Featured Photo: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press
Adjustments Work for the Wolverines
Michigan 87, Southern Utah 50
Recap
The Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team entered Saturday’s matchup with the Southern Utah Thunderbirds reeling from their first Big 10 loss of the season. It was reported that senior guard Eli Brooks had called out his teammates for being “soft” earlier in the week. Head coach Juwan Howard and Michigan spent the week in practice suring up their defense, working on limiting turnovers, and planning possible rotation changes. Would these adjustments work for the Wolverines?
The Thunderbirds made 4 of their first 6 shots to hang with Michigan momentarily, but Michigan would soon take over and never look back. Center Hunter Dickinson got the ball in the paint early and often, and easily scored on the undersized post defenders of Southern Utah. He would finish with a 22 point, 10 rebound double-double. Point guard Devante Jones scored 13 first half points and led the team in assists with 6.
After the Wolverines notched a 49-20 halftime lead, it would be all Michigan in the second half. Their bench would go on to score 33 points behind Frankie Collins, Zeb Jackson, and Kobe Bufkin, while 13 different Wolverines saw game action. Ultimately, this Michigan team was too much for Southern Utah, tallying a final score of 87-50.
Small Ball
Juwan created some refreshing new looks with his “small ball” rotations. So far this year we’ve seen Michigan try to lean on their size and strength, only to watch quicker players dice up the defense. On Saturday there was a different energy in Crisler Arena stemming primarily from a few adjustments to the rotation, most notably playing Devante Jones and Frankie Collins at the same time.
Kobe Bufkin and Zeb Jackson also received increased roles during crucial minutes. The overall effect of this guard-centric approach was crisper passes, quicker team defense, and more open shots. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Juwan Howard build on this approach heading into the final two non-conference games of the season. The question will be what does this mean for forwards Brandon Johns and Terrence Williams? Will we see a reduced workload from them, or will Michigan find a way to insert them into these small ball lineups?
Hello Devante!
It’s no secret that Devante Jones has received his share of criticism during this dishearteningly slow start for Michigan. There’s no question that Jones had to be acutely aware of the rumblings in the media about his shortcomings this season. Well he showed up with a vengeance for this game!
The Southern Utah defenders were clearly coached to go under ball screens when defending Jones. He took advantage of this by squaring up and draining all 3 of his 3-point attempts for the game. He confidently marched the team down the floor and found open shooters with decisive passing. He also limited himself to 1 turnover while leading the team in assists. He brought the “floor general” mentality that Michigan has been so desperately seeking.
Team Defense
The Thunderbirds endured several shooting droughts during the span of the game. This could be attributed just as much to Michigan’s defense as Southern Utah’s poor shooting. The Wolverine defenders were communicating effectively and helping out off the ball. Shooters struggled to get clean looks while Michigan defenders closed out fast and hard. This was most likely something that the coaching staff had emphasized in practice and will become more meaningful against Big 10 opponents.
Next Up
The Michigan Wolverines will face Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday night and are likely to be heavy favorites. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index gives Michigan a 94.7% chance to win the game.
