Michigan Basketball: Western Michigan vs. Michigan — Wrap-up — Coach Beilein hits a Milestone
Posted at 5:45am — 12/6/2012
Michigan Basketball: Western Michigan vs. Michigan — Wrap-up — Coach Beilein hits a Milestone
Michigan beat 6-1 Western Michigan handily 73-41 Monday night. The win was the 650th of Coach Beilein’s distinguished career. There are not many coaches who have reached that plateau in college history. Congratulations to Coach Beilein and Michigan Nation looks forward to many more wins with Coach at the helm.
Michigan had a little bit of a tough go on Saturday at Bradley. There was no real preparation for the Monday game and both teams brought what was in the trunk. Michigan played a little tired the first one-fourth of the game, but the frequent substitutions and constant running wore down the Broncos.
December 4, 2012; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) dunks the ball against the Western Michigan Broncos in the first half at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY SportsIn the early going Michigan was impatient with the ball, not passing enough and putting up hurried and sometimes mediocre shots. The bookends, Hardaway Jr. and Robinson III had a somewhat rough day, each shooting 3-10. Some of the shots were a little questionable, but not downright obscene. Stauskas also rushed some shots and he never quite got into full synch.
Trey Burke kept at it and split his twenty points evenly between halves. He found some easy assists and made some tough shots. The inside guys got some easy shots based on nice passing and the rebounding started to go the Wolverine’s way.
The second half was all Michigan as Western went cold, excepting some inside play, and Michigan scored easy transition points.
Michigan again was able to play many combinations, and again, none looked out of place. Caris LeVert again played minutes intended to get him ready for future action. He fit into the flow well enough to show he can be in the rotation without being a detriment to the offensive flow and design. A couple of bad luck shots prevented Caris from having a good night.
Defensively, Michigan was a mixed bag. The footwork was better and the straight up one-on-one defense was pretty good. Michigan still could not defend smaller players going straight down the middle.
The rebounding edge was only three, and again Michigan worried more about the ball position than sealing out opposing players. This cost UM a few buckets, which the team could easily overcome.
December 4, 2012; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Nik Stauskas (11) defends Western Michigan Broncos guard Brandon Pokley (10) in the first half at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY SportsThere was no problem with the end game tonight as the lead held steady regardless of the personnel packages on the floor.
Although some shots were rushed and were not of a premium nature, Michigan again ran a very efficient and effective offense. Few teams in the nation are running a better offense with more actual options than Michigan.
Not much else to the game really, and next up is SEC Arkansas on Saturday. This time Michigan will have time to prepare and we will see is some of the early hot shooting returns to the bookends and Stauskas. It should be a fun time in the barn Saturday.
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff
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