Michigan probably could've avoided overtime in this one.
Facing an Oakland squad playing their fourth game in five days, the Wolverines were flummoxed in the first half by the Golden Grizzlies' zone defense, turning the ball over 15 times before the break. A baseline hook by Trey Townsend on one of a handful of designed plays OU had time to install in a COVID-ravaged preseason gave the visitors a shocking 33-31 halftime lead.
Everything that could go wrong in the first half did go wrong. In addition to the comical number of turnovers, there was Mike Smith picking up two fouls, Franz Wagner scoring a mere two points, Chaundee Brown crashing back to earth as a shooter, and Isaiah Livers getting into a yelling match with Juwan Howard in the huddle, then throwing a Gatorade cooler when he was pulled shortly thereafter.
dime [Campredon]
Presumably, Michigan would settle their differences, adjust to the zone, clean up the turnovers, and pull away. They did this. Eventually.
The key was freshman center Hunter Dickinson. Oakland had no answer for his post scoring and exquisite passing. He flashed the latter in the first half with a nifty assist to Brandon Johns but went scoreless in only nine minutes. Once he got into the game again, Michigan was fine.
The trouble was Howard didn't insert Dickinson back into the game until nearly nine minutes had elapsed in the second half. Michigan had continued to struggle with the zone, shooting 3-for-11 in the half before Dickinson replaced Austin Davis, who hadn't built on a couple early buckets and wasn't containing OU on defense. Smith had created a couple quick baskets in transition before picking up his third foul and coming out. The Grizzlies pushed their lead to six points multiple times, including the possession after Dickinson checked in.
That'd be the last time Michigan faced that large a deficit. On the ensuing trip down the floor, Terrance Williams slipped a pass to Dickinson for a dunk. For the rest of the game, the Wolverines ran through Dickinson. He scored 13 points on seven shooting possessions, dished out three assists, pulled down a couple boards, and grabbed a critical steal in the second half. He dunked in traffic. He created dunks for others. He called out cutters on defense. He looked nothing like a freshman.
you'll never guess who assisted this dunk [Campredon]
Michigan still needed more. Despite some good looks, they missed six of their last eight shots in the half. That included a desperate chuck from Dickinson at the buzzer after OU blew up the initial plan to get it to him in the high post and the play completely broke down. Just prior, a bump by Livers on the baseline sent Rashad Williams to the line for two bonus free throws that tied the game. The heavy home favorites were going to overtime.
And then it was over. Dickinson won the overtime tipoff, ducked into the post, caught an entry pass from Livers, and laid the ball in. After that, OU had to foul him pretty much every time he touched the ball, giving him four more points at the line. With M's defense flying to the ball, a couple Livers triples put the game way out of reach. The final ten-point margin almost looked respectable as long as you ignored the "(OT)" next to the final score.
The Wolverines played about as a poor a game imaginable, didn't maximize their available talent, and managed to come away with a win. Dickinson finished plus-18 in 25 minutes. The other other players to come close to that +/- were the two whose minutes most closely aligned with the freshman center's time on the floor.
A close call against a bad team isn't the ideal way to figure out the best lineup. There are worries out of this one—Brown's bad game, Brooks' turnovers, and Wagner's continued lack of production chief among them. But every team has their duds. Michigan won theirs, and in the process, Dickinson may have forced Howard to adjust the lineup in a way that'll provide short- and long-term benefits.
[Hit THE JUMP for the full photo album and box score.]
Click here to see the full photo album from MG on Flickr.
- Log in or register to post comments
TheCube
November 29th, 2020 at 9:39 PM ^
The Williams-Dickinson connection will be a fun one to watch in the coming weeks.
Joined: 12/19/2018
MGoPoints: 10507
Michigan4Life
November 29th, 2020 at 9:46 PM ^
Pretty clear that AAU experience is paying off in this game. Williams was solid but he needs to stay calm and under control but it's a lot better than his BGSU game where he was out of control. Michigan has depth at PF/C but scary thin at PG. Zeb Jackson isn't ready to have significant PT but we need him to get up to speed if Brooks/Smith are out for a while due to foul trouble or *gulp* injury.
Joined: 07/29/2010
MGoPoints: 19535
chronic
November 29th, 2020 at 10:00 PM ^
Yeah, like the HD-William II connection a lot. Franz seems to be struggling so far...
Joined: 08/20/2010
MGoPoints: 76
Kilgore Trout
November 29th, 2020 at 10:01 PM ^
Agree. I feel like Williams deserves more than a passing mention. The best UM looked in regulation was the stretch late in the second when Williams was in. I can't find exactly when he came out, but UM didn't score for the last 2:26 and I think that's pretty close to when Wagner came back in.
Joined: 02/20/2009
MGoPoints: 5236
Michigan4Life
November 29th, 2020 at 10:17 PM ^
When Williams came out, they stopped looking for Dickinson which probably cost them a win in regulation. I thought that Brandon Johns played well and he showed aggressiveness and energy that wasn't there in the last two years.
Joined: 07/29/2010
MGoPoints: 19535
njvictor
November 29th, 2020 at 9:40 PM ^
I think people are overreacting a bit. This game was clearly a big growing experience for this team. We struggled against the zone then found our grove and improved. We aren't going to face the zone much. Franz and Chaundee weren't hitting their shots, but saw great production from some freshmen. Adversity games like this build character. Hope Franz starts to get into a groove because he's been struggling.
On to Ball State.
Joined: 07/20/2017
MGoPoints: 14104
Blue Vet
November 29th, 2020 at 9:44 PM ^
A rough few days of UM sports. Nice way to end the weekend with a win.
Joined: 05/08/2012
MGoPoints: 7678
TBlue
November 29th, 2020 at 9:45 PM ^
The poise shown by Dickinson is something to see. It will be a tougher match when he faces a big closer to his size, but for now I’m just enjoying watching him contribute in such a big way
Joined: 12/08/2019
MGoPoints: 8
remdog
November 29th, 2020 at 9:46 PM ^
I'd be most concerned about Livers having his head on straight. Getting into a shouting match with the head coach and throwing a cooler cannot be considered acceptable, especially for a senior. It shows a lack of control and disrespect for others, specifically those he should be listening to. I don't recall similar behavior from him in the past. I like his passion but he needs to exercise better control and judgement.
Joined: 05/14/2009
MGoPoints: 1527
njvictor
November 29th, 2020 at 9:59 PM ^
https://twitter.com/CSayf23/status/1333236161528020992
Livers got asked about this post game and gave a good answer
EDIT: Also this
Joined: 07/20/2017
MGoPoints: 14104
Jordan2323
November 29th, 2020 at 10:08 PM ^
Good response from him. Doesn't really explain throwing a water cooler though. I do find it funny though, Izzo eats his players alive all game, every game and I always thought to myself id hate playing for someone like that. They all seem to just take the berating. Here Juwan challenges Livers and they end up verbally into it. Either way I'm sure it's done and over with.
Joined: 11/09/2013
MGoPoints: 7870
njvictor
November 29th, 2020 at 10:10 PM ^
Just passion in the heat of the moment during a rough stretch of play. I wouldn't read too much into it
Joined: 07/20/2017
MGoPoints: 14104
Jordan2323
November 29th, 2020 at 10:13 PM ^
Im not worried about. Thats what I meant by im sure its done and over with. There hasn't been any past indicators of a rift so I figured it was just passion. I'm sure Juwan pushes his talented ones really hard.
Joined: 11/09/2013
MGoPoints: 7870
BursleyHall82
November 29th, 2020 at 9:47 PM ^
Much better to learn from an ugly win. I think this game really showed our depth. We're always going to have games when certain people struggle. This was a game where almost everybody struggled. It's nice that Juwan has enough decent options to find SOMEBODY with a hot hand. Tonight, it was Hunter. In only his second game, that kid was playing like Senior Teske when Senior Teske was at his best.
Joined: 07/14/2013
MGoPoints: 9066
Blue_2008
November 29th, 2020 at 9:48 PM ^
Weird early season game for sure. Michigan played sloppy overall and didn’t really find its groove until the 2nd half with Dickinson. But that’s the biggest thing for me - Dickinson has the look of an elite big and I’m excited to see him continue to develop. He’s smart, knows how to finish, is an elite passer, and makes his free throws.
Michigan does need to clean things up and probably needs someone to be able to step up and be the guy more consistently (and learn how to play zone offense). I think we’ll see some great games and a few duds, but should be a fun season for as long as it lasts.
Joined: 04/10/2011
MGoPoints: 362
Double-D
November 29th, 2020 at 9:51 PM ^
2-14. Yikes. Someone is channeling their inner Charles Mathews.
Joined: 12/21/2013
MGoPoints: 38390
robpollard
November 29th, 2020 at 10:03 PM ^
Not inspiring play from guards -- way too many turnovers for seniors. Also, Zeb is off to a rough start, but it's early and he has a ton of physical tools.
On the last play of regulation, Brooks actually had an easy entry to Dickinson at about the 8 second mark but he hesitated (a theme) and then farted around until it became desperation time. Key to beating a zone is crisp, decisive passing and too often, Michigan looked like this hadn't occurred to them.
I don't care whether Davis or Dickinson starts, but playing Dickinson twice as much is the right ratio.
Joined: 06/03/2009
MGoPoints: 8966
Ham
November 29th, 2020 at 10:04 PM ^
Just to emphasize how consequential Dickinson’s performance was:
From the 11:10 mark in the 2nd half when Oakland increased their lead to 6 to 1:31 left in overtime when Livers hit the dagger 3 to put Michigan up by 9,
During this almost 15-minute period of action, Dickinson scored or assisted on 25 of Michigan’s 28 points. Just amazing for his 2nd career game.
Joined: 01/10/2011
MGoPoints: 8185
PeteM
November 29th, 2020 at 10:05 PM ^
Not a great game but when you can't hit 3s in college basketball things can get interesting against almost anyone. I was glad to see them adjust and go through Dickinson in the 2nd half. Had Brown and Wagner made 2-3 more threes between them we wouldn't be quite as freaked out.
Joined: 09/15/2008
MGoPoints: 1339
roosterbaan
November 29th, 2020 at 10:11 PM ^
lots of good teams have struggled against inferior opponents, especially in their second games. Illinois and Ohio State nearly lost. Kentucky lost to Richmond. Early season basketball can be hard to watch at times!
Joined: 09/24/2012
MGoPoints: 880
Jordan2323
November 29th, 2020 at 10:27 PM ^
Anyone have any ideas on Wagner's shooting? Last season it was the wrist injury. It appears to me that the form and shot looks good. Anyone see anything different?
Joined: 11/09/2013
MGoPoints: 7870