[MBB] What was THAT?
An absolute tale of 2 halves. First half was exciting, up-tempo, intense. Everything was going great with this new look Wolverine team. Juwan Howard and his new-look team looked invincible.
Then about a quarter of the way through the second half everything just stopped. The wind came out of their sails for some reason and it looked like they started sleepwalking through the game. X looked unfocused and sloppy. The defense especially, in the paint, was nonexistent. They gave up so many easy layups down the lane. That game was just flat out weird.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:22 PM ^
It was a game that Michigan had a 30 point lead and took their foot off the gas and couldn’t get it back until they had to.
Yes, there is a lot to clean up but that is expected in game 1. Most progress happens from after the first few games. Just survive and advance. Still expect this team to make a deep run in March to the Elite 8 or further.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:27 PM ^
What makes you think this team should be expected to make the Elite 8 or beyond?
November 5th, 2019 at 9:32 PM ^
Completely throwing this game out. Any expectation that this team is going to the Elite 8 is based more on hope than reality and rationality.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:38 PM ^
Based on their roster, I’d happily take an NCAA Tournament appearance. I think that would be a huge accomplishment for this roster. They are not built to make a long run in March this year.
November 6th, 2019 at 2:04 AM ^
Did you watch teams #1-#4 that were also on tonight? I watched some of Michigan State and Kentucky and that game didn't seem particularly good (State seemed pretty uninspired - do you think that will kill their hype train - no way). I saw the last two minutes of Duke and Kansas and that looked ugly as hell and neither team made it out of the 60s (a real "defensive masterpiece" according to ESPN).
College basketball is a long season and no one looks like an Elite 8 team in November. Nobody.
November 6th, 2019 at 4:44 AM ^
I was referring to Michigan’s roster, not tonight’s game. The rosters of the teams you mentioned contain more high-level athletes and scorers.
November 6th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
Teske and Simpson, two battle-hardened senior veterans + versatile and athletic Livers + super frosh Franz Wagner + several other highly capable, up-and-coming young players? Yeah that roster looks awful, let's just drop the program right now.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:22 PM ^
First real game of the season? With a first time head coach?
November 5th, 2019 at 9:23 PM ^
Clean up turnovers and missed layups and that comeback never happens. I don't know what happened to X in the second half but we have enough data on him to be confident it won't happen again. Until proven otherwise, this is one of those weird early basketball season things. On a positive note, lots of stuff for the team to look at now for what NOT to do.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:23 PM ^
They probably aren't as good as the team that got up 30 nor as bad as the one that let up most of it. They've got stuff to work on, but it's also the first game of the season along with a new coach and philosophy.
I will warn people that this is not going to be like a Beilein season. It's going to be rough and there's a non-zero chance they just are...blah this year, especially with Wagner around. Adjust your expectations a bit.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:23 PM ^
If that game was 2 mins longer we lose. Can we never play app state in anything ever again plz
November 5th, 2019 at 9:24 PM ^
Some of the players looked and played like they were exhausted in the 2nd half. Need to improve endurance as well as the performance issues.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:25 PM ^
November 5th, 2019 at 9:25 PM ^
They just fell asleep.
I agree it was weird.
It was really good to see so many quality minutes from across the depth chart.
Zavier did not have a good night. At all.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:25 PM ^
Big ups to Eli Brooks. By far his best game a Wolverine. He’s going to go from a role player to a big-time contributor if he continues that kind of play. He was great.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:26 PM ^
When shots were dropping in the first half their confidence in the offense was impressive, BUT when things went south, their confidence folded like a card table.
Likely the worst game I’ve seen Simpson play. Obviously, it’s the first game yet I’m not so sure he’s all that comfortable with his roll in the new offense.
Crazy how a team can look so good and then look just as horrible all in the same game. Hopefully it’s a blessing that shows them they have a long way to go rather than early season overconfidence.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:29 PM ^
Gosh this reminds me of every single Saturday night for the past 2 1/2 months. My gosh... give them a chance to get rolling. I have faith in Juwan. He’s a great guy & coach.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:30 PM ^
The whole team has Funchess hands. Passes just clanging off of everyone.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:31 PM ^
Still figuring out speed in space
November 5th, 2019 at 9:31 PM ^
It was a win dipshit
November 5th, 2019 at 9:33 PM ^
Howard allowed the team to go soft. Can't be a nice guy / father figure. Needs to get in their f-ing face and kick an ass or two. Simpson was a HUGE disappointment ... foul trouble and then more turnovers than any game in his history. Is that X ? ... or might be on new Howard scheme and growing pains. TBD
November 5th, 2019 at 9:38 PM ^
That is my concern with Howard. Is he going to be a nice guy coach or is he going to rattle some cages?
November 5th, 2019 at 9:45 PM ^
He didn't seem too soft when we were up 30. We went through a rough 8-9 minutes - that sometimes happened under Beilein, too.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:53 PM ^
I think Beilein's offense was much better at milking the clock and continuing to score.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:23 PM ^
Based on one game?
November 6th, 2019 at 10:02 AM ^
Milking the clock, maybe. But they went through killer droughts too.
November 6th, 2019 at 9:24 AM ^
That doesn't make sense. They were up 30 and playing great, of course he was not going to rattle any cages. The issue is, when the team is not paying with any energy or focus, will be address it in the way that he needs to be. So far, there is a big "just one of the guys" vibe about Howard. The team played undisciplined yesterday, that is the best word for it. Beilein didn't really go after players that hard, individually, but he had so much clout that "proving himself" to players wasn't an issue. Juwan is going to need to go after a player or two to get their attention.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:59 PM ^
Recruits like Nimari have specifically said they are watching the first 10 games, to see how the coach acts, reacts, game plans, handles adversity, etc. The last thing you want to do is for him to lose his crap on the sidelines in the first game. He could lose the team and potential star recruits early.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:34 PM ^
anybody think they got a little tired in the second half? like maybe the up-tempo first half wore them out a bit?
November 5th, 2019 at 9:54 PM ^
Teske was gassed for sure, he spent many possessions in the 2nd half standing around. Not good for the focus player in the first half.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:35 PM ^
For me it’s not a question of being upset we nearly squandered a 30 point lead.,,for me it’s looking for little things —- that’s why I appreciated JB so much - his attention to detail which bled into his players and their play —— signs of poor close outs, lazy hands and sloppy footwork/positioning, getting lost in space and not connecting around the perimeter - those were bad signs against a poor team tonight. Offensively, if we think track meets and pick-up ball are going to win against the big dogs we are in for a surprise - correct the little things and correct the correctable items or this will be a 12 win team. Pay attention to detail and play less scattered the pieces are there to win 20.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:00 PM ^
They wont this year, but if he gets top talent they will. These are Beilein players who are used to playing Beilein style of play.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:36 PM ^
I’m assuming there wasn’t a water bottle and super soaker celebration in the locker room after the game?
November 5th, 2019 at 9:36 PM ^
The difference was Simpson sat almost the entire first half and michigan was better without him..
He sucks as a shooter, was a turnover waiting to happen tonight, and still sucks at shooting FT's...
Pretty obvious watching the offense was better when we went big and had Simpson gone from the lineup
November 6th, 2019 at 2:08 AM ^
that's a strong take. And you're a Michigan fan, you say? That's a lot of shit-talk about a senior point guard who has played his ass off for this program.
I agree he had an ugly night, but damn, have some faith.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:39 PM ^
Wow. Some people in this thread are way too negative. Team was up 30, App State switched to man, we went liquid helium cold, but we managed to hold on. It happens. It doesn't happen often to great teams, true. But were we expecting this team to be great? I think Ace's preview had us finishing 5th in the B1G.
I was encouraged by this game, and I was relatively high on M to begin with (I had us 4th in the B1G, and closer to 3rd than 5th).
X will be better; one game like this isn't enough to discount all of the data saying he's an excellent PG.
Brooks was a revelation.
The two high post game was amazing.
We looked dominant athletically until we fell asleep, which was a bit of a question with this team.
I remain cautiously optimistic.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:58 PM ^
Up 30 I think we all got overexcited, already commenting on the quality of the opponent (guilty). But they actually proved quite resilient and I'm curious how to see they finish in the Sun Belt.
November 6th, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
This was more about us than them! Similar to the Army game in Football, we played to their level. App St. will be bad this year, we showed we can play at a high level, just have to sustain it for 40 minutes.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:47 PM ^
Yes....yes i would.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:42 PM ^
It was a W
November 5th, 2019 at 9:46 PM ^
What was that? Michigan's basketball future.
This team won't win more than 15 games this year.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:50 PM ^
I'll take that bet. What's the wager?
November 5th, 2019 at 9:51 PM ^
1st game. Thought the rotation was weird. Need Brooks to keep it up and another guard, hopefully Franz.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:52 PM ^
At the point you describe, Teske - and the rest of the team - just started standing around, expecting something to happen. It's not a surprise they went into the drought. I noticed Teske the most though. He was so active in the first 25 minutes or so, and that it seemed like he just ran out of gas. Not good from a guy we're gonna need a lot of minutes from. I guess Juwan will need to manage the bigs' minutes better.
And X played his worst game in a long time. Brooks was a pleasant surprise. Team as a whole will need to play better D though, because I think these scoring droughts will be commonplace. Just not enough firepower it seems.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:53 PM ^
Hopefully Franz will deliver some of that firepower.
November 5th, 2019 at 10:00 PM ^
if cbs is correct, teske had 33 min; castleton only 11. howard has to shift more of those min to castleton to keep teske fresh.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:53 PM ^
Nimari Burnett is a very important recruit for Howard going forward. Itd be nice to land Moody as well. I have full faith that he will have the bigs playing well, Michigan needs some scorers in the back court. If I'm Todd and Dickinson, I'm licking my chops to play the post next year.
November 5th, 2019 at 9:55 PM ^
Not sure why the OP is getting negged. It's a pretty fair observation.
Up 30, they went into coast mode and lost all mojo. It was, nice (?), seeing Brooks and Z finish at the line, but wow, what a lackadaisical 15 minutes. My goodness how bad could it have been if Nunez didn't hit the 3 in the middle of it.
I definitely prefer coaching points in a W than a L, but they better get committed to 40 minutes.