1/23/2006 – Week #12 –Two Solid Wins

The Week In Review

This past week, the University of Michigan men's basketball team played two games, and they won them both.  On Wednesday (01/18/2006), they beat Northwestern in Crisler Arena 68-51, then on Saturday (01/21/2006), they won at Minnesota 71-55.  These were both games that Michigan should have won handily, and they did.  Both games also showed how much better this team is than last year's: they had lost their last 3 games against both Northwestern and Minnesota.  The win at Minnesota was more impressive than the home win against Northwestern for several reasons.  This was Michigan's 4^th road win this year, and they only won 4 road games all last season.  The win at Minnesota also ended a 9-game losing streak there, dating back to 1993.

Regardless of the opponents, the most impressive thing about the two wins was how UM played in both games.  They played with poise and focus.  They dueled with both teams early, but once they opened up a decent lead, they kept it for the rest of the game.  They answered every run with a run of their own, and they didn't get rattled.

The two wins raise UM's season record to 13-3, 3-2 in the Big Ten.  As we'll see below, the league leaders (Indiana and Wisconsin) both have one loss, so UM is still in the thick of the Big Ten title chase.

Game Statistics

Let's look at the shooting statistics from the Northwestern game:

There's your whole game story right there: UM shot 65.2%, and Northwestern shot 41.9%.  Michigan hit 30 field goals, and Northwestern hit 18.  Game over.

No one else made much of a big deal out of this, but I'm still amazed by it: UM shot (and made) only one free throw in the game.  I can't remember the last time that's happened.  I looked in the media guide, and they track most free throws in a game, but not least, so I don't know quite how historical this is, but I find it amazing.  It's also amazing that UM was outshot 12-to-1 in free throws, and outscored 9-to-1, and yet still won the game handily.

Interestingly, but not nearly as amazing, is the fact that all 12 of the Northwestern free throws were shot by the same player, Mohamed Hachad.

Now, let's look at the non-shooting statistics from the Northwestern game:

Other than Rebounds, Michigan won these stats convincingly.  21 Assists is impressive.

Moving on to the Minnesota game, let's look at the shooting statistics:

Sure, Michigan shot a better percentage across the board, especially that smoking free-throw percentage, but the game was won behind the 3-point line.  Minnesota missed all 6 of their 3-point attempts in the 1^st half, and their first 4 attempts of the 2^nd half, before they finally made one.  By then, the game was almost out of reach.  They made all three of their 3-pointers in one mini-run that cut Michigan's lead from 17 down to 7, but that was the end of their fun.  They missed the rest of them, and lost the game because of it.

Finally, let's look at the non-shooting statistics from the Minnesota game:

Once again, Michigan lost the rebounding battle, but won the rest of the stats.  These stats are all close enough that they didn't determine the outcome.  It was the 3-point shooting.

Individual Statistics

Lester Abram was healthy enough to start again, so Coach Amaker got to use his regular starting lineup in both games: Abram, Graham Brown, Dion Harris, Daniel Horton, and Courtney Sims.  Here's how they did:

As a group, the starters did an excellent job in both games.  They shot very well across the board, especially at the free-throw line.  The 3-point shooting against Northwestern was a little low, but not too bad.

Individually, it was a good week for the guards, but not a good week for the big men.  Harris was the only starter to hit double figures in both games, and he played a key role in finishing the Minnesota win, but the big story was Horton.  He was on fire against Minnesota, hitting 60% of his 3-pointers.  Combined with his perfect 10-for-10 free-throw shooting, he was awesome, hitting a career-high 32 points.  Of course, he had an "off" night against Northwestern, and even left the game early with a mildly sprained ankle, but he came back 3 days later with a vengeance.  Incidentally, Horton is now 18-for-18 from the free-throw line in Big Ten play.

Abram had a great game against Northwestern, but a sub-par game against Minnesota.  He left that game with an ankle sprain, and it isn't clear when he'll return to the lineup.  For the big men, Brown got shut out against Northwestern, and Sims got shut out against Minnesota.  This is not good.  Even when they did score, they didn't score much.  Michigan needs better scoring balance to be successful against the "big boys" coming up on the schedule.

Here's how the bench players did this week:

The bench contributed nicely in the Northwestern game, but not so much in the Minnesota game.  Coleman and Petway both chipped in some points in both games, but everyone else got shut out in at least one game.  As usual, most of Petway's shots were highlight-film alley-oop dunks.  He is just so much fun to watch.  Once again, he picked the whole team up when he came in.

The Big Picture

Michigan won two games that they had to win, in order to stay in the Big Ten race.  They are obviously better than Northwestern and Minnesota, but they still had to go out and play the games and prove it.  They did.  Now, it's time to face two nationally ranked teams in Crisler Arena this week.  There are still many games left to be played, and Michigan still hasn't beaten a ranked team this season, but they've played well in the 3 games that they've lost to ranked teams, and they're playing better and better every week.  If they want to stay in the Big Ten title hunt, they will need to beat a few Top 25 teams along the way, and this week is a good time to start.

Here's Michigan's schedule and results: