Four Games an the Horizon and Everything Is On the Line
After that sloppy loss to Minnesota on Sunday evening, the 17-10 Wolverines are teetering back into desperation mode. We knew the Gophers were going to be a tough out, but they were clearly the better team in that game and deserved the win. Hand it to the Wolverines for never giving up and taking it to overtime after trailing most of the game, but don't deny the fact that this team lacks any quality depth and elite-level leadership at the moment. And one more loss will instantly put them right back to where they were two weeks ago - facing elimination from the NCAA tournament.
Realistically, it looks like this team is a year away from really making run at anything, with a healthy mixture of youth and experience returning for the 2017-2018 season. Senior point guard Derrick Walton Jr. has made a great effort offensively to keep this team hanging around nearly every game, but he has had lapses of motivation on defense along with some untimely mistakes with the ball in his hands that seem to be due to exhaustion. If he doesn't find a third wind here to finish this season on a strong note, then this team is done. The other senior leader, Zach Irvin, has had a terribly disappointing year, and very few people are hopeful that he can pull out of that slump to take this team to another level. If he does rise up to leave the college game with one last streak of big three-point shots, it would help alleviate some of the pressure off of Walton. Wilson and Wagner are young, rising players that are not quite leaders yet, but they will be counting on to be stars next year so anything could happen in the next few weeks. Both guys need to toughen up and play smarter defense. Abdur-Rahkman continues to put up numbers in the stat sheet, but he needs to be at least a third option in the offense to really be effective. In other words, he is not particularly a natural leader that plays with a lot passion.
One surprise player off the bench as of late has been Mark Donnal. Though he has occasionally peppered in some minutes over the course of the last two years, he has shown a bit of a fire off the bench in the last few contests that I haven't really seen much before. It makes me think he really wants to compete for something. He rarely takes a bad shot, and he has hit on four out of his last five attempts from the feild. He also has five rebounds, two blocks, and six points in the last three games. Not too bad for a big man getting less than 14 minutes per game off the bench. If he can help provide some toughness on defense down the stretch it will go a long way towards deciding the team's ultimate postseason fate.
At least one of the younger guys have begun to step up too. Freshman point guard Xavier Simpson has shown some spark and lot a of promise while playing about nine minutes per game. He has six assists, five rebounds, and one steal in the last four games. Look for him to get more quality minutes going forward.
I am still holding my hopes this team can make a run this year. Though the schedule is tough, it is not unbeatable. Luckily, tomorrow night's must-win road game is at 13-15 Rutgers, and their toughest opponent, Purdue, comes to the Crisler Center this Saturday. If they go 2-0 it will have them in control of their own destiny with road games at Northwestern and Nebraska to close out the season. Either way, the team needs to win three of those games to really impress anybody. Otherwise, it might be looking at an NIT invitation instead.
Realistically, it looks like this team is a year away from really making run at anything, with a healthy mixture of youth and experience returning for the 2017-2018 season. Senior point guard Derrick Walton Jr. has made a great effort offensively to keep this team hanging around nearly every game, but he has had lapses of motivation on defense along with some untimely mistakes with the ball in his hands that seem to be due to exhaustion. If he doesn't find a third wind here to finish this season on a strong note, then this team is done. The other senior leader, Zach Irvin, has had a terribly disappointing year, and very few people are hopeful that he can pull out of that slump to take this team to another level. If he does rise up to leave the college game with one last streak of big three-point shots, it would help alleviate some of the pressure off of Walton. Wilson and Wagner are young, rising players that are not quite leaders yet, but they will be counting on to be stars next year so anything could happen in the next few weeks. Both guys need to toughen up and play smarter defense. Abdur-Rahkman continues to put up numbers in the stat sheet, but he needs to be at least a third option in the offense to really be effective. In other words, he is not particularly a natural leader that plays with a lot passion.
One surprise player off the bench as of late has been Mark Donnal. Though he has occasionally peppered in some minutes over the course of the last two years, he has shown a bit of a fire off the bench in the last few contests that I haven't really seen much before. It makes me think he really wants to compete for something. He rarely takes a bad shot, and he has hit on four out of his last five attempts from the feild. He also has five rebounds, two blocks, and six points in the last three games. Not too bad for a big man getting less than 14 minutes per game off the bench. If he can help provide some toughness on defense down the stretch it will go a long way towards deciding the team's ultimate postseason fate.
At least one of the younger guys have begun to step up too. Freshman point guard Xavier Simpson has shown some spark and lot a of promise while playing about nine minutes per game. He has six assists, five rebounds, and one steal in the last four games. Look for him to get more quality minutes going forward.
I am still holding my hopes this team can make a run this year. Though the schedule is tough, it is not unbeatable. Luckily, tomorrow night's must-win road game is at 13-15 Rutgers, and their toughest opponent, Purdue, comes to the Crisler Center this Saturday. If they go 2-0 it will have them in control of their own destiny with road games at Northwestern and Nebraska to close out the season. Either way, the team needs to win three of those games to really impress anybody. Otherwise, it might be looking at an NIT invitation instead.
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