2022-23 minnesota
After a week of "moral victories" absent actual victories in the non-conference, the Michigan men's basketball team kicked off B1G play tonight in Minneapolis with a resounding victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 90-75 in a game that was not even as close as the admittedly not-close score appears. Michigan pulled ahead in the opening minutes, taking a 13-6 lead by the first media timeout, and never looked back. The 15-9 lead they held with 14:27 remaining in the first half would be the closest the game would get the rest of the way as Kobe Bufkin, Dug McDaniel, and Hunter Dickinson powered the Maize & Blue to a much-needed win.
Michigan got it going early thanks to their shooting from beyond the arc, opening the game 5/5 from three. The triumvirate mentioned in the preceding paragraph were responsible for Michigan's first three triples, coming off inside-out passing. That got Michigan's offense hot to begin and it continued thereafter, with shots falling from all over the floor, while the defensive effort was solid. After the score got to 15-9, Michigan embarked on a 9-0 run fueled by two threes from Jett Howard, and it just kept going.
Midway through the first half, Juwan Howard dug deeper into his bench, a necessity now that Jaelin Llewellyn is done for the season. He ran with a lineup of Kobe Bufkin, Joey Baker, Jace Howard, Will Tschetter, and Tarris Reed, and that unusual concoction of players did nothing to stop the Wolverine roll. Jamison Battle's layup ended the 9-0 run but Michigan tacked six more points on to jack the lead up to 30-11. The last two buckets in that stretch came off Minnesota turnovers forced by an aggressive Michigan defense, finished in transition first by Bufkin and then impressively by Reed, absorbing contact and drawing a foul (he predictably bricked the free throw).
[Campredon]
Howard brought the starters back in and the impressive shotmaking picked up where it left off, with Terrance Williams II and Kobe Bufkin hitting stepback and fadeaway jumpers. You just knew it was that kind of night. The defense remained stifling and Michigan's lead stretched to a cartoonish 37-13 edge at the under-eight media timeout of the first half. Youssef Khayat got some actions in the ensuing minutes, connecting on a three, but Minnesota then stitched together an 11-0 run to cut it to 40-28, the first time in awhile that it felt close.
The Wolverines turned to an unlikely hero to stem the tide, Dug McDaniel on a pull-up three. It was his second of the night to go down and the dry spell was over. Bufkin's disruptive defense forced another turnover leading to a Jett Howard layup and Michigan had wrestled control back. They'd go into the break sporting a comfortable 47-31 edge.
It wasn't over at halftime, but Michigan was clearly in control and it seemed like the first few minutes would be telling on whether the latter 20 minutes would be a real game or continue to be a stress-free affair. That intuition was correct and those opening four minutes indicated the second option, as the shots kept on going down for the visitors. McDaniel made his third three, then Bufkin converted on a layup, and McDaniel copied, with the two guards asserting themselves in what would be a signature night for both. Michigan's lead was up to 21, 54-33, and the game would turn into a back-and-forth affair over the next five or so minutes. Every bucket was answered by the other team in return and the lead never deviated much from 21.
[AFTER THE JUMP: More recap]
THE ESSENTIALS
| WHAT | #47 Michigan (5-1) vs #147 Minnesota (4-4) |
|
|---|---|---|
| WHERE | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
|
| WHEN | 9:00 PM | |
| THE LINE | Kenpom: M -5 Torvik: M -4 |
|
| TELEVISION | BTN |
THE OVERVIEW
Minnesota had the most year zero year possible in 2021-22, replacing literally everyone from the prior year except for big Eric Curry. This year they're doing it again. Kenpom has them 343rd in roster continuity; this year they're replacing literally everyone except stretch four Jamison Battle. Rough.
The resulting team is not any better than they were a year ago and may be worse. They've dropped from 109th in Kenpom to 147th. They their best result against an opponent in the top 150 is a nine point loss on a neutral floor to UNLV; they have a one-point OT win over #156 Cal Baptist and one-point win over #315 Western Michigan. Purdue just hammered them by 19.
To say this is a must win for Michigan is an understatement.
THE US
Seth's graphic [click to embiggen]:
Jaelin Llewellyn is lost for the year with an ACL tear, and our WAG as to how this shakes out is above: Bufkin over to the point and Isaiah Barnes in as a three-and-D type. Other options are Joey Baker starting at the two or a Bufkin/Dug McDaniel backcourt.
THE LINEUP CARD
Seth's graphic [click for big]:
Minnesota is not good but Dawson Garcia has an incredible mustache.
46