Sweet 16 Turns Sour for Michigan and the Big Ten
Hats off to out-going seniors Zack Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr. They played a very good overall game against Louisvill in the Seet 16 - their last on-court efforts as Wolverines. The two leaders combined for 39 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Both of them shot better than 50% from the field and combined for a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line. It was unbelievable work against the Ducks. Sadly, it came down to Walton Jr. launching a hailmary from deep with the final seconds on the game clock winding down, only to see it bounce of the rim and put a period at the end of their unforgettable seven game win streak through the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
Like any sport, the basketball season is not about where you start. It's about where you end up. Michigan hadn't even been ranked at any point of the regular season. Going into postseason play they were only riding a 10-8 conference record. That was just good enough to be tied with Michigan State, Iowa, and Northwestern for the fifth best record in the Big Ten. Then something happened in February after back to back losses to the Spartans and the Buckeyes. They quickly morphed into a competent team able to close out games against the likes of Purdue and Wisconsin. Before we all knew it they were cutting down the nets in D.C. while claiming their first ever Big Ten Tournament Championship.
In the end, it was the inability to find a rhythm with the entire offense that led to their downfall against the Ducks. The seniors were left making desperation shots to get points and there just wasn't enough production off the bench to get them quality rest throughout the contest. The Ducks were continuously aggressive on defense and did a great job preventing anybody from getting open - harassing everybody on every possession. The Wolverines kept hammering home though, and it did almost work. Defensively, Michigan actually did well while holding Oregon well below their season average (79 pts per game). Our guys just didn't get buckets with the same high frequency that they had been the previous two weeks, and they gave up more turnovers than usual. They also did not have an answer for stopping Tyler Dorsey and Jordan Bell. The former finished the game with 20 points of his own while the latter dominated the boards with 13 rebounds. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that turnovers and rebounds will kill you.
It was a great season to be remembered by fans, players, and coaches alike. It was one that we can only hope to resemble next year. But more on that later.
Now it's time to turn our attention to spring football.
Like any sport, the basketball season is not about where you start. It's about where you end up. Michigan hadn't even been ranked at any point of the regular season. Going into postseason play they were only riding a 10-8 conference record. That was just good enough to be tied with Michigan State, Iowa, and Northwestern for the fifth best record in the Big Ten. Then something happened in February after back to back losses to the Spartans and the Buckeyes. They quickly morphed into a competent team able to close out games against the likes of Purdue and Wisconsin. Before we all knew it they were cutting down the nets in D.C. while claiming their first ever Big Ten Tournament Championship.
In the end, it was the inability to find a rhythm with the entire offense that led to their downfall against the Ducks. The seniors were left making desperation shots to get points and there just wasn't enough production off the bench to get them quality rest throughout the contest. The Ducks were continuously aggressive on defense and did a great job preventing anybody from getting open - harassing everybody on every possession. The Wolverines kept hammering home though, and it did almost work. Defensively, Michigan actually did well while holding Oregon well below their season average (79 pts per game). Our guys just didn't get buckets with the same high frequency that they had been the previous two weeks, and they gave up more turnovers than usual. They also did not have an answer for stopping Tyler Dorsey and Jordan Bell. The former finished the game with 20 points of his own while the latter dominated the boards with 13 rebounds. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that turnovers and rebounds will kill you.
It was a great season to be remembered by fans, players, and coaches alike. It was one that we can only hope to resemble next year. But more on that later.
Now it's time to turn our attention to spring football.
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