Michigan lost its first game of the year on Saturday in a 91-88 home loss to Wisconsin. Dylan and Eric break down what happened, Michigan’s defensive strategy, adjustments, and what went wrong. Then, they try to sort out what to make of Michigan’s recent downturn in form and what it means moving forward as the Big Ten race heats up.
The UM Hoops Podcast · Episode 232 · 1:17:48
Show notes
Michigan lost its first game of the season, 91-88 to Wisconsin, after the Badgers made 15 threes, including seven in a row to open the second half. Dylan Burkhardt and Eric Shapiro walk through the drop coverage on pick-and-pops, the switch to 1 through 5 switching, and why the execution fell apart.
They also cover Michigan's offense, with only nine transition possessions, the 2-foul bench decision on Elliot Cadeau, and how worried to be about recent 3-point shooting. They close with the Big Ten race, the Washington and Oregon trip, upcoming five-out opponents and Yaxel Lendeborg's health.
- wisconsin loss
- 3-point shooting
- drop coverage
- switching defense
- transition offense
- big ten race
- rotation
- injuries
Worth hearing
16:13 · Switching 1 through 5 and the breakdowns
“I thought their 1 through 5 switching was the worst that it’s looked in any game this year, and in part because of miscommunicating switches and then also just not being able to stay in front of the ball.”
Eric Shapiro
46:09 · How worried to be about 3-point shooting
“Shooting, like making shots, it’s just like an accelerant. And when you make shots, you’re never like— it makes you feel so much better than you are.”
Dylan Burkhardt
1:13:43 · Preparing for five-out opponents
“I think Michigan expected that when it went switch 1 through 5, it would be dominant. And I think everything that had happened this year had pointed to that being an elite option.”
Dylan Burkhardt
4:26 · Michigan's first loss of the season
“Wisconsin had the formula and they made a ton of shots in the second half, probably an unsustainable or what you wouldn’t have thought on paper, like, quantity.”
Eric Shapiro
47:43 · How worried to be about 3-point shooting
“I’m definitely less concerned than that. I wasn’t really thinking in terms of numbers, but like one of the most variable things game to game is 3-point shooting.”
Eric Shapiro
Prediction1:05:53 · Preparing for five-out opponents
“Kepnang is like a post anchor. He’s the perfect guy for Michigan to scheme against because you can just put Mara down there and switch everything else out.”
Dylan Burkhardt
Chapters
- Michigan's first loss of the season
- Wisconsin's 3-point shooting by the numbers
- Drop coverage and the pick-and-pop
- Switching 1 through 5 and the breakdowns
- Luck, credit and Michigan's mistakes
- Michigan's offense and missing transition
- The Cadeau two-foul bench decision
- How worried to be about 3-point shooting
- The 2-point gap and the late fouls
- Big Ten race and West Coast reset
- Preparing for five-out opponents
- Yaxel Lendeborg needs to get going
Games discussed
- Michigan at Washington W 82-72
- Wisconsin at Michigan L 88-91
- Michigan at Oregon W 81-71
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Join the conversation · 25 replies on the forum
The conversation
25 repliesJoin the discussionRoyalman10
For some reason this podcast really makes me wanna fly spirit
harris116
Great pod! Excited to see how the team comes out in Washington. Hoping the pressure of perfection being removed (and maybe a little less national narratives) will help the team just get back to progressively getting better. If you had given me 14-1 at the beginning of the season, would have been ecstatic. Everything still in front of them and they have the pieces to legitimately compete with every team. Definitely hoping to see a more aggressive form of Yax (offensively, defensively, and on the boards).
urbanachiever
Great pod. I’ll cast my vote as someone that loves Xs and Os pods especially after losses.
Will be fascinating to see how Michigan wants to defend against teams with shooting bigs going forward, especially Nebraska and Illinois.
umhoops
I do think there’s a big part of those games that is different in that they have shooting bigs who are actually going to go on the scouting report as shooters.
This was a guy you didn’t expect to make shots making a lot of shots.
That’s why it was so impactful in changing the game. Similar to the few games last year where Goldin randomly hit a few threes. Just completely found money.
urbanachiever
Yeah but I also think it was an obvious place to try to attack Michigan’s defense, because you want to force Mara out of the paint.
Maybe not a high probability outcome for Wisconsin, but how else were they going to attack Michigan’s base defense.
I thought your take on Morez was interesting, regarding basically inviting teams to try and game plan around attacking him 1-on-1 on the perimeter. I’m definitely not down on his game out there, but a little less certain about his switchability onto elite guards