Michigan played well on offense and defense against Ohio State
The Michigan basketball team played its best game of the season against Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament but still lost to the Buckeyes, 69-68.
Offense: It took all year, but Michigan finally made shots and looked like a team that could play with anybody in the Big Ten. The Wolverines rallied from 13 points down to take the lead with 2.2 seconds left. Twelve turnovers hurt, but nine of them were in the first half. Junior guard Manny Harris was remarkable, scoring 22 of his 26 points in the second half. Each time Ohio State made a bucket, Michigan answered. Doesn’t get much better than that for the Wolverines. Grade: A
Defense: Ohio State shot well, but when Michigan needed stops to come back in the game, the Wolverines got them. They guarded Evan Turner well for almost the entire game, often trapping him and shading him well by the 3-point line to keep him from getting into the lane. They contested almost every Ohio State shot. Except the last one. GRADE: A-
Coaching: It is games like these that haunt coaches. Michigan made a decision not to guard the inbounds pass on the final possession, allowing Ohio State guard Evan Turner to get a running start, set his feet and then pull up to make a 37-footer that ended Michigan’s season. Before that play, Beilein had a good game plan for Ohio State. But in the game’s closing seconds, with everyone in the gym knowing who was going to get the ball, Michigan made it easy for him. Grade: D
Comments
BlueinIN
Sun, Mar 14, 2010 : 8:52 p.m.
So tired of losing. The BR (Beilein - Rodriguez) experiment is a complete failure. BR is BS. Recruiting 2 and 3 star mighty mites and hoping to develop them, may work in the back woods but not here. Coaching is horrendous. No chance of it getting better - both have to go. I hope the new AD - the pizza dough boy - has the guts to what needs to be done. We NEED SOME FIRE! Someone to stand up and say we are sick of losing and will not put up with it anymore. And then recruit and coach with the same fire!!
BlueinIN
Sun, Mar 14, 2010 : 8:50 p.m.
So tired of losing. The BR (Beilein - Rodriguez) experiment is a complete failure. BR is BS. Recruiting 2 and 3 star mighty mites and hoping to develop them, may work in the back woods but not here. Coaching is horrendous. No chance of it getting better - both have to go. I hope the new AD - the pizza dough boy - has the guts to what needs to be done. We NEED SOME FIRE! Someone to stand up and say we are sick of losing and will not put up with it anymore. And then recruit and coach with the same fire!!
maizenbluedoc
Sat, Mar 13, 2010 : 11:41 a.m.
Bingo! That summarizes the game. The coaching decision should not have been made by a veteran coach. There were too many options available to prevent this type ending. Belein has to accept responsibility for this terrible loss. I feel for the players. This type ending hurts fans and one can only imagine how the players feel.
miatamich
Sat, Mar 13, 2010 : 7:28 a.m.
A hand in the face rarely has any impact on a shooter, especially when the shooter can significantly outjump the defender. The big issue is that Turner was allowed to get the ball on the run, gain unimpeded momentum and square up and shoot. I don't know which is worse...Beilein's defensive strategy or the fact that he can't see how wrong it was. Not the trait of a good defensive coach.
Engineer
Fri, Mar 12, 2010 : 11:37 p.m.
Give me a break!!! "A"s for losing. Losing is always a failure. Especially at Michigan. You are starting to buy into the moral victory band wagon. It is about the wins and JB finds ways to be sure we have very few!
InRichRodWeTrust
Fri, Mar 12, 2010 : 7:14 p.m.
Douglass had a hand in Evan's face. I think Beilein was willing to give up that shot. Turner is 28% for the season behind the 3 pt. line. People say Novak and DOuglass are horrible 3 pt shooters this year, yet they still shoot better than him plus it was about 10 ft behind the 3 pt line.