Michigan rolled over Oakland in the season opener and now prepares for a crucial week with games against Wake Forest and TCU. Dylan and Eric break down the opening game, discuss some key storylines, and spend some time previewing Wake Forest ahead of Tuesday’s clash in Detroit.
The UM Hoops Podcast · Episode 223 · 54:03
Show notes
Dylan Burkhardt and Eric Shapiro weigh what the Oakland win does and doesn't tell them. The zone meant no pick-and-roll data, but the depth, size and passing looked as advertised. Trey McKenney's 6-for-8 shooting night and the Aday Mara and Morez Johnson pairing get the most attention, along with a defense that still has switching issues.
The back half is a Wake Forest preview. Eric lays out its off-ball sets, blitzed ball screens and heavy three-point allowance, and both see turnovers as the key test. They also look ahead to TCU, the soft non-conference slate, and rapid-fire picks for the game.
- oakland
- wake forest
- turnovers
- defense
- frontcourt
- guard rotation
- non-conference schedule
- tcu
Worth hearing
44:16 · TCU, schedule strength and what a win means
“I think you want this to be a double-digit win if you want to puff your chest out and say, we’re big bad Michigan this year, we’re a contender.”
Dylan Burkhardt
26:39 · Wake Forest: scheme and matchup problems
“If you were going to design an offensive system to give Michigan problems, I do think having intricate off-ball sets would potentially lead to some of those issues with some of the switching stuff”
Eric Shapiro
6:03 · Oakland takeaways: zone, depth and passing
“The depth is as advertised, the talent is as advertised, and just the passing ability I think is really— if this team ends up being as good as it can be, I think it’ll be that passing ability”
Dylan Burkhardt
Prediction36:11 · Elliot Cadeau against pressure and Wake's roster
“I think this kind of suits him as long as he trusts the pass and doesn’t go crazy trying to make home run plays.”
Eric Shapiro
40:37 · Elliot Cadeau against pressure and Wake's roster
“I think the matchup sets up more favorably for Michigan this year because there’s not that guy you circle like, oh, he’s going to be a problem.”
Dylan Burkhardt
18:38 · Mara and Morez in the frontcourt
“For me, Morez on defense, he is just a monster. Like, he can do anything and it feels like he just delivers the blow, so to speak.”
Dylan Burkhardt
8:42 · Trey McKenney's breakout and the wing group
“He’s mature defensively beyond like what you would expect from a freshman.”
Eric Shapiro
Prediction50:07 · Rapid-fire Wake Forest picks
“I’m gonna say Nimari Burnett hits 4 threes or more against Wake Forest.”
Eric Shapiro
Chapters
- Intro and UM Hoops Plus
- Oakland takeaways: zone, depth and passing
- Trey McKenney's breakout and the wing group
- Mara and Morez in the frontcourt
- Michigan's defense so far
- Wake Forest: scheme and matchup problems
- Elliot Cadeau against pressure and Wake's roster
- TCU, schedule strength and what a win means
- Rapid-fire Wake Forest picks
- Fake neutral games and sign-off
Games discussed
- Michigan vs. Wake Forest W 85-84
- Oakland at Michigan W 121-78
- Michigan at TCU W 67-63
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Join the conversation · 21 replies on the forum
The conversation
21 repliesJoin the discussionDLhoops
I feel like Spillers is unlikely to do much if he gets matched up against one of our bigs (Mara, Johnson, or even Lendeborg). What Wake will try to do is see if they can use screens to get someone like Burnett or Gayle or Tschetter switched on to him and then attack from there. I would go heavy drop coverage and keep a big near the rim at all times. They have a couple shooters that we need to stick close to, but overall they do not shoot 3s at a very high rate under Forbes.
JonnyB
Loved the back and forth of Dylan bringing up the Lions game and Eric countering with the Michigan weather forecast
It is worth noting that Michigan’s first four games last year had turnover numbers of 16, 16, 21, and 18. So they’ve already done a much better job in game 1 of avoiding turnovers to start this year, depending on how we count the exhibition games. Of course, that could just be because Oakland plays zone. We’ll have to see I guess.
umhoops
The problem is that the turnovers were awful in the exhibition games, and Oakland doesn’t force turnovers. So it is kind of like patting yourself on the back for defensive rebounding against a team that doesn’t crash the offensive glass.
JonnyB
Yeah, that’s probably true. Maybe you could chalk up some of the turnovers against Cincinnati to weird lineups, but they played their regular rotation against St Johns.
MichiganMan2424
Yeah Cleveland State was 10th in forced TO rate last year. Very different than playing Oakland