UCF 85, Michigan 71
Michigan Basketball's slide off the bubble and into the tournament danger zone continued in the final game of 2021. In need of simply a single decent non-conference win to pad the resume, the Wolverines could not get it amid a spectacular second-half collapse fueled by offensive droughts and memorable shooting dominance from the Golden Knights' Darin Green Jr. and Brandon Mahan. After leading 35-31 at halftime— and 49-37 with 16 minutes to go— Michigan lost 85-71 to UCF. At 7-5 and with no real quality wins to speak of heading into the meat of conference play, Michigan Basketball is in trouble.
The first half went alright for the Wolverines. DeVante' Jones scored 7 points on 3/5 shooting and snagged five boards, also helping Michigan break UCF's occasional full-court press. Hunter Dickinson and Moussa Diabate both had their struggles around the basket due to Pitt big man Cheikh Mbacke Diong, but Eli Brooks added a couple early buckets that bolstered Michigan's offense. On the UCF side, the first twenty minutes were all about Darin Green Jr., who went 6/8 from the field (including 4/6 from three), carrying an otherwise very poor offense forward. After a dunk at the buzzer was waived off, Michigan took a 35-31 lead into the break and felt okay.
That feeling got even better after a strong start to the second half. Michigan embarked on a 9-1 run in the first 2:21 of the second half, including a Devante' Jones three pointer, Diabate going 2/2 from the line, a beautiful drive and pass from Eli Brooks to set up a Hunter Dickinson jam, and then a Jones steal on the ensuing in-bounds pass leading to an Eli bucket. Michigan led 44-32 and forced UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins to call timeout. Another minute+ bled off the clock and the margin stayed consistent, with Michigan up by that 49-37 edge I mentioned in the first paragraph. That's when things went off the rails.
At least Devante' Jones wasn't bad on offense! [Campredon]
Despite a middling first half, Brandon Mahan started to turn it on, nailing back-to-back threes and scoring eight straight UCF points. After he got a little help from Darin Green Jr., Michigan was really in trouble. Over the span of just 4:15 of game time, the Golden Knights embarked on an 18-2 run (!!!!). 14 of the 18 points were from Mahan and Green Jr. Michigan's offense ran dry over that stretch and those two scorers made tough shots off the dribble, even when Michigan was able to track them off switches (wasn't always the case). The home UCF crowd may not have been plentiful, but they got loud in this stretch of the game and the Wolverines appeared rattled.
An Eli Brooks jumper trimmed the score to 57-56 but Mahan knocked down another three and a crucial swing moment occurred: Terrance Williams II dribbled down the court and went up for a layup against a UCF defender who appeared to have his foot on the restricted circle. The collision was ruled an offensive foul and with the emotions flowing, Juwan Howard was whistled for a technical foul. Mahan made both free throws and Michigan trailed by six.
Kobe Bufkin was a pleasant sign on offense [Campredon]
Still, the Maize & Blue fought back to within one score with over seven minutes to play. That's when the offense stalled as several floaters and tip-ins from seemingly every player glanced off the rim and out. Michigan scored one point over a four minute stretch, during which UCF stretched the lead to nine. By the time Michigan finally made a FG, there were just over three minutes to play.
UCF's offense couldn't be stopped in part because Mahan and Green Jr. couldn't miss. Some of that was Michigan leaving those players open on occasion, but again, even when covered, they were dead-on. The second half box score is staggering. UCF shot 72% from the field and went 8/8 on threes. Mahan and Green Jr. combined for 11/12 from the field and accounted for all eight three pointers, summing for 33 points. UCF also went to the line 13 times and made 10 of them, hanging 54 on Michigan in the second half. Even in the waning moments when Kobe Bufkin and Eli Brooks added late threes, the UCF sharpshooters answered every time. The margin didn't budge and then UCF added a few free throws to win by 14.
In total, Michigan shot 40% from both the field and three, actually knocking down shots from distance but not effective enough inside, and when you're up against shooters converting at the clip that UCF's did, it was going to take a lot more. Eli Brooks led the way with 18 points for the Wolverines. Michigan is now 7-5 and reeling yet again, with the B1G schedule about to really hit full swing. The team will be in Piscataway, NJ, to take on Rutgers on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM EST.
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December 31st, 2021 at 2:26 PM ^
Got to give Jones credit because I’ve criticized him a ton— he took and made threes this game like he should. What’s becoming clearer is that the crappy shooting is less of an issue than the utterly horrible defense.
If you were wondering why the NBA had little interest in Dickinson last year despite his success, you’re seeing it now: he gets annihilated trying to defend athletic guys, whether that’s on a switch or a twitchy big. That means he’d be unable to guard 100% of the players on a typical NBA court and it’s showing up more and more in the college game as well. He also has plays where he clearly predetermines that he’s going to attempt to get a steal that are invariably obvious fouls.
I hate the narrative that “oh bad luck guards just make impossible shots against Michigan.” It’s bullshit. In every game some improbable shots go in. Jones hit like a 32 foot three pointer with the shot clock expiring in this very game. You remember those because they were improbable, but Michigan is getting creamed by the 100 other wide open looks they are giving up to guys on the perimeter, like the astonishing sequence where Brandon Johns was playing zone while literally everyone else was in man. It’s not bad luck that the opposition’s guards are always at or near career games against Michigan. It’s horrible defense on the perimeter. We all remember the tough shots that went in, but they are not the problem. The problem is a guy standing with no one near him shooting a wide open three; it’s guys giving up way to much room on screens; it’s whatever the fuck inattention that let Dickinson switch out to cover their shooting guard. And it’s not getting better.
December 31st, 2021 at 11:52 PM ^
When you anoint someone and not make them earn it, things often turn out poorly. Shea Patterson, Drew Henson and now Caleb Houstan. All 5 stars handed starting rolls. Nothing against them as individuals - if coach wants to anoint you, how could you decline it? From Little League to the corporate boardroom and the halls of congress, it happens everywhere. Houstan is averaging 31 minutes per game - more than anyone other than Eli. More than even Hunter. Now Caleb may some day be an NBA HOFer but right now he's not good at basketball. I known this may be a little harsh, but when he's on the court UM is playing 4 on 5. Put him in a rotation with Williams and Bufkin, playing the hot hand of the three the most minutes - problem solved. Sorry I'm bashing a player I hope to some day soon be a huge fan of - but that's what I'm seeing.
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