1. OK, let's start with substitution patterns, or "auto benching." I disagree with Beilein on his decision to play Teske as little as he played him in the first half--that, to me was an inflexible action, especially given what we have behind him, though it's worth noting that Teske ultimately fouled out in about 15 minutes of play. I also disagree with the decision to keep Livers out as long as he did, given how overmatched Johns and Davis were. I completely agree with the decision to sit Poole early in the first half--he was playing terribly at that time, and even when he was hitting shots, he was a net minus on the court tonight--but not in the second half, when we needed to score. I also agree with the decision to give Iggy a blow in the first half after his second foul (he brought him back early afterwards). One size does not fit all. Sometimes auto benching is right. Sometimes it's not.
2. My problem with the subject is not that there can't be disagreement with Beilein; he, like all coaches, does things wrong, and this, sometimes, is one of them. However, the over-reaction that doing so is responsible for every adverse thing which happens in a game is ludicrous. Charles Matthews played essentially the entire game--he was terrible, and that wasn't from autobenching. Iggy, after the first 5 minutes or so, got abused on both ends, and he played 35 minutes or so. Jordan Poole came back into the game after being sat with the score 11-11; Iowa promptly went on a 24-10 run. Sometimes, you suck no matter who plays, what plays you call, etc. Blaming something you don't like about the coaching be it substitution policy, working the refs, or anything else) for a 16 point loss is a conclusion in search of facts. This does NOT, repeat NOT, mean that Beilein shouldn't adjust his thinking on this subject. it does, however, mean that playing the way we played tonight was not going to yield us a win. Period.
3. Our offense was really bad tonight. Missed shots are one thing, lack of ball movement, keeping the ball on one side of the court and never flashing anybody to the middle against a zone is another. Iowa is terrible defensively. We made them look good. That's on us.
4. We lost essentially every loose ball tonight. We had any number of lazy passes, including the inbounds throw away by Jordan Poole when there was still hope. Iowa was more aggressive than we were--far more aggressive. That's the first time I've seen that all year.
5. Defensively, we were nothing to write home about either. Iowa got the ball into the post way too easily. It's one thing when Teske is playing and staying out of foul trouble. It's another when he isn't playing, or is on the way to fouling out. In those circumstances, you have to put more pressure on the ball. We didn't.
6. Zavier Simpson did a good job on Bohannon, was 4-4 from the line, and had 8 rebounds and 7 assists, so I suppose he was the player of the game. Still, it wasn't his best game--once again, he was stone cold from 3, had 3 turnovers, and had zero steals, and he was the guy who had the ball sticking against the zone. As my brother said, we needed Poole up top against the zone to stretch it, and that, I think, was a coaching mistake, but X did not impact the game the way he normally does.
7. The good news--every year, even when we're very good, we have a stinker in early February--last year against Northwestern, the year before against OSU, in '14 against Wisconsin (and Iowa), in '13 against MSU (and then later against Penn State), in '12 against Iowa, etc. This was a stinker. I don't think this is a sign of a systemic problem, or that we'll never be able to score consistently or defend against multiple bigs, etc. I think it's a sign that we sucked. Stuff happens.
8. Matthews has to get going. He has been bad offensively in both losses. He didn't make sloppy plays tonight, travel, or do the other things he normally does, he just was bad. He really struggles against a zone--we're going to have to find ways to get him the ball in places where he's not always in traffic.
9. Eli Brooks has completely lost confidence on the offensive end. That said, David DeJulius is not ready on either end. We need one of them to strep up, or we're going to wind up with Iggy playing some guard, which is not optimal.
10. It's February 1. We're 21-2. On to Rutgers.
2. My problem with the subject is not that there can't be disagreement with Beilein; he, like all coaches, does things wrong, and this, sometimes, is one of them. However, the over-reaction that doing so is responsible for every adverse thing which happens in a game is ludicrous. Charles Matthews played essentially the entire game--he was terrible, and that wasn't from autobenching. Iggy, after the first 5 minutes or so, got abused on both ends, and he played 35 minutes or so. Jordan Poole came back into the game after being sat with the score 11-11; Iowa promptly went on a 24-10 run. Sometimes, you suck no matter who plays, what plays you call, etc. Blaming something you don't like about the coaching be it substitution policy, working the refs, or anything else) for a 16 point loss is a conclusion in search of facts. This does NOT, repeat NOT, mean that Beilein shouldn't adjust his thinking on this subject. it does, however, mean that playing the way we played tonight was not going to yield us a win. Period.
3. Our offense was really bad tonight. Missed shots are one thing, lack of ball movement, keeping the ball on one side of the court and never flashing anybody to the middle against a zone is another. Iowa is terrible defensively. We made them look good. That's on us.
4. We lost essentially every loose ball tonight. We had any number of lazy passes, including the inbounds throw away by Jordan Poole when there was still hope. Iowa was more aggressive than we were--far more aggressive. That's the first time I've seen that all year.
5. Defensively, we were nothing to write home about either. Iowa got the ball into the post way too easily. It's one thing when Teske is playing and staying out of foul trouble. It's another when he isn't playing, or is on the way to fouling out. In those circumstances, you have to put more pressure on the ball. We didn't.
6. Zavier Simpson did a good job on Bohannon, was 4-4 from the line, and had 8 rebounds and 7 assists, so I suppose he was the player of the game. Still, it wasn't his best game--once again, he was stone cold from 3, had 3 turnovers, and had zero steals, and he was the guy who had the ball sticking against the zone. As my brother said, we needed Poole up top against the zone to stretch it, and that, I think, was a coaching mistake, but X did not impact the game the way he normally does.
7. The good news--every year, even when we're very good, we have a stinker in early February--last year against Northwestern, the year before against OSU, in '14 against Wisconsin (and Iowa), in '13 against MSU (and then later against Penn State), in '12 against Iowa, etc. This was a stinker. I don't think this is a sign of a systemic problem, or that we'll never be able to score consistently or defend against multiple bigs, etc. I think it's a sign that we sucked. Stuff happens.
8. Matthews has to get going. He has been bad offensively in both losses. He didn't make sloppy plays tonight, travel, or do the other things he normally does, he just was bad. He really struggles against a zone--we're going to have to find ways to get him the ball in places where he's not always in traffic.
9. Eli Brooks has completely lost confidence on the offensive end. That said, David DeJulius is not ready on either end. We need one of them to strep up, or we're going to wind up with Iggy playing some guard, which is not optimal.
10. It's February 1. We're 21-2. On to Rutgers.
