SB Nation - Zack Gibson

Kansas Hosts Michigan Saturday in an Early Tip

Denverjhawk — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:00:20 -0000

Kansas v Michigan

No. 1 Kansas (9-0) took a week off for exams but heads back to the hardwood hosting Big Ten Conference foe Michigan (5-4) Saturday at 11 a.m. Michigan as a team looked to be a potentially strong test for the Jayhawks before the year began. However, after losing four of their last six, the youthful Michigan squad doesn't appear to have a single victory against a qualify opponent through 9 games of the season. Oh, where have the days of the fab five gone.

	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
MICH	71.1	42.2	70.5	29.7	33.6	11.1	22.4	15.3	10.0	8.2	2.9	14.1
KU	90.3	51.2	67.1	44.2	43.7	14.6	29.1	19.7	11.9	9.6	7.4	18.1
MICH Opponents	63.9	44.0	65.1	30.3	37.1	12.0	25.1	14.3	15.6	5.2	3.3	18.1
KU Opponents	57.7	34.3	65.9	28.7	33.7	13.7	20.0	11.1	16.7	5.8	3.2	20.0

Rank and Records	MICH	KU
RPI	#243	#21
Strength of Schedule	#255	#181
Overall	5-4	9-0
Conference	0-0	0-0
Home	4-1	6-0
Away	0-1	1-0
Top 25	0-0	0-0
RPI Top 50	0-1	0-0

About Kansas

Kansas posted a 90-65 win against La Salle in the M&I Bank Kansas City Shootout on Dec. 12 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. Freshman Xavier Henry had a career-high 31 points in the game and was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second-straight week for his efforts.

Kansas averages 90.3 points per game, is giving up 57.7 points and ranks in the top five nationally with a +32.7 scoring margin. KU is shooting 51.2 percent from the field, while its opponents are shooting 34.3 percent. Only one KU opponent, Radford, has shot above 40 percent against the Jayhawks this season.

Xavier Henry leads the team with an 18 point scoring average. He is making 53.3 percent of his shots from three-point range and leads KU with 24 threes and 16 steals.

Senior guard Sherron Collins scores 13.3 points per game and he has made 19 three pointers. Collins leads the team with 40 assists, which are five ahead of sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor (7.3 ppg). Taylor has 14 steals, two ahead of Collins (12).

Junior center Cole Aldrich leads the team in rebounds with 9.6 per game. He also leads KU and the Big 12 in blocked shots with 3.6 per outing. Sophomore forward Marcus Morris is a starter who is scoring 9.8 points and pulling down 5.3 rebounds per game.

Sophomore forward Markieff Morris is coming off the bench to score 8.9 points per game. Markieff, who recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against La Salle on Dec. 12, is second on the team with his 6.2 rebound average and leads KU with a 69.8 percent field goal shooting.

Junior guard Tyrel Reed scores 4.8 points per outing and he has 10 three-pointers this season. Freshman guard Elijah Johnson (4.3 ppg) has started the last two games.

About Michigan

Located in Ann Arbor, Mich., and coached by John Beilein, Michigan has won two of its last three games and is 5-4 on the season following its 75-64 win against Detroit on Dec. 13 in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines average 71.1 points and give up 63.9 per game for a +7.2 scoring margin. U-M averages 8.2 steals per game and forces 15.6 turnovers per contest.

Michigan is one of the youngest teams in America with 12 players redshirt sophomores or younger. Junior guard Manny Harris leads the team with 22.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Harris also has a team-high 18 steals and 45 assists. He is tied for the team lead with 13 three pointers along with sophomore guard Laval Lucas-Perry, who is scoring 7.4 points per game.

Senior forward DeShawn Sims is second on the team in scoring at 15.6 points per contest and he is just behind Harris in rebounds with a 7.4 average. Sophomore guard Zack Novak and freshman guard Darius Morris round out the starters. Novak scores 6.3 points per game, while Morris averages 4.8 ppg.

Senior forward Zack Gibson (6.0 ppg) and sophomore guard Stu Douglass (4.7 ppg) each average more than 24
minutes per game for the Wolverines.

Meet the Opposing Coach

Michigan coach Jim Beilein is 36-40 in his third season at Michigan and 587-358 in his 32nd season overall. Beilein's 587 career victories place him in the top 20 in victories among active Division I head coaches. He has compiled 27 winning seasons and put together 15 campaigns of 20-wins or more. Beilein is the only active coach in the collegiate ranks to record a 20-win season at four different levels -- junior college, NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division I. During the 2008-09 season, Beilein's second in Ann Arbor, Michigan posted a 21-14 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 seasons, falling in the second round. Michigan's 21 victories during the 2008-09 campaign tied a school record for the largest single-season turnaround in program history.

John Beilein
Team	Years	Record
Michigan	2007-2010	36-39 (48.0%)
West Virginia	2002-2007	104-60 (63.4%)
Richmond	1997-2002	100-53 (65.4%)
Canisius	1992-1997	89-62 (58.9%)
Le Moyne	1983-1992	163-94 (63.4%)
Nazareth	1982-1983	20-6 (76.9%)

The Series

Michigan has won all five meetings with Kansas in men's basketball. This is a rarity for Kansas - the third winningest program in NCAA Division I. Of teams with multiple games played against Kansas, Bradley (2-0) and UTEP (3-0) are the only teams that have undefeated records versus KU, damn Bradley. The Kansas-Michigan series dates back to 1949 and runs through 1992. Two of the matchups have been on neutral floors with a 49-47 Michigan win in 1949 in Kansas City and the last meeting, an 86-74 Michigan victory on Dec. 30, 1992, at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. This will be the second meeting between the schools in Allen Fieldhouse as Michigan defeated Kansas 64-52 during the 1980-81 season.

KU-La Salle Leftovers

Kansas freshman guard Xavier Henry scored 31 points to set a career high. The last Jayhawk to score 30-plus points was Sherron Collins, who scored 32 against North Dakota State last season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
X. Henry also set career highs in field goals (10), free throws made (seven) and free throws attempted (nine). His totals were also the most by a Jayhawk this season.
Markieff Morris recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Morris' 12 boards were his best output since his Jayhawk debut. Markieff Morris' four blocked shots were also a career high.
Junior center Cole Aldrich scored a season-high 19 points. He also set a season high in field goals (eight) and had five blocked shots to match a season high. Aldrich's five blocked shots gave him 160 for his career and moved him into sixth place all-time at KU, behind Danny Manning (200).
Kansas held La Salle to 36.1 percent shooting from the field, marking the 83rd-straight opponent the Jayhawks have held under 50 percent. KU has also held eight of its nine opponents this season under 40 percent.

What to Look For Against Michigan

Sherron Collins is 27 points from cracking the KU Top 20 career scoring list. Collins is 21st with 1,450 career points. Collins' former teammate Brandon Rush (2006-08) is at No. 20 with 1,477 points.
Collins is six assists from cracking the KU Top 10 all-time list. Collins is No. 11 with 431 career assists, while former KU great and current Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon is No. 10 with 437 assists from 1984-87.
Cole Aldrich is four rebounds from moving into 25th on the Kansas career rebound list. Aldrich has 592 all-time boards. David Magley (1979-82) is 25th at 596 and Kelly Knight (1980-84) is 24th at 601.
Through only nine games, Xavier Henry already ranks tied for 11th on the KU freshman list for three point field goals made with 24. Kirk Hinrich (2000) is 10th with 25, while Jacque Vaughn (1994) is ninth with 28.
Redshirt junior guard Brady Morningstar and redshirt freshman center Jeff Withey are both eligible to play against Michigan. Morningstar was suspended for the first semester for breaking team rules. He started 34 of 35 games last season and averaged 30.3 minutes per game with a 6.5 scoring average. Withey, who returned to practice full-time Dec. 7 from a knee injury, transferred to Kansas from Arizona in December 2008 and becomes academically eligible.

Team Notables

Kansas remains one of 11 undefeated teams in NCAA Division I (Dec. 13). Others include Georgetown, Kentucky, Missouri State, New Mexico, Purdue, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
Seven of Kansas' nine victories this season have been by 25 or more points with six of those by 30 points or more.
Entering the week, Kansas led the nation in scoring margin at +32.7. The Jayhawks also ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense (third at 90.3), field goal percentage (seventh at 51.2), field goal percentage defense (second at 34.3), three-point field goal percentage (fifth at 44.2), assists (fourth at 19.7), assist-to-turnover ratio (fourth at 1.65) and blocked shots (seventh at 7.4).
Kansas forces 16.7 turnovers per game and averages 21.3 points off turnovers per game.

		GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
#3	M. Harris	9	9	35.778	22.222	46.8	76.0	28.9	8.444	3.222	5.222	5.0	2.333	2.0	0.111	1.111
#34	D. Sims	9	9	30.667	15.556	47.0	75.0	37.5	7.444	3.0	4.444	1.0	1.0	1.222	0.889	1.889
#0	Z. Novak	8	8	31.0	6.25	40.0	55.6	28.1	4.375	0.875	3.5	1.5	0.5	1.5	0.5	2.25
#31	L. Lucas-Perry	9	9	24.667	7.444	38.9	57.1	36.1	2.111	0.667	1.444	1.667	1.556	0.889	0.111	2.444
#4	D. Morris	9	9	24.222	4.778	42.1	75.0	20.0	1.889	0.222	1.667	2.222	2.222	0.444	0.111	1.778
#1	S. Douglass	9	0	24.0	4.667	26.4	71.4	23.1	1.444	0.222	1.222	2.556	0.778	1.0	0.0	0.889
#32	Z. Gibson	9	1	12.333	6.0	56.8	62.5	22.2	2.667	1.444	1.222	0.222	0.444	0.444	0.889	1.667
#12	A. Wright	9	0	9.111	1.889	26.1	75.0	16.7	1.444	0.667	0.778	0.889	0.333	0.222	0.111	0.889
		GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
#4	S. Collins	9	9	29.667	13.333	43.8	77.3	43.2	2.0	0.222	1.778	4.444	1.556	1.333	0.0	1.333
#1	X. Henry	9	9	27.0	18.0	55.6	82.4	53.3	4.111	0.889	3.222	1.778	2.0	1.778	0.778	2.0
#45	C. Aldrich	9	9	25.889	12.0	56.3	70.0	0.0	9.556	3.333	6.222	1.222	1.444	0.667	3.556	2.111
	T. Taylor	9	7	23.556	7.333	40.0	68.4	31.2	2.778	0.667	2.111	3.889	2.0	1.556	0.222	1.778
#22	M. Morris	9	7	22.444	9.778	55.4	67.6	33.3	5.333	2.444	2.889	1.444	1.333	1.111	0.444	2.556
#21	M. Morris	9	2	16.778	8.889	69.8	66.7	66.7	6.222	2.111	4.111	1.222	0.889	0.778	1.0	1.889
#14	T. Reed	9	0	16.111	4.778	41.7	75.0	35.7	1.444	0.111	1.333	1.556	0.333	0.889	0.111	1.0
#15	E. Johnson	9	2	12.222	4.333	51.7	55.6	36.4	2.111	0.889	1.222	2.667	1.111	0.667	0.0	1.889

Don't Worry Baby, Zack Daddy's Back. And He's Going to Make it All Better.

Maize n Brew Dave — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:45:29 -0000

Quit cryin' baby. Zack's back. I told you I'd be back. I just had to go for a while. But I'm back now and everythin's all right.

Now what's all this nonsense about football? Baby, you're talking giberish. That don't matter now. White Moses is here to part your seas and lead you back to the promised land. That's right baby, we talking postseason. That beautiful place where the streets are paved in diamonds, every car is up on dubs, and they serve lobster with every steak. There are napkins also. That's where I'm takin' you.

So stop your sobbin and fall into Honky Magic's ten foot arms, baby. You know that's where you want to be. When I'm rockin the rim and makin sweet love to the crowd with a fade-away trey, you're not even going to remember what a football looks like.

All you'll remember is that silky white flash as I explode toward a sexy dunk that leaves your legs tremblin. You can see me now, can't you. Arms up above my head, cradling that basketball like I cradle you, poised and ready for the finish.

That's right, baby. Zack Daddy's back. And he's going to make it all better.

Wednesday Happy Hour is Loaded with Michigan Football Updates

Maize n Brew Dave — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:25:56 -0000

Maize n Brew gives you your daily (or semi-daily) rundown of all the Michigan Football, Michigan Basketball, College Football, and College Basketball news you need to get through the tedium at your boring ass desk job. For good measure we'll throw in a little irreverent information and commentary to help you salt away the time. Want it in 140 words or less, follow us on Twitter! Or you can find us on Facebook! Here's what's ON TAP:

Things You Need to Read Right Now

Coach Rod's got the Big Pun look rockin'. I can only pray LSU Freek gives us a little Marky M treatment. via The Detroit News.

Quarterback Achievement Under Rod Smith - WCA takes an indepth look at Michigan Quarterbacks coach Rod Smith. Per usual, Markus continues to rock the knowledge. WCA looks at Smith's success all the way back to 2001 while coaching under Jim Leavitt. Short version: things at Michigan under center look good with Smith in the fold. Stats galore for you numbers people.

Washington State's student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen Online, marks yet another arrest in Pullman with arguably the greatest editorial on arrest problems among student athletes ever. This is full of WIN.

Why you can't just play "assignment football" against the flexbone/triple-option - Smart Football is just awesome. Chris breaks down Paul Johnson's rushing attack in detail.

The Blue-Gray Sky provides us with "The Idiot's Guide to Interacting with Recruits." Words to live by people. Words to live by.

Michigan Football

Gibson expects a better mix - Rivals fluff on secondary coach Tony Gibson. Please, Tony, under no circumstances shift Warren to Safety ever again.

DT Thornton excited over Michigan offer - thank god, a DT with interest. We just covered this yesterday.

GA Corner Darius Robinson likes Michigan - Michigan seems to be in the lead for Georgia Corner , whom I regrettably omitted from my cornerback run down. Robinson's offer list is fairly impressive for a 3*. One concern is that for an Atlanta guy, there isn't a Georgia or Georgia Tech offer.

Along those lines, Heisman Pundit rates the nation's top corners. Donovan Warren checks in at No. 8.

Lloyd Carr, still awesome. - Carr talks to Petoskey Alumni about missing the sidelines and what he's been up to since retiring.

Rich Rodriguez anticipates better second season with U-M - File this under "Duh." Rodriguez sits down with the Detroit News and talks a little 2009/2008 football. Awesome quote? Check.

Q . But there seems to be the perception that Michigan State is taking over the state in recruiting

A . Last I checked, Mike Martin and Will Campbell were playing for Michigan.

Being Seantrel Henderson - Fluff on the No. 1 recruit in the country. Take what you want from this, but I'm not taking it as an indication he's planning on attending Michigan. Hope he does though. While he says he will wait until Signing Day to make a decision, he plans to cut his list to ten schools soon. He says Minnesota, Ohio State, USC, UCLA, Oklahoma and Florida State will make the cut for sure and he also likes Michigan, Iowa, Florida and LSU.

Picking the Big Ten - Further proof Dennis Dodd is not playing with a full deck. Dodd picks Michigan near the bottom of the Big Ten because the offense sputtered during the spring game. Now, I understand that Michigan's offense is not a well oiled Machine at this point, but when the offense scores five touchdowns with it's first team against the first team defense, the concern generally shifts to the play of the defense!

8. Michigan -- I was at a Michigan scrimmage in April during the Final Four. Granted, you don't learn much from watching a scrimmage but it seemed to me the offense still struggled to move the ball. Rich Rod better hope that the early-enrolling Tate Forcier is the answer at quarterback. There isn't much behind him. The defense should toughen up. A bowl is a possibility but will a 5-7 season be considered progress?

I fail to understand the benchmark being used, Mr. Dodd. Would you suggest the Defense was a disaster had the offense scored on every possession? Would you laud the defense if the offense couldn't move the ball? Or shouldn't you suggest that things looked about even on both sides of the ball? I'm just saying...

Michigan Basketball

Maize Ragin' - Basketball season ticket sales up to 2,076 student season tickets compared to 480 last year.

2009 Michigan Camp Wrap-Up - UM Hoops.com gives you the lowdown on Michigan's summer camps.

D'oh! Incoming recruit Jordan Morgan suffers knee injury. Morgan is scheduled to undergo knee surgery (cartilage repair) and will be out for 4-5 months. Dammit. Morgan was a likely candidate for a redshirt, but this just confirms it.

Zack Gibson isn't invisible. But he's so white he might as well be. I mean, seriously, I can see the man's arteries when he's not wearing a long sleeve t-shirt. (j/k). ($) Fluff on MnB's all-time favorite balla, shot calla.

Michigan Hockey

2009 Michigan Hockey Season Ticket Renewals Arrive. Link included for awesome photo of Yost.

Michigan had a boatload of incoming 2010 recruits in the NHL draft last weekend. Michigan Hockey Net has your total wrap up. Yost Built also takes a look at what happened. MGoBlog is relieved.

Big Ten Football

I hate these guys. Except for Zemek and Jon Miller. They can live. But only click on this if you want to be irritated and read recycled, tired lines about speed and recruiting. Scout.com: 6/25 Roundtable - Why Does The Big 10 Stink?

Part III of the Rivalry, Esq.'s ongoing series 11 Things I Want To See In the Big 10 During 2009. Point of interests? "I want to watch a UM-OSU game where I reasonably believe that Michigan can win." yeah. Me too.

College Football

Screw it. Marky M is in my head.

Bistec y tetas, es the fuckin’ mejor
Todd Reesing never lie, know he mannin’ the door
Keep the nacho fountain hot, he know what it for
Dippin titties in the queso, hater know the score–WHAAAATT? (Sheer genius courtesy Orson and Freek)

Gobbler Country scores an awesome interview Q&A with Virginia Tech play-by-play man Bill Roth.

Team Speed Kills takes a look at what's happened to SEC Quarterbacks going into this season. Of note, Mallett at Arkansas. I don't know how he's going to fair, but he's certainly going to have to work harder for the Hawgs than he ever did at Michigan to be successful.

So st quarterback it's not just us, everyone's screwed. Doctor Saturday takes a look at the viable and not-so-viable quarterbacks around the BCS schools. Kind of amazing to think that there are only two proven, capable quarterbacks in the SEC, two passable ones, and a whole bunch of head scratchers. Hell, the Big Ten has six useful passers. Does this mean Renaissance? I don't think so.

The Good Doctor also has a humble suggestion for college football broadcasters, Give the end zone angle a shot. Co-signed.

Smart Football continues to make us all smarter by previewing Nick Saban's Alabama defense.

When did it become the Bolshevik Championship Series? This is just gift wrapped for the WLA. Da Comrades?

Rivals releases its 2009 Football Recruiting Top 300. Michigan's sadly lacking commits in the top 100, but has plenty in the 101-300 range.

Misc...

Former Wolverine Jake Fox hit his first MLB home run in the first inning against the Tigers at Comerica Park on Thursday. He's playing for the Cubs.

Tuesday Happy Hour Welcomes Two New Michigan Football Recruits, Marvels at Athletic Department Revenues, and is Available to Assist in Your CBS College Football Broadcast

Maize n Brew Dave — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:08:10 -0000

It's Tuesday, but there's a lot in the Michigan Football and College Football Universe to get you caught up on. Here's what's ON TAP:

Stuff You Need to Read Right Now

A Detailed Look at Defensive Line Play. Tomahawk Nation looks at the details of defensive line play. It's a "Back to Basics" discussion that is so awesome your brain will explode with happiness. Goddammit I love this site.

Smart Football explains the Georgia shallow cross patterns. Go there. Read. Be educated.

Dan Shanoff notes that ProFootballTalk just partnered with NBC Sports. Just to make things interesting he suggests the potential for Mr. Swindle to find his way to CBS. Please God, make this happen. I beg you. And while your at it I'd like a pony. BTW, ABC/ESPN, I have a voice of golden silk and can drink like Musberger. I understand you may have need of my services...

Fixing the NBA Draft: A modest proposal. A Sea of Blue proposes some tweaks to the NBA draft that actually would bring some sanity to the process. Unfortunately, that's why these great suggestions will never come to fruition. Still, great work by ASOB.

Michigan Football

Heisman Pundit goes rating the nation's top quarterbacks. Of note, he picks Tate Forcier to be the top freshman QB in the country. Woo.

The Free Press asks if Michigan's Taylor Lewan is the next Jake Long? Let the hype wagon begin rolling. It's never too early to heap monstrous expectations on a 17 year-old now is it? "Right now, I'm 275. I need to gain about 10 more pounds if I want to play," Lewan said. I think we're looking at a redshirt folks. Relax a tad.

Michigan picked up two new commits: TX OLB Holmes Onwukaife (3*) and SC QB Cornelius Jones (N/R). News and a short interview with Onwukaife over at MGoBlog.

Cornelius Jones Goes Blue. In case you're wondering who, exactly, Cornelius Jones is, Varsity Blue's got you covered. (Hint: Not an awesome vampire in Brooklyn).

2010 Michigan commitment Ricardo Miller moving to Michigan. File this under stuff you already knew. Class of 2010 wide receiver commit Ricardo Miller, is moving to the Ann Arbor Area. He just hasn't figured out where he'll be going to school.

Will Gholston commits to MSU. SBN's outstanding Spartans blog, The Only Colors, has the news on our newest Green and White nemesis. I am long overdue in linking The Only Colors, and that's my bad. The Only Colors is churning out killer content and really giving a great MSU take on all things Spartan. I'm hoping a little copious linkage will buy me some forgiveness. Lo siento, gentlemen.

Whoa. This is kind of a sad day. The M-Den lost its contract with University of Michigan to supply Wolverine apparel for sale at the Big House. I know the MDen is a corporation that makes money, yadda yadda. But I bought my first Michigan T-shirt from them back in '93. No word on who will replace the MDen as the University's new "official" merchandiser when their contract expires at the end of the month. But in hindsight, the merchandise and apparel have just sucked the last few years.

Make your own joke. Mine will just get me in trouble. HT: Eleven Warriors. To borrow from Swindle on this one.

[R]emember that you don’t have to make the really bizarre and funny things in this world up, you just have to pull them off the wires. Also, if anyone needed the ability to withstand pepper spray right now in the manner of Ohio State fans, it’s protesting Iranis.

Michigan Basketball

UMHoops is back to its player report cards. Our beloved Honky Magic receives a Tommy Boy. :_(

College Football

Bruce Feldman takes a look a the 10 softest nonconference schedules in the country. First up for a fisking? Northwestern and Penn State sit Nos. 1 and 2 on that list.

The Fanhouse seems to think that Notre Dame's dwindling TV revenue from its NBC contract may finally force the Domers into a conference. Right now Notre Dame's television (NBC Football) and shared Big East conference revenue (basketball only) in 2009 will be, at best, $11.35 million. By comparison, in 2008, every school in the Big Ten will clear north of $15 million from the conference, a number that will only increase in years to come. Every school in the SEC will bank, conservatively, $17 million. Ha. Indiana is kicking your ass financially. While it's an interesting thought that this will "force" Notre Dame into a conference, I'm not so sure.

Here's why: while Texas is tops athletic revenues, Notre Dame is still bringing in $59.77 million on football alone. That's more than enough to keep Notre Dame's athletic department free floating. Still, with Texas' athletic department generating $120.3 million from all sports and a staggering $72.95 Million from football alone, you've gotta think that the Domers are looking at a conference, even in the abstract, as a way to generate more cash.

For the record, Michigan came in 4th at $99 million, with $57.37 million of that revenue coming from football (7th overall).

The Sporting News gives us their top 5 College football teams poised to improve this season. Michigan, of course, gets no love.

That said they don't fall into TSN's 5 College football teams in line for a decline in '09. TSN takes Minnesota behind the woodshed, and Matt Hayes predicts a 4-8 season for the Varmint Cong. Wow. With 16 starters back you're predicting 4-8? I know they've got a tough schedule, but I get the feeling their offensive line is going to be really, really good.

Dr. Saturday says Maryland v. West Virginia is not a rivalry? When I was in DC is sure as hell was. That is as nasty a crowd as I have ever experienced. I had forty year olds, hammered out of their minds, bringing their kids to the game wanting to fight me becuase they thought I went to Maryland or West Virginia, all because I wasn't wearing Red or wearing blue and yellow. It's just a nasty, nasty rivalry. Don't under sell it.

More from the good Doctor. The Iron Bowl is not that kind of extreme (but it's close) What's a little good, old fashioned hate among friends?

Taylor Mays and the USC Song Girls. USC Safety Taylor Mays life is so much better at 21 than yours will ever be. I hate him for this.

College Basketball

More fallout for the USC basketball team following Tim Floyd's resignation.

Random Stuff

Don't click here. don't ever click here. You'll never look at the toilet the same way.

Players We Love to Watch, Even if They Aren't That Good: Zack Gibson

Maize n Brew Dave — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:11:57 -0000

You know what the difference is between an Teradactyl and Zack Gibson is? Gibson don't need wings to bring the pain.

via cache.daylife.com

If there's a player that's suited up for the Michigan basketball team in the last twenty years that has brought more unintentional comedy and "holy shit!?" moments than Zack Gibson, we can't think of him. Frankly, if you can think of someone you are both vastly overestimating their whiteness and (largeness/lack of) skills. No. Zack Gibson is the man. Better than that, he is what makes college basketball so damn fun.

It's an unwritten rule here at Maize n Brew that we root heavily for the underdog. Even more than that, we root heavily for the player with some skills but no where near enough skills to become a true playa. He is the role player. The guy that should be playing in the MAC, sparingly. The guy that everyone passed on but showed just enough at the right time to earn a scholarhip. The guy the coaches love and players love but 80% of the fans wonder why he isn't handing out towels.

Zack Gibson may not be quite that guy, but he's close. He's a 6'2" Brooklyn point guard trapped in a lanky, 6'10" Grand Blanc body. He's got some range, but he's no Pitsnogle. He can block a shot, but he's no Mutumbo. He runs well for a big man, which is to say he doesn't leave craters when he runs.

But man, when Gibby sees that rim, shit's going down.

Three of my top ten favorite plays from this past season all involve Gibson. And they all involve him being airborne. Let's face it, when a big gumpy center/forward like Gibson goes up to dunk it's usually nothing to write home about. Generally, your average white guy goes up, getting about two to three inches off the floor, letting his long arms do 90% of work toward the dunk. The ball will just barely clear the rim before slowly falling back to earth, as if ashamed that it took part in this display. Upon touchdown said stiff will turn without looking at the opposing team, put his head down and run back up the court, plodding along and pulling whatever house, barn, or boulder behind them that makes their running style look so damn painful.

Not Gibby. Gibby flies.

Exhibit A: With Michigan up by 2 against Illinois, Gibby found himself alone on Illinois center Mike Tisdale on the left side of the court, just inside the three point arc. Tisdale, apparently not knowing the Gibson can teleport to the rim at will, played White Moses to pass, sealing the interior of the court but giving Honky Magic the baseline. You do not give Zack Gibson the baseline. Because when you do, he will take it, your rim and your girlfriend all in one deft move. With a head nod to buy an extra half an inch of space Gibby sprung toward the baseline with a left handed dribble. In two strides he'd consumed the space between he and the rim, and launched himself in a ferocious attack on metal and twine.

You should know that when Gibby goes up it's no "swipe a credit card underneath" jump. Hell no. There is space bitches, space. You could drive a Caddy on 20's underneath and Gibby wouldn't even graze the roof. In fact he'd hang there in midair, observe your style as you drive underneath, then thunderously hammer down the jam before smoothly floating into your Caddy's back seat dressed like Julius Jones. The man has more hops than German beer. Recognize.

via michiganbasketball.com

What you saw was a white flash, with style. Gibby's launch was well timed. His extension was excellent. But what makes the dunk is his ability to curl the legs and the body after liftoff. The legs recoil from the force of liftoff, the back arches, the arms extend only to bend slightly at the elbow in a menacing fashion. And then the finish. Contact. Gibson hammers this shit home. But there's no quiet release. Oh no, baby. Zack Daddy's gotta make sweet love to the crowd. Just as his body had swung outward after leaving the teary-eyed ground behind, his body contorts back toward the basket support. Up in your face, crowd. And with a final pull toward the rim, Gibby lets go, as if begrudgingly returning to the ground but coming down soft as a feather, smooth and stylish. Upon touchdown, he looks at the fool that left him uncovered for half a second, snears, then accepts a bump from a teammate with his head held high as he glides up court.

Michigan wins.

You win.

You have seen White Moses.

But to be fair, these exploits are few and far between. Over the season, only three such dramatic moments happened for Honky Magic. A lot of the time Gibby was coming off the bench, averaging just 12 minutes and 4 points a game. He drew the tough assignments, guarding big men he's never really looked comfortable guarding. But every now and then you'd see a flash of brilliance. A move so smooth you'd think he was Billy Dee Williams. Balla style that a guy with a Spock-like haircut shouldn't be able to deliver. Some swagger, some dunkage, some range.

Sometimes Gibby plays passive. Sometimes he looks a bit lost. But sometimes he just consumes his opponents. Grinding their bones and stealing their basketballs.

via cache.daylife.com

I personally live for those moments. Those moments when a guy like Gibson becomes the center of the basketball universe, if only for a second. Those moments when a two star center (if that) plays like he's a lottery pick. That's what makes college sports fun. The underdog becoming the top dog. That's why Gibby will always be one of our favorite players.

Looking Back at Clemson

Beauford — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:27:38 -0000

We're gonna win this thing. Not just Oklahoma, we're gonna win the whole...damn...thing.

Well, probably not, but that's kind of how I feel after last night gave us a little taste of a fall Saturday in the middle of March, complete with a vintage Lloyd Carr "I can't believe we're letting them come back" moment. Of course, it also came complete with me sitting in my living room with my arms above my head yelling "yes! yes!" after the victory was complete I was angry, defiant, and joyful all in one little 2 hour span, which normally doesn't happen until football season but wait this is March, and that ball is suspiciously round, and holy-crap I care about Basketball again. Sweet.

I didn't write it, and I didn't say it, but one of my primary concerns about last night's game was the potential for the team to say "we've accomplished our goal; we're here; now we're done." I trusted Beilein enough to not let that happen, so I didn't mention it and quietly let it fester. Then Michigan came out and floated two airballs in a row and took exactly 9.67 seconds to cross that 10 second line against the press. I immediately went into the exact shell that I had trusted Beilein to break. I was just happy to be there, and content to watch Clemson run us over. Michigan, on the other hand, decided that they'd better start playing basketball.

And play it they did. Something I did write (in so many words) was that the key to the game would be which team handled the unique defense they faced better. Quite simply, Michigan broke the press early and often, while Clemson had a tough time figuring out that 1-3-1. Booker got his, scoring 18, but we defended the perimeter very well: Clemson was 5-22 from long range. It became very apparent in the early going that Michigan was dictating tempo, forcing outside shots, and breaking the press.

It also became clear that Manny was here to play.

He was, without a doubt, the best player on the court last night and consistently made plays when it mattered. His dribble drive 3 point play with 37 seconds remaining sealed the deal (despite Novak giving everyone a heart-attack), but really his whole game was pretty awesome. He scored when it was available, he dished when they doubled him, he rebounded, he dunked, he drove, he shot three's, he was unstoppable. In a game that Sims was frustrated and pressing, Manny looked smooth and confident. So often, we look for story lines that don't involve the star of the show, but in this case, the star was the show. The Wolverine Liberation Army's giant cock* proves it. Also: Zack Gibson, I take back everything negative I've said about you. Great minutes last night. Also also: Stu, next time maybe just a white-point guard layup. You frightened me.

The immediate reaction was kind of expected from the Clemsonite's of the internets. The OP called it "...one of the worst officiated games I have ever seen" which is normally the mantra of the vanquished, but in this case deserves some attention. Oglesby threw an elbow, that much is for sure, but did he really need to be ejected? As a team that was on the other end of an "elbow ejection" earlier this year, I can sympathize with that. I, as well as anybody else in the liveblog (all 4 of us!), didn't think he should have been ejected. Call it an intentional, and move on. I get that part of the OP's ref-rage. But other than that, I thought the game was pretty evenly officiated. It was a little loose, but still tighter than an average Big Ten game, IMO. Michigan attempted 15 free throws to Clemson's 14. All in all; pretty even. I don't think the ejection is what caused Clemson the game, as Oglesby was having a largely forgettable night. I dunno - you be the judge. Is this ejectable? It's at the 49 second mark:

So now we get to play Oklahoma at around 5PM on Saturday. The Griffin Bros. were in full on destruction mode against Morgan State, and it will be interesting to see how Beilein goes about defending them. Preview up shortly, but until then, bask in the victory. It wasn't enough for Michigan just to be here. It's time to win the weekend.

* of victory

NCAA Basketball Tournament Roundtable - Big Ten Bloggers Style

Maize n Brew Dave — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:02:25 -0000

Michigan is in the Tournament. And so is more than half the Big Ten. Michigan State, Minnesota, Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio State are all dancing this year. What's even more impressive is that nine of eleven Big Ten schools are in post season play when you count in Penn State and Northwestern's NIT invites. That leaves two words to be said:

Damn, son.

To tip off Tournament Week the right way, our homies over at Hammer and Rails, SBN's outstanding and freshly minted Purdue blog, have posed a Tournament Blog Roundtable. My thanks and congrats to TMill for the Rountable and to his Boilermakers for raising another Big Ten Tournament Banner with a win over Ohio State. Here's hoping for a deep run for the Boilers and Wolverines over then next few weeks.

Now on to the Questions:

1. For those in the tournament, what was your signature win that made sure you were dancing? For those out, what was that one loss that prevented you from going?

One signature win? Michigan had a couple. But there were a trio of wins that put Michigan in the tournament. The first was the November 20, 2008 win over then No. 4 UCLA. That win gave Michigan hope. Hope that this team could do something special. The second was the December 6, 2008 win over then No. 4 Duke. That win gave Michigan credibility. Finally, after a mini-slump, Michigan's final win at Minnesota sealed the deal. That showed Michigan could win on the road. If there's one thing the selection committee made clear this year, your whole season determines your invite. So along those lines, I've gotta point to Three Key Wins that locked Michigan's first bid in more than a decade.

via photos.mlive.com

2. The conference jumped from four bids to seven this year, and it could have been nine with the right breaks. What is the biggest factor in this jump?

Coaching. People can babble on about the ACC or the Big East, but the best coaching in the country can be found in the Big Ten. How in God's name is Northwestern even in the conversation? Coaching. How is Penn State a breath away from an invite? Coaching. Go from the top of the standings down, you're going to find outstanding coaches at every rung on the ladder. Hell, I'm more afraid of the coaches at the bottom of the pile than I am of some of the coaches in the middle! Tom Crean is an amazing coach who, mark my words, will bring Indiana back to prominence. And at Iowa, I actively campaigned for Licklieter at Michigan. Izzo, Smith, Ryan, Webber, Beilein, Painter, etc... This conference got better because the coaching got better.

Anyone else have an explanation for Michigan's turn around?

3. Talk about your first round opponent for a moment. What advantages/disadvantages do you see in facing them (Penn State and Northwestern fans may talk NIT here).

At first glance, this looks like it's going to be one of the better first round matchups in the tournament. Clemson started hot going 16-0, before cooling off to a 7-8 finish (1-4 to close the season!). You wouldn't know that this team only lost 8 games this year if you read their sports blogs. But this is a talented team. three scorers in double figures, two really good guards, and Trevor Booker, a forward/center who is a DeShawn Sims clone and a monster on the boards. Clemson could be a good match up for Michigan because they don't have a traditional (big man) center. Michigan struggled against teams with 7 footers. Clemson doesn't have that luxury, at least not in their starting lineup. I need to do a little more research, but at first glance this is going to be a "cut and shoot" kind of game that's going to be very exciting to watch.

4. What are your realistic postseason expectations?

With Oklahoma waiting for them in the second round? Going 1-1 in the tournament is more than acceptable. Additionally, Michigan has really, really struggled in back to back games. This is a jump shooting team, and when the legs aren't there, they're chances of winning go down the toilet. I'll happily take a single win, and anything after that is gravy. And frankly, after 11 years out of the tournamet, at this point anything is gravy.

5. How will your team get back to/make the step forward to the NCAA Tournament next year? this is officially known as the Iowa and Indiana question.

Michigan's road back is going to be a little harder than people think. With Sims and Harris returning, Lucas-Perry having another year under his belt, and the hontastic trio of Novak-Douglass-Gibson all back, Michigan will be able to score and play a little defense. The glaring weakness is going to be one-on-one defense and crunch time ball handling. CJ Lee's graduation along with Merritt's, will hurt this team early in 2009-2010. They provided a steady leadership that hasn't quite been replaced by Harris or Sims. However, easing the loss, Michigan will have two new big men (Ben Cronin and Eric Puls [who hopefully will add a little weight to his 6'11 125 pound frame]) to ease some of the defensive burden on Sims. They'll also have a bona-fide sniper coming in Matt Vogrich. Michigan's season next year will come down to guard play. Will Kelvin Grady finally be ready to be the point man for this offense? If he can, Michigan could have a sweet 16 kind of team. If not, next year could be one-and-done (in the 2010 NCAAs - Ed.).

Regression Toward the Mean: Michigan Falls, and Falls Hard, at Ohio State

Maize n Brew Dave — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:38:17 -0000

As the season progresses it is becoming increasing apparent that Michigan's early season triumphs were the exception rather than the rule. Statistical outliers. Anomolies. What we've seen is Michigan slowly converge on the slope their performance last year set them upon. This isn't a bad thing. Going into this season Michigan was pegged as an NIT team. A vast improvement over the 20+ loss debacle of a year before.

But when hopes get high, and those statistical outliers come to early in what is truly a 30+ game experiment, we ignore or forget a statistical certainty:

Regression to the mean is a mathematical inevitability: any measurement of any variable that is affected by random variance must show regression to the mean.

And it has.

Michigan was outplayed, out hustled, out sized and basically out basketballed by a better team last night. The result was a 72-54 loss to Ohio State in Columbus. Over the last two weeks it's been comical to watch 6'4" Zack Novak try to guard a 7 foot center. Unfortunately, it's been just as comical to watch 6'10" Zack Gibson do the same.

But this shouldn't be a surprise. Michigan is a small, guard heavy team. Even our big men are perimeter players (with the exception of Sims). Michigan will live and die by their ability to shoot from the outside, and judging by their last six games funeral arrangements are being made.

What hurts the most is you can see Michigan collapsing under the weight of it's own expectations. They came out of nowhere to upset one good and one very good team early in the season. No one took them seriously early and they paid for it. Michigan won big games. Michigan wasn't a push over. Michigan was relevant again after a decade of irrelevance on the hardwood. Michigan was all of a sudden supposed to win.

There's a big difference between being expected to win and being expected to lose. the latter frees you to do whatever you can to win. The former can make you tight, scared, concerned that what you're doing will cost you a game you should win. And that is what is happening now.

Michigan is wound so tightly you could use its players as industrial strength coils to support a battleship during refurbishment. They can't play defense so the only way to compete is to score. But when they can't score, man, it's like they believe every contested three pointer will somehow tie the game. This is a team that doesn't know what happened to get them to a point where they were expected to win and now doesn't have a clue how to deal with being who they were supposed to be before the season started.

But these are things that happen when a good program has been down for a long time. This is a very young team. They're nervous. They're tentative. They're making decisions on the court that bely just how inexperienced they really are. Give them a few games. Give them a year. They'll be good. At the least, they'll be better.

But right now they are who we thought they'd be at the start of the season. They're just not who we hoped they'd be after beating Duke.

SCM on the Novak elbow. I whole heartedly agree:

The Novak thing was really pretty uncalled for, Novak says he was trying to aggressively box out... the camera unfortunately shows him pretty solidly lining up PJ Hill's face and then trying to cave it in with his elbow.

Novak should sit for two games. I've heard sit a game. But that was a total crap move on his part. Keep your cool, son. The only thing worse than being called an asshole is proving that person right on national TV. Beilein needs to come down hard on him, especially after what happened to Kampfer on the ice. Michigan can't talk out of both sides of it's mouth on cheap shots.

One more thing from SCM of note:

20 freakin percent shooting in the first half guys... that's ungodly bad.

Yeah. That's bad. What's worse is Michigan was 0-11 from three and 5-14 inside the arc in the first half. That's not going to cut it in any league. This team is waaaaaaaaay too content taking bad three pointers rather than executing the offense. The pick and roll we saw earlier in the year has completely disapeared. And sadly with the pressure D Ohio State was offering this was a perfect time to bring it back.

Game #21 Preview: Michigan v. Pure, Concentrated Evil (also known as Ohio State)

Maize n Brew Dave — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:52:46 -0000

Matchup: Michigan 14-6, 4-4 v. Ohio State 13-5, 3-4.

Tip-off: 6:30 p.m., Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio.

TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WWJ-AM (950), WTKA-AM (1050).

Line: Ohio State by 4.

And so the stretch run begins. Eight games into the conference season the Wolverines are sitting at 4-4, unranked and staring down the barrel of a 11 game shotgun finish to their regular season. Realistically, Michigan has to go .500 in conference to secure a tenuous NCAA tournament bid that two weeks ago looked like a lock. Even if Michigan holds serve at home, they're still going to need to steal a win on the road. And to be honest, Michigan's going to have to steal two road wins because I don't think anyone has them winning all four home games with Purdue and Michigan State coming to town. And that trip to UConn isn't going to do the Wolverines any favors, but it's not like this is impossible. It ain't going to be easy. But nothing worth having ever is. So you take 'em one game at a time, and good lord willing, things will work out. That first game is against Asmodai's henchmen from Columbus. Time to bust out the holy water and get to work.

photo via a.espncdn.com

What's At Stake?

Since beating Michigan 11 days ago, life has not been kind to the Buckeyes. Illinois absolutely blasted Ohio State in Champaign 67-49 in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicates. It was ugly. Four Illini scored in double digits and only Mullens and Burfor managed to put in a respectable showing for the visitors. A couple of days later Michigan State came calling following their upset loss to Northwestern. Despite carrying a 6 point lead into the locker room at the half, Ohio State watched the Spartans go on a 31-17 to close the game. Michigan State scored 52 second half points on the Buckeyes, easily their worst half of the season.

As a result of all this, Ohio State is a game below .500 at 3-4 in conference and on the outside looking in at the Tournament. Say what you want, but right now with a 13-5 record and their marque win being against then No. 7 and soon to be unranked Notre Dame, it's hard to make an argument for a bid, Ken Pomeroy love or not (currently ranked 53 by KP and a surprising RPI of 31!?).

Like Michigan, Ohio State is entering the brutal part of their schedule. They've got games Purdue, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Penn State and upset hungry Northwestern waiting for them. If there's a silver lining, 6 of the next 11 are at home, but they get ranked opponents in three of those games and Michigan tomorrow. So home may not exactly be as warm an cozy as Buckeye fans would like. 8-10 means NIT. 9-9 Bubble. 10-8, bid. That's the story.

Likewise, Michigan needs a road win to bolster its sagging resume. The Wolverines let two prime road opportunities against Illinois and Penn State crush them like a boulder, so stealing a win in Columbus before road trips to No. 17 Purdue and No. 2 UConn sandwich a game against Penn State who plastered Michigan less than a week ago. 9-9 in conference with two wins over top 4 teams should secure a tourney bid. But anything less than that is probably a trip to the NIT. So Michigan needs this just as bad as Ohio State, and this time they've got to do it on the road.

Trends

I wish there was something to point to in the Ohio State Offense or defense that would serve as a Michigan road map. But the Buckeyes have dropped their last two games for entirely different reasons. Against Michigan State they were out rebounded by 15 boards which coincidentally was the difference in shot attempts in favor of the Spartans. Against Illinois the Buckeyes controlled the boards but coughed up the ball 20 times and shot horribly from three (26.7%). FYI, they shot 10-20 from three against Michigan State. The Buckeyes are also getting balanced scoring. Four players scored in double figures against MSU, and for the season Will Buford, Jon Diebler, and Evan Turner are averaging 10 or more with BJ Mullens at 9.2 and Jeremie Simmons at 7.2 a game. Unfortunately, Mullens is beginning to heat up, and at 7'0" that's bad news inside for Michigan.

On the other side, Michigan is ice cold right now. Over their last four games Michigan has launched more threes than two point shots in three contests, and their once stellar shooting percentage has dipped to a next to league worst (10th) 32% three point percentage and a 10th overall field goal percentage of 43.4%. This hasn't stopped the Wolverines from launching three pointers. In fact it seems to have encouraged it. Weird.

Michigan finally cleaned house against Nothwestern. They did it by not being themselves and going inside constantly in Saturday's first half. This allowed DeShawn Sims to be the aggressor for the first time in two weeks and it paid off with the big man posting 14 first half points and basically doing what he wanted down low. The threes still came, but thankfully Michigan heated up in the second half going 6-13 marking the first time in four games they'd been above 40% in any half shooting the three ball. Hopefully it's a sign of good things to come.

Game Plan

Not much has changed since these teams met less than two weeks ago and I think the game plan I laid out then is effective now. The only thing that may not fit is starting Sims and Gibson. As UMHoops points out, we don't have a lot of big man depth, so if both of them get into foul trouble early, we're pretty much screwed. Michigan's biggest challenge will be dealing with Ohio State's pressure on the ball handler and their instances on making Michigan fight hard simply to get open. In the last game Michigan was flustered by this pressure defense and resorted to chucking ill-advised three point attempts rather than pick and rolls and executing the offense of the pressure.

Ohio State will pound the ball inside to Mullens and Lauderdale, who both combined to go 9-12 in the last game. Burford will spend the evening slicing toward the hoop and Diebler will lurk out at the three point line waiting to chuck up whatever comes his way.

Besides the obvious, Sims and Harris, Michigan is going to need big games out of Stu Douglass/Zack Novak and, believe it or not, Zack Gibson. Between Douglass and Novak someone's got to get hot to give Michigan another scorer on the wings. Novak will hustle 'till they turn the lights out, but his shot simply isn't falling, Douglass is the better shooter right now but he's not at Novak's level as a defender. One or the other has to make a difference tonight. Gibson on the other hand has to keep up his intensity. Over the last two-three games Gibson's shown some ability to physically defend, post up, and contribute on both sides of the court. Hell, he's even led a fast break or two. We need more of that. Mullens and Lauderdale need to get worn out defending him. When Michigan topped Illinois, it was in part because Gibson took Tisdale out of his element and blew past the 7 foot walking stick for some critical points. If we're going to win, Honky Magic has to be on. I'm talking David Copperfield on. But if Michigan gets hammered on the boards and shoots the way they did last time, all the Honky Magic in the world won't be enough.

I'll leave the closing to UM Hoops:

I don’t expect to win this one because as a Michigan fan I know better than to ever expect a road win. So far we have seen an awful Indiana team almost hand Michigan a devastating loss, a very good Illinois team completely shut down the Michigan offense, and a solid Penn State team embarrass the Wolverines.

If that doesn't sum it up, I don't know what does. We'll have the open thread up tonight. Hope the see you there.

Links:

Detroit News Preview: Beilein Defends Harris. Why Beilein has to defend Harris is a mystery to me.
The Free Press Preview. More on Manny not struggling. Seriously. Let this go people.
The Ann Arbor New preview (projected lineups too). Arrrrrrrrrgggggh! Also a little piece on Michigan peeking ahead toward the tournament. Yeah, about that, there's still a lot of work to do. A little Beilein audio on the Wolverines' shooting problems.
UM Hoops has your Bubble Watch!
Varsity Blue gives you the run down on tonight's game.
Eleven Warriors is predicting a 10 point Buckeye win.

Stats after the jump...

Big Ten Conference Standings

(updated 1.28.2009 at 12:40 AM PST)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Michigan St. Spartans	6	1	16	3
Illinois Fighting Illini	5	2	17	3
Purdue Boilermakers	4	2	15	4
Minnesota Golden Gophers	5	3	17	3
Penn St. Nittany Lions	5	3	16	5
Michigan Wolverines	4	4	14	6
Ohio St. Buckeyes	3	4	13	5
Wisconsin Badgers	3	4	12	7
Iowa Hawkeyes	2	5	12	8
Northwestern Wildcats	2	5	10	7
Indiana Hoosiers	0	6	5	13

Michigan Stats

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Manny Harris	20	32.9	5.4	12.7	42.7	1.4	4.5	31.5	5.4	6.1	87.7	2.1	5.5	7.6	4.5	3.0	1.0	0.6	2.0	17.6
DeShawn Sims	20	30.7	6.5	12.6	51.4	0.7	2.3	30.4	2.2	3.0	73.3	2.9	5.2	8.1	0.7	1.3	1.2	0.9	1.9	15.8
Zack Novak	20	25.6	2.1	5.4	39.3	1.5	4.0	36.7	1.1	1.5	72.4	1.2	2.3	3.4	1.4	0.9	0.6	0.1	2.1	6.7
Kelvin Grady	20	23.8	2.0	5.4	36.4	1.3	3.7	35.1	0.6	0.8	73.3	0.3	1.6	1.9	2.4	0.9	0.6	0.1	1.1	5.8
Stu Douglass	20	19.1	1.8	4.7	38.3	1.4	3.9	34.6	0.3	0.4	71.4	0.3	1.0	1.2	2.2	1.2	0.6	0.1	0.7	5.2
Zack Gibson	20	13.4	1.8	4.0	43.8	0.2	1.1	19.0	0.5	0.9	52.9	0.8	1.4	2.2	0.6	0.7	0.4	0.9	1.6	4.2
Ben Cronin	2	5.0	1.0	2.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	100.0	0.5	2.0	2.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	4.0
Jevohn Shepherd	17	12.1	1.4	2.8	50.0	0.1	0.9	13.3	0.6	1.0	58.8	0.7	0.9	1.6	0.9	0.4	0.3	0.2	0.9	3.5
Anthony Wright	14	12.8	0.9	3.3	26.1	0.6	2.3	25.0	0.5	0.7	70.0	0.7	1.4	2.1	0.7	0.8	0.5	0.2	1.1	2.8
C.J. Lee	20	8.3	0.7	1.5	44.8	0.5	1.0	45.0	0.3	0.4	85.7	0.4	0.9	1.3	0.8	0.3	0.5	0.0	0.9	2.1
David Merritt	20	14.5	0.7	1.8	38.9	0.4	1.1	33.3	0.3	0.3	83.3	0.2	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.7	0.4	0.0	1.6	2.0
Eric Puls	7	1.9	0.4	0.4	100.0	0.3	0.3	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.1	0.3	1.1
	20	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.2	1.2	2.4	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Wolverines Basketball Schedule

Next 5 Games

@ Ohio St.	Wed 01/28	5:30 PM CST
@ Purdue	Sat 01/31	12:00 PM CST
Penn St.	Thu 02/05	6:00 PM CST
@ Connecticut	Sat 02/07	5:00 PM CST
Michigan St.	Tue 02/10	6:00 PM CST

Last 5 Games

Northwestern	Sat 01/24	W 68 - 59
@ Penn St.	Tue 01/20	L 58 - 73
Ohio St.	Sat 01/17	L 58 - 65
@ Illinois	Wed 01/14	L 51 - 66
Iowa	Sun 01/11	W 64 - 49

Team Leaders

Stat	Player	AVG
Scoring	Manny Harris	17.6
Rebounds	DeShawn Sims	8.1
Assists	Manny Harris	4.5
FG%	Eric Puls	100.0
FT%	Ben Cronin	100.0
3PT%	Ben Cronin	NaN
Blocks	Zack Gibson	0.9
Steals	DeShawn Sims	1.2

Ohio State Stats

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Evan Turner	18	34.3	5.2	10.4	49.5	0.5	0.9	56.3	4.6	6.1	75.5	1.6	5.5	7.1	3.0	2.9	2.0	0.7	2.8	15.4
William Buford	18	25.4	3.9	9.1	43.3	1.4	3.9	35.2	1.5	1.7	90.0	1.0	2.5	3.5	1.0	0.9	0.9	0.3	1.4	10.8
Jon Diebler	18	33.7	3.3	7.9	42.0	2.6	6.2	41.1	1.4	1.8	75.8	0.3	3.0	3.3	2.6	1.6	1.1	0.5	1.2	10.6
David Lighty	7	32.9	3.4	7.3	47.1	0.7	2.7	26.3	2.1	4.0	53.6	1.7	4.0	5.7	1.9	1.9	1.4	0.3	2.0	9.7
B.J. Mullens	18	20.1	3.8	6.3	61.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.6	3.1	50.9	1.6	2.8	4.4	0.3	1.6	0.4	1.2	2.1	9.2
Jeremie Simmons	18	25.7	2.2	6.4	33.9	1.4	4.3	33.8	1.6	1.9	82.4	0.2	1.6	1.8	3.1	1.3	0.8	0.2	1.8	7.3
Nikola Kecman	1	11.0	3.0	5.0	60.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	4.0	5.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	6.0
Dallas Lauderdale	18	22.5	2.3	3.4	67.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.2	2.6	47.8	1.9	2.6	4.4	0.3	1.4	0.2	2.4	2.6	5.8
P.J. Hill	12	10.9	0.4	1.3	31.3	0.3	0.8	40.0	0.3	0.3	75.0	0.2	0.8	1.0	1.1	1.0	0.3	0.1	1.0	1.4
Walter Offutt	11	5.3	0.5	1.6	33.3	0.0	0.6	0.0	0.2	0.5	33.3	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.1	0.5	0.1	0.2	0.5	1.3
Anthony Crater	10	13.1	0.3	1.5	20.0	0.2	1.4	14.3	0.4	0.4	100.0	0.0	0.8	0.8	1.9	0.9	0.4	0.1	1.3	1.2
Kyle Madsen	15	8.1	0.3	1.1	31.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.7	70.0	0.5	1.1	1.6	0.3	0.6	0.2	0.4	0.7	1.1
Danny Peters	3	1.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Mark Titus	2	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0
J.J. Grycko	1	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	18	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.2	1.5	2.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

13 - 5

Conference

3 - 4

Streak: Lost 2

Buckeyes Basketball Schedule

Next 5 Games

Michigan	Wed 01/28	5:30 PM CST
@ Indiana	Sat 01/31	3:00 PM CST
Purdue	Tue 02/03	6:00 PM CST
Minnesota	Sat 02/07	7:00 PM CST
@ Wisconsin	Sat 02/14	8:00 PM CST

Last 5 Games

Michigan St.	Sun 01/25	L 67 - 78
@ Illinois	Tue 01/20	L 49 - 67
@ Michigan	Sat 01/17	W 65 - 58
Indiana	Tue 01/13	W 77 - 53
Houston Baptist	Fri 01/09	W 89 - 65

Team Leaders

Stat	Player	AVG
Scoring	Evan Turner	14.7
Rebounds	Evan Turner	7.0
Assists	Evan Turner	2.7
FG%	Dallas Lauderdale	70.0
FT%	Nikola Kecman	NaN
3PT%	Evan Turner	50.0
Blocks	Dallas Lauderdale	2.2
Steals	Evan Turner	2.0

The Other Shoe: Michigan Pasted By Penn State 58-73

Maize n Brew Dave — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:08:49 -0000

I hate garbage time during a blow out. It seems to drag on forever and you really never get anything out of it. Sure the bench players get some time, a couple of guys who've seen all of ten minutes all year will drain a trey or two, and the opposition will take a nap letting the score get closer and closer, but the outcome is sealed. And no manner of bench points will make a rats ass bit of difference in what just happened. You, and your starters, got blown out. Now you're counting on your subs to make it respectable.

It'd be fun and hopeful to say that Michigan let one get away last night, but that wouldn't be the truth. Michigan trailed by 30 with 8 minutes left in the game and only made it close because of Penn State taking a nap at the end of regulation. Michigan got pounded by a team their size, their skill level and in the same conference position they were in. The only reason Michigan managed to trail by just seven points at the end of the First Half was defense. Michigan harassed Penn State into a litany of turnovers and offensive miscues that kept the Wolverines in the game. It has to be that, because it sure as hell wasn't the Wolverines shooting.

**Michigan First Half Stats**
FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OFF	REB	AST	BLK	PF	PTS
9-30	2-16	2-6	5	14	4	0	6	22
30%	12.5%	33.3%

That's not going to win you a lot of games. Michigan couldn't hit anything. When players would find themselves in prime shooting positions off a well executed play, they've airmail the ball from three. Regretfully, the guiltiest of this was Kelvin Grady, whose shot seems to have completely disappeared over the last two weeks. Similarly, Laval Lucas-Perry's shot has dried up, making him 2 for his last 17 three point attempts according to UMHoops.com. Making matters worse, when the shots didn't fall, Michigan retreated further from the basket to lob up more ill advised three point attempts. This marks the second straight game three point attempts have outnumbered two point attempts, and even in the Illinois game Michigan chucked up 26 threes compared to 33 two point attempts.

The only player who warrants a pat on the back for his effort last night is DeShawn Sims who posted 21 points and 11 boards. The rest of the starting lineup was 5-26 (Harris, LLP, Novak and Grady), including 1-19 from three. Do the math and you'll see the problem, they took only 7 shots inside the arc. The worst thing is, they hit 4 of them but never seemed to return to the basket.

I'd like to say this is a game where you throw out the tape, but it's not. The team is clearly stagnant and failing to execute even the most basic pick and rolls. During yesterday's open thread we noted dozens of times where the Wolverines would stand around waiting for something to happen or the ball to drop into their hands. Two players making the same cut to the top of the key. Over the last three games, offensive execution has gone out the window in favor of the three point shot, and that's a recipe for a losing streak when it's obvious to everyone your shots aren't falling.

Defensively, Michigan is in trouble. Penn State doesn't have a whole lot of size on their squad, save little used Andrew Ott, who at 6-10 is Penn State's biggest player. But he and Jamelle Cornley had a field day inside against Michigan, combining to go 12-14. And all but two of those attempts were within 6 feet of the basket. Right now Michigan has no one that seems to be able to deal with a presence inside, and our alternatives are somewhat limited. UM Hoops addresses the obvious question, "What about playing Gibson and Sims at the same time?"

Michigan is also dealing with more quality big men at the same time that they are trying to move an undersized guy to the power forward position. The issue here is that Beilein just doesn’t have the pieces to fix this problem. There are two guys that can play center on this roster: DeShawn Sims and Zack Gibson. There are three others who can play power forward: Jevohn Shepherd, Zack Novak, and Anthony Wright. Playing Gibson and Sims together sounds nice but if you do that too much there is no one to back up Sims at the center position.

It isn’t like Beilein is leaving Greg Monroe on the bench:

Jevohn Shepherd is a 6-foot-5 wing who isn’t much of an offensive threat and isn’t going to stop a guy like Jamelle Cornley or Marcus Landry.

Zack Gibson is a shooting guard trapped in a 6-foot-10 body; he is a finesse player and he’s not going to turn into a banger over night.

Anthony Wright is a 6-foot-6 forward who made a great backdoor pass against UCLA but has very little athleticism or hustle and is a career 27.4% three point shooter.

Zack Novak is 6-foot-4 but he gets to more loose balls than anyone on the team and despite struggling a bit of late is shooting 39.5% from long range.

Pick your poison.

My response is fairly simple, we're dying anyway right now, what's the worst that can happen. Maybe we can be exposed even worse down low in the future with Gibby and Sims out of the lineup, but the end result is the same if we don't change things up. We need size out there, even if it means playing 6-10 stick figure Eric Puls on a regular basis. I'm not kidding. He can go 1-5 just like Grady, but at least we've got the threat of a shot block in the middle and less of a turnover risk.

Another player worth another look and little more playing time is Air Canada, Jevohn Shepherd. Shepherd was the only guy on Michigan's team that showed any aggression toward the basket, and went 2-2 inside, while bricking a three. He's got the quickness to take the ball off the dribble and the length to make things happen down low. To be fair, he's a lousy defender, but at least he's got the quickness and the balls to go to the basket, and that's what this team needs right now.

Finally, I've gotta give some props to Gibson. Gisbon had a decent game, and if Michigan's going to be able to compete in the Big Ten they're going to need a lot more out of their big man. Keep it coming Gibby.

As for the rest of the group, pray that 4 games in 10 days with limited practice time is truly the cause of Michigan's swoon. Otherwise that clunk you just heard was the other shoe dropping on what was once a promising season.

Stats after the jump...

Final - 1.20.2009	1	2	Total
Michigan Wolverines	22	36	58
Penn St. Nittany Lions	29	44	73

Complete Coverage >

MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
DeShawn Sims, F	29	10-14	0-0	1-2	4	11	0	0	0	2	0	21
Zack Novak, G	28	1-4	0-3	4-4	2	2	1	0	0	1	3	6
Manny Harris, G	26	1-9	0-5	2-2	1	3	1	0	0	1	2	4
Laval Lucas-Perry, G	25	2-8	0-6	2-2	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	6
Kelvin Grady, G	23	1-5	1-5	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	2	1	3
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Stu Douglass, G	26	3-8	3-8	0-0	0	2	3	2	0	1	0	9
C.J. Lee, G	12	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	1	2	1	0	0	0	0
Anthony Wright, F	3	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
David Merritt, G	7	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
Jevohn Shepherd, F	9	2-3	0-0	0-1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4
Eric Puls, C	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Zack Gibson, F	11	2-3	1-1	0-2	0	3	0	0	1	0	4	5
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
		22-56	5-30	9-13	7	24	9	3	1	9	17	58
		39.3%	16.7%	69.2%

PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Jamelle Cornley, F	30	8-10	0-1	1-5	1	11	1	0	0	0	0	17
Jeff Brooks, F	19	1-3	0-2	0-0	1	4	1	0	0	1	2	2
Andrew Jones III, F	22	2-3	0-0	2-2	4	5	2	0	0	1	2	6
Stanley Pringle, G	31	5-12	2-2	0-0	1	6	1	4	0	2	3	12
Talor Battle, G	34	4-10	4-7	3-4	0	2	6	0	0	4	2	15
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
Chris Babb, G	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Will Leiner, G	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
David Jackson, F	19	1-3	0-1	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	2
Cammeron Woodyard, G	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Danny Morrissey, G	28	4-5	3-4	0-2	2	6	4	0	0	2	1	11
Andrew Ott, F	10	4-4	0-0	0-3	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	8
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
		29-50	9-17	6-16	10	35	18	4	0	13	12	73
		58.0%	52.9%	37.5%