Michigan Basketball: Wolverines lose to Penn State like it’s 2013

Michigan basketball had a chance to take control in the Big Ten with a win over Penn State. Instead, the Wolverines suffered their worst loss since 2013.

Six years ago, Michigan basketball traveled to Penn State as the fourth-ranked team in the country, ready to play one of the worst teams in the Big Ten. That Wolverines team, led by Trey Burke lost and it cost them a Big Ten championship.

And Tuesday night, at Penn State, Michigan basketball lost another game in mind-boggling fashion, falling 75-69 to a team that had one Big Ten win coming into the game, just like in 2013.  And just like that season, it could cost this team a Big Ten regular-season title.

While the result seems surprising, it shouldn’t be a shock to see Michigan struggle on the road. The Wolverines played terribly against Wisconsin and Iowa in recent weeks and many of the same issues that caused those losses resurfaced against Penn State.

Just like against those defeats, the Wolverines struggled with turnovers, offensive rebounds and fouls and those three things ultimately led to the worst loss Michigan has suffered since 2013.

Zavier Simpson, who is normally as good as any point guard in the Big Ten, was terrible Tuesday night. He had a bad turnover early and missed his first four 3-point attempts as Penn State jumped out to a lead. He finished with eight points and six turnovers. Four of them were really bad and his performance was a key factor in the defeat.

Making matters worse was the fact that Ignas Brazdeikis was barely able to play, thanks to a pair of first-half fouls and another that occurred quickly in the second half. He sat for about 10 minutes to open the second stanza and those fouls, along with Michigan’s unwillingness to let him play through it, limited his minutes and his impact.

Things got so bad that John Beilein got ejected at the end of the first half out of frustration with the officials and undoubtedly, the poor performance of his team.

After that, Penn State pushed the lead to 15 points, however, Michigan basketball finally decided to show up, but the Wolverines never got the lead back to one possession and each time they had a chance, they responded with a mental error.

Michigan trimmed the lead to five points, only to give the ball away with a lazy pass that led to a Penn State layup. Suddenly, the lead was back to eight at 55-47.

Charles Matthews made a jumper and hit 2-of-4 free throws to get Michigan back within four, but two bad 3-point misses by Jordan Poole, followed by a three from by Myles Dread and a layup by Mike Watkins, the lead was nine again, at 60-51 and from that point, UM never recovered.

A Matthews 3-pointer got the Wolverines within six, but they would never get closer than that and lost a game they led only once, despite playing a team that was last in the Big Ten and was 8-15 before beating the sixth-ranked team.

One of the lone bright spots was Matthews,  who finished the game with 24 points after making 8-of-11 shots from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds before fouling out.  Poole added 17 points but was 1-of-8 from deep. As a team, the Wolverines were 7-of-20.

On the other side, Lamar Stevens dominated, he scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, to go along with three key assists and three blocks, two of which came in the second half. Dread added 17 points and Rasir Bolton added 13.

In the Big Ten race, the loss is incredibly costly. Michigan State beat Wisconsin on the road Tuesday and Purdue lost, leaving the Wolverines and Spartans tied, with the Boilermakers 1/2 game back Maryland and comes to Ann Arbor Saturday as one of five teams within a game of first.