Five takeaways from Michigan’s 75-69 loss at Penn State

Michigan was upset on the road on Tuesday night, suffering a defeat 75-69 defeat at the Bryce Jordan Center. The Wolverines played their worst defensive game of the season and saw their head coach get ejected. Here are five takeaways from the defeat including an in-depth look at the numbers behind Jordan Poole’s slump.

1. Michigan needs more from Jordan Poole

After Jordan Poole picked apart Indiana with an array of Vine-worthy ball screen moves and hesitation dribbles in January, I wrote a story explaining his emergence as an offensive force. I compared him to Nik Stauskas and outlined how he had been more effective out of ball screens than former Wolverine guards.

The highlights and production were there, and people began to throw around the phrase “pro” next to Poole’s name. Ever since that performance, he hasn’t been the same player.

Over Michigan’s last ten games, Poole is averaging just 11.3 points per game, shooting 45.8% on twos and 27.9% on threes — 51.3 eFG% — with an assist-to-turnover ratio under one.

During the 10-game stretch that ended with the Indiana game, he averaged 17.2 points per game, shooting 64% on twos and 54% on threes — 73.4 eFG% — with an assist-to-turnover ratio over one.

Poole’s ball screen efficiency has also plummeted. He was scoring 1.103 points per ball screen play on 87 plays through 15 games. He’s logged 77 possessions over the previous ten games, scoring just 56 points (.73 points per possession). That’s the difference between the 93rd percentile ball screen player and a 27th percentile ball screen player.