Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from win over Loyola-Chicago
Never give up on Beilein
Michigan looked dead in the water. Loyola-Chicago was up 7 at the half, and the Wolverines couldn’t hit a shot to save their lives. The Ramblers started extending the lead in the second half, and Michigan still couldn’t cut the deficit as much as they’d like even when it started making shots again.
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You couldn’t really blame Michigan basketball fans for getting ready to throw in the towel. Yet as long as John Beilein is the head coach at Michigan, giving up is a fool’s errand.
Zavier Simpson and Rahkman weren’t playing to their usual levels. They were making ugly passes and taking poor shots. With Michigan’s poor 3-point shooting, Beilein knew he had to make adjustments.
He put Jordan Poole in the game. Poole only had seven points in the game, but they were on two key layup drives and three free throw shots that helped seal the game for Michigan.
Beilein trusted Jaaron Simmons and Eli Brooks off the bench while Simpson struggled. He had the team move more through Wagner and Matthews especially in that second half.
Michigan basketball has been in rough spots multiple times in the tournament, but the Wolverines keep staying alive. A lot of that is because of Beilein.
After all, this was a team that looked like it might struggle to even make the tournament a few months ago. Then Beilein turned it from a bubble team to a championship contender. Never give up on John Beilein.