2022-23 virginia

The unranked Michigan Wolverines hosted the #3 Virginia Cavaliers at Crisler Center tonight in search of a marquee win for their NCAA Tournament resume amid a choppy set of non-conference performances. At halftime, things looked strong for the Wolverines. Even at the halfway point of the second half, Michigan held a six point lead. They were even up with a minute to go, but two disastrous possessions with under 40 seconds to play doomed the home team to a frustrating 70-68 loss against the Cavaliers. A moral victory for a team that got thumped by Arizona State just two weeks ago, sure, but one you would've liked to have as a real victory. 

Virginia started the game hot from the field, scoring 13 points in the first six minutes on 6/8 shooting from the field, leading Michigan by three at the under-16 minute media timeout. Five quick points for big man Kadin Shedrick got things going for the Cavs and Michigan had trouble slowing down their opponents, while a succession of made threes for the Wolverines portended a good shooting night from beyond the arc. Out of the media timeout, Michigan got Hunter Dickinson going, scoring a couple buckets for the Wolverines in between scores from Jett Howard as Michigan surged on an 8-0 run to grab control of the first half. They led 23-15 at the run's conclusion, and were able to do so with some of the bench pieces on the floor. 

Still, UVA clawed back, with Dickinson's lack of lateral agility being put on display as Virginia was able to regularly attack Michigan inside the paint for deuces at the rim. Guard Reece Beekman was the primary beneficiary of this, scoring 15 points for Virginia in the first half on a sizzling 6/7 from the floor- 5/6 from two. The lead was cut to 33-28 for the Wolverines at the under four media timeout, with each team shooting a similar mark for the game but Michigan making a few more three pointers to hold the edge. Over those final few minutes, Michigan was able to close in style. Terrance Williams II hit a sweet fadeaway, Jett Howard knocked down a three, and then a Williams offensive rebound set up a Jaelin Llewellyn triple. By the time Kobe Bufkin stripped Reece Beekman with six seconds remaining, Michigan was already in command and Bufkin's layup was the cherry on top. The home team led 45-34 at the break.

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The second half's first four minutes were close to a worst-case-scenario for Michigan in their aims to keep momentum going from a strong opening 20 minutes. Both teams traded threes to get it going, Kihei Clark for UVA and Williams for Michigan, but then the Cavaliers went on an 11-2 run that nearly erased the entirety of the Michigan advantage. They continued to get penetration with ease and improved ball movement gave Michigan fits. After UVA made it 52-50 with 14:53 remaining, Michigan's defensive effort picked up and began to lock in. They held Virginia scoreless for nearly three minutes, stretching the lead up to six, and had all the momentum and the ball when Dickinson got tangled up with Shedrick in the paint. Dickinson was whistled for a hook-and-hold, which gave Virginia possession and two free throws, both of which knocked down by Clark. 

That felt like somewhat of a turning point, as it began a 10-2 run for the Cavaliers, stretching several minutes and culminating in Virginia's first lead in what seemed like forever. Juwan Howard subbed in his second unit for a prolonged stretch and it corresponded to a long Michigan offensive dry-spell, nearly four minutes without points. The starters returned and helped tie it up at 60 before Ben Vander Plas hit a couple of shots, one being a layup and the other a three, to give UVA a five point edge with five minutes to go. Michigan responded by playing some of their best defense of the night and using the free throw line to claw back. Williams went 1/2 at the line, Dickinson made a pair, and then Dickinson made a second-chance layup to tie the game at 65 with 3:27 remaining. 

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Both teams got stops over the next 90 seconds and Michigan finally took the lead back after Dickinson went 1/2 at the free throw line. The Wolverines forced a miss from Jayden Gardner and seemed in position to grab control of the game when a Dickinson hook shot was off the mark. Gardner got his revenge with a long two, capitalizing on soft drop-coverage, and that put Virginia back ahead 67-66 with 40 seconds remaining. Michigan's next possession was one of two crucial disasters that swung the game: the men in maize passed the ball around the perimeter as the precious seconds drained away, with no real plan of action. Cornered on the sideline, Jaelin Llewellyn attempted a desperate pass that was easily intercepted by Beekman, who was fouled by Jett Howard. The nature of the foul meant that Beekman got a pair of free throws and Virginia got the ball. Beekman went 1/2 but Clark was then fouled after the in-bounds pass and he went 2/2. The result? A 70-66 Virginia lead with 14 seconds left. 

The game wasn't over, though. Michigan sprinted up the court, found Dickinson inside, and Virginia conceded the points. Michigan got a quick foul on Armaan Franklin and he missed the first free throw. Juwan Howard took a timeout to draw up a play. Franklin went back to the line and missed the second. Terrance Williams II grabbed the rebound and got it up the court, but the entire team lacked urgency. Trapped way outside, Williams handed it off to Jett Howard with only a couple seconds remaining and he was in no position to get a quality look away. Two Virginia defenders trapped him, he pulled up, and while there may have been contact, it is unclear if the hypothetical foul even occurred with time on the clock. No shot got anywhere close to the rim, and time expired without Michigan even attempting a game-tying or game-winning shot. Final score, 70-68. 

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In the abstract, a two point loss to the #3 team is nothing to be devastated about. On the other hand, Michigan had the chance for a real resume-building win to get their season back on track and couldn't get it despite being ahead most of the game. They had the ball up one with under 90 seconds to go, but couldn't pull it out. The execution on two of the last three possessions of the game, the one ending in the Llewellyn turnover and the last one, was beyond dreadful. The five players on the court seemed to have no sense of direction, no plan of what to do or where to go with the ball to get the big bucket. Those late game plays are going to sit with the team as they make their trip to London. 

Dickinson led the team with 23 points on 9/17 from the field. Howard added 15 and Bufkin 11, but no other Michigan player was a consistent threat and they got five total points from the bench. Michigan shot 53% from the floor and 42% from three, good marks overall, but scored just 10 points in the final 10:43 of the game, bogging down against UVA's excellent defense as the Cavaliers pressured the ball more and tested Michigan's lack of agility on the perimeter. Virginia shot 51% from the floor and 50% from three, but only attempted eight threes in total, a sign of how easily they were able to get inside against Michigan's perimeter defense. 

The Wolverines are now 5-2 on the season and head to London to take on Kentucky on Sunday. That game is scheduled for 1:00 pm EST and will be broadcast on ABC. The box score is after the jump. 

[HIT THE JUMP FOR THE BOX SCORE]

THE ESSENTIALS

THE OVERVIEW

Michigan's last ever Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup is a doozy against Virginia, which won a national championship recently and has done more to disrupt the UNC/Duke duopoly in that league than any other program. Last year's Cavaliers were anomalously bad, finishing 21-14 and falling to the NIT. They ranked 72nd on Kenpom, Tony Bennett's worst team since 2011 when he was in year two and still getting his feet under him.

Fancystat purveyors largely shrugged at this and stuffed Virginia up near the top of their rankings, which raised eyebrows but looks to be prescient so far. UVA has neutral-court wins over Baylor and Illinois and has stomped a couple of members of the KP300 club. Michigan has been very shaky so far this season and looks like they could really use a signature win; UVA is favored here but this is in the very winnable range. Would behoove Michigan to do so.

THE LINEUP CARDS

Seth is under the weather so these do not exist. Apologies.

[Update from Seth: I'm okay. Here you go.

The Us:

The Them:

The pogo stick with a broom is new. It means he hops up and sweeps the boards a lot. Going back to bed.]