll and screen game).
2). Avoid prolonged scoring droughts.
Do those two things effectively, and I think the good guys prevail.
Make sure Teske and Iggy stay out of foul trouble. You know Sparty is going to get some tasty home cooking.
Also, no premature posbangulations.
Winston ate Simpsons lunch in the last game. Straight punked him.
If Winston does it to Simpson again - Michigan loses.
If you look at raw points totals then yeah Winston had 27 and destroyed him but Winston shot like 14 FTs to get his 27pts and most of those were at the end of the game and SImpson wasn't even the one fouling him
Winston made a couple tough shots over Simpson but other than that he certainly didn't dominate him
Winston played a terrific game. It wasn't just late-game foul shots; he was dishing, making the right pass every time, getting to the basket and making the tough shots. He had a ton of assists. Simpson wasn't bad, but Winston definitely won the matchup.
I think POSBANGS wins Games
Can't be 2-14 from three. I think the defense will be there. msu played well against us. Who knows if they will play at that level. We can't have a slow start. Iggy and Simpson will be aggressive. Poole has to make a couple shots early. Should be fun.
GO BLUE!!
Beilein needs to have a plan for when this team gets into a scoring slump to prevent it from getting out of control
Establish the run. Lots of body blows setting up the play action pass.
Jordan Poole, and shot selection. Teske and whatever it was they were doing with their hedging. Don't do that.
Play at a faster pace,push the offense... Michigan goes through stages in a game where they "slow things down" and the offense struggles for 6-7 minutes
Just jack up a couple extra threes during these times,all you need to do is hit 2 of 7 threes during this stretch and the offense keeps humming along .I hate when they take the air out ,when its 50-43 with 14 minutes left. Michigan usually has 4-5 scores always on the court,so keep attacking.
The key is obviously Z hooks. 15-20 of those and we should win
Make some shots, Play good defense. Have some fun. Make most of your free throws. Win the game. Or, in Mitch McGary's words, "Win the game".
Everything has been said, but limiting MSU's other scoring options beyond Winston is huge. Goins is a good shooter but he's been on a hot streak that gives them another shooter to relieve some of that pressure. If UM can force Winston to carry the scoring load they'll have a great chance of winning.
It will come down to refs. We have the better team, just got jobbed by the refs at home, otherwise we win at Crisler without a doubt. I'd hope for no home cooking at Breslin, but considering how dirty state's program is and their subversive tactics with referees, not counting on it. We win big if the refs call a fair game. Actually hoping ward is back as state is much better without him. Langford returning would also be a blessing considering how much better mcquaid is. Go Blue!
C'mon man. Don't be that kind of fan
Kidnap their couches... Send ransom photos with said couches... And make Tim Ozone cry on the sidelines...
This isn't arguably the toughest games of the year, it is...Personally felt the team actually played ok last game just shot really really poorly. There was one series of event were we made a basket, stole the ball-missed, got rebound-missed, MSU took the ball up the court and we stole it-shot missed. Cant have that happen against a team with an elite guard.
I consider myself something of an expert in the area of basketball because I faithfully hang on every word Dan Dakich says during college broadcasts, especially when he takes the court during a timeout and provides a tutorial of "how to be" an excellent basketball player. I note he stresses whomever is lower in his defensive stance, (with high hands), and whomever is dribbling low when driving the paint, will enjoy success unknown to the riff raff of the basketball world.
That said, I don't know who will go low in this game, who will play low, but be assured those who are lower will win, and those who play higher will go away disappointed. MIT is developing a "go low" algorithm for all of this, but it's not quite ready.
Unsprain Matthew’s ankle.