1) Guard play wins in college basketball. Michigan has two very good guards. They're not elite guards, but they've been terrific all year. Tonight, both had very poor games. Illinois guard play DOMINATED. And, that's being KIND. Michigan has no guard depth, and, tonight, we needed to be able to turn to a bench guard for a spark, but Zeb isn't ready. Michigan will need both Smith & Brooks to play at a high level every game for Michigan to advance to the Final Four. Let's hope they respond, as I expect, and get back on track. I hope our lack of guard depth doesn't hurt us again.
2) Franz was just off all night. When Michigan has "Aggressive Franz", he's a Lottery Pick and our team is dynamic. When he's passive, as he was tonight, he's an enigma and our team struggles. Tonight he made bad passes, got beat defensively off the dribble several times, missed rebounds, and was not assertive offensively.
3) Deep shots were short or off all game - nobody hit anything tonight except for a few shots by Livers in the 1st half. It was brick city.
4) Cockburn was a force. He disrupted our guards driving to the basket and shut down Hunter while getting him into foul trouble (although the 3rd foul by Hunter was a self-inflicted killer). Credit to Austin Davis for some tough baskets against Cockburn down low. Tonight was a game where Hunter could have used a 4-6 foot mid-range shot. McGary was great at the elbow / FT jumper, and it was a weapon. A few times Hunter was able to turn and face, but, making it a staple of his repertoire takes him to the next level against elite big men. Added strength will help too.
5) We had no legs tonight defensively. We didn't box out, grab rebounds, or get loose balls. We also didn't seem to communicate well. It was atypical. In addition, we didn't show much grit or grind, didn't have energy / spark, and the effort wasn't nearly what we've come to expect. That tells me the team was tired physically and mentally. It was our 3rd game in 6 days. Still, rather disappointing, considering a conference title was on the line. Meanwhile, Illinois really fought hard all game long.
6) Offensively, we were very TIGHT early, we had very little motion on offense throughout; we certainly didn't move the ball enough nor we did we move without the ball. Jay Bilas even noticed our lack of movement and commented. We had too much one-on-one play in the 1st half. There was ZERO flow offensively all game long. Give credit to Illinois defense which was outstanding. Underwood is known as an aggressive defensive coach. We had opportunities throughout the 1st half to backdoor Illinois, but failed to recognize the opportunities. As a side note, one thing I wish Juwan would do when we're desperate for a basket is to dial-up 1-2 set plays for Livers and Franz to come off screen-action for elbow jumpers. If some reason, like tonight, our guys are not flowing the action, then, force the flow with a specific set play-call or two or three. Like, against Rutgers, when we went 8-10 minutes without a basket, call some specific set-plays to get your two best players good looks from the elbow. Dial that up!
7) I think Underwood is a very good coach. He did a solid job at Oklahoma Sate and has turned Illinois into a strong Big Ten contender. Tonight, he used pressure ball-defense in the half-court to disrupt our flow, and he used a 3-guard offense which made Illinois QUICKER than Michigan. Without Ayo, a bigger guard, and a more natural defensive guard for Franz / Livers, Underwood went with a smaller, quicker guy. It made defending Illinois harder for our forwards. Smart coaching. And, other teams, may follow this recipe if they have enough quick players that can handle the ball. Michigan didn't take advantage, as Juwan could have posted Franz up all game long on the offensive end.
8) A few of Juwan's line-ups were questionable: 1) using Williams in the 1st half; 2) waiting too long (down 19) to bring back Hunter on 3 fouls - the game was over. We had no chance at that point.
9) We got nothing from Brown or Johns. The usually reliable Brown had no impact offensively, with an air-ball 3-point attempt in the 1st half and an air-ball FT attempt in the 2nd half - and defensively, Illinois was a bit too quick for him to have a materially defensive impact. No rebounding, no loose balls from the usually scrappy Brown. Meanwhile, that's the 3rd straight game where Johns had an opportunity to impact the game and couldn't. If you look around college basketball, there are A TON of teams with athletic power forwards. Juwan has to feel confident in going to Johns for certain match-ups based on opponent and be able to put a smaller / faster / more athletic lineup with Johns for a few minutes based on game dictation / flow. Right now, Johns isn't instilling any confidence, having really struggled since the COVID-19 break. Unfortunately, his play has regressed materially, and instead of being that energy guy off the bench, clearing the glass, getting those key putt-backs, loose balls, etc, he's been more of a liability by turning the ball over too much while having a negative +/- on the floor. Offensively, John's is off-balance too often when he tries to initiate offense, which has caused him to lose his ability to jump high. For Michigan to go deep in the tournament, Johns has to be a positive force off the bench. His poor play is hurting the team. He must find his game ASAP.
10) Overall, it was a STINKER. No iffs, ands, or butts about it. However, if you're going to have a stinker, tonight was the time to do it...not 10+ days from now! We still control our own destiny. But, don't think for a second that the next two games won't be tough. Both MSU games will be challenging. Izzo will have the Spartans ready. Hate him as much as you do...for whining all the time, making excuses, recruiting dirty, paying kids to stay extra years, working the refs as good as Coach K...whatever you want. The guy can flat out coach basketball. He's a Hall of Fame coach and the Spartans have had the best program in the Big Ten during his tenure. They're playing well. We just got destroyed. They need to win for a tournament bid. We need to win for a Big Ten title. Respect the situation. We need to regroup quickly, find our grit and grind, and play well to win. In the words of boxing ref, Mills Lane, "Let's get it on!"
2) Franz was just off all night. When Michigan has "Aggressive Franz", he's a Lottery Pick and our team is dynamic. When he's passive, as he was tonight, he's an enigma and our team struggles. Tonight he made bad passes, got beat defensively off the dribble several times, missed rebounds, and was not assertive offensively.
3) Deep shots were short or off all game - nobody hit anything tonight except for a few shots by Livers in the 1st half. It was brick city.
4) Cockburn was a force. He disrupted our guards driving to the basket and shut down Hunter while getting him into foul trouble (although the 3rd foul by Hunter was a self-inflicted killer). Credit to Austin Davis for some tough baskets against Cockburn down low. Tonight was a game where Hunter could have used a 4-6 foot mid-range shot. McGary was great at the elbow / FT jumper, and it was a weapon. A few times Hunter was able to turn and face, but, making it a staple of his repertoire takes him to the next level against elite big men. Added strength will help too.
5) We had no legs tonight defensively. We didn't box out, grab rebounds, or get loose balls. We also didn't seem to communicate well. It was atypical. In addition, we didn't show much grit or grind, didn't have energy / spark, and the effort wasn't nearly what we've come to expect. That tells me the team was tired physically and mentally. It was our 3rd game in 6 days. Still, rather disappointing, considering a conference title was on the line. Meanwhile, Illinois really fought hard all game long.
6) Offensively, we were very TIGHT early, we had very little motion on offense throughout; we certainly didn't move the ball enough nor we did we move without the ball. Jay Bilas even noticed our lack of movement and commented. We had too much one-on-one play in the 1st half. There was ZERO flow offensively all game long. Give credit to Illinois defense which was outstanding. Underwood is known as an aggressive defensive coach. We had opportunities throughout the 1st half to backdoor Illinois, but failed to recognize the opportunities. As a side note, one thing I wish Juwan would do when we're desperate for a basket is to dial-up 1-2 set plays for Livers and Franz to come off screen-action for elbow jumpers. If some reason, like tonight, our guys are not flowing the action, then, force the flow with a specific set play-call or two or three. Like, against Rutgers, when we went 8-10 minutes without a basket, call some specific set-plays to get your two best players good looks from the elbow. Dial that up!
7) I think Underwood is a very good coach. He did a solid job at Oklahoma Sate and has turned Illinois into a strong Big Ten contender. Tonight, he used pressure ball-defense in the half-court to disrupt our flow, and he used a 3-guard offense which made Illinois QUICKER than Michigan. Without Ayo, a bigger guard, and a more natural defensive guard for Franz / Livers, Underwood went with a smaller, quicker guy. It made defending Illinois harder for our forwards. Smart coaching. And, other teams, may follow this recipe if they have enough quick players that can handle the ball. Michigan didn't take advantage, as Juwan could have posted Franz up all game long on the offensive end.
8) A few of Juwan's line-ups were questionable: 1) using Williams in the 1st half; 2) waiting too long (down 19) to bring back Hunter on 3 fouls - the game was over. We had no chance at that point.
9) We got nothing from Brown or Johns. The usually reliable Brown had no impact offensively, with an air-ball 3-point attempt in the 1st half and an air-ball FT attempt in the 2nd half - and defensively, Illinois was a bit too quick for him to have a materially defensive impact. No rebounding, no loose balls from the usually scrappy Brown. Meanwhile, that's the 3rd straight game where Johns had an opportunity to impact the game and couldn't. If you look around college basketball, there are A TON of teams with athletic power forwards. Juwan has to feel confident in going to Johns for certain match-ups based on opponent and be able to put a smaller / faster / more athletic lineup with Johns for a few minutes based on game dictation / flow. Right now, Johns isn't instilling any confidence, having really struggled since the COVID-19 break. Unfortunately, his play has regressed materially, and instead of being that energy guy off the bench, clearing the glass, getting those key putt-backs, loose balls, etc, he's been more of a liability by turning the ball over too much while having a negative +/- on the floor. Offensively, John's is off-balance too often when he tries to initiate offense, which has caused him to lose his ability to jump high. For Michigan to go deep in the tournament, Johns has to be a positive force off the bench. His poor play is hurting the team. He must find his game ASAP.
10) Overall, it was a STINKER. No iffs, ands, or butts about it. However, if you're going to have a stinker, tonight was the time to do it...not 10+ days from now! We still control our own destiny. But, don't think for a second that the next two games won't be tough. Both MSU games will be challenging. Izzo will have the Spartans ready. Hate him as much as you do...for whining all the time, making excuses, recruiting dirty, paying kids to stay extra years, working the refs as good as Coach K...whatever you want. The guy can flat out coach basketball. He's a Hall of Fame coach and the Spartans have had the best program in the Big Ten during his tenure. They're playing well. We just got destroyed. They need to win for a tournament bid. We need to win for a Big Ten title. Respect the situation. We need to regroup quickly, find our grit and grind, and play well to win. In the words of boxing ref, Mills Lane, "Let's get it on!"
Last edited:
