Michigan 61, Montana 47
(Left) Charles Matthews' dunks were a (the?) bright spot.
(Right) That game, the feeling. [Photos: J.D. Scott/MGoBlog]
Queme los game film.
Make sure the audio track burns, too.
Jane i'm so tired and there may be a living mythological siren in Wichita of all places, what happens if this game ends and I turn off the speakers but the screams still reach me
— Ryan (@kurogane) March 16, 2018
In the Before Time, when I could still hear pitches above a high B-flat, Montana jumped out to a 10-0 lead over a Michigan squad that very much looked like it'd had an extended layoff. The Wolverines adjusted to the aggressive trapping Grizzlies defense and held a three-point lead at halftime. A woman screamed as if she, also, was trapped by grizzlies.
Hopeless. [Scott]
The second half barely got started before the scorer's table lost power, causing a long delay. Just after the clocks returned to working order, TBS went to a media timeout. The screaming continued. Someone help her, please.
Montana went 34 minutes of real time—and ten minutes of game time—without a basket. In the interim, we all moved one day closer to death.
While Michigan didn't look a whole lot better on offense, they were at least capable of occasionally putting the ball in the basket. Charles Matthews mostly dunked his way to 20 points to lead all scorers. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman chipped in 11 as the only other Wolverine in double figures. Others contributed. The screaming grew louder as the arena emptied. Both teams, haunted by visions of murder, failed to crack a point per possession.
The Wolverines face Houston, winners over San Diego State, at approximately 9:50 pm on Saturday. May the wailing of cursed souls cease by then.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]
is it over [Scott]
Jaaron Simmons made a significant contribution with Zavier Simpson in foul trouble. [Scott]
March 16th, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^
Give credit to Montana. They attempted to take Moe out of the game and were successful in doing so. That opened up things for Mathews who took advantage of it. Their trapping and overplaying of screens mostly blew up our high post action that Wagoner thrives on and they couldnt find him inside, even when he was open on the slips and rolls, because the guards couldnt see him or find the passing angle due to heavy pressure. Hope Beilein drills them on how to response to that stuff today.
As Beilein himself said they threw a lot of different looks out at them, for which it's impossible to prepare. Plus the lack of edge from not having played in a while.
This is the luxury that Virgina fans enjoy. A consistently elite defense means you can get back in any game, it's difficult to get blown out and you can weather cold shooting stretches. Plus, when the offense clicks you're tough to beat. Pretty nice!
If you watched the SDSU game which featured Mr Towel's longtime sidekick, Brian Dutcher, it was like watching Michigsn from the 80's all over again. Made me shudder.
March 16th, 2018 at 10:04 AM ^
defense is alive and well, apparently.
Lots of teams look a bit out of sync in their opening tournament game. We have a few times in the Beilein era - but other than in 2012, we've always managed to win anyway. There's a lot to adjust to - unfamiliar arena, opponent, and (often) officiating crew - plus the pressure of the situation.
I knew they would be a bit rusty and likely lost that "grinding" mentality that I liken to the mindset it takes to make a deep NHL playoff run. They were mentally there at the end of the B1G tourney. With that I was hoping Montana could push them for 30 minutes or so. This was a good game to get back in the flow and work thru that mental fog. I expect a more mentally focused and physically sharper effort against Houston and the man bun.
March 16th, 2018 at 11:22 AM ^
We all need to eat more bacon.
Eat at Arby's.
this game:
Michigan got a KenPom win vs a solidly top 100 team and all we could do after was wish for the sweet release of eternal sleep. Eat at Arby's.
And buy a f*cking Buick Enclave. There should be a law limiting ads after midnight. Fergodsakes.
Well, even if it wasn't pretty, we totally shut down Montana defensively in the second half and expanded a 3-point lead into double digits.
March 16th, 2018 at 10:22 AM ^
most of the first half deficit was with the starters in the game (except for MAAR, who drew the quick phantom foul). Some of the subs (especially Simmons, and also Brooks) helped to overcome the early deficit -- seems like they were having more success than the starters with the sloppy playground ball in the first half. As you point out, however, the starters played much better defense.
Two theories for the lack of substitution in the second half: (1) Beilein wanted to give the starting five a chance to shake off the rust and make some shots, or (2) Beilein was so discombobulated by the screaming lady that he went into a trance and forgot to substitute.
made him sit for most of the first half. That meant extensive minutes for simmons and even some play for eli brooks.
I had Parent-Teacher Conferences until 8:00 PM last night, had my 35-minute commute home and had to be back at my desk for 6:45 today, so there was no way I was watching the game. But I also couldn't sleep, so I ended up checking my phone a few times after I got the half-time alert saying we were up by three. Then I lost all track of time, so I couldn't end up placing why the game was taking so long to finish.
Now, it all makes perfect sense and I've never been happier to just see a scoreline and move on.
And now we get the late game again on Saturday. At least I can stay up for that one.
We are now for all intents and purposes in the Pacific Time Zone, because we don't do Daylight Saving Time. Made the late start a bit easier to deal with. That, and watching the game at the restaurant bar with only closed captioning while everyone else was watching UA make its usual early exit from the tournament. Oh, and the two martinis really helped...
/s
Daylight Saving Time sucks as much as Daylight Savings Time. They should both be thrown out... Can't we just have time?
Do to the fact we don't observe Daylight Savings Time, for all intensive purposes we are in the Pacific Time Zone?
(/s)
In the meantime, thanks for the tip re: Tunity.
March 16th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
*Specific Time Zone
FIFY
My neighbors in 2553 and 2557 were probably pissed becuase I was screaming at the TV at least a couple of times. After like the 3rd or forth fast break "throwaway," I f'ing lost it ... and after the never-ending scoreboard fiasco going into a media time out, I was ready to punch a kitten. (Not really but I'm just glad there were no kittens in my hotel room). Thinking of going to see a surgeon about removing all memories of that game from my brain ... as some said above, that was a Bill Frieder tourney game ... but we won! So all good. Also, suck it, Arizona. You busted my bracket but somehow that early ouster feels good.
Matt Shepard said it best on the radio. "It seems like the refs are having a convention at the scores table after every foul they call."
@danluceroshow
Montana just called a time out with 2:09 left and a fan sitting in front of us yelped "No!" like he'd just hit on 13 and busted. People are very sick of this game
sometimes what seems too simple isn't.
before you shoot, ask yourself: Is there a basketball game going on? If yes, DO NOT SHOOT, if no, it doesn't matter.
Rob
Then they could have avoided the collective swear words and groans across small sections of America still tuned in- most likely the disgusted M fans who had not gouged out their eyes, and the Griz faithful still hoping their intramural team had one more magical moment.
these guys also were airballing reverse lay ups and missing shots
also, cheers to all the "TAKE MATTHEWS OUT" hot takes. leading scorer and locked down 0. sometimes wonder if people are actually watching or just spouting off their biases. everyone looked rusty last night, not just CM.
Didn't notice. Then again, I watch the games with the volume way down. The announcers VERY rarely add any real insight into the game, and more often then not, will say something stupid and just get me riled up. Wife is much happier as well.
March 16th, 2018 at 10:28 AM ^
The announcers were dull as dirt. It's possible that they also said stupid things, but I had tuned out the drone by then.
here. I've muted most game's that I view without company.
Should be fine tomorrow night as long as Z stays out of foul trouble, he should be able to lock down man bun.
36 mins late tip after an already late tip time for us Michigan folks in EDT. Another 10-15 minute long scoreboard incident. Horrible offenses. MIchigan turnovers. The foulss. The screaming lady. Yack.
Great win though. Took a big punch at the beginning and clawed back. 2nd half was always keeping them at arms lenths. For a Kenpom top 80 team, our defense got them to take some UGLYYY looking shots.
Also, with the scoreboard incident, why on Earth would they take 5 extra minutes trying to see how long Z dribbled the ball before the refs realized the clock stopped working?
- The time wasted figuring out wasn't worth the effort.
- The play should have been blown dead whent the clock stopped working
- Michigan had to inbounds the ball with 7 seconds on the shot clock instead of what was actually happening with 7 seconds on the shot clock when the officials intervined (Zeke iso and driving the lane with a kickout attempt at three. Michigan was put into a unfair disadvantage due to the ref/equipment mistake.
The best thing to do in these situations is for the play to actually be blown dead at the moment the clock stops working. Even if the refs don't realize it for 10 seconds. Go back to where the clock stopped working and restart the play via a inbounds. This saves review time, and is fair to both teams in question.
I mean the commentators talked about it like all Z was doing was dribbling time off the clock, when we all know basketball is more than that. The rest of the team was clearing the path for an iso drive and kick opportunity and that takes time. What if it was a more intricate play design? What if, with 15 seconds on the clock, Michigan was running a play to get a shot up with 5 on the shot clock? 8 seconds into that play the refs blow the whistle for the playclock not working. Now instead of Michigan being 2 seconds away from an open shot being generated, they are inbounding the ball with 7 seconds left, and unable to run much if any sort of play after being force to inbounds in the backcourt, and getting a double team 42 feet from the basket with 4 seconds left. That is a decided disadvantage in a game that more often than not comes down to one or two possesions.
The extra late start time was brutal.
Houston is an hour behind us Michiganders. San Diego is three hours behind us. Why couldn't THAT be the late game?
March 16th, 2018 at 10:27 AM ^
Sorry, no. He used the time. Fix the clock. Get it right.
Now -- why it takes 5 minutes to count off seven seconds, I don't know. But it's not "fair to both teams" to give Michigan back the time they used. It is the players' responsibility to know the amount of time it takes to run the plays even if the shot clock is malfunctioning. (They check it, but they certainly can't stare at it and watch it count. :)
If you find a need to remove the impact to the team with possession, one way to do it is to stipulate that after a technical stoppage with the ball in the frontcourt, the offense has the right to take the ball inbounds in the backcourt without a defender present. In other words -- offense elects that option, informs the officials, the ball is moved to the backcourt at the sideline; all defenders must be in the frontcourt, and the ball must be brought into the backcourt.
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