Michigan 84, Purdue 78 (2OT)
This was not your standard KenPom cover.
Michigan overcame the continued absence of Isaiah Livers, a titanic performance from Trevion Williams, another woeful shooting night from beyond the arc, untimely missed free throws, and getting hammered on the glass to beat Purdue in double overtime, 84-78.
It took a wild sequence of events to even reach overtime. Williams, having the game of his life, beat the shot clock with a contested stepback three-pointer—his second made triple of the season—to give Purdue a late one-point edge. Zavier Simpson responded by splitting a screen and hitting a difficult layup over Williams for the tie. Williams hit right back with a drop step spin move that caused a Jon Teske goaltend. After a Michigan timeout, Simpson maneuvered by a Teske screen and snuck a finish under Williams from the left side to knot it back up. On the final possession of regulation, Franz Wagner blocked Williams from behind after he appeared to be alone under the hoop for a buzzer-beating layup.
you're kidding me right [Campredon]
The first overtime saw Simpson go back-and-forth with Williams. The final two baskets of the session were a Williams post finish off his seemingly unstoppable spin move and Simpson blowing by the entire Purdue defense for a lefty layup. After an impressive David DeJulius stop on Eric Hunter Jr. that may have featured a missed shot clock violation, Simpson nearly ended the proceedings with a halfcourt bank shot that rimmed out.
Those who survived to see the second overtime received some respite as Michigan was able to build a lead for the first time all game. Teske completed an and-one from DeJulius, Simpson drilled a spot-up three, DeJulius found Wagner in the corner for another from long range, and Michigan opened up a nine-point gap before the Boilermakers scored their first point of the period. When Purdue responded with a quick four-point run, DDJ canned a stepback jumper, then he and Simpson iced the game at the line. I have skipped over multiple protracted and useless reviews for the sake of narrative and sanity.
This was not an easy watch. Williams was practically unstoppable, posting career highs with 36 points and 20 rebounds with two assists, a block, no turnovers, and only two fouls in 44 physical minutes. On offense, at least, he more than made up for the sudden absence of fellow big man Matt Haarms, who left the game in the first half with an upper body injury and did not return. Meanwhile, Michigan made only five of their first 26 three-pointers before going two-for-three in the second overtime.
NEIN [Campredon]
But Purdue received little in the way of secondary scoring. All 14 of Isaiah Thompson's points came in a surprising second-half burst, while Hunter went 4-for-14 from the field on his journey to ten points. Simpson took advantage of Haarms's absence with repeated forays to the rim, scoring 22 points and making all nine of his two-point attempts in addition to handing out nine assists; all but four of his points came after halftime.
Teske was no slouch himself, tallying 18 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, and a steal in 39 minutes while being tasked with guarding the 270-pound Williams one-on-one with little to no help. The strategy eventually paid off when Michigan's shooting finally came around late; it was generally sound, too, as Purdue couldn't crack a point per possession.
The game featured 17 lead changes, 11 ties, and no lead greater than five points by either team until the second overtime. You are right to feel emotionally exhausted.
The win draws Michigan level in the Big Ten standings at 2-2 while also moving them ahead of the Boilermakers, who drop to 2-3. While they'll need to overcome a quick turnaround and the near-impossibility of winning on the road in the Big Ten this year, they'll move above .500 if they can beat Minnesota in The Barn on Sunday.
Try to at least regain your breath before then.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]
January 10th, 2020 at 3:47 PM ^
There was no fucking block
January 9th, 2020 at 11:30 PM ^
Gotta give Matt Painter props for taking a chance on Williams, developing him, and the in-game adjustment when Haarms was injured. He's one of the best in our league.
Gotta give Juwan Howard credit for sticking with the three guard lineup the latter half of the game--it was a difference maker. I suspect adjustments will be made the second time around, but the philosophy of forcing volume twos is sound.
Franz made multiple clutch plays at key points of this game, while still mostly letting the game come to him. He was a defensive nuisance on the perimeter. Fully expect and look forward to him becoming more assertive on offense as the season progresses and make us a better team at tournament time than we are today.
January 10th, 2020 at 12:03 AM ^
He was only a nuisance when guarding Thompson, who is WAY quicker than him, I thought that was a terrible matchup especially since Eli and X were on the court. Juwan switched it after getting burnt for about 4 straight minutes then Wagner was fine on D.
January 10th, 2020 at 9:03 AM ^
I think he meant a nuisance to the other team?
January 9th, 2020 at 11:37 PM ^
Man am I going to miss Simpson. Hes a straight up OG and one of the best leaders in all of UM sports history.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:44 PM ^
Maybe the best game by DDJ thus far, especially on defense and running the offense.
Still, I dread losing Simpson next year. Hopefully, David and Eli will both continue to improve this year.
Can’t believe how bad our 3 point shooting has been lately.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:59 PM ^
Nice crowd tonight. Got electric for the last 12 minutes of the game (2 in reg and both OTs).
I hope when Livers comes back Eli gets fewer minutes, he’s lost his swagger and he’s back to being a good rotation player, but that’s his ceiling. If we need him to play 80% of the minutes we’re going to be in trouble.
Johns needs to be more confident pulling the trigger, he’s passing up a lot of open 3s, in the pregame/halftime shoot around he knocks them down with ease. He looks great driving to the hoop. I think he’ll be significantly better come March.
rotation as I see it should be...
Livers/X-90-95% minutes
teske/Franz-75-80%
DDJ/Johns 30-70% depending on matchup and progression.
Eli-25%
Castleton/Davis/Nunez - 5%
January 10th, 2020 at 9:13 AM ^
His ceiling is the BEST we might expect from him, and since he played very well up until the last three games we may hope for considerably better. He also played lights-out D last night, which the casual fan spends a lot less time noticing.
January 10th, 2020 at 12:08 AM ^
Watching the game on mute....
Simpson saved the game. DDJ needs to learn how to finish at rim, especially the hook, before Simpson leaves. DDJ can really handle the ball and has alot of O in him.
Brooks wasn't effective tonight but he will have good games in spots. There were a few times his defender lunged air at Brooks while threatening the three... wonder why he didn't jump into the guy obviously out of control, and get the three free throws while launching the ball...twice it blatantly happened and Brooks just didn't seem aware.
Davis is an underrated player and I'll be bummed if he isn't asked back next year, because we will need him.
Castelton hs some serious skills but his body type can't handle the bigs until he adds a real 35 lbs. A shame because he might be really good but I just don't see his frame changing.
Johns seems on verge of a scoring uptick..isn't finishing at rim but he's going to hole stronger and the confidence will come.
Wagner I'm hoping for the metamorphosis....he is learning the American game and I think he will take off next year. Maybe it happens this season, but he still hasn't played every type of team and player. I think I saw improved defensive positional awareness tonight.
The free throw shooting was off unfortuately. Wonder if they were tired from the MSU game.
In the game thread people were ripping the team... let's not forget the new coach just beat Matt Painter who is no slouch, ever. This was a good win, and am surprised Simpson saved it because that kid Williams was in the zone...
January 10th, 2020 at 12:28 AM ^
Yeah, Williams was in the zone alright. Kind of like Winston on Sunday, and Isaiah Thompson in that stretch in the 2nd half. Teske is a good defensive player, with a good record against some of the best teams in the country over the last several years. Williams threw up a lot of tough shots that went in.
January 10th, 2020 at 12:55 AM ^
That was probably the best defensive performance by a guy who mainly defended a dude with 36 points. Williams got some easy ones with good moves but also hit a bunch of seriously contested shots to say nothing of the stepback 17 footer and then the gotdamned stepback 3. None of their other guys were hitting outside of Thompson in that early 2nd half stretch so they fed Trevion over and over and Teske stayed in the game while making it tough.
Also please start making free throws more...
January 10th, 2020 at 1:01 AM ^
Couple bullets:
1. I don't agree this was sound defensive strategy. Purdue is a terrible offensive team that exceeded their expected ppp on the road. They just scored 37 against Illinois. 37! They scored 56 against Nebraska. Williams had an Ortg of 134.5. That's incredible on massive usage. The rest of the team was under 90 combined. You absolutely have to shift some of that usage.
I said this after the Iowa game, too. Michigan is coaching like it's the NBA with a bunch of 45% 3-point shooters surrounding bigs that will find them if you leave them. This isn't the NBA.
College bigs aren't as good when doubled and pressured and the shooters around them aren't good enough that you have to minimize threes at all costs. Especially with the new three point line. M seems to have a singular defensive strategy and they refuse to adjust in the face overwhelming evidence they need to mix it up.
Aaron Wheeler is a 23% 3 pt shooter (on 65 attempts!). Leave him to double sometimes fergodsakes. Eric Hunter was the only guy on the floor down the stretch that shoots over 35% from three. Purdue is a bad three point shooting team (33%!). Are we not scouting at all? You don't need to stick to these guys like glue when you're being owned for 1.35 points per possession in the post.
Michigan is the 9th best defensive team in the conference right now. That's not good.
2. That said, I am surprised how badly Teske is getting owned in the post. Absolutely dominated. I'm honestly not sure it was better having him in there than it would have been to have Davis in there (until Davis fouled out, at least).
3. I am glad the staff gave us the small ball lineup and it paid off. Stretch four is Wagner's natural position and those are Michigan's best five players. Having Brooks, DDJ and Wagner spread the floor around Z and Teske running the pick and roll and it opened up those drives for Z, some rolls for Teske and then the threes came. It helped that Purdue went small but I hope to see more of it as long as Livers is out.
4. I like how Brian just wrote a column in which he said we are all richer for having watched Simpson play. We are. He gets a surprising amount of flak around here considering how important he's been to Michigan's excellent three year stretch. He is not a Naismith level player like Winston or Burke. But c'mon, not many guys are. He was brilliant tonight and he will be missed.
January 10th, 2020 at 1:11 AM ^
Zavier raises the floor of this team significantly. Some people around here, especially with the uptick in recruiting presence, act like he's replacement level.
We lose at MSU by 35+ with a replacement level player and by 15+ here.
He is not a dynamic scorer, but he has willed our team to many wins that we maybe shouldn't have won otherwise. He's not Burke, but he is easily the number 2 point guard since the beginning of the Beilein era.
I mean Juwan knows it too. He was elated after the game and said exactly what everybody should know - Zavier is one of the best point guards, players, and leaders in America. I really think some people in the fanbase underestimate how much he means to this program
January 10th, 2020 at 1:28 AM ^
Agreed on all points.
I was also surprised that Howard didn't call a timeout when we got the ball back and there were two seconds left (before Z's heave). I know in some situations, after calling a timeout, the ball is advanced to half court - if so, that would have been worth doing.
January 10th, 2020 at 2:26 AM ^
I think that's only in the NBA that the ball gets advanced.
January 10th, 2020 at 6:51 AM ^
270 lbs of Williams with 2 fouls in 44 minutes of shoving guys all over the floor - on our home court - is an F-ING crime. Teske does that on the road and for sure gets fouled out.
January 10th, 2020 at 9:21 AM ^
Yes. Officials engaged in some serious pity non-calls on Williams.
For me, the irony is if Harms doesn't get hurt I'm sure the refs call way more fouls on Williams to the point where he has to sit for stretches and probably fouls out. The things they let him get away with on Purdue's offensive end were absurd. Especially when Teske got called for two touch fouls.
January 10th, 2020 at 8:00 AM ^
DDJ has to be on the court. While he may not be a superstar, he is one of the best (maybe the best?) natural athletes on this team.
Also, at what point is this team just truly a "bad" shooting team? Someone is going to have to fill the void. Livers can shoot, obviously so when he is back there is one...I think we need Wagner to really find his stroke. At times he looks like he has it but down the stretch and to succeed in the big ten this team needs to dangerous guys from three and the rest of this team is having trouble even hitting the rim. Wagner just looks like he is close to being a fairly consistent, solid, three point shooter.
January 10th, 2020 at 9:12 AM ^
Two quick things.
1. I don't think this counts as a KenPom cover. I am pretty sure he considers all overtime games as ties for his system, which makes sense.
2. It's a little alarming that in 3 of 4 B1G games the opposition's best player has posted a career high. Granted UM has won 2 of those 3, but it's a little scary to see.
January 10th, 2020 at 9:24 AM ^
It's a clunky ass shooting team. There will be ups and plenty of down spells. The season will be a grind.
If they get into March Madness and advance a round or perhaps two if they are shooting ok, then I would call that a successful season.
January 10th, 2020 at 10:13 AM ^
Watch the damn video...
JT was clearly short.
January 10th, 2020 at 10:34 AM ^
X/Z was 8-for-8 on 2-point shooting. Incredible performance down the stretch.
January 10th, 2020 at 10:49 AM ^
Man, I love this team, but there has been a certain hair-on-fire quality to their play since they came back from the Bahamas and especially since Livers went out. They have a lot of talent and ability and they typically bring a strong effort every game. But they lack game/situational awareness that put this win in jeopardy and cost them the game against Oregon.
This was a good W - and I like that they found a way to win. But Michigan made it tougher than it had to be. Purdue's best big man and scorer got hurt but it didn't matter because their other big man WENT OFF. And while most of Williams' buckets were tough shots against good defense (even Davis d'ed him up pretty well a few times but he still scored), Michigan didn't double or help Teske on those possessions - nor did they foul him. Late in OT, Williams was at the line and they flashed his stats - he had 30 something points - and a 45% FT shooter. I said 'why weren't they fouling the hell out of him the whole time? Or at least when he got hot?' Also - if the rest of the team can't shoot to save its life - send some doubles. This marks the 4th player to have a career day against Michigan in recent weeks; Garza, Pritchard and Winston all torched Michigan but they made no adjustments to deal with them.
Some other little things could've helped Michigan end the game sooner: late in the game Eli pumped, got his man flying through the air and drew contact, but he didn't shoot it. That's recognition - if he lets it fly that becomes 3 shots at the line. Instead he pulled it down and it was M's ball out of bounds because Purdue wasn't in the bonus yet. Eli later missed 2 at the line and my heart sank (FT shooting was another problem). At one point late in 2OT, off an inbound Franz gave it up to DDJ who had been a spotty FT shooter all night. I think DDJ finally hit both on that trip, but Franz - you're the better shooter - hold onto it, absorb the foul, hit the shots. Also, I thought M should've called a timeout when Simpson was pushing up the floor for a last second shot. But I guess Juwan thought Simpson was going to put his head down and take it to the rack (which is understandable I guess?).
This team has so much going for it, but it pains me to see them fight themselves in these games. Take care of even a few of those little things and this is an easier victory. They have to figure it out for conference play which is going to be brutal.
January 10th, 2020 at 1:12 PM ^
we won but this was a very troubling performance last night...Howard had no answers and we were exremely fortunate to get out Alive AT HOME
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