Michigan Basketball: Wolverines hit a road block in Louisville
By Bob Heyrman
Michigan Basketball had an opportunity to turn a great week into a phenomenal week with a win over the nations’ top-ranked Cardinals Tuesday night, but as the offense dried up, so did Michigan’s win streak.
The Wolverines have had quite the start to the 2019 season. Michigan Basketball‘s first-year head coach Juwan Howard with some big shoes to fill entering the season, guided the Wolverines to a remarkable 7-0 start. That’s with a pair of impressive wins over 6th ranked North Carolina, and 8th ranked Gonzaga en route to winning the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
With an opportunity to potentially be labeled the countries top team with a victory, Michigan’s high powered offense went ice-cold. The first ten minutes were excruciating to watch if I’m completely honest.
As I settled in with the Piston’s game set up on picture and picture, my attention was mostly directed toward the Wolverines game. It appeared both rims were covered in plastic wrap because nothing was falling for either team out of the gate.
It was a real surprise when you sit down, expecting a shootout. With both programs averaging over 80 points a night, I thought something like 80-75 for a final score would be realistic rather than the 58-43 Cardinals victory.
Louisville was able to bottle up Zavier Simpson, who plays as the Wolverines facilitator. Usually reaching double digits in assists, he failed to make an impact. Simpson was only able to record 3 assists on the night, including a goose egg in the first half. He may not score like Isaiah Livers or the big man John Teske, but he’s so valuable finding the open man. Simpson’s defense is usually astounding, so he was able to contribute to the team just not on the offense side of the ball.
The Cardinals may have created a template for future Wolverine opponents. Take Simpson away, and see if Livers or Eli Brooks perhaps David Dejulus can create their own shot and pace the Michigan offense.
Livers is definitely talented enough to carry the Michigan offense against plenty of the lesser opponents, but when it comes to Michigan State, Louisville, even North Carolina potentially again in the future, taking Zavier Simpson away on the offensive side of the ball will undoubtedly complicate things.
Next. It’s time to move on from DC Don Brown. dark
The Wolverines will be back on the hardwood tonight as they host Iowa before getting a bit of a break when they head to Illinois to take on the Fighting Illini next Wednesday, December 11th.