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After losing three straight games to close out the regular season, Michigan basketball is finally into postseason play, playing as the 3-seed in the Big Ten Tournament. After a double bye, the Wolverines open up tournament play against a 6-seed Purdue team that blew them out in West Lafayette but succumbed to the maize and blue in Ann Arbor.
Michigan quickly fell into a 6-0 deficit but then went on a 12-0 run, thanks in part to some solid defense following some early lapses. After taking a six-point lead, the Wolverines maintained it for several minutes as the Boilermakers fought back. The Wolverines pushed the lead to 10 -- albeit briefly -- due to strong ball movement while taking care of the basketball. However, Purdue quickly hit a 3 and then found themselves on the line, cutting the deficit back to five with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half. With eight minutes left in the first, the maize and blue had ample opportunities and were aggressive on the offensive boards, but struggled to get any buckets to drop.
"We've gotta convert better around the rim," head coach Dusty May said at the under-eight break, noting that the Wolverines had missed five layups in the first 12 minutes of the game. Finally, Will Tschetter broke the 0-6 streak to push the Michigan lead back to seven. Purdue's Braden Smith quickly hit a 3 on the other end, and it was a four-point game for just a moment, but Tschetter remained hot, hitting what appeared to be a 3 (it was changed to a long two) of his own for the maize and blue.
The speed and intensity picked up for both teams around the four-minute mark, and up by four, Danny Wolf hit a corner 3 to push the lead back to seven. Michigan point guard Tre Donaldson then had a savvy move on the other end, backing away from the Boilermaker ball-handler, forcing a travel at the under-four timeout with 3:23 left in the first.
The Wolverines were up by seven but with 19.3 seconds left in the first, Michigan left Myles Colvin wide open in the corner, and he drained a 3 to cut the lead to four. With 3.9 seconds remaining, Tschetter drove the lane but was called for a charge on Michigan native Fletcher Loyer. So the four-point lead would be the lead held by the Wolverines entering the locker room at halftime, 40-36.
Purdue started with the ball in the second half, but Michigan held on defensively, while Rubin Jones hit a 3 on the other end to push the lead back to seven. A block on defense led to a Danny Wolf shot just outside of the key to push the lead back to nine. However, Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn noticed some miscommunication for Michigan, drove the basket, and got an and-1. Two possessions later, center Vladislav Goldin returned the favor with a make but missed the and-1 attempt. It was an eight-point Michigan lead.
With just under 16 minutes remaining, Michigan guard Tre Donaldson -- who had struggled shooting in recent months, hit his second 3 of the game, giving the Wolverines an 11-point lead, their largest of the game. But Purdue quickly battled back, and at the under-16 timeout, it was 52-45, Michigan.
With 13:48 remaining, Donaldson hit yet another 3, but the 12-point Michigan lead lasted for just seconds as Purdue returned the favor. Donaldson missed another deep shot, but he got his own miss and got a layup to push the lead back to 11. At 12:25, with a Roddy Gayle Jr. reverse layup, Michigan pushed to a game-high 13-point lead and the Boilermakers called a timeout. It would remain a 13-point lead at the under-12 media timeout, but Michigan freshman guard LJ Cason went to the line coming out of the break and pushed the lead to 15.
From there, Purdue started going on a small run, cutting the lead to 10 with 9:06 remaining. 99 seconds later, Michigan had a 12-point lead at the under-eight media timeout. However, Purdue hit a 3 coming out of the timeout, and suddenly, the game was in single digits.
However, that was also short-lived as Michigan pushed the lead to 16 with just over four minutes remaining. Purdue responded with a 3, but Danny Wolf hit a 3 to push it to 80-64 with under four minutes to go in the game. From there, the Wolverines maintained control as Purdue struggled to hit much of anything on the floor. Michigan ended up winning, 86-68, and will survive and advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Here are our five takeaways from the game.
The Wolverines had really struggled on multiple fronts in the past month or so, but we saw this team play with fight, heart, and most importantly, not a lot of turnovers. Though the deep ball was still not exactly on point, the Wolverines seemed as if they could get whatever they wanted from inside the arc, and they took it. Additionally, the ball movement was phenomenal, leading to 25 assists compared to Purdue getting 11. The defense was swarming, and though there were some lapses, the maize and blue had active hands, got into lanes, and contested shots while being active on the boards.
It wasn't a perfect performance, by any means, but this was much closer to what we've seen throughout the year compared to the last month of play.
While Gayle wasn't the best player on the court, it's worth noting given how much he's struggled for months now. Cutting to the basket more often, he found himself either in the position to finish or to get to the foul line. Likewise, we saw much better play from Donaldson, who hit a couple of 3s and didn't turn the ball over with impunity. If Michigan is going to make any sort of postseason run, it will need both players to continue to play well.
Gayle finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Donaldson had 13 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
As mentioned, Michigan was stellar when it came to finding the open man and using the bulk of the shot clock. One of the things we'd seen over the past month was (despite most of these players not having played for him) the old Juwan Howard mantra, 'let it fly.' However, on Friday night, we saw a much more unselfish brand of basketball, as evidenced by the Wolverines significantly winning the assist battle.
The unselfishness mentioned certainly helped the maize and blue when it came to making better shots. Both teams were relatively even with points in the paint but Michigan outshot Purdue 52% to 34%. Considering that high-percentage shooting is what this team was known for in the first two-thirds of the season, the fact that we saw it return is a good omen for the rest of the postseason.
After watching Friday's game against Purdue, it's difficult to remember that the Wolverines were blown out by the Boilermakers in West Lafayette earlier in the season. Michigan got revenge with the win at home over Purdue, and now it will have a chance to get revenge again.
2-seed Maryland is the next opponent for the maize and blue, and the Wolverines lost to the Terps by six points in Ann Arbor. If Michigan can avenge its loss, it will have a chance to win the whole Big Ten Tournament, as the winner on Saturday advances to the championship game on Sunday.
The Wolverines and Terps will tip off at 3:30 p.m. EDT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis with the game being broadcast nationally on CBS.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Takeaways and recap from Michigan basketball win over Purdue
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Michigan quickly fell into a 6-0 deficit but then went on a 12-0 run, thanks in part to some solid defense following some early lapses. After taking a six-point lead, the Wolverines maintained it for several minutes as the Boilermakers fought back. The Wolverines pushed the lead to 10 -- albeit briefly -- due to strong ball movement while taking care of the basketball. However, Purdue quickly hit a 3 and then found themselves on the line, cutting the deficit back to five with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half. With eight minutes left in the first, the maize and blue had ample opportunities and were aggressive on the offensive boards, but struggled to get any buckets to drop.
"We've gotta convert better around the rim," head coach Dusty May said at the under-eight break, noting that the Wolverines had missed five layups in the first 12 minutes of the game. Finally, Will Tschetter broke the 0-6 streak to push the Michigan lead back to seven. Purdue's Braden Smith quickly hit a 3 on the other end, and it was a four-point game for just a moment, but Tschetter remained hot, hitting what appeared to be a 3 (it was changed to a long two) of his own for the maize and blue.
The speed and intensity picked up for both teams around the four-minute mark, and up by four, Danny Wolf hit a corner 3 to push the lead back to seven. Michigan point guard Tre Donaldson then had a savvy move on the other end, backing away from the Boilermaker ball-handler, forcing a travel at the under-four timeout with 3:23 left in the first.
The Wolverines were up by seven but with 19.3 seconds left in the first, Michigan left Myles Colvin wide open in the corner, and he drained a 3 to cut the lead to four. With 3.9 seconds remaining, Tschetter drove the lane but was called for a charge on Michigan native Fletcher Loyer. So the four-point lead would be the lead held by the Wolverines entering the locker room at halftime, 40-36.
Purdue started with the ball in the second half, but Michigan held on defensively, while Rubin Jones hit a 3 on the other end to push the lead back to seven. A block on defense led to a Danny Wolf shot just outside of the key to push the lead back to nine. However, Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn noticed some miscommunication for Michigan, drove the basket, and got an and-1. Two possessions later, center Vladislav Goldin returned the favor with a make but missed the and-1 attempt. It was an eight-point Michigan lead.
With just under 16 minutes remaining, Michigan guard Tre Donaldson -- who had struggled shooting in recent months, hit his second 3 of the game, giving the Wolverines an 11-point lead, their largest of the game. But Purdue quickly battled back, and at the under-16 timeout, it was 52-45, Michigan.
With 13:48 remaining, Donaldson hit yet another 3, but the 12-point Michigan lead lasted for just seconds as Purdue returned the favor. Donaldson missed another deep shot, but he got his own miss and got a layup to push the lead back to 11. At 12:25, with a Roddy Gayle Jr. reverse layup, Michigan pushed to a game-high 13-point lead and the Boilermakers called a timeout. It would remain a 13-point lead at the under-12 media timeout, but Michigan freshman guard LJ Cason went to the line coming out of the break and pushed the lead to 15.
From there, Purdue started going on a small run, cutting the lead to 10 with 9:06 remaining. 99 seconds later, Michigan had a 12-point lead at the under-eight media timeout. However, Purdue hit a 3 coming out of the timeout, and suddenly, the game was in single digits.
However, that was also short-lived as Michigan pushed the lead to 16 with just over four minutes remaining. Purdue responded with a 3, but Danny Wolf hit a 3 to push it to 80-64 with under four minutes to go in the game. From there, the Wolverines maintained control as Purdue struggled to hit much of anything on the floor. Michigan ended up winning, 86-68, and will survive and advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Here are our five takeaways from the game.
A reversal of fortune
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The Wolverines had really struggled on multiple fronts in the past month or so, but we saw this team play with fight, heart, and most importantly, not a lot of turnovers. Though the deep ball was still not exactly on point, the Wolverines seemed as if they could get whatever they wanted from inside the arc, and they took it. Additionally, the ball movement was phenomenal, leading to 25 assists compared to Purdue getting 11. The defense was swarming, and though there were some lapses, the maize and blue had active hands, got into lanes, and contested shots while being active on the boards.
It wasn't a perfect performance, by any means, but this was much closer to what we've seen throughout the year compared to the last month of play.
Roddy Gayle and Tre Donaldson both had a good game
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While Gayle wasn't the best player on the court, it's worth noting given how much he's struggled for months now. Cutting to the basket more often, he found himself either in the position to finish or to get to the foul line. Likewise, we saw much better play from Donaldson, who hit a couple of 3s and didn't turn the ball over with impunity. If Michigan is going to make any sort of postseason run, it will need both players to continue to play well.
Gayle finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Donaldson had 13 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
The ball movement was phenomenal
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As mentioned, Michigan was stellar when it came to finding the open man and using the bulk of the shot clock. One of the things we'd seen over the past month was (despite most of these players not having played for him) the old Juwan Howard mantra, 'let it fly.' However, on Friday night, we saw a much more unselfish brand of basketball, as evidenced by the Wolverines significantly winning the assist battle.
Better shooting in general
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The unselfishness mentioned certainly helped the maize and blue when it came to making better shots. Both teams were relatively even with points in the paint but Michigan outshot Purdue 52% to 34%. Considering that high-percentage shooting is what this team was known for in the first two-thirds of the season, the fact that we saw it return is a good omen for the rest of the postseason.
Another tough test coming
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After watching Friday's game against Purdue, it's difficult to remember that the Wolverines were blown out by the Boilermakers in West Lafayette earlier in the season. Michigan got revenge with the win at home over Purdue, and now it will have a chance to get revenge again.
2-seed Maryland is the next opponent for the maize and blue, and the Wolverines lost to the Terps by six points in Ann Arbor. If Michigan can avenge its loss, it will have a chance to win the whole Big Ten Tournament, as the winner on Saturday advances to the championship game on Sunday.
The Wolverines and Terps will tip off at 3:30 p.m. EDT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis with the game being broadcast nationally on CBS.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Takeaways and recap from Michigan basketball win over Purdue
Continue reading...
