With one final chance at earning a victory across the pond, Michigan came through in the clutch and earned a win.
Michigan played their best game both offensively and defensively of the entire trip. They were lights out in the first half (67% from the field) and cruised to a 50-31 halftime lead. Mons made a valiant comeback effort but Michigan made just enough plays in order to hold onto the much needed victory. [More: Post game audio and video interviews]
Matt Vogrich made plenty of plays for Michigan as he finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 8 of 11 from the field. Tim Hardaway Jr. was the other double digit scorer with 14 while Novak added 9, Morris 8, and Smotrycz 7. Even more impressive was that they all shot 50% or better from the field.
It’s definitely nice to end the trip on a positive note and also pretty clear that Michigan steadily improved over the week. I’ll have a wrap-up post tomorrow but for now, here is the box score, tempo free stats, and some analysis after the jump.
Tempo free offensive stats:
| Poss. | 69.8 |
| PPP | 1.15 |
| eFG% | 64.7% |
| OR% | 11.5% |
| TO% | 15.8% |
| FTR | 13.8% |
Bullets:
- Matt Vogrich shot the lights out. He not only shot well from three, he made all four of his field goals inside the arc. His 82% eFG% on 11 shots is extremely impressive to say the least. Not to mention his team high seven boards.
- Michigan’s improvement inside the arc is astounding and tough to explain without seeing the game – they shot 70% from inside the arc today. I don’t know if Mons had no shot blocking threat or Michigan was just running their offense more efficiently.
- When Andy Beilein tweeted that Vogrich was playing some four I was a bit appalled but both he and Tim Hardaway did a great job on the defensive glass today – Michigan is going to need that rebounding from the wing.
- Offensively, Michigan won this one with their shooting. They didn’t do much of anything on the offensive glass and didn’t get to the line – but it doesn’t matter with a 65% eFG%.
- The rebounding looks bad at first glance but my estimations (tough with half the box score) but it looks like Michigan rebounded around 80% of Mons’ missed shots which is a dramatic improvement.
- Tim Hardaway Jr. had another strong game… It’s becoming clear that he’s going to be a double digit shot guy but he also had three assists as well. For a true freshman in August, there’s a lot to like about Hardaway thus far.
- The big man situation continues to play out. Horford got only 4 minutes of playing time today while McLimans, Smotrycz, and Morgan all played a touch under 20 minutes. Each of these guys gives you something a little different but they will definitely have their ups and downs.
- Darius Morris had a very solid game – 4 of 7 and 4 assists in 23 minutes – he also took significantly fewer threes than before. I’m willing to give some credit here toward Michigan’s offense running a little more smoothly and having to force up fewer desperation attempts.
