kofi cockburn

It started as The Alfonso Plummer Game and it ended as the Michigan Can't Defend A Ball Screen Game. Either way you look at it, due to a convergence of factors, Michigan's defensive effort today against Illinois at Crisler Center was wretched. In the process, it doomed the home team to a 93-85 loss on Sunday afternoon, despite a valiant comeback late that came up just short. With only three games left in the season, the 15-12 Wolverines are now likely in need of two wins in the final week of the regular season to feel good about the NCAA Tournament entering the B1G Tourney in Indianapolis. 

The opening of the game was a torrid explosion from the Illinois shooters, and more specifically, Alfonso Plummer. The journeyman wing sniper shoveled in threes like coal into a steam engine, shooting 7/11 from the floor in the first half, including 5/8 from distance, plus 4/6 at the stripe for a whopping 23 points. Michigan lost track of Plummer on a few occasions, but he was also knocking down difficult shots off the dribble from way outside. The ole heatcheck shots, as they call them. The Illini offense was not nearly as successful outside of Plummer, with the squad mustering barely 40% from two, but shooting 8/14 from three point range will take you far. Trent Frazier and Kofi Cockburn were tied with 8 points in the first half. 

Michigan was unable to properly keep pace with Illinois' shooting explosion in that first half, but they did manage to enter the half only down eight. They did it despite making just two three pointers in that first half and despite only one player having a truly satisfactory offensive half. That would be Caleb Houstan, who led the Wolverines with 11 points, including 2/2 from three. The bigs struggled, though, with Dickinson and Diabate combining to shoot 4/14 from the floor. Dickinson in particular was not attacking the rim with enough strength, settling for awkward 6-8 foot floaters that were clanging out. Still, Michigan banked eight points at the line, did enough to limit turnovers, and entered the break down only 46-38. 

[Campredon]

It was in the second half that Michigan's defensive issues grew from "the other team is shooting the lights out and we're occasionally contributing to that" to "total schematic meltdown in the ball screen game". Though Illinois managed to shoot 67% from three in the second half, it came on just three attempts. The reason? They didn't need to attempt threes because the Fighting Illini shot a scorching 71% from two in the second half. Why try a three pointer when you can walk into the paint untouched for an easy deuce? That was the storyline. Illinois' ballscreens just obliterated the Michigan defense, with Brad Underwood using Kofi Cockburn's body like a fullback, clearing easy lanes to the rim. Often times, the penetrator would lay it off to Cockburn once inside, and the big man hung 19 on Michigan on 7/8 from the floor in the half. 

Michigan's offense struggled to keep pace with the sieve that was their defense, and the margin expanded to 15 points with 9:32 to go. The game started to seem over, but that's when DeVante' Jones put on his superhero cape. After Diabate had begun to trim the lead back to ~10, Jones took over, drawing a foul at the three point line and making all three, before knocking down a three on Michigan's next trip down the floor. Suddenly, the score was 76-71 Illinois with 6:32 to go. The Illini responded with a quick spurt of their own, highlighting some of Jones' defensive issues, getting two easy driving layups off screens for Andre Curbelo and Frazier. 

DeVante' Jones helped lead Michigan back [Campredon]

Michigan and Jones weren't done, though. Jones made a layup and after an Illinois turnover, he swished a couple free throws to trim it back to four, now with 3:12 left. Dickinson was hit with a tough foul, but Coleman Hawkins made just one of two at the line, and a transition three by Houstan forty seconds later sent Crisler into a frenzy: Illinois led just 82-80 with 2:03 to play. That was the end of the comeback, unfortunately. Kofi Cockburn made a hook shot, Houstan came up short on a layup attempt (possible foul was not called), Illinois snagged an OREB on a Jacob Grandison missed three that kicked off the heel, and then Trent Frazier knocked down a pull-up trey. 87-80 Illinois with 45 seconds left... goodnight. The teams traded makes and free throws in the final seconds, but the margin didn't budge much. Final score: Illinois 93, Michigan 85. 

In the end, Michigan lost this game because they let the opponent score 93 points on 57% from the field. It is very difficult to win a basketball game when your ball screen defense was as poor as Michigan's, and the fact they were within a bucket with under a minute to go despite playing that sort of interior defense, is pretty miraculous. Jones was not great defensively, but his 25 points helped keep Michigan in it, as did Houstan's 21. The big men did not pull their weight on offense, and the defense eliminated much of any chance of winning. 

The Wolverines now are 15-12 and 9-8 in the conference, with three games remaining. Those are home games against Michigan State and Iowa, followed by a road game against Ohio State. The goal should be to go 2-1 in those remaining three to shore up the tournament odds heading into Indianapolis. The next one, against the Spartans on Tuesday night, is a huge one. That game is scheduled for Tuesday night at 8:30 PM EST and will be broadcasted on FS1. 

[Click the JUMP for the box score]

If there are such thing as moral victories when your season is on the rocks, tonight is one. With just nine bodies, two of which were the seldom used Jaron Faulds and Jace Howard, Michigan Basketball managed to hang with #25 Illinois for all of 35 minutes tonight, before the heavily favored Illini pulled away at the end en route to a 68-53 victory. Many fans expected a blowout from the jump, after it was announced that Hunter Dickinson could not go in what was set to be a premiere clash with Kofi Cockburn, but the Wolverines hung tough and in the process, put together maybe their best emotional effort of the season. Problem is, it was still a loss, and that's why Michigan is now 7-7 and in massive trouble. 

As expected, the Wolverines were brutal offensively with this particular lineup. It was a surprisingly high level of defensive compete that kept them in the game for most of the contest, in addition to a high offensive rebounding clip. Michigan was tight with Illinois from the very beginning, with both teams trading scores until the first eight minutes ended tied at 10 apiece. In that stretch was the morsel that epitomized how the first 35 minutes went for the visitors: 6'7" Jace Howard swatting 7'0" Kofi Cockburn. Something no one could have imagined happening back in October.

Part of the reason that happened, however, was the bad news that struck Michigan in the first eight minutes, when Moussa Diabate, Michigan's lone scholarship player capable of playing the five available, took his second foul on a stupid over the back just five minutes in. To the bench went the Frenchman and Michigan was forced to bring Faulds out, as well as Howard to try and cobble together small ball lineups to hang in there. Which, as the Jace block showed, went far better than anyone anticipated. 

Not exactly the size matchup we wanted, but hey we got a cool block out of it! [Campredon]

The first half continued in back-and-forth fashion with both teams bricking three pointer after three pointer. The two squads combined to start the game 0/12 from distance when Alfonso Plummer finally made a three with 6:09 remaining in the first half. At the time, it stretched the Illinois lead to seven, which would soon jump up to nine, but Michigan was not done. DeVante' Jones, who played one of his best games in a Michigan uniform, poured in the next six points for his team to cut the Fighting Illini lead back down to three. Illinois had a couple answers from Cockburn sandwiched around a Jones three pointer, and it was 26-22 at the break in favor of the home team. 

The second half was a constant battle between Illinois trying to run away and Michigan making it close again through a combination of defense, hustle (notably offensive rebounds), and contributions from surprising places. The youth movement took full force to start the latter stanza, as Michigan's first nine points in the second half were scored by freshmen, with Kobe Bufkin and Frankie Collins getting an extensive run for the Wolverines. Illinois would stretch it to 8 or 10, and then Michigan would answer and cut it to one score, and the cycle would repeat itself. 

Indeed, Michigan was running up the floor with the ball down just one with a little over seven minutes to play after a Kobe Bufkin steal. That possession would come up empty, though, and a couple turnover-riddled possessions + productive Illinois offensive trips later and it was a 7-0 Illini run in the span of about a minute. Michigan then trailed by eight with just 5:36 to go. That was the moment when the car ran out of gas and a quick closing spurt by Trent Frazier was enough to slam the door and the ranked Illini won. The final was 68-53, but the game as outlined above, was much closer for the first 35 minutes or so. It was just the ending that got away. 

Some more Frankie and Kobe please? [Campredon]

Jones led Michigan with 17 points; no other Wolverine scored in double figures. The point guard was a reasonably efficient 7/16 from the field, and 1/2 from three. No other player made a three pointer, and the rest of the team combined to shoot just 34% overall. The 15 offensive rebounds help, but part of that stat is a function of missing so many shots. It was ugly offensively. There were some brief moments of brilliance from Kobe Bufkin and Frankie Collins that merit more of a look, but the two also combined for four turnovers. If nothing else, perhaps this effort forces Juwan Howard to give the reserve freshmen more of a look. 

The one freshman consistently in the starting lineup, Caleb Houstan, continued his skid. He was a woeful 2/9 from the field and 0/4 from three, now 2 for his last 21 from three in the past five games. Woof. Moussa Diabate showed the whole Moussa experience, inopportune fouls, solid defense, offensive potential, but also wildness and turnovers. Both Faulds and Howard were ofer from the floor, while Eli Brooks scored just seven points on 3/11 shooting. Not good enough. It was a good team effort to hang tough shorthanded, but wins are going to be needed ASAP for a team that's now lost three straight and four of five. 

Michigan is now 7-7 and 1-3 in the conference, facing a crucial week against Indiana and Maryland. That matchup with the Terps is at 7:00 on Tuesday night on ESPN2. There is no content after the jump. 

2021-22 B1G Basketball Season Preview... previously: Season preview podcast, Power Rankings Lower Half

Yesterday we covered the lower half of the B1G and ranked teams 14-8. Today we will be doing the same but for the upper half of the conference, talking less about despair and more about hope and pivotal questions that could define the seasons. Our first entrant in this article is also a new face in the conference: 

7. Indiana

Projected starting lineup:

• G, Xavier Johnson
• G, Parker Stewart
• F, Miller Kopp
• F, Race Thompson
• F, Trayce Jackson-Davis

Mike Woodson takes over in Bloomington and if he wants to begin his era off on the right foot, making the NCAA Tournament is a good way to begin. Luckily for him, the Hoosiers have a high floor by returning Trayce Jackson-Davis, who is a B1G Player of the Year candidate. TJD is an elite rebounder who gets to the stripe at an incredibly high rate, in addition to soaking up a ginormous volume of possessions. Indiana leans on him heavily, but whether the Hoosiers wind up in March Madness probably depends on whether or not they find impact players besides TJD.

Race Thompson returns as well, a slightly smaller and far less used version of TJD. He rebounds, blocks, and gets to the line just like the IU star, but his usage is indicative of a role player and not a star. Thompson should be in line for a bigger job this season, but if he is, then you have a situation where both of IU’s two biggest pieces can’t shoot from outside, which raises relevant questions about floor spacing and the ability of this team to pack the perimeter punch. Rob Phinisee returns as a guard off the bench, but he certainly won’t add that three-point shooting (career 29.8%).

The rest of the roster consists of new players that Woodson has imported to Indiana. Xavier Johnson is a high usage PG from Pitt who will be expected to run the offense but he, too, has struggled from three in his career and could best be described up to this point as a “turnover machine”. Perhaps a reduced role akin to Mike Smith last year could reign some of the wildness in and make him take better shots. Parker Stewart sat out last season after transferring from UT-Martin and is supposed to be the sharp-shooter that this roster lacks. Miller Kopp could bring some perimeter shooting from the wing position if he’s more 2019-20 (39.6%) than 2021-21 (32.0%), after arriving from Northwestern. Tamar Bates also should play a role as a top 50 recruit off the bench. 

To me, Indiana starts out as a bubble team. They won’t be terrible, because of TJD and to a lesser extent, Thompson. But outside shooting is the crucial factor as to whether IU is another Archie-style bellyflop or a genuinely encouraging 8-9 seed type team, which is mostly a function of how well all the offseason shopping this program did in the transfer portal really went. Though Woodson has no recruits of his own on this roster, we’ll get a decent temperature of how he is as a B1G coach in year #1 based on how well he can integrate the fresh faces.

6. Michigan State

Projected lineup:

• G, Tyson Walker
• G, Max Christie
• F, Gabe Brown
• F, Joey Hauser
• F, Marcus Bingham

Michigan State missed Cassius Winston like a baby misses its pacifier last season, cycling through a number of PG options and never really landing on one until their season ran out in the NCAA Tournament’s play-in game against UCLA (haha, losers, what kind of team loses to UCLA?). Tom Izzo thinks he may have solved that problem by reeling in PG transfer Tyson Walker from Northeastern. Walker was a magnificent player in the Colonial Athletic Association, winning that conference’s POY award after posting 19 a game with 5 assists, shooting 35% from deep on humongous usage. Walker is a little undersized and of course there will be transition costs, but he could be a big addition (for the record, the CAA is roughly ranked akin to the Sun Belt and Ivy League in KP’s conference rankings).

The other big addition is five-star SG Max Christie, a 6’6” prospect who profiles as a knock down shooter with skill and poise, not unlike Michigan’s addition of Caleb Houstan. Considering that MSU couldn’t buy a three last season, adding impact shooting perimeter shooting is big. The big question for the Spartans is who whether Walker and Christie are ready to gobble up a high volume of possessions, because losing Aaron Henry, Rocket Watts, and Josh Langford means that three of MSU’s top four usage guys from last season are out the door, including their top two.

The question increases in importance when you remember that the other pieces, though familiar, have refused to take charge offensively. Lanky stretch forward Gabe Brown has been a useful option, but he’s allergic to playing an active role in the offense, and the same can be said for big men Malik Hall and Marcus Bingham. Which is why MSU’s season hinges on Joey Hauser. The Marquette transfer was not the big splash addition that Spartan fans had hoped for last season, shooting just 34% from three and 61% at the line for a 103.8 ORTG. That represented a big turn from the promising player that Hauser had seemed to be in 2019 for the Golden Eagles.

If Hauser can re-find his Marquette form, then a good campaign from Christie and Walker may be enough to boost MSU into the top four of the league. But, those are all sizable question marks considering you’re talking about one player transferring in from mid-major basketball, another who’s never played a collegiate game, and a third who struggled mightily in his first B1G season. For now, we keep State in the middle of the B1G.

[AFTER THE JUMP: More transfers!]