The Wolverines traveled to the Jack Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing, MI to take on the Michigan State Spartans. Michigan played really well in their last game, and it seemed as if they would come into this game highly motivated to make a statement in their last game this season. However, their offense was horrible in the first half, only netting 14 total points in the entire first half. They had way too many turnovers, and were playing in a very lazy fashion.

The second half didn't start off much better, however, the Wolverines were able to score more than double the points in the 2nd half than they did in the first half. Their defense played a little better in the second half, but they just couldn't stop the Spartans from getting to the rim. The Wolverines have often had problems throughout the season pertaining to their lack of defense, and this game showed just how ready they were to be done with this season.

The Wolverines had 19 turnovers, and shot a dismal 22 percent in the first half. Overall, Michigan shot about 35 percent to end the game. The Wolverines struggled greatly from the 3-point line, and never got into any rhythm. Michigan, all season long, has needed a third scorer to step up, but no one ever did. Manny and DeShawn were the main scorers this year, and they had to take on the bulk of the load the entire season. Next year looks somewhat promising, but we will have to see if Beilein can bring in anyone to be a productive player on the team. He needs to add some depth to the bench if he believes they will ever compete with the better teams in the NCAA. Next season should be better, but only time will tell. I just wanted to thank the Wolverines for not giving up in games like this. It shows they are motivated even in times when they know things will never go their way.

GO BLUE.

A win over the Spartans today won’t make up for a season full of disappointments for the Wolverines, but the game is still important.  Michigan State needs a win to clinch a two or three way tie the Regular Season Big Ten Championship.  Manny Harris, DeShawn Sims & company have a chance to play the role of spoiler.  Will they step up in East Lansing?

Michigan came into the game shooting horribly over their past few contests. However, tonight was another story. The Wolverines looked great after they got into a rhythm. The Wolverines started out slowly, but picked it up quite a bit 7 minutes into the game. They were passing the ball well, defending well, and even hitting from the 3-point line.

The Wolverines led 43-29 at halftime. They started right where the left off to start the second half, and the game looked as if it was going to get out of hand. The team looked strong, and the chemistry was tremendous throughout the entire game. The Wolverines looked as if they were have quite a bit of fun for once, and the final score showed it. The Wolverines buried the Gophers 83-58. It was their most convincing win in quite some time.

DeShawn Sims led Michigan with 23 solid points in 30 minutes, and Manny Harris chipped in 22 points in 35 minutes. Harris was great on defense netting 3 steals, and was 8-12 from the field. The Wolverines played very well tonight, and I know it's going to carry over to the Michigan State game to end the season. They may not be playing for entry into the post-season, but they sure played like they were tonight. LETS GO BLUE!

I was looking forward to watching the Wolverines play against the Illini last night in order to gain some insight as to how the players felt about their last performance.  However, the performance last night was dreadful.

I have never seen a team shoot so badly from the field, and miss so many layups in my life.  I think some of the players have lost focus, and have other things on their minds.  I just don’t understand why the shooting has become such an issue, but I do know Beilein needs to take charge.  I often see him commenting about their poor play, but I never see anything different from game to game.  The Wolverines seem to be getting worse, and it doesn’t help they are playing for nothing now.  I am curious to see if they will even try these next three games, however, I won’t get my hopes up.

I am proud of the team for some positive elements this season, but I am looking forward to next year to see if they can turn it around, and add some needed depth on the bench.

We shall overcome eventually, GO BLUE. 

Pictures From The Game: Basketball & Junior Day Football Recruits

The Wolverines basketball team was going into the Penn State game with a good amount of optimism. In fact, the start of the game had me thinking the Wolverines had worked on their chemistry, and seemed to be playing much better. Their shooting percentage wasn’t the best, and they looked lost at times. However, they seemed to be playing like a team until 5 minutes to go in the first half. It looked like they lost their confidence, and they were making some bad decisions.

The start of the second half was a bunch of back and forth game play in which both teams seemed to be matching each other very well. However, with about 14 minutes to play in the second half the Lions started to pull away slightly. Michigan held the Lions in scoring for a while at 51, and then held the Lions to 53 points for the final 7 minutes of the game. However, the Wolverines were out of their element again, and just did not make any plays when they needed to. Their defense was great to end the game, however, their offense looked very anemic, and they were missing quite a few shots.

Overall, the performance was poor from what I was expecting. However, I can say the Wolverines showed the can play defense when it matters, but they need to work on their chemistry to bond more on the offensive end as well. The schedule they had this year was pretty hard on them, but I think it allowed the players to see what it takes to be successful. I know quite a few people feel let down, especially since U of M had so much hype coming into the season. I know I have said I am off the band-wagon, however, it was more of a reference to the season ending, and the Wolverines not going into the off-season to play in a tournament. I am always optimistic about our team, and I think this season shows everyone we will play anywhere, and the players have learned they need to work on many elements.

John Beilein previews the game against Iowa tonight (8:05/Big Ten Network):

Video is courtesy of AnnArbor.com

When the U of M Men's Basketball team started the season, I was very excited to see what all the hype was about.  I have always enjoyed U of M Basketball, however, the past eight years it seemed to have fallen off.  I am not on the bandwagon anymore for this season because I know we can't accomplish what we want, but I am still hopeful for the future.  I am curious to see the damage this season has done to recruiting in the future, and what next season holds for us.  It seems like we have good players, but some of them just don't play as a team.  The team lacks discipline, and they don't seem to have great direction.  I think John Beilein needs to approach the team in a different way to see if he can finish the season strong.  If the team can pull it together and finish strong, I know it will help carry the momentum into next season.  I have always believed in one team, one fight, and the team needs to learn that.  They have everything to gain, and I hope they can finish the season strong.

By Josh Hagerman:

Before the season started a lot of pressure was put on the Wolverines, and it seemed to many they had returned to their prominence since the Fab Five left. However, as the season has gone on, a lot of people are starting to question the players. I know I was excited coming into this season since I felt they had pretty good recruiting. I have always thought Beilein was a good coach, but when I watch the Wolverines they just look lost. I know chemistry has to be developed between the players, but it just doesn’t look like it has happened yet.

When the Wolverines played the Jayhawks, they looked lethargic, and as if they have forgotten the basics of basketball. I am not sure what was going on in their mind, but I could plainly see a lack of effort. They did well in some aspects by only turning the ball over 10 times, however, they did not get to the line, and their 3-point shooting was horrendous. It seems they are lacking a dominant inside game because once the Jayhawks got through the 1-3-1 they scored at will. I couldn’t even tell you how many uncontested dunks the Jayhawks had, but the Wolverines made no effort to even stop them from scoring.

I am still hopeful for the season since they are playing one of the hardest schedules in the NCAA, but they need to pull it together and put forth more of an effort. They have great players, and I know they can do much better than they are. I think Beilein needs to instill some confidence, and pay close attention to where the Wolverines broke down defensively in this game. I believe the Wolverines need to take smarter shots because they took over 60 shots, and only made about 35 percent. If they even made 45 percent, they would have won the game.

I see a lot of promise in the players and team, but everyone needs to pull it together and play up to their ability. I think the players will learn a lot from this game, and come out with a stronger desire in the weeks to come. GO BLUE!

The following was posted on Buzzboard by User crew99 about Matt Vogrich:

Bye, Bye Locks
If you didn’t recognize one of Michigan’s players Sunday, that’s OK. Freshman Matt Vogrich merely chopped off all of his hair.
The Lake Forest, Ill. native played his fewest minutes of the season - 1 - but also had the most drastic change. Gone was the mop on top of his head, replaced by a buzz cut.
It’s not the first time he’s done this, though, and in the past it has yielded good results.
“I did it in high school,” Vogrich said. “Our team lost three games in a row and I did it in high school and we were ranked fourth in the state after that, won 20 games in a row.
“My team’s playing bad, not bad but we’re not meshing together and I just, just wanted to get rid of it. I like it short, too, don’t really care about my hair too much.”
So he went to teammate Zack Novak and asked him to hack at it despite Novak’s prior haircutting experience involved football and Mohawks in Chesterton, Ind.
The new ‘do left Beilein happy and brought Michigan’s mop-top group down to two: Novak and freshman Blake McLimans.
“I loved his haircut,” Michigan Coach John Beilein said. “It was very good.”

I don’t know about winning 20 in a row, but I’ll take a win over the Jayhawks on Saturday!!

Explanation of the Picture:

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At the 2:12 mark, Andy Katz profiles the Old Spice Classic and speculates that U of M will be right behind Purdue and MSU in the Big Ten this season.  Michigan will open the Classic against Creighton.  Dylan, UM Hoops, considers U of M the possible first seed and speculates they could win the whole thing.