Preview: Rutgers
THE ESSENTIALS
WHAT |
Michigan (15-5, 5-2 B1G) vs Rutgers (6-14, 0-7) |
---|---|
WHERE |
Crisler Center Ann Arbor, Michigan |
WHEN | 7 pm ET, Wednesday |
LINE | Michigan -22 (KenPom) |
TV |
BTN PBP: Joe Davis Analyst: Jon Crispin |
Right: Sadly, this was still less mean than including a picture of actual Rutgers basketball.
THE US
Caris LeVert still won't be in the lineup tonight, but John Beilein told the media yesterday that there's a timeline—one he won't reveal—for his return:
"Caris has had more testing," he said. "Things continue to go in the right direction, but he is not ready yet. We hope it is very soon, but he is moving in the right direction."
LeVert has not met with local reporters since sustaining the injury. Beilein has repeatedly declined to expand on the specifics, other than to say the program is being "overly cautious" and that it's a "lower left leg injury."
Of the aforementioned timeline, Beilein would only say, "For the first time we met and said, 'OK, let's start looking at this date.'"
Michigan plays Penn State at Madison Square Garden on Saturday; ideally, he could work his way back in that game and return to his normal role for next week's home games against Indiana and Michigan State, but that would be a best-case scenario at this point.
THE LINEUP CARD
Projected starters are in bold. Hover over headers for stat explanations. The "Should I Be Mad If He Hits A Three" methodology: we're mad if a guy who's not good at shooting somehow hits one. Yes, you're still allowed to be unhappy if a proven shooter is left open. It's a free country.
Pos. | # | Name | Yr. | Ht./Wt. | %Min | %Poss | SIBMIHHAT | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | 3 | Corey Sanders | Fr. | 6'2, 175 | 80 | 26 | Not Really | ||||||||||||
High usage, high turnover rate, decent outside shot, poor finisher. | |||||||||||||||||||
G | 5 | Mike Williams | So. | 6'2, 190 | 68 | 23 | Yes | ||||||||||||
Takes most threes on the team, hits... 28% of them. | |||||||||||||||||||
G | 2 | Bishop Daniels | Sr. | 6'3, 185 | 64 | 24 | Kinda | ||||||||||||
44/30/70 shooting splits, most attempts from two. Turnover-prone. | |||||||||||||||||||
F | 1 | DJ Foreman | So. | 6'8, 230 | 65 | 19 | Yes | ||||||||||||
Only 47% shooter, draws a ton of fouls but only makes 58% of FTs. | |||||||||||||||||||
C | 35 | Greg Lewis | Sr. | 6'9, 245 | 52 | 17 | Very | ||||||||||||
Decent rebounder and shot-blocker shooting woeful 37% FG, 45% FT. | |||||||||||||||||||
G | 31 | Omari Greer | Gr. | 6'4, 180 | 46 | 18 | No | ||||||||||||
A legit shooter! 44% from beyond the arc. | |||||||||||||||||||
G | 10 | Justin Goode | Fr. | 6'2, 185 | 37 | 8 | Yes | ||||||||||||
Tiny usage, pretty much only shoots threes, has made 6/26 on the year. |
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the preview.]
THE THEM
It's been a long day. Let's not waste precious time and space on this. Here is Rutgers' team shot chart, courtesy of Shot Analytics:
Here is the nicest thing John Beilein could think to say about them:
Beilein on Rutgers: "Eveyone's a Division I player. Everyone can run and dunk and make shots."
— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) January 26, 2016
I'm sure that wasn't meant to be backhanded as hell, but alas.
THE RESUME
The highest-ranked team Rutgers has beat this season is #272 Farleigh Dickenson. They briefly led Indiana by a point in the second half of their Big Ten opener before the Hoosiers pulled away for a comfortable eight-point win; since then, their smallest margin of defeat has been 14, and they lost by 50(!) against Purdue. Rutgers is a historically bad power conference program.
THE TEMPO-FREE
Big Ten stats only.
In Big Ten play, Rutgers is being outscored by 0.36 points per possession. Nothing else needs to be said.
THE KEYS
Win the game.
THE SECTION WHERE I PREDICT THE SAME THING KENPOM DOES
Michigan by 22.
They are so, so bad.
ELSEWHERE
UMHoops preview. Maize n Brew preview. UMHoops' Zach Shaw has a great article on Zak Irvin's all-around improvement:
“He’s really competitive, and if you score on him, he really takes it personally,” Walton said. “I think that really plays a big factor into why he’s so successful against the dynamic guys we play against.
“I’m always joking and saying ‘Man, I don’t know if you can stop this guy today, he’s kind of a handful, stuff like that. … He hates getting doubted, so anything I can do to fire him up and get him going.”
Please don't stop talking, Derrick. It's working.
January 27th, 2016 at 4:52 PM ^
I like Michigan by 23. I'll put a dollar on it that Caris sees spot minutes at MSG vs. Penn State on Saturday! Need to get him game ready for the next stretch of games...
January 27th, 2016 at 4:56 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 5:05 PM ^
I like michigan by 20, as Chatman and other reserves see plenty of PT
January 27th, 2016 at 5:05 PM ^
I like michigan by 20, as Chatman and other reserves see plenty of PT
January 27th, 2016 at 5:06 PM ^
Rutgers D is WORSE than Michigan's O is good?!?
They are so, so bad.
January 27th, 2016 at 5:12 PM ^
They can't shoot, can't defend, and can't rebound even by the standards of teams that can't rebound. Their offensive rebound % is less than half that of their opponents. I didn't think it was physically possible for a B1G team to be that bad at rebounding.
January 27th, 2016 at 6:59 PM ^
they're 337th (!!) in defensive rebounding in the country and 279th in offensive rebounding. The only teams worse in all of college basketball at both ends of the floor are Kennesaw St., Arkansas Pine Bluff, Mount St. Mary's and a couple other schools that should not be compared to a B1G team, ever.
So, so bad.
January 27th, 2016 at 5:13 PM ^
Only 22 points!?!? Why does kenpom hate us?
January 27th, 2016 at 5:14 PM ^
Already getting to the middle of conference play. Hoping Levert's about ready to go. He's going to need some time to get in the flow with the rest of the team. As for tonights game, no one get hurt. That's about the only thing that could make this game anything but a laugher.
January 27th, 2016 at 5:14 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 5:36 PM ^
January 27th, 2016 at 5:44 PM ^
on stub hub which I believe is the minimum
January 27th, 2016 at 5:29 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 5:37 PM ^
Dakich hits his first 3 of the season.
January 27th, 2016 at 5:38 PM ^
Looking forward to the game no matter how lopsided it might be. Would really like us to play hard defensively, not just outscore them. Still hope to see hard work from the team.
Go Blue!
January 27th, 2016 at 5:42 PM ^
Purdue had 63 rebounds. Rutgers had 57 points.
They're the worst team in the league. In several leagues in fact.
January 27th, 2016 at 6:05 PM ^
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January 27th, 2016 at 6:06 PM ^
Hoping for a barrage of 3s early, similar to the Penn State game.
Go Blue!
January 27th, 2016 at 6:12 PM ^
Rutgers is so so so bad. I can easily see Walton and Zak not even playing in the final 10-12 minutes of this one. If someone doesn't get a double-double I'll be mad. Hopefully we will work on our D all game and hold them to low 60s. These games should NOT be wasted, especially when we need to work on things. I expect 15 from Walton, Zak, Donnal, and Robinson. Get 'em, 85-63.
January 27th, 2016 at 9:00 PM ^
Ugh - seems like we jinxed them.
On another note, KenPom's been a bit off lately.
January 27th, 2016 at 6:56 PM ^
that you have to look out for. Michigan by 13.
January 27th, 2016 at 9:16 PM ^
Yikes! Still a win and a step up in conference standings. I'll take it.
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