1. I didn't really expect to win that game yesterday even with a healthy Livers. With that said, there are two concerning defensive issues. Our transition defense has taken a significant step back. Now, some of that is correlated to Livers not playing. This is not a deep team. We all know there are a lot of roster holes once you get beyond the first 5-6 guys, so we can't afford to miss a key player (Livers) and then have another one in foul trouble. With that said, transition D needs to step up.
2. Simpson also has been a disappointment on the defensive end. In the past, when you saw a team led by a great point guard, that figured to work to our advantage because we had Simpson to slow him down. But this year, he's been absolutely torched by Prithcard and Winston.
3. We all know Howard had the reputation as a guy who gets the most out of big men with the Heat, and we are seeing it in year one. Teske's offensive production is obviously up. But Juwan has gotten productive minutes out of Austin Davis, something no one thought was possible last year.
4. Thursday really looms as the first must-win of the season. Michigan has lost its last three games against high major competition and 4 of 5 since winning Atlantis. We are playing a Purdue that is really struggling, especially on the road (they lost by double digits in both B1G road games including Nebraska). Michigan absolutely cannot afford to drop that one with two B1G road games on deck. Do that, and 1-5 is a real possibility and then it does become a fight just to get to the tournament (8-12 in conference is the likely danger zone for Michigan, and 1-5 means we'd need 8-6 the rest of the way).
5. The next five games, in fact, should provide a good barometer of where we are. We have Purdue, at Iowa, at Minnesota, Penn State and Illinois. All of those games are winnable. All of those teams harbor NCAA aspirations, though none of them are likely to play past the round of 32. We really need to win at least 3 of the 5 -- 2 of 5 likely means we lost both road games and then a home game to a non MSU team/OSU team. If Michigan wants to harbor hopes of a top 3-4 seed in March, this is a stretch where we can get 4 of the 5.
6. Warde really screwed up giving up a home game with Rutgers this year. Rutgers is a NCAA bubble team and is potentially getting two home games with Michigan. In a year where home court is critical, that's flat-out unacceptable. Rutgers should have given up the home game.
7. We're struggling now, but I think we will be ok in the end. Most years, it doesn't pay to play your best ball in November but this isn't most years. Michigan really needed some early momentum for purposes of recruiting given the potential holes in the 2020-2021 roster. We parlayed a strong start into two top 100 commitments (and potentially more). Imagine if we started slow, but rebounded in January/February to get a tournament bid, but by that time, Dickinson and Williams had committed elsewhere? Next year could have shaped up as a tough year and then there would be a ton of pressure to bring in a great class in 2021-2022.
2. Simpson also has been a disappointment on the defensive end. In the past, when you saw a team led by a great point guard, that figured to work to our advantage because we had Simpson to slow him down. But this year, he's been absolutely torched by Prithcard and Winston.
3. We all know Howard had the reputation as a guy who gets the most out of big men with the Heat, and we are seeing it in year one. Teske's offensive production is obviously up. But Juwan has gotten productive minutes out of Austin Davis, something no one thought was possible last year.
4. Thursday really looms as the first must-win of the season. Michigan has lost its last three games against high major competition and 4 of 5 since winning Atlantis. We are playing a Purdue that is really struggling, especially on the road (they lost by double digits in both B1G road games including Nebraska). Michigan absolutely cannot afford to drop that one with two B1G road games on deck. Do that, and 1-5 is a real possibility and then it does become a fight just to get to the tournament (8-12 in conference is the likely danger zone for Michigan, and 1-5 means we'd need 8-6 the rest of the way).
5. The next five games, in fact, should provide a good barometer of where we are. We have Purdue, at Iowa, at Minnesota, Penn State and Illinois. All of those games are winnable. All of those teams harbor NCAA aspirations, though none of them are likely to play past the round of 32. We really need to win at least 3 of the 5 -- 2 of 5 likely means we lost both road games and then a home game to a non MSU team/OSU team. If Michigan wants to harbor hopes of a top 3-4 seed in March, this is a stretch where we can get 4 of the 5.
6. Warde really screwed up giving up a home game with Rutgers this year. Rutgers is a NCAA bubble team and is potentially getting two home games with Michigan. In a year where home court is critical, that's flat-out unacceptable. Rutgers should have given up the home game.
7. We're struggling now, but I think we will be ok in the end. Most years, it doesn't pay to play your best ball in November but this isn't most years. Michigan really needed some early momentum for purposes of recruiting given the potential holes in the 2020-2021 roster. We parlayed a strong start into two top 100 commitments (and potentially more). Imagine if we started slow, but rebounded in January/February to get a tournament bid, but by that time, Dickinson and Williams had committed elsewhere? Next year could have shaped up as a tough year and then there would be a ton of pressure to bring in a great class in 2021-2022.
