boo buie

Michigan headed into Evanston this evening with a particularly shorthanded squad. Dug McDaniel was serving the final game of his six away game suspension, which has been a debilitating absence most of this season, but when you add in the wrist injury to Olivier Nkamhoua, Michigan was going to be in trouble. Oh and Will Tschetter was unavailable too. Michigan probably never had much of a chance, though they did put in a pretty good effort against an NCAA Tournament-bound Northwestern team given the circumstances. At 8-19 in year five of the Juwan Howard Era, this is what we've been reduced to discussing. 

The good effort Michigan gave was mostly related to the hot three-point shooting, which lasted most of the night. The Wolverines had no offensive creation in this game, pretty much all night, and relied on a mix of perimeter shooting and Tarris Reed Jr. post touches to suffice for offensive possessions. Michigan got out to a hot start, leading 16-5 after starting three of four from beyond the arc, feeding Reed buckets in between. Michigan led by near double digits for a lot of the first half, as Northwestern's offense lagged behind, though you always had the sense that the lead was unsustainable given how hot Michigan was from distance. 

Michigan led 26-17 with seven minutes to play in the first half when Northwestern made a push. It got started with a pair of free throws and a Matthew Nicholson dunk, but then came a hellfire of three pointers, three in just over a minute to erase a seven point Michigan lead and turn the score into a tie game. Nimari Burnett, who was Michigan's brightest star on his return to the hometown Chicago metropolitan area, drilled a triple to jut Michigan back ahead 33-30, but Nick Martinelli answered with a put-back layup. The score eventually sat at 34-34 with a minute to go in the half, a sequence that concluded with a Michigan turnover and another Northwestern three, off a clever in-bounds play that left Michigan completely fooled. The Ryan Langborn trey sent NU into the break up 37-34, their first lead of the game since it was 3-2. 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

The flurry from Northwestern to close the first half put the game into a rather familiar pattern, a decent Michigan first half followed by a calamitous second half. This time it was even more predictable, as Michigan's hot first half shooting (6/8 from three!) screamed second half cool off. Michigan actually continued to shoot it at a good clip in the second half, but they got very few attempts off as Northwestern adjusted to shut off the catch-and-shoot three. The Wolverines were instead forced to pound it inside more, absent any real offensive creation from the guards. Tarris Reed Jr. took seven of Michigan's 20 second-half FGA, shooting an inefficient 3/7 at the rim. Michigan went through a nearly 10 minute stretch where Reed was the only Wolverine to score, which isn't a good sign when he wasn't scoring all that much.   

As for Northwestern, they came right out of halftime and continued the push they'd made late in the first. They charged out to lead 41-34, before Michigan made a little Burnett-fueled run to grab the edge back at 44-43. After that the 'Cats pushed straight ahead to grab full control of the game. NU poured in two threes in a row to go up 51-44 and the lead was up to double digits before long. It held around the 10 point mark before stretching up into the teens as the game plodded towards its conclusion. Ryan Langborg shot it well from three, dropping in a trio of triples in the second half, while the penetration of Boo Buie broke the Michigan D down to the tune of five assists. The 'Cats added five offensive rebounds and forced five Michigan turnovers, all part of the formula that evolved this into a rout. 

While time ticked down, we were treated to discussion of how Michigan's missed free throws translated into free chicken for the crowd in Welsh-Ryan Arena. That's where Michigan Men's Basketball is right now. They've lost nine of ten and fourteen of sixteen. They are 5-19 since beating St. John's to start the season 3-0. They are 3-13 in B1G play and have a two game cushion for last in the conference. Michigan has sunk all the way to 110th in KenPom. There's not much to say other than to go through the motions of this season, motions that will continue on Sunday when the #3 ranked Purdue Boilermakers come to Ann Arbor. That game is scheduled for 2:00 PM EST and will be broadcast on CBS. 

[Click the JUMP for the box score if you want]

Michigan overcame a dreadful half of basketball from both teams to surge to a surprisingly comfortable 68-51 win over Northwestern in Evanston to get back in the winning column. Kobe Bufkin threatened for a triple double with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists as Michigan assisted on 21 of 24 made baskets. Hunter Dickinson scored 19 and Joey Baker chipped in 14 off the bench as the Maize & Blue got their 6th win in B1G play to get back over .500 in the conference. 

The first half was a terrible display of offensive basketball from both teams, missing open shots and lacking any semblance of offensive rhythm. The score sat at 1-0 Northwestern for the first 2.5 minutes of the contest and it proved to be an ominous marker for what would follow. Michigan shot 9/31 from the field and Northwestern was only a tiny bit better at 9/26. Each team made three threes and neither shot over 75% from the free throw line. Turnovers were low for both sides, but that couldn't rectify the parade of missed shots. Hunter Dickinson had a small groove with a dreamshake-like bucket, but otherwise finished 3/8. Kobe Bufkin hit a three and a long two and led the team with 10 rebounds, but overall shot 2/6 from the floor.

Juwan Howard dabbled in strange lineups, running out a Tarris Reed/Youssef Khayat/Jace Howard/Joey Baker/Kobe Bufkin look for an extended period of time. Khayat played for the first time since New Year's Day and the first time in meaningful minutes since mid-December, but he finished with no points in the first half (missed two threes). It wasn't much better for Northwestern, who got 11 points from Boo Buie but no one else scored more than 4 points, and Buie accounted for all the made threes for the Wildcat side. Most distressing for the home faithful was Chase Audige's grim 0/9 shooting performance. It was brutal from a watchability standpoint, but Michigan led 26-25. 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

The second half proved to be more of the same for Northwestern, while Michigan emerged from its funk to ignite on the offensive end. At first it seemed promising for Northwestern, with Audige quickly snapping his disaster factory first half, knocking down a pull up on the first possession of the second half and swiping the ball to set up Ty Berry for a layup that gave Northwestern a four point lead a minute in. After that, it was all Wolverines. They stitched together a 12-0 run, Hunter Dickinson kicking it off with a pair of free throws and a jumper, followed by fast-break points from Kobe Bufkin and then an acrobatic three pointer by Joey Baker that drew a foul. Baker hit the free throw and then drilled a jumper on the next possession to make it 38-29 Wolverines. 

That represented the first sizable lead by either team in the game and Michigan's offense was only in the process of opening up. When points started to come from other sources, like a Terrance Williams II three, or laser-precise passing between Dug McDaniel and Kobe Bufkin to set up a Hunter Dickinson and-one, you knew the machine was humming. The Williams trey made it 44-31, but despite a quick 'Cats score, Michigan kept building on the lead. Kobe Bufkin sliced to the lane for a layup and Michigan led 48-33 with 11:24 remaining. 

Northwestern had no answer. After that four point surge in the opening minute, it took them eleven minutes to score eight points. Michigan provided largely effective defense, yes, but Northwestern's shooting display was abysmal. Shots glanced off the back board, the front iron, just about every way you could miss. Michigan, to their credit, kept pushing on offense and put the game away early, never giving Northwestern the opportunity to claw back. Joey Baker pump faked into a made three to put Michigan up 16 and then Kobe Bufkin stripped Buie and threw it down at the other end. Then, with 5:20 left, Jett Howard, who was having an off-night, swished a three. 60-41 Michigan. 

[Marc-Gregor Campredon]

The remaining minutes were performative, Michigan doing well to break down the trap and Northwestern doing nothing to turn it on offensively. The final seconds ran out and the ultimate score was 68-51 in favor of the visittors. After two disappointing losses last week to Penn State and Purdue, Michigan was back in the winning column. 

Despite my apocalyptic summary of the first half box score, the final box score was much cleaner... for one team. Northwestern  shot 37.5% from the floor (21/56) and 15.8% from three (3/19), getting 23 from Buie and no one else above 10 points. Yeah, ugly. But Michigan? A much prettier picture. Bufkin and Dickinson led the team in scoring, Kobe excellent all around while Hunter scored 19 on a rather inefficient 7/16 from the floor. For me the highlight was Joey Baker, who might have played his best game as a Wolverine, scoring 14 on 5/6 from the field and 3/4 from three, helping stomach a dismal outing from Jett Howard. 

Michigan is now 12-10 on the season overall and 6-5 in the B1G, tied with Northwestern, Indiana, Maryland, Iowa, and Michigan State in a pile up in the middle of the league. They now have an opportunity to string some wins together with a favorable home schedule upcoming, starting with the struggling Ohio State Buckeyes at Crisler on Sunday. That game is scheduled for 1:00 PM EST and will be broadcast on CBS. 

[Click the JUMP for the box score]

Good grief. 

The basketball game that unfolded on Wednesday night at Crisler Center was a deeply unpleasant viewing experience, even if the Michigan Wolverines were able to notch their third consecutive victory, 72-70, over the Northwestern Wildcats. The win is crucial for keeping Michigan's tournament hopes alive, but very little else will be remembered fondly by the Michigan faithful. Though the home team didn't play particularly well, most of the memory of this one will hinge on it being a foul-fest. There were 46 fouls called between the two teams, forcing both squads into rolling with unfamiliar lineups in a choppy game that lacked any flow due to the fact there was a whistle less than every sixty seconds. 

Shooting fouls, blocking fouls, charges, moving screens, anything and everything in the rule book was getting called tonight and whistles were blown so much you'd have mistaken it for a practice, not a regulation conference game. A deeply strange game that was upsetting to watch, not just when it seemed that Michigan was on the ropes, but even during the stretches when the home team was winning. Nevertheless, more stellar play from Caleb Houstan and a surprise late cameo from Jaron Faulds helped get it done. In a season where Michigan needs all the help they can get to make it into March Madness, a win is a win. And a win it was. 

The first half was a pretty tight back-and-forth affair. Neither team led by more than five at any juncture in the first twenty minutes and all that felt notable at the time was the crazy number of whistles being called, though we came to learn in the second half that that's how the entire game would be. Houstan led Michigan with 12 in the first half, getting to the line for eight free throw attempts, while no other player had more than six points, and they closed the half with Jace Howard at center due to foul trouble affecting Hunter Dickinson and Moussa Diabate. 

DeVante' Jones was a positive steadying force [Fuller]

The second half saw Michigan start hot, with a 12-2 run within the first three minutes of the frame putting the Wolverines up 11. That spurt was catapulted by nine points from Eli Brooks, who was quiet in the first half and who Michigan absolutely needs more from down the stretch of the season. Northwestern quickly called a timeout and for a brief moment, it seemed as if the Wolverines were asserting their control of the contest.

Unfortunately, after a DeVante' Jones jumper put Michigan up 10 with 15:08 to play, the Maize & Blue would notch just five points in the next ten minutes of game play. Over that span, the Wildcats added 22 of their own and flipped a 10 point deficit to a 7 point lead. After Robbie Beran made it 62-55 Northwestern with 5:09 to play, Juwan Howard called timeout. A loss in this game would have very possibly bumped Michigan back off the bubble, and so it was then that the team needed to rise to the occasion. They dug deep and did. 

Over three straight offensive possessions, Diabate made a pair of free throws, then DeVante' Jones nailed a massive three from the corner, and Diabate slammed home a dunk. With two stops sandwiched in between, it was tied just like that. Michigan forced another miss from Ryan Greer and had the ball with a chance to take the lead when yet another sloppy turnover gave it right back to NU. 15 seconds later, Hunter Dickinson was called for what appeared to be a rather marginal foul while guarding the post and that was it for his night. Ryan Young hit both free throws (Northwestern was in the double bonus by now) and the Wildcats were back up two. 

Faulds! [Fuller]

Without their best player on the floor, Michigan needed an answer, and Terrance Williams II delivered one, knocking down a huge three pointer to push Michigan back up one, 65-64, with 2:08 left. But just seconds after that, foul trouble struck again, as Moussa Diabate was whistled for his fifth on a shooting foul. This forced seldom-used backup center Jaron Faulds into the lineup and after Pete Nance went 1/2 at the line, it was tied at 65-65. Faulds made his impact quickly known: he dished out a sweet assist to Caleb Houstan in the corner, who swished a trey, and then he helped force a stop at the other end. DeVante' Jones drew a foul on the ensuing offensive possession, made both free throws, and Michigan led 70-65 with under a minute left.

It seemed at this moment that Michigan might be putting the game away, but the 'Cats had an answer of their own. Guard Boo Buie knocked down a triple to cut it to a two point game. Jones drove to the lane on Michigan's next possession and drew a foul, hitting both free throws again, making it 72-68 with 27 seconds left. 

The final 27 seconds were wild. The sequence began with Northwestern sending big man Ryan Young to the stripe with the score at that margin. Young made the first but the second popped out. Nance tipped it back, and Buie recovered it and called timeout. With Northwestern now down three, Michigan opted for the intentional foul to nullify any chance of a game-tying bucket. Nance went to the line and missed both, and Faulds drew a whistle during the scrum for the loose ball. At this point, with the score 72-69 and eight seconds left, all Faulds needed to do was make one to put the game on ice. He missed them both. 

Nance rebounded, passed it to Buie, who then was intentionally fouled just past half court by Williams. He made the first, missed the second, and again Northwestern got a second chance. Nance snagged the offensive rebound, passed to Roper, who pulled up from three for a chance to win at the horn. The shot was off target, and Michigan had survived. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: A couple thoughts and the box score]