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A LOOK AT MICHIGAN: Darius Morris likes to make the flashy pass, but he can also commit turnovers as evidenced by his 6.8 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game averages. Between him and Tim Hardaway, they get to the free throw line more than the rest of the team combined. They have 4 players on the team who’ve averaged more than one assist per game, and who have more assists than turnovers. That’s pretty surprising given their youth.
Of the Wolverines that get playing time, center Jordan Williams does not shoot from threepointland and reserve big Jon Horford does occasionally and badly. Darius Morris is only hitting .268 from three, so a defender can lay back on him and cut off the driving. Jordan Williams plays about 24 minutes per game, so he will go full blast quite a bit, which means our bigs have to run down the court to (a) stop him from getting a fast break layup, and (b) stop him from getting position around the rim.
Michigan gets more of their points from three point land than all but eight other teams in the country. So, you can expect them to rain threes. But, they generally show a lot of patience, as they are #318 in adjusted tempo, which means they will probe for 30 seconds and then launch a bomb.
The hot player right now for Michigan in Tim Hardaway, Jr. In his last five, he’s shot 17 of 34 from threepointland, over 55% from the floor and is scoring 18 points. Freshman forward Evan Smotrycz had been starting, but was benched during the last three games in favor of Stu Douglass. The effect of this is to have a 6-8 big playing other teams' centers and 6-4 Zack Novak matched up with their power forwards. During this experiment, the Wolverines have won three in a row against smallish teams like Penn State (without Jeff Brooks), Northwestern and Indiana. Then again, Michigan plays a lot of their 1-3-1 zone, especially after dead balls and made baskets, so that protects the smaller players.
The Wolverines played Syracuse to within 3 on a neutral court, and they’ve beaten MSU and PSU on the road. The question is, How much were those Big Ten road wins influenced by the sudden loss of Korie Lucious and Jeff Brooks respectively? There will be high tides and low tides in this game, as Michigan will usually live and die by the three ball (although Hardaway and Morris have been driving to the hoop much more lately). Illinois is ranked #17 in defending the perimeter, and this game will be a huge test of that ranking. After factoring in the Illini loss to Purdue at Assembly Hall, Ken Pomeroy still predicts, with 84% certainty, a win for the Good Guys with a most probable final score of 70-61.
MORE TO FOLLOW on this must win game for both teams.
Of the Wolverines that get playing time, center Jordan Williams does not shoot from threepointland and reserve big Jon Horford does occasionally and badly. Darius Morris is only hitting .268 from three, so a defender can lay back on him and cut off the driving. Jordan Williams plays about 24 minutes per game, so he will go full blast quite a bit, which means our bigs have to run down the court to (a) stop him from getting a fast break layup, and (b) stop him from getting position around the rim.
Michigan gets more of their points from three point land than all but eight other teams in the country. So, you can expect them to rain threes. But, they generally show a lot of patience, as they are #318 in adjusted tempo, which means they will probe for 30 seconds and then launch a bomb.
The hot player right now for Michigan in Tim Hardaway, Jr. In his last five, he’s shot 17 of 34 from threepointland, over 55% from the floor and is scoring 18 points. Freshman forward Evan Smotrycz had been starting, but was benched during the last three games in favor of Stu Douglass. The effect of this is to have a 6-8 big playing other teams' centers and 6-4 Zack Novak matched up with their power forwards. During this experiment, the Wolverines have won three in a row against smallish teams like Penn State (without Jeff Brooks), Northwestern and Indiana. Then again, Michigan plays a lot of their 1-3-1 zone, especially after dead balls and made baskets, so that protects the smaller players.
The Wolverines played Syracuse to within 3 on a neutral court, and they’ve beaten MSU and PSU on the road. The question is, How much were those Big Ten road wins influenced by the sudden loss of Korie Lucious and Jeff Brooks respectively? There will be high tides and low tides in this game, as Michigan will usually live and die by the three ball (although Hardaway and Morris have been driving to the hoop much more lately). Illinois is ranked #17 in defending the perimeter, and this game will be a huge test of that ranking. After factoring in the Illini loss to Purdue at Assembly Hall, Ken Pomeroy still predicts, with 84% certainty, a win for the Good Guys with a most probable final score of 70-61.
MORE TO FOLLOW on this must win game for both teams.
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