Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from Oregon barn burner
By Nick Popio
A Raucous Comeback All For Not
In the first half, Michigan couldn’t make a bucket to save its life. The Wolverines shot 24% and were trailing by double digits for the better part of it. At the half they got it down to eight and set themselves up for a memorable comeback. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way they wanted to in what turned out to be a classic non-conference showdown that rounded out in Oregon’s favor.
Michigan basketball has now lost three of four after starting a perfect 7-0. Shooting and defensive breakdowns have been a problem in all of the loses. Those results came to bite them in the behind again today. Jon Teske was curiously absent down the stretch mainly because he didn’t make much of an impact. Howard decided to go with the hot hand of Brandon Johns instead. Johns rewarded that decision with 22 important minutes off the seats.
Great game! Michigan has now lost 3 of 4 after winning the first seven. Impressive comeback, but not ready to play from the jump. Still, all of their goals are in place. So much to learn from. Little things make a huge difference.
— Tim McCormick (@TimMcCormick40) December 14, 2019
Zavier Simpson had a hard time guarding Payton Pritchard. He consistently got in the paint and was able to achieve layups with Teske out. The interior defense in the last two outings are a huge reason why Michigan is 0-2. Getting better on frontcourt defense will have to be a vital priority moving forward with so many quality Big Ten bigs that roam the paint in the conference clashes ahead.