2009-2010 Season

Game 27: Illinois at Michigan Post Game

44 points gets you bullets. I could probably breakdown all 16 Michigan baskets in a full post game, so we might as well keep things short and simple. Full box score here. “Highlights” here.

  • Michigan missed 49 shots, just two fewer than the Illini attempted all night long. If you are doing the math, Michigan’s 44 points on 65 shots equates to .67 points per shot.
  • The shooting line was terrible: 29.4% on twos. 19.4% on threes. 50% on free throws. Michigan just couldn’t get anything to go down.
  • Right now the shooting problems are mental and physical. There’s really just no way to explain it — this team can’t make wide open shots. Now the problem has even extended to layups. The problem is that they know all too well that they haven’t been able to shoot it. They are shooting not to miss and don’t have any confidence that their shot is going in.
  • The late alley-oop play to Mike Davis was a microcosm of the season. Michigan played great defense and forced DJ Richardson into a desperate running three point attempt. The shot just caught iron and somehow careened into Mike Tisdale’s hands. Michigan didn’t end up with the bounce they needed and couldn’t make the one play that might have gotten them over the hump.
  • Once again, turnovers kept Michigan in this one. Michigan forced turnovers on 27.4% of Illinois’ possessions while coughing it up on only 8.1% of their own.
  • Despite Michigan’s poor shooting, you definitely can’t say that they have quit. The defensive intensity over the last two games has been some of the best all year. Darius Morris has done a great job on two of the best lead guards in the conference and Michigan held Illinois to only .8 points per possession.
  • Michigan’s guards combined to shoot 1 of 18 from the field, that’s 5%. Douglass was terrible. Lucas-Perry was terrible. Morris did some nice things but also can’t shoot. Stat Sheet doesn’t have plus-minus numbers for this game up yet, but I would be willing to bet Lucas-Perry would come in last, his struggles are tough to watch.
  • DeShawn Sims was a no-show but Zack Gibson provided a nice spark of energy. Sims has been lackadaisical in Michigan’s last two games totaling just 17 points on 7 of 22 shooting which is disappointing considering how well he had been playing this year in conference play.
  • Shooting pull-up three pointers in transition is painful. Shooting long pull-up jumpers from one step in front of the three point line is inexcusable. Douglass thinks this is his shot for some reason and Manny is a fan of the shot as well. The three point shot in transition works when you have someone drive and kick (i.e. Novak vs. Duke), the pull-up three is just a terrible shot.
  • Bruce Weber made some interesting comments in his post game about Illinois’ 16-19 (5-13) season in 2008 and the paralells between this year’s Michigan team. The gist was that sometimes seasons don’t go the right way because of leadership and chemistry. I know coaches tend to look out for their fellow coaches but he definitely made some interesting points about things that we’ve discussed here previously.
  • Detroit Country Day class of 2011 big man  Amir Williams made the trip to Ann Arbor. You can see some recent video here.
  • Tim Hardaway Jr.’s team lost in the state regional semi-finals despite Hardaway’s game high 20 points. Hardaway was “double-teamed him whenever he was near the three-point line” in the second half and held to only 2 points in the fourth quarter. Trey Zeigler had 27 points and 10 rebounds in Mount Pleasant’s 13th victory in a row, an overtime win over Bay City Central.
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