Next man up. Or men up. Chaundee, Brandon and Eli were nothing short of incredible. That was as aggressive and assertive as I've seen Johns all season. Driving for a dunk, giving good help defense, crashing the glass, When he hit that first shot of the game, I thought that he might be locked in. He was, He didn't score as much as Eli or Chaundee, but he did a lot of the dirty work. Eli kept us in the game in the first half with his shooting and knocked down a couple more big ones in the back and forth second half, made the free throws to seal it and came down with two big rebounds in the last minute. And Chaundee - WOW! His shooting and defense in the last 10 minutes were the difference. He played the game of his life when we needed it. The moment was not too big for those three.
Games can be won and lost at the FT line. Man oh man was that great clutch FT shooting or what? Not just one guy, all of them.
Dickinson is only a freshman, but his composure is amazing. He did a much better job of handling the double and triple teams. When he saw three defenders coming, he didn't wait, he kicked it out. LSU's D is porous. They were no match for a team that plays together and shares the ball. We struggled early to hit shots, while they were hitting everything, and they were not wide open. Once you realize that LSU does not share the ball, you can help without worrying too much about a pass. As the game wore on, we had help defenders on their drives who did a great job staying vertical and forcing tough shots. Johns did that extremely well. We took the wind out of Thomas's sails in the second half. Smart was incredible, but he, too, wilted a bit late in the game.
It was a tribute to LSU's raw talent that they were able to fight us tooth ad nail. Wade literally just rolls the ball out and says "play." I've never seen an offense based so much on isolation and one on one. In the fist 30 minutes, Thomas, Smart and Watford were make shots over us even though closely guarded. Franz, who normally is a stopper, could not stop Watford. Chaundee was a plus defensively on anyone he happened to be guarding. The zone in the first half changed the pace of the game and forced them to pass the ball, which they don't do well.
A lot of people, including Franz, were expecting Franz to have a big game in Livers absence. I think he was effected by that and didn't play well at either end. After he missed a couple of open threes, her started passing them upon and driving into traffic. He sat a good bit and watched Chaundee plays lights out. So it was great to see him hit a huge three late and hit that running hook shot that he stole from X.
Smith was burned by their big guards defensively. That's just a weakness that can be exploited the you have the guards that LSU has. He did hit a three when we were down 6 or 7 midway thru the second half that started a run. Two bad turnovers and an airball three in the last 2 minutes kept the suspense going. Not his best game in terms of ball security. But I can't be too hard on him because he gets other players the ball in good spots.
Williams, but for a bad turnover, gave us spark with a hard cut down the lane for a feed from Hunter and a put back. Against these athletes, Davis was going to and did see limited minutes. We don't need a lot from those two, just maintain.
Juwan was incredibly intense tonight and made a lot of good moves, but what stands out is how every guy has confidence and anyone can step up to the moment. The Xs and Os are great, but the attitude of this group is stellar. And that includes the assistants who doing a lot of game coaching, too. This was a classic match-up of weak coaching of great talent v. great coaching off team play. Look no further than the assist totals.
The sweet 16 is very sweet right now. Whether it's Colorado or FSU, it feels like we've adjusted to the loss of Livers. And that's the most important thing. Just play Michigan basketball.
Games can be won and lost at the FT line. Man oh man was that great clutch FT shooting or what? Not just one guy, all of them.
Dickinson is only a freshman, but his composure is amazing. He did a much better job of handling the double and triple teams. When he saw three defenders coming, he didn't wait, he kicked it out. LSU's D is porous. They were no match for a team that plays together and shares the ball. We struggled early to hit shots, while they were hitting everything, and they were not wide open. Once you realize that LSU does not share the ball, you can help without worrying too much about a pass. As the game wore on, we had help defenders on their drives who did a great job staying vertical and forcing tough shots. Johns did that extremely well. We took the wind out of Thomas's sails in the second half. Smart was incredible, but he, too, wilted a bit late in the game.
It was a tribute to LSU's raw talent that they were able to fight us tooth ad nail. Wade literally just rolls the ball out and says "play." I've never seen an offense based so much on isolation and one on one. In the fist 30 minutes, Thomas, Smart and Watford were make shots over us even though closely guarded. Franz, who normally is a stopper, could not stop Watford. Chaundee was a plus defensively on anyone he happened to be guarding. The zone in the first half changed the pace of the game and forced them to pass the ball, which they don't do well.
A lot of people, including Franz, were expecting Franz to have a big game in Livers absence. I think he was effected by that and didn't play well at either end. After he missed a couple of open threes, her started passing them upon and driving into traffic. He sat a good bit and watched Chaundee plays lights out. So it was great to see him hit a huge three late and hit that running hook shot that he stole from X.
Smith was burned by their big guards defensively. That's just a weakness that can be exploited the you have the guards that LSU has. He did hit a three when we were down 6 or 7 midway thru the second half that started a run. Two bad turnovers and an airball three in the last 2 minutes kept the suspense going. Not his best game in terms of ball security. But I can't be too hard on him because he gets other players the ball in good spots.
Williams, but for a bad turnover, gave us spark with a hard cut down the lane for a feed from Hunter and a put back. Against these athletes, Davis was going to and did see limited minutes. We don't need a lot from those two, just maintain.
Juwan was incredibly intense tonight and made a lot of good moves, but what stands out is how every guy has confidence and anyone can step up to the moment. The Xs and Os are great, but the attitude of this group is stellar. And that includes the assistants who doing a lot of game coaching, too. This was a classic match-up of weak coaching of great talent v. great coaching off team play. Look no further than the assist totals.
The sweet 16 is very sweet right now. Whether it's Colorado or FSU, it feels like we've adjusted to the loss of Livers. And that's the most important thing. Just play Michigan basketball.
