Could Playing Smaller Key Turnaround for Michigan basketball?

Michigan Basketball has had its last two games against Michigan State and Purdue postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the the program.

Michigan did not meet the Big Ten’s threshold of having seven scholarship players available for those games. It still will only have seven available tomorrow night at Illinois, according to head coach Juwan Howard.

We hope the Wolverines can return to full strength soon. However, given the way this season has gone so far, the postponements gave the coaching staff time to reassess things when it gets the full roster back.

One possible change could be playing a smaller lineup for longer stretches. You could make the case that Michigan’s two best players this season have been center Hunter Dickinson and forward Moussa Diabate. Per 40 minutes, Dickinson is averaging 20.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, and has an 60.7 eFG%. Diabate is averaging 16.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and has 61.6 eFG%. However, when the two of them share the floor, they are often playing with a packed paint.

Caleb Houstan and Terrance Williams have seen the lion’s share of the minutes at the small forward spot this season. Houstan is shooting 36.4% from the field and 31.3% from three. The five-star has not shot the ball at the level many expected from him this season.

Williams is shooting 36% from beyond the arc this season, though that numbers dips to 27.3% if you remove the Nebraska game, which at this point looks like an outlier for the whole team. Houstan and Williams provide more spacing when playing at the four.

Additionally, Michigan basketball has struggled defending on the perimeter this season. The Wolverines have allowed 32 points to Buffalo’s Jeenathan Williams, 21 to UNLV’s Bryce Hamiliton, 16 to Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, 22 each to UNC’s Caleb Love and SDSU’s Matt Bradley, 27 to UNLV’s Jamison Battle, 53 combined to Darin Green Jr. and Brandon Mahan of UCF and 47 combined to Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr. of Rutgers.

Michigan’s struggles on the perimeter do not lie exclusively on Houstan and Williams. However, Houstan has been more effective defending fours and Williams’ frame is more suited to defending power forwards than quicker players on the perimeter.

By sliding Houstan and Willams down to the four, Michigan can open more minutes for Kobe Bufkin and possibly Isaiah Barnes. Bufkin can provide more shot creation that Michigan is also lacking. Barnes has played just six minutes this season, but he has the profile of the 3-and-D wing that Michigan needs. Barnes may redshirt, but if the coaching staff feels he has shown enough recently to gain a larger role, he should get the opportunity.

For Michigan to be more effective playing smaller, it needs better guard play. Super senior Eli Brooks has been steady as usual. Freshman Frankie Collins, who was in the protocols, has shown flashes.

Coastal Carolina transfer DeVante Jones has had an up-and-down season. He was scoreless in 31 minutes against Rutgers, but in the last four games he is averaging 11 points, three rebounds, 3.5 assists, and one turnover. Michigan will need more stretches like that from him for the rest of the season.

So I am not saying Diabete and Dickinson should never play together. The two of them should start and probably close games as depending on the matchup.

However, Michigan needs to stagger their minutes. It will create more spacing, open up driving lanes, and possibly improve their perimeter defense.

Will it save Michigan’s season? No, I can’t make that guarantee. However, Michigan is trending towards a NIT berth and everything should be on the table when the roster returns to full strength.