Sunday’s loss against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship imparted a host of unpleasant lessons for Dusty May’s team. Outside shooting was a problem. Even still, the Wolverines amassed 31 wins this year and were rewarded with the number one seed in the Midwest region in the NCAA Tournament. And it’s a region loaded with talent, including the second-seeded Iowa State Cyclones, the Virginia Cavaliers at the two seed, and a dangerous Alabama Crimson Tide at the fourth seed.
And so it’s no surprise that with that draw comes a whole host of challenges and extremely tough matchups in the backcourt, an area where Michigan basketball has seen a tremendous amount of inconsistency this year.
Elliot Cadeau has had games where he looked like a top-tier point guard, scoring at will and getting to the basket with tenacity and grit that were impressive for his size. But too often he’s seen spikes in turnovers and has struggled offensively. Nimari Burnett can score in bunches (as evidenced by his 31-point outing against Penn State), and yet has faded into the background in important games like against Duke and Michigan State. Roddy Gayle’s role is so much more important with the injury to LJ Cason, and he has been particularly effective on defense, but his shooting has been extremely inconsistent, and his drives to the basket are too often reckless and lead to turnovers.
And it was these players who had the most difficult time in the loss to Purdue, especially in the second half when the game was on the line. They were a combined 6-for-19 from the field, 0/5 from deep, and had three turnovers. All told, they were a -20 (box score plus/minus) to close the game.
On the flip side, Purdue’s guards scored 23 of the team’s 42 second-half points. They were the motor that propelled their team to the win with a 24-11 second-half run, while the Wolverines’ guards sputtered in crunch time. And the path forward isn’t any easier when it comes to guard play.
The Midwest Region includes some of the best guards and shooters in the country. Whether it’s Labaron Philon for Alabama at nearly 22 ppg, Christian Anderson at 18 ppg from Texas Tech, or even Tamin Lipsey from Iowa State at better than 13 a game (as well as being an elite defender), Michigan’s guards are in for an absolute handful the deeper they advance this March. They will see guards as good or better than the Boilermakers have to offer and if they are not ready then things could get ugly very fast.
The hope is that the loss against Purdue serves as a wake-up call as to just what it takes to win a national championship. Even a single slip-up or bad half can spell the end of the season. And while Cadeau, Burnett, and Gayle have shown flashes of the ability to help Michigan basketball win big games, they can’t afford any more slip-ups like in the second half on Sunday.