basketball needs advantage calls

3/8/2020 – Michigan 70, Maryland 83 – 19-12, 10-10 Big Ten

Maryland is not known for looking particularly… uh… coached even when they're pretty good. Your author has taken in many of their games this season, one in which they won a share of the title in the toughest Big Ten ever. Despite the results the number one thing I've thought during these games is DO SOMETHING! RUN A PLAY!

This is a common experience.

Mark Turgeon is one of the better coaches in college basketball. Also, he has like three plays, maximum

— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) March 1, 2020

Does Turgeon not have, like, plays

— Drew Magary (@drewmagary) March 1, 2020

In situations like these it's always wise to self-administer a Dunning-Krueger check. I am not a basketball coach. I am an amateur internet basketball sleuth.

Am I out of touch? Nope! It's the children who are wrong.

Mark Turgeon: "Guys, we've played six [games] in 13 [days.] That was a tough stretch for us, okay? So we haven't really had a lot of practice time — and I'm not making excuses, better team won — but we have like five plays that we can run."

— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) December 11, 2019

The perception is in fact reality. Matt Painter takes guys who look like NAIA dudes and has them run in Mandelbrot loops until some guy's open in the corner; Mark Turgeon runs pick and roll, the end.

So it felt pretty bad in the first half when Michigan was struggling to find shots against a Maryland team that was doing some things on offense that weren't "I dunno dribble around and jack something up." Then the TV cut to a Maryland huddle, which featured DeAndre Haynes exhorting the Terrapins about something or other while Mark Turgeon looked on. He was probably thinking "man, DeAndre is doing a really good job."

Cold comfort, but at least the world made a little more sense.

[After THE JUMP: same old story]