Michigan 82, Texas Southern 66
If one altered the announcing crew, production value, and the various logos slapped all over Mackey Arena, this could easily have passed for a mundane November non-conference game.
Michigan charged out to a 7-0 lead on Texas Southern, then worked the margin up to 18 twice, including when the halftime buzzer sounded with the score at 42-24. Hunter Dickinson didn't miss a shot on his way to eight first-half points and blocked a pair on the other end, looking like the proverbial man among boys. The Wolverines spread out their scoring attack with five other players netting five or more points, including freshman guard Zeb Jackson, who drained two three-pointers in his six-minute shift.
Even though Juwan Howard tinkered with several different lineup combinations, including at least a couple that hadn't seen the court together this season, Michigan spent most of the second half with the lead in the 20s. A tight whistle down low started adding up, though, as Dickinson only played nine second-half minutes—and added another eight points—before fouling out; his fifth foul drew a review and flagrant for, by my eye, elbowing a much smaller man in the armpit while turning with the basketball, which never left both of his hands. He earlier picked up a foul for setting a screen too hard.
Mike Smith led the team with 18 points [Michael Hickey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images]
Texas Southern spent much of the late stages of the game in the bonus and took full advantage, going 13/16 from the line in the half. The game got boring and choppy. The Tigers gnawed away at the lead but never reduced it to fewer than 12 points; each time that happened, the Wolverines responded with a bucket, the second a Franz Wagner three-pointer to dispel any notion this could turn into a competitive basketball game.
There were some moments that may foreshadow what we'll see the rest of the tournament. Brandon Johns scored 11 points on nine shot equivalents, repeatedly got to the line with powerful drives, filled every category in the box score, and even drilled a stepback three after a steal. He played 25 minutes, including several at center. Austin Davis, on the other hand, played only one minute in the first half before seeing nine more with Dickinson battling foul trouble in the second.
when allowed to play, Dickinson dominated [Hancock/Getty]
Chaundee Brown had a quiet game, going 0/1 with three rebounds and three fouls in 16 minutes. Terrance Williams was a noticeably active participant, following his own miss for an and-one and chipping in two defensive rebounds and two assists in 11 minutes split between small and power forward. Jackson played six of his eight minutes in the first half and certainly didn't shy away from the moment, getting up five shots and grabbing two boards to go with his six points.
While the second half was a slog, it was fun to see Michigan use a first-round NCAA Tournament game to experiment in the lab. We'll have a much better idea of what was true preparation and what was saving the players' legs when U-M faces eight-seed LSU, winners earlier today over St. Bonaventure, in the second sound on Monday.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score]
Outcome never in doubt despite being almost unwatchable. Ugly game that we'll all forget about in a week.
Ill admit I was worried when it was at 12 and TSU was pressing. Then Franz mercifully sank that 3 and sort of ended it
Definitely need Franz to find his stroke and get more aggressive offensively if we are gonna make a run. Good win regardless...never in doubt. Goblue!
He’s gone back to thinking too much. He needs to shoot immediately or drive/pass/whatever. I swear he hits about 20% of his double clutches
I'll forget about it by Monday morning.
Forget what?
"Tight whistle" is a bit of an understatement, with 41 fouls called in 40min of game time. Certainly makes sense to have two teams have even fouls when one is top 3 in kenpom and the other is top 220.
Defense was great until the refs decided any and all contact was a foul. The fact that on the other end they repeatedly called Austin and Hunter for offensive fouls while they were being mobbed was so frustrating. That game was on pace for a 30-35 point win till the refshow showed up
hopefully doesnt mean much for LSU but we’ll see. Not a confidence inspiring win
Yeah, Reffing is impossible, especially in basketball. But that exceptionally terrible. Spoiled the game.
NCAA officials are, for the most part, short, unathletic try-hards who empathize with the team overmatched athleticly. And they call a game accordingly giving every 50-50 call to the player who looks like them.
So when a game starts to get out of hand like today's did it's simple human nature for the officials to "help" the team they most resemble get back into the game.
And this happens at every level of basketball
Which Texas Southern team did you watch? You sure you didnt have a recording of Colgate playing?
I think it's more they want the number of calls to be relatively "even" so it doesn't appear that they favor either team - especially for high profile games. This works to the advantage of smaller, less talented teams who are more prone to foul.
Yep, the way they were calling Hunter and Austin's games was absurd. They were constantly getting hacked but the refs were constantly calling them for offensive fouls for essentially being bigger than the dudes jumping on their backs
I suspect we'll see much more of Chaundee Brown on Monday. My guess is that part of his lack of minutes today was that Coach Howard knows what he has in Brown.
LSU basically played 5.5 people in their game.
Johns can foul them all out. He's a foul magnet inside.
Felt like TSU got to the rim a lot, especially in the second half. LSU is gonna be a huge step up in offensive competency. Not sure how much I love the proposition of getting into a track meet with our second leading scorer not playing
Fuck cheating ass LSU though, let's hope we have enough
March 20th, 2021 at 10:49 PM ^
An athletic team that can get to the rim and crash the boards is a tough matchup for M.
Well, this actually didn't go the way I expected - we were sharp from the outset and left little doubt the rest of the way.
Good effort until it turned into a refshow in the second half. Frustrating that Dickinson seems to get a tough whistle every time out lately. Besides that crazy flagrant on him, it looked like he was the victim of a hook-and-hold for the second game in a row, and neither one was reviewed.
Takeaways: Johns seems more confident with his increased playing time, and if Jackson can continue drain those open 3s, he could become a legit asset going forward. On the downside, Wagner hasn't been himself in a few games and is hesitating too much out there.
It was dispiriting to see Zeb miss every shot in the second half and even airball one. Felt like he was breaking out and then...not so much
Second game in a row that Johns has gotten to the line a ton. I like that a lot and think he's best used in the low post or in the corner for threes.
Somehow Johns gets the calls that Dickinson doesn't. I guess they figure the big guy can just take it.
It does seem like once the Brotherhood of NCAA officiating decides that you are a foul machine/are allowed to be hit and grabbed that that's it for you regardless of how they call other bigs or even the game. Dickinson has at least 3-4 and 1s that aren't called every game. Super frustrating to watch. And at the same time, he simply needs to right to the hoop more quickly rather than putting the ball down for what are more often than not needless dribbles.
Yeah feels like the refs have overreacted. Hunter did get away with a couple moving screens early in a big Ten play and now they are calling fouls on legal screens. Seems dumb
Thought the team played really well in the first half, got a little sloppy in the second but the inconsistent whistle absolutely didn't help. Dickinson in particular got a bit of the "big kid pushing guys around" calls, in which less-talented and smaller guys were allowed to hack away at him but if he initiated contact it was called almost immediately. I assume that won't be the case against LSU with a different crew, but we'll see.
Otherwise it was nice to see Johns bounce back a bit after some early scuffling (he missed badly on a shot and also committed a pretty bad entry pass TO); they'll need him Monday.
LSU will be tough but I caught enough of that game to see they got some luck against SBU - Michigan won't have long stretches of bad shooting like the Bonnies did against a still-bad LSU defense.
Want to see Franz assert himself more. He needs to trust his talent and start to use to takeover games. It’s ok to be unselfish but not to excess when you should be the alpha. There were so many times he had threes that he passed up. I think we go as far as Franz takes us. I was encouraged by the bench play albeit competition caveats apply. They did some nice things.
You're probably right in general but in a game that wasn't in doubt, it seemed to be reasonable—maybe even the plan—to work everyone else into the mix.
He’ll be fine.
Totally agree.. needs to summon up his inner Moe and carry this time more if we want to have a deep run. Team plays better when we're moving and cutting on offense - seems like we sometimes get bogged down trying to force it inside too much.
I also would like to see Hunter continue to take that open 12 footer instead of always trying to bang. He had nice touch on that baseline J..
March 21st, 2021 at 12:08 AM ^
Agreed--slap 'em around like Moe.
Nice looking box score. I'd have liked one more point for Wagner, to have all 5 starters in double figures—love the balance—but that's okay: he led in assists.
Could've been better, could've been worse. The refs did their best to help TSU out in the second half.
I also don't think I've seen a team simultaneously that good inside the arc and that bad outside the arc before
March 21st, 2021 at 11:41 AM ^
That was my take. Refs clearly legislating from the bench because one team was getting bullied. That is not their job. There were 41 fouls called in this game! Even worse, 21 of them were on Michigan, the far bigger team. I'm not going to look it up, but I'll bet Michigan has not had 21 fouls in a game since John Beilein became the coach. It just destroys the flow of the game.
Positives:Driving to rim,getting to FT line (17 in 1st half),ZEB!!!!,T.Willams fearless/played under control,shot well from 3 in 1st half,Johns a bit more aggressive. Negs: HD 6 turn overs ,he must make quicker decisions in post Chaundee stone cold (overdue) vs.LSU 1.Def,boards..2.Limit dribble penetration.3.Drive the ball with confidence instead of being intimidated by their athleticism.
Good win actually when you consider the awful officiating keeping it closer than what it really was.
We're gonna need points from Chaundee however, he has been lackluster on offense lately, we need him now more than ever.
Hopefully Zeb and Williams got a big dose of confidence moving forward getting a very competent 19 combined minutes from them.
Hunter needs to be a bit smarter but he's still so solid, Franz played really well in the 1st half but seemed lost in the 2nd till that dagger 3., he's our most important player with Livers out, IMO. More of the same from Johns would be great.
Mike and Eli were solid, till I saw the box score it seemed like we sucked more than we actually did on FT's, just missed too many in the 1st half and Eli missing the front end one time could have helped build the lead.
My actual biggest worry is the inconsistent officiating, you just never know what you're gonna get, Forrest!
A few of the continuation and 1's for Texas Southern had the look of an NBA style and 1. The foul was on the floor in a majority of them but the refs gave them like two steps and a layup after the whistle. I don't complain much, if any, about officiating but this game was downright atrocious.
That said, Michigan controlled the game from start to finish but was very average. I know they didn't NEED to be anymore than that but it would be nice to start the tourney off hitting on all cylinders and winning by 30+ like they were capable of doing.
March 21st, 2021 at 12:22 AM ^
There’s no evidence that if a 1 seed wins by 30+ in the first rd they are any more likely to advance deep into the Tournament than if they win by 16. So it “would be nice,” but I’m glad they worked in some different lineups throughout and overcame very shitty officiating.
Wagner had a good game. More to a team game like basketball than individual scoring. Wagner had 9 points, 9 REBOUNDS and 6 ASSISTS.
Wagner is the only player on the team with the complete skill-set, and that's what UM needs from Wagner. It's why NBA scouts drool all over Wagner. It's why Wagner will be a top-10 lottery pick next NBA draft. I'll take 9/9/6 vs 16/4/2 from Wagner every game.
UM played fairly well today. Will need to play a bit better on Monday to win. Interior D, especially dribble-drives to the hoop, must improve vs LSU, otherwise the game is going to be razor-close.
He won't be a top 10 pick but he'll definitely be picked soon after if he chooses to go.
I think that's the point though, with how talented he is (and esp with Livers out) I'd like to see 16 along with the 9 and 6. With his ability he needs to be shooting more than the 7 times he did today. He played well, the 3 was great and I want to him to look for his shot more.
The Wagner we saw against Mich St and OSU won't get us to the final 4.
Brooks, Smith and Franz each played 34+ minutes. For having Brown and Zeb play 24 combined minutes, they didn’t spare the 1-3 much of a break. Hunter, Davis, Johns and Brown should have all kinds of energy come Monday.
"Worry"
Uneventful in a good way and nothing troubling. With their lack of shooting they were never going to really challenge us.
Everyone played their part and some quality experience/minutes/time on the floor to boot. Pulling hard for someone to make the tourney leap and show us something we've been waiting for.
This was the first NCAA tournament game EVER for Jackson, Williams, Brown, Smith, and Dickinson. That's a lot of guys to get their first taste, and they acquitted themselves well. I thought the coaches did a good job getting guys further down the rotation significant minutes. One or more of them will likely be needed down the road, and the extended time on the floor should help. Lots of positive play to build on.
March 20th, 2021 at 10:09 PM ^
It was Wagner's first game, too.
Hail to the Victors! Beat all the Tigers!
I see you're using the loose definition of "step back" 3 for that Johns make. It was good to see him take a shot over a guy. When he was trying to get the ball down low to Dickinson on the block his defender would drop off to take away the pass. In the 1st half Johns threw the ball right at the defender for a TO. 2nd half he hit that 3 and also took a hard dribble in to draw the defender to him before making a bounce pass into Dickinson. It was nice to see him make adjustments to get the ball unstuck from his spot.
That's the difference between him and Livers unfortunately. Livers would get that treatment occasionally (more like teams would want to keep the ball away from Dickinson no matter what) and would light teams up from 3. Would like to see Johns take more of those if given the airspace and continue to work on spacing in general to give Dickinson more room to work with down low.
Decent game given the circumstances. The ref ball was horrendous and made the lineups a little weird, though I'm sure Howard was going to do something like that anyways. Still don't understand why our guards get in guy's shorts out on the perimeter when they're no threat to really light it up from out there AND Brooks/Smith are small so any drive into the lane is immediately a bad situation. Smith had perfect position a few times and it didn't matter, he's a smurf (but I love him). Brown got a foul called 50 feet out from the basket AGAIN and it's just not worth it. I would think that's a really bad idea against LSU and their length/ball handlers. Was nice to see Williams and Zeb get some meaningful playing time and shots. Williams is interesting. His outside shooting is not looking good and his FT motion is from a squat and just seems inefficient. His post entry passes on the other hand have been awesome. Would be nice for him to develop a bit and provide a freshman version of Johns in case they need him to be more than just a body.
3 guard line up will be needed against quicker,dribble drive teams (next 2 opponents) That group looked good to me today (with HD & Franz) I also liked the John's at Center group (T.Will at 3 ,Franz at 4)..The main difference I see between Mich and most of these other teams is Mich.is more patient,passes more/dribbles less,looks to feed post,typically Mich.drives only after receiving a pass as opposed to other teams who hand ball off to someone and that guy dribbles around going 1 on 1.
Michigan moves on to meet the Fighting Wiretaps. Their program motto: “If there’s a Will, there’s a Wade to cheat”.
The game took forever! The officials were terrible and calling every nickel and dimer.
Over 80 points and no one got hurt. Win and advance.
One of the Texas Southern players was in tears after the game. Likely realized his competitive playing days are over. Hope he walks away with a lot of fond memories.
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