2019-20 nebraska #2

1 hour and 41 minutes

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1. Hoops vs Maryland

starts at 1:00

Why is scrub city always so good against Michigan? Part of it of course is they needed to guard Jalen Smith at the arc and that creates space for the other guys. Nothing Michigan can do about Cowan hitting those shots: the guards contested but they're shorter. Michigan hasn't shot above 30% for six games: Eli and Livers are 0/8 from three, meanwhile the guys the scouting report says to let them shoot are 6/8. Maryland looks good: cut to the sideline and (former Michigan assistant) DeAndre Haynes is calling all the shots. Franz! D.J. Carstenson gets to litigate another ripped jersey, after X hits a free throw, which means he fouls out halfway through his free throws and Teske has to take the 2nd.

[The rest of the writeup and the player after The Jump]

3/5/2020 – Michigan 82, Nebraska 58 – 19-11, 10-9 Big Ten

I had a conversation about basketball with a cousin of mine who went to Kentucky once; I asked him if it was weird that there was an entirely new team every year. He looked at me like I was crazy. This was the natural way of things at Kentucky. To have guys come back was weird. Even the ones who didn't do anything, like Charles Matthews, had to find new homes because there was always another wave of genetic lottery winners on the way.

They got there eventually.

Michigan was expected to cruise to a Senior Day win over Nebraska even before the Huskers suspended starting point guard Cam Mack for a violation of team rules. Buckets by the two Wolverine seniors, Jon Teske and Zavier Simpson, bookended an 11-2 run to open the game, and it looked like we could fast-forward to the each player getting the ceremonious late-game substitution and resulting ovation.

Teske's post play got Michigan out to an early lead [Campredon]

Instead, the Wolverines closed the half with 16 minutes of awful basketball, allowing the Huskers to climb back to within four points at the break. While Teske got off to a strong start, the offense dragged as Simpson and Isaiah Livers shot a combined 3/16 in the first half. Nebraska didn't exactly shoot the lights out, either, but a few timely three-pointers kept them in touch.

The opening moments of the second half made it clear that would not continue. On the first play, Teske whipped a pass to a cutting Livers, who threw down an emphatic dunk as if to unleash the frustration from some close first-half misses. On M's next trip, Livers backed down Thorir Thorbjarnarson and drilled a fadeaway over him. Shortly thereafter, Simpson hit a corner three, Teske finished an and-one hook over half of Lincoln, and Brooks followed a Simpson layup with one of his own to force a Nebraska timeout. Four minutes had passed. Michigan had extended their lead to 14.

X sizes up his final shot at Crisler, a made corner three [Campredon]

This time, 16 minutes of good basketball followed, and the Wolverines outscored Nebraska 50-30 in the second half. Livers snapped out of his slump, going 5/8 in the second half, to finish with 18 points and ten rebounds for his second career double-double. Simpson went 3/5 with a pair of corner threes. Brandon Johns and Austin Davis, who both struggled off the bench in the first half, each added seven second-half points.

The turnaround allowed for fitting sendoffs. First Johns scored an and-one that allowed Juwan Howard to take out Teske—who stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, five rebounds, an assist, two blocks, and two steals—for a bear hug and standing ovation. Simpson found Johns cutting to the rim for his tenth assist of the game on Michigan's next possession and a quick whistle saw him walk off to more cheers and embraces. John Beilein looked on from the stands. Tears were shed.

a perfect moment [Campredon]

They got there.

Michigan is now 19-11 and 10-9 in the Big Ten heading into Sunday's season finale at Maryland. They've locked up a spot in the NCAA Tournament. These two seniors spearheaded trips to the Final Four and Sweet Sixteen the last two years. It's time to settle in and see how far they can go on their last ride. Regardless, it's tough to overstate their importance to this program as it saw out the end of the Beilein era and made a sudden transition into the Age of Juwan.

[Hit THE JUMP for a quick recap of the WBB BTT game and the box score.]