Michigan basketball went into Sunday's game on an eight-game losing streak against Illinois. Brad Underwood and the Fighting Illini owned the Wolverines under Juwan Howard.
Yet, it seems to have ownership hasn't been affected by Dusty May. Illinois kicked the butt of Michigan basketball again on Sunday, using a similar formula from the last eight wins.
Illinois made a bunch of 3-pointers, rebounded a bunch of shots they did miss, didn't allow many assists, and ran away in the end.
Many of the defeats to Illinois have been lopsided, and it was on Sunday, too. Michigan basketball trailed by one point at halftime. The Wolverines grabbed the lead early in the second half, so it's hard to fathom how the Wolverines lost by 20.
Nimari Burnett got some fouls. Danny Wolf was on the bench too long, and nobody could make a 3-pointer or grab a defensive rebound. The Wolverines had a few sloppy possessions after Illinois extended the lead to two possessions, and that was game over.
Michigan did play its ninth game in four days. Fatigue was probably an issue but there is no excuse for that butt kicking. The Wolverines shot the ball reasonably well on 2-point attempts. Illinois made 14 3-pointers; Michigan basketball made just four. The Wolverines shot 24 percent from 3-point range. Vlad Goldin was 11-of-15. He scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Nobody else had more than five rebounds. No one else scored in double figures.
Danny Wolf scored nine points. He also made just 3-of-6 shots, had one assist, and five turnovers. Illinois likes to force you to make plays to beat their defense, a lot of times in 1-on-1 situations and Wolf wasn't up to the task.
The defense was poor. The rebounding was worse. Illinois had 18 offensive rebounds. You just aren't going to win by getting doubled up on the offensive glass or getting outscored by 30 points at the 3-point line.
It's disappointing and here are the gut reactions.
Gut reactions to Michigan basketball loss to Illinois
- Michigan still has no idea how to beat Illinois.
- Even the bench warmers for Illinois were hitting treys while Michigan's end-of-the-bench guys bricked their shots. It was fitting.
- If Michigan doesn't start shooting the 3-ball better, their NCAA tournament trip will be short lived.
- Some of these wins have been a mirage. This team is in a funk.
- Michigan basketball can still at least share the title by winning its last two games. It controls its own destiny to do that.
- Michigan has to figure out how to beat Illinois at some point.
- The Wolverines can't beat good teams when Danny Wolf and Tre Donaldson play that poorly.
- Go Blue!