Michigan Basketball: 3 things we learned from Penn State loss

Penn State, Iowa and Wisconsin used the same formula to beat Michigan.

Much like Wisconsin and Iowa, two other teams that have beaten Michigan within the past month or so, Penn State used a formula to beat the Wolverines and it had to do with three key things: Turnovers, offensive rebounds and foul trouble.

When the game was over, Michigan had only 12 turnovers, which was the same as Penn State, however, early on, the Wolverines turned it over a bunch. Zaiver Simpson got the ball stole on a number of occasions and finished with eight points and six turnovers. He also missed his first four 3-point attempts and scored zero in the first half.

Foul trouble also plagued Michigan as Ignas Brazdeikis picked up two in the first half and another early in the second. By the time he got on the floor with around eight minutes to go, he had played only 10 minutes and he’s arguably the team’s best player.

Part of that was Iggy playing poor defense and getting caught out of position, which drew two fouls, even if one was pretty weak. The other problem is Beilein and Michigan coaches always pull a guy as soon as they get a foul or two.

Doing that took Iggy out of the game before it even got started. At some point, you have to trust your guys and sometimes, Beilein needs to let a guy play with two or three fouls. Offensive boards also killed Michigan and giving up 12 of those to Penn State doomed any hopes of a road win.