Ohio State 71, Michigan 52
File photo, but whatever. [Patrick Barron/MGoBlog]
Shannon Scott pickpocketed Zak Irvin in the backcourt after a lazy crossover. Caris LeVert tossed an inbounds pass directly to an awaiting Buckeye, not even bothering to look at his intended target.
Michigan's top two scorers spent much of the second half on the bench, not because they weren't needed—the Wolverines were, in fact, getting blown out—but because whatever minuscule chance of a win they'd give the team wasn't worth John Beilein not sending a message. This team would've had a hard enough time upsetting the Buckeyes with everything clicking; instead, after some hot shooting from Irvin kept M in it early, sloppy mistake after sloppy mistake compounded the familiar offensive woes that have plagued this team for much of the season.
Lengthy scoring droughts in both halves led to OSU doubling up Michigan early in the second half, and even the final 19-point margin wasn't representative of the gap between the two teams for most of the game. Before M even scored a point in the second half, they trotted out a lineup of Derrick Walton, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Aubrey Dawkins, Kam Chatman, and Max Bielfeldt. It was no longer a contest, but a learning experience.
Let's hope the lesson sticks, because that was hard to watch.
January 14th, 2015 at 10:18 AM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 10:22 AM ^
Easy to lead a roster full of seniors and NBA players sans Novak
Anyone see Lebron with Cleveland this year? The leader narrative is being abused. We simply are young and lack certain skillsets (athleticim, shot blocking, ball handling)
January 14th, 2015 at 10:24 AM ^
Just doesn't look like it wants to play sometimes. Stark contrast between Ohio State's effort and ours last night. I don't question Beilein. I simply assume he gets the team prepared on x's and o's and puts them in the best position possible to execute. So it comes down to the desire and leadership of the players.
January 14th, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
It appears players that have been asked to do more this season are still adjusting to the role. There are times we just don't seem to get after it which puts us in bad situations. I liked the fact JB went to the bench and got kids some quality minutes. Hopefully a lesson to the starters as well. On to the next one, get the W!
#GOBLUE
January 14th, 2015 at 4:38 PM ^
Every game has looked like boys playing against men, and sadly we're the boys. We are severely lacking in athleticism and size. It also looks like we don't have any diamonds in the rough that come close to what we've had the past few years. Doyle is the only freshman who has shown anything and none of the sophmores have shown any improvement. Maryland and OSU have freshman scoring 20 points a game and we have ... Chatman. I've emotionally divested myself from this season out of necessity. I will always love watching M bbal but I have very little hope of making the tournament or winning any big games this year. I'm just hoping to be surprised, like with Dawkins in the Illinois game.
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