Michigan Basketball: Failure to close is costing team precious wins

Two months ago Michigan basketball was on top of the world and now the Wolverines can’t win as if their season depended on it.

Despite a valiant effort from Eli Brooks, Michigan basketball couldn’t find a way to stop Iowa when it mattered most. The Wolverines had a six-point lead disappear after Iowa went on a 10-0 run to finish the job.

Michigan basketball collapsed for the second straight encounter when the game was on the line and dropped two wins that would have them in the upper echelon of the Big Ten. Instead, U-M will head home licking its wounds after letting another winnable game slip right through their hands.

The Wolverines defense is clearly not what it used to be. They let Luka Garza run wild for the second meeting this season. They also allowed the Hawkeyes to shoot 56% from 3-point land. Their 3-point defense has been better than the interior defense over the past few, but that changed last night. Ever since the first Iowa affair, the defense is averaging 80 points an outing, not counting the two cupcake wins in December. That looks like the way it will stay with the schedule lightening up a bit over the next month.

Officiating of late in any sport seems to be a complete disaster. That was more of the same over the last two losses to Minnesota and Iowa. Michigan got called for 19 fouls on Sunday and 23 on Friday. The Gophers shot 27 free throws, while Iowa had 30. To think that Michigan still had a chance to win both of these games in the late minutes because of is simply astounding. Coach Howard has had his squad in position but ultimately couldn’t seize the two close calls during crunch time.

The following nine-game stretch heading into mid-February seems doable, but nothing is guaranteed in the hardest conference in basketball. Three current ranked schools all visit Ann Arbor, while Michigan’s scariest road test may not come until a trip to the RAC on February 19th. Throw in an improved Penn State, Rutgers at Madison Square Garden and an always difficult Indiana club, Michigan cannot afford to squander any of these opportunities that lie directly in front of it.

Obviously the remainder of the gauntlet will decide whether or not Michigan basketball can be a top seed or a bubble team come March. Until then, the defense will have to either get better or just keep regressing.

Seeing what this team could have been after a very strong performance in the Bahamas to where they are now is a complete 180. Looking ahead to the future beyond 2020 is substantially promising, but the groundwork for that has got to be cemented by the current one asap.