Michigan just came off of a big home win against Big 10 leader, Wisconsin.. In some ways, Michigan offers a unique style in the Big 10. They keep the deep post open on offense and everything is shooting or "working downhill" to the rim.
Michigan is a team of extremes..... THEIR STRENGTHS are that they lead the nation in fewest turnovers per game. They are 4th in the nation in free throw percentage as a team so they are not an easy team to catch from behind, once they get a lead. They play 8 guys pretty consistently and try to fit that 9th or 10th guy in when they can. ALL 8 shoot free throws very well and all can shoot from beyond the arc. Very hard to get help defense on them if they get their spacing right. Their bigs like Moritz Wagner or Mark Donnal shoot the deep ball, especially at the top of the key. They have a tall wing in Duncan Robinson(6-7, 6-8) that is one of the finest shooters around anywhere with his feet set. Their other wings(Zac Irvin and DJ Wilson) like to slash to the rim and do a good job cutting off the ball. ....Derrick Walton is playing as well as any PG in the Big 10 right now so Nate Mason will have his hands full with him, whether shooting deep, driving to the basket, or creating for others. Walton is the leader of this team without a doubt. Muhammad Ali Abdur Rahkman can pull up and shoot or drive as he can be a crafty player. Former Mr Basketball in Ohio, Xavier Simpson, backs up Walton.
The reason they do not score more than they do brings me to their other extremes, which is THEIR WEAKNESSES. They are one of the poorest, if not THE poorest, rebounding teams in the Big Ten, plain and simple. Part of that is on offense as their bigs are usually quite a ways from the basket.. A lot of "one shot and done" on each of their possessions. They are also a below average defensive team though they have played better in recent games. They struggle more with 'grind it out' types of teams and they want to get into the open floor. We can get shots inside on them. Guys like Jordan Murphy and Reggie Lynch can really do damage inside on this team. Eric Curry the same. Patience is key to executing against them.. We can do all our normal things but we cannot panic.
Michigan's strength can be a weakness as well.. Since all their players have the CAPABILITY of shooting anywhere in the half court, sometimes the wrong person is taking the shots instead of the player who is hot at the time. When one of their guys gets hot, the rest of their players need to do other things to help their squad on offense.. That has not always been the case this year. Hence, the reason they have not been as good of a scoring team as they are capable of being. Still, they will pull Reggie Lynch and Jordan Murphy away from the basket to defend.. We will have to be strong in position defense.. It is CRITICAL that we do not allow them to get into a rhythm or they can make life real difficult for our team, in a hurry. We DO NOT want to play from behind against them.
Minnesota can get this win at home but we must play tough defense, especially on the perimeter and take charges when they slash to the basket. Be patient when making inside moves on offense and value possessions.. This is a team that has beaten Michigan State and Wisconsin so it is not going to be easy... This is the team that scares me the most of all our home games left... They are capable of playing much better than they have so far this year. If we win by a lot, I will be pleasantly shocked but we are capable of beating them as with any team in the conference this year.
Michigan is a team of extremes..... THEIR STRENGTHS are that they lead the nation in fewest turnovers per game. They are 4th in the nation in free throw percentage as a team so they are not an easy team to catch from behind, once they get a lead. They play 8 guys pretty consistently and try to fit that 9th or 10th guy in when they can. ALL 8 shoot free throws very well and all can shoot from beyond the arc. Very hard to get help defense on them if they get their spacing right. Their bigs like Moritz Wagner or Mark Donnal shoot the deep ball, especially at the top of the key. They have a tall wing in Duncan Robinson(6-7, 6-8) that is one of the finest shooters around anywhere with his feet set. Their other wings(Zac Irvin and DJ Wilson) like to slash to the rim and do a good job cutting off the ball. ....Derrick Walton is playing as well as any PG in the Big 10 right now so Nate Mason will have his hands full with him, whether shooting deep, driving to the basket, or creating for others. Walton is the leader of this team without a doubt. Muhammad Ali Abdur Rahkman can pull up and shoot or drive as he can be a crafty player. Former Mr Basketball in Ohio, Xavier Simpson, backs up Walton.
The reason they do not score more than they do brings me to their other extremes, which is THEIR WEAKNESSES. They are one of the poorest, if not THE poorest, rebounding teams in the Big Ten, plain and simple. Part of that is on offense as their bigs are usually quite a ways from the basket.. A lot of "one shot and done" on each of their possessions. They are also a below average defensive team though they have played better in recent games. They struggle more with 'grind it out' types of teams and they want to get into the open floor. We can get shots inside on them. Guys like Jordan Murphy and Reggie Lynch can really do damage inside on this team. Eric Curry the same. Patience is key to executing against them.. We can do all our normal things but we cannot panic.
Michigan's strength can be a weakness as well.. Since all their players have the CAPABILITY of shooting anywhere in the half court, sometimes the wrong person is taking the shots instead of the player who is hot at the time. When one of their guys gets hot, the rest of their players need to do other things to help their squad on offense.. That has not always been the case this year. Hence, the reason they have not been as good of a scoring team as they are capable of being. Still, they will pull Reggie Lynch and Jordan Murphy away from the basket to defend.. We will have to be strong in position defense.. It is CRITICAL that we do not allow them to get into a rhythm or they can make life real difficult for our team, in a hurry. We DO NOT want to play from behind against them.
Minnesota can get this win at home but we must play tough defense, especially on the perimeter and take charges when they slash to the basket. Be patient when making inside moves on offense and value possessions.. This is a team that has beaten Michigan State and Wisconsin so it is not going to be easy... This is the team that scares me the most of all our home games left... They are capable of playing much better than they have so far this year. If we win by a lot, I will be pleasantly shocked but we are capable of beating them as with any team in the conference this year.
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