Michigan Friday: A Bit of a Funk

101-81

When you look at the final score and winning by 21 or knowing Michigan was up 30 at one point.  You might think, "no problems here".   That really didn't tell the story of the game, did it?  Michigan wasn't focused or playing hard in the first half and found themselves up only 4 points at halftime.   Like the Wisconsin game in the the Big 10 tournament, Howard had to do 2 things to win this game, shoot the lights out from 3 and not turn the ball over.   In the first half, they did both and drained 10 three point shots.  

In the 2nd half, they couldn't do either very well and lost the game by a big margin.  Both Duke and Michigan came into Thursday thinking they were going to have a cake walk, instead they got a pie in the face.  

The box score was also interesting:  Rez Johnson led the team with 21 points and 10 boards (offically was 8-8 from the field), Mara had 19 in a dunk-a-thon, Burnett had 15, and Gayle added 14 in front of family and friends.  The names you don't see is Yax who had 9 and Cadeau who had 5.  

Happy for Rez who had a terrible trip to Chicago and Gayle who preformed well in front of his fans.  Tschetter did add 6 points but continues to struggle with defense and turnovers. 

Michigan has to play better defense for the entire 40 minutes of the game.  These teams can play and most of them have shooters.  Michigan does have an advantage in the low post but that doesn't mean they can let 3 point shooters take wide open 3's all day and just hope they miss. 

Michigan in Chicago and now in Buffalo looks like a tired team to me.  Working on rest & recovery and focusing on defense will do this team very well in the next 24 hours.   

You know what also doesn't hurt and is the perfect tonic for what ales the Wolverines?  this quote:

"I hope we smack the crap out of them (Michigan) worse than we did Georgia." East Lansing native Cam Hutson got to play in his first NCAA Tournament game for St. Louis tonight.

Michigan Thursday: UpState New York State of Mind

Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But I'm taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line
I'm in a New York state of mind

Michigan has had a special basketball season where they won the regular season Big Ten Title and earned a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  Today marks the day, the start of the final journey in Buffalo, NY around 7:10 PM against Howard.  

Michigan did not play well in Chicago and in fact looked like a tired team.  If I'm understanding this correctly, they got on a bus and drove 6 hours to Buffalo?  WTF? Was that due to weather or for team building? (Or were they just in a NY State of Mind?) Either way, they should be flying.   

Michigan Basketball needs to find that "fun" and play making abilities they had when they went to Vegas.  Guard play is really important in the NCAA Tournament and we need the Michigan's seniors to step up as this is their final ride.  Gayle, Burnett, Yax, and The Cheese Man all need to take it up a notch or two.  Yax has to dominate when the Wolverines get in a funk and Gayle/Burnett have to make better decisions with the ball.   Tschetter is an important player off the bench for defense, rebounding, and shooting 3's.  He has been struggling in all 3 areas lately.  

Cadeau is the engine that drives this sports car.  Keep making good decisions with the ball and score when you get your opportunities.  We also need Rez to get out of his funk and get back to being an elite defender and a finisher down low. 

Nobody saw Dusty's FAU squad coming, this team everyone knows is coming.   It will be Dusty's most difficult coaching situation of his career.  He has to be careful in his rotations and always make sure there is a scorer on the floor.  The time is now.  Let's Go! 

Wolverine Wednesday: Spring Ball Number Updates

Number Changes:

WR Kendrick Bell — No. 10 to No. 0
CB Jyaire Hill — No. 20 to No. 0
S Rod Moore — No. 19 to No. 1
S Jordan Young — No. 14 to No. 6
DE Dominic Nichols — No. 33 to No. 8
WR I’Marion Stewart — No. 8 to No. 28
WR Jamar Browder — No. 6 to No. 81
DT Ted Hammond — No. 90 to No. 92

Transfer:

CB Smith Snowden #3

WR Jamie Ffrench #10

WR JJ Buchanan #13

LB Alsea Moa #13

QB Colin Hurley #18

S Chris Bracy #20

S Taylor Tatum #26

LB Max Alford #30

LB Nathaniel Staehlings #44 

LS Gavin Magorien #46

LB Christian Pierce #67

DE John Henry Daley #90

DT Jonah Lea'ea #91

K Trey Butkowski #99

Early Enrolled Freshman:

RB Savion Hiter #5

WR Salesi Moa #12 

QB Tommy Carr #14

LB Aden Reeder #15

QB Brady Smigiel #17

WR Jaylen Pile #20 

S Jordan Deck #22

LB Markel Dabney #23

CB Jam Vincent #24

S Ernest Nunley #27

RB Jonathan Brown #29

LB Kaden Catchings #33

DE McHale Blade #51

OL Ace Hamilton #52

OL Marky Walbridge #78

WR Travis Johnson #86

Other Updates

Manuel Beigel has moved from the defensive line to the Offensive line.

OL Larry Hattar is not on the roster and may not have any eligibility left after being in transfer portal and hopping out. 

QB Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, CSU transfer is not with the team right now and expected to come in this summer. 

Michigan Tuesday: News and Notes

• Reports are that Yax turned down a $7-$9M offer from Kentucky and picked Michigan for $3M.  Smart kid. 

• 4 former Wolverines are in the UFL: Taco in Dallas, Chris Hinton Louisville, JBB in Columbus, and Michael Barrett in St. Louis. 

• Scout Michigan's Thursday opponent tonight! UMBC vs. Howard in Dayton.  6:40 on TruTV

• Coach Whitt's first Spring Practice starts today! 

• Coach Lou's son Louis who is a Michigan commit and a high rising recruit will be on campus today for the 1st practice! 

• You know what the NBA regular season needs? 2 more expansion teams.  Seattle and Vegas are in play.  Just like Baseball, the NBA needs to cut down their regular season by a month at least. 

• Michigan Basketball leaves for Buffalo today, seems a little early.  

• Sounds like teams are seeing if JJ is available after the Kyler Murray signing. 

• Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

Update on Spring Practice from Coach Whitt:

• OL Andrew Babalola, DL John Henry Daley and DB Rod Moore will not be available for Spring Practice and want them ready for Game 1.

• Andrew Marsh, Jamie Ffrench, JJ Buchanan and Salesi Moa all have the chance to be great Big Ten receivers.

• Expectation is to contend for a Big Ten Championship every year.

• Hiter is going to be special and Carr is trending to be QB #2

• Already gains made with Winter Conditioning