Michigan Basketball: Michigan at Duke — Recap
Posted at 12:30am — 12/4/2013
Michigan Basketball: Michigan at Duke — Recap
What to Say? Duke Controls Michigan For Big Ten/ACC Challenge
The road has not been successful this year for the Wolverines. The team is 0-2 on the road and 2-1 on neutral courts.
There were few mysteries why Michigan lost this game. Dribbling has totally replaced passing for the most part. Sure, there were occasion nice, drop offs, but not enough.
Dec 3, 2013; Durham, NC, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Caris LeVert (23) drives past Duke Blue Devils forward Amile Jefferson (21) at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY SportsThe shot selection again showed lack of patience and passing. Michigan had a great chance to take the ball inside and except for a rare move by McGary and several quick penetrations by LeVert, not much happened. Even withstanding, Michigan picked up fouls on the Duke insiders with minimal effort.
The three media proclaimed first rounders did not have a good night. Stauskas was well-guarded and likely still hurt. Coach Beilein may wish to revisit some of Stauskas’ social interactions with fans that occurred in the game, that were similar to last year. Types of actions like this just eat away on the focus necessary to play in a place like Duke. Robinson again was not involved enough. Remember, Burke did a great job of getting him open looks last year. When Robinson must work for a shot, the results have not been first round quality for sure. It is nice that McGary can dribble some, but he is not a point guard and Coach Beilein needs to set some parameters on his extended trips. In the first half, McGary by coaching design or personal choice, launched some bad shots.
Dec 3, 2013; Durham, NC, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Zak Irvin (21) and guard Nik Stauskas (11) and guard Derrick Walton Jr. (10) and forward Jon Horford (15) and forward Glenn Robinson III (1) wait on the court after a technical foul was called against the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY SportsCaris LeVert came up short early on but started going to the rim and finishing. Still, his quick outside shots the last few games have yielded little.
Defensively, it remains easy to break Michigan’s defense by passing or dribbling. Even a simple ball rotation around the perimeter gave Duke open looks for threes.
Walton still looks like a nice find. His time will come as scoring and defense improves. Michigan went with LeVert for obvious reasons.
There will be better times ahead, but Michigan must address some clear problems on both sides of the ball. Right now, Michigan looks like a 5th place team in the Big Ten.
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff
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