basketball recaps

You should have gone to see the Sklars.

For about 15 minutes it seemed as if Michigan would be able to go on the road, without Dug McDaniel, and hang around with a respectable showing against a good opponent. Michigan had traded punches with Illinois throughout the first half and then used a 8-1 spurt to trim the Illini lead to 28-25 in Champaign. There was 4:48 left on the clock and you might have thought that perhaps Juwan Howard's squad could get to the locker room feeling like they had a legitimate chance to win. Then the levee broke, the game taken over by the singular dominance of Terrance Shannon Jr., Illinois' primary star. He engineered a 19-4 run to end the half with his perimeter shooting and playmaking ability and before you could blink, it was an 18 point game at halftime. The second half was a continuation of that romp, spiraling to the point that Illinois lifted Shannon and other starters halfway through, because the score was so lopsided. Yeah. 

[Click for more and the box score]

Tarris Reed blocked his fourth shot of the first half and waggled the Mutombo no-no. As usual, the "Not Today" was for Michigan fans who dared to hope silly somethings like "This 15-point second half lead means we're going to win!"

An 18-2 Rutgerz run at the end of the game capped a 37-12 reversal over the final 17 minutes to turn what looked like a blowout into the most embarrassing loss of the most embarrassing season in program history. As usual, the opponent's big second-half run started with a terrible bench rotation, and continued through turnovers, confused defenders, and lazy boxouts. As usual, an opponent who couldn't find the bottom of the basket in the first half got hot in second as Michigan's own hot shooters cooled. As usual, the opponent had better answers out of halftime, better answers out of timeouts, and a better basketball team than Juwan Howard's last-place Michigan Wolverines.

With about 24 seconds to halftime and 4 on Michigan's shot clock, the announcers offered an interest statistic. Michigan was 7-7 this year when leading at the half, last in D-I basketball. Their opponent was 9-0.

The context of this was Michigan holding a double-digit lead for the bulk of the first frame, and how it seemed to be slipping away. Rutgers had just put together a run off a series of Michigan turnovers and a missed front end by Terrence Williams. His team's latest possession, a hopeless Nimari Burnett baseline drive and kick that was almost intercepted, began with 0:47 on the clock. Crisler Arena was grumbling about wasting a 2-for-1 opportunity at the end of the half. The lead was down to five.

The ball came to Williams with a Scarlet Knight climbing on his back. He gathered, stepped sideways, took a contested jumper, and swished it at the buzzer with 8 seconds left in the half. Rutgers's Derek Simpson tried to drive for the answer but Williams poked it away and tossed it upcourt to Olivier Nkamhoua, who slammed it home with 0.3 remaining. Michigan went to halftime with 11 turnovers but a nine-point lead against the worst opponent they'll host all year. Not this time, right?

[After THE JUMP: I go on; you don't have to.]