MBB vs. LSU postgame snowflakes

Very gritty and pretty performance. Eli and Chaundee hit some great threes against a team that gives that up they played pretty good defense on a potent offense with Cam Thomas, an absolute stud. Just a huge all around team effort. I loved how they fought back. The margin of error is smaller but this is still a dangerous, well-coached team. And they can still get better.

People forget - even if the BIG was allegedly overrated - M dominated for the first 3/4 of the season.  That LSU team was legit and M took their best punch and won relatively comfortably.  

This is just the type of game Michigan needed heading into the Sweet 16. LSU came out of the gates HOT with their NBA lottery pick(s) playing lights out - but Michigan never gave up. If they can win this type of game, the sky is the limit the rest of the way. Lets GO!!!!!!!

Excellent post. Watching the game live from high up, the difference between a playground team and a well-coached team was stark. Our off the ball movement, screening, cutting, and passing was incredible.  We had 22 assists vs 8 assists. Juwan Howard is turning us into Princeton with the talent of Kansas. We are going to have lots of fun for a long time. 

Officiating was sketchy on both sides--I felt Franz got away with a couple in the last 6 minutes or so of the game.  Dickinson seems to be developing a pattern of two stupid fouls a game, which he cannot continue.  Smith tonight...yeesh.  

Loved how we never gave up on making adjustments.  We had enough in our bag of tricks. 

Eli and Chaundee deserve the praise they are already getting.  I just wanted to give props to Wagner for coming on strong at the end.  He was having a pretty rough game but he hit that running hook shot and clutch three to seal it.

Agree Joby and first posts here.  Gritty win.   Thomas and Smart were amazing shooters, and this team hung together with special contributions from C. Brown and Eli to overcome.  Agree they can get better too.  Franz played great the last 6-7 minutes of the game.  Many on the team contributed big effort and answered the challenge.  Excited about tonight and the next game.

Go Blue ! 

Great synopsis. 

I'm hoping Smith can get his head straight. 

I think Howard will still start him, but he may be on a shorter leash against FSU.

I started noticing Johns quietly making the most of his minutes after the long COVID break. He definitely has the ability to break out.

This game is what the team needed. They got their game together when LSU came out hot and didn't play not to lose at the end. 

Williams has 7 assists on the season.   He had 3 tonight and has 5 for the tournament.

How can we get Wagner to play a full game the way he seems to in the last 5 to 10 minutes.

No matter what Chaundee decides to do next year, I will be a fan.

Wagner continues to go in and out of a coma.  He's passed on a ton of wide open shots the last two games and goes through spurts where I'm trying to figure out where his head is at.  Then tonight when Dickinson had to rest with 4 fouls, he played like an absolute stud.  And we desperately needed him to at that time.  No more comas and we're living a little less stressfully. 

The officiating will never change, unfortunately.  You have to play through it even if when it's as cartoonishly evil as it was tonight.  That makes the frosting on the victory cake even sweeter.

Kudos to the bench tonight too. 

Michigan drew 4 1 and 1 fouls in the 2nd half. They went 8-8. This was absolutely massive in this win. 

I legit don’t understand LSU’s defense.  They don’t contest shots and it appears to be by design. 

This was quite the test of mental fortitude for the team and they passed with flying colors. Mike Smith struggled with the size of LSU's guards, but I'm not too worried about him as he has been excellent for us all season. Lots to be excited about!

Gutsy gutsy game. This is the recipe for how you get to the final four without Livers. Lots of guys step up a little (Johns, Williams, Chaundee), good defense, good shooting. This still looks like a top 10 team to me. Why not us?

1) Our bench, led by Chaundee, had 26 points.  LSU's bench contributed 2.  Terrance Wiilams alone doubled LSU's bench production w 4.

2) We had 22 assists.  LSU had 8.

Ballgame!  The cream rises to the top, by god!

This is a fun group, has to be hard for an opponent to game plan when you never know who the offense will run through (other than Hunter).  I understand Smith was totally physically outmatched but the mental mistakes were shocking.  It looks like FSU also has big guards.  I wonder if we will see Eli at the point more often next game.

I heard Howard yelling "lets go" on offense many times trying to keep the pace up.  I really hope that continues.  When they allow Smith to dribble too much and Hunter to post up a bit too much the rest of the offense can't get involved.  The ball movement tonight helps everyone.

Best Monday in a long time. Fun to have my kids screaming in the house along with me

That was a solid March Madness win. If we continue to get great efforts from Johns, Brooks, and Brown, we can still make it to the Final Four.

Every win from here on out is gravy, especially without Livers. There are no easy games after the Sweet Sixteen.

Winning the Big Ten Championship and going to the Sweet Sixteen already makes this a great year. A Final Four without our best player would be legendary though. 

Eli had his best game as a Wolverine. 21 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, only 1 turnover. He kept them in the game at the beginning, helped them build the lead, and then helped them hold on to it. Great poise and leadership when they needed it the most. Go Blue!

 This weekend with the first extended competition without Livers had us ripe for an upset.  This team is still learning to play without Livers, with new rotations and line ups.  They can realistically improve more than any other team in the tournament from weekend to weekend.  FSU might be in for a surprise.

Don’t feel too bad for Smart. He already got his strong ass offer money.

I love how many fouls Johns draws. Seems like he is fouled nearly every time he gets the ball. 

Really, really gutsy win. LSU came out flying, shooting out of their minds. Michigan maintained their composure, chipped away and got back in it.

LSU couldn't keep up their pace, and it showed in the 2nd half. Michigan stayed sound and in control. Well done.

- Thought Juwan and coaches did a good job of adjusting defensively. Michigan played smarter basketball than LSU. They controlled the pace and style in the second half.

- Brooks absolutely kept us in the game early on. Clutch, clutch shooting. Chaundee was the difference maker in the 2nd - so good to see him get back on track!

- Smith had one terrible pass and one bad travel, but overall I thought he and the team did a good job breaking a pretty ferocious press. I especially when they broke it down completely a couple of times for dunks. He had a rough game - very challenging matchup for him.

- Toughness. Michigan attacked the board really hard, especially at the end. There was some serious fighting going on under the boards.

- Officiating. Jesus, the refs will not let anyone play any defense whatsoever. It take so much away from the game when half the players are in foul trouble, and every. single. drive. gets a whistle. Can't stand it.

Great sign Michigan defeated LSU at their own game.  86-78.  LSU averages 80pt a game.

UM can play you slow, they can play a track-meet, and defeat you any style you want.

The FSU game is gonna be brutal.  FSU is better than LSU. How much better?  We will find out Sunday evening when its practically guaranteed UM plays FSU prime-time on CBS.

Oh, and letting 25% of the stadium full of fans is a nice advantage for UM.  These are home games for UM, and it will be another home game vs FSU.