Way Too Early Basketball Expectations-o-Meter: Jordan Morgan

People I've already talked about: Tim Hardaway Jr.

After starting with THJ in the back court, it's time to shift to the front court. Upon the graduation of the gritty warrior poets known as Zack Novak and Stu Douglass, Morgan officially assumes takes up the vacated title of "Not Superbly Talented But GRITTY Basketball Player Who I Will Endearingly Refer To As GRITTY and TOUGH Whenever I Talk About Him." So, let's talk about Jordan Morgan for a little bit.

Michigan-Iowa: You Know They Left Me In An Alley, Took My Money and My Guitar Too

Michigan 59, Iowa 75

via Parks and Meth

It seems that predicting things is not my forte...Phil Steele I am not. I assumed that Michigan had progressed to the point that losses like this wouldn't happen, but I look around the conference and see the Spartans dropping one at Welsh-Ryan and the Hoosiers losing at home to a bottom-third of the conference Minnesota squad and feel a little bit better, but, not by much.

This one will be a little bit shorter and less comprehensive than the other recaps because there are only so many ways you can express "That was bad" while not being completely annoying. Also, there was a certain point in the second half when I was paying more attention to the Hawks-Wings game playing on my computer, and that in and of itself says something.

Of course, there is nowhere else to logically start but Beilein's adherence to the "two fouls and it's off to Siberia for you" game theory nugget. As Ace mentioned on Twitter, Burke is averaging 1.8 fouls a game. Sort of like the "would it have really changed things?" question vis-a-vis Jarrett Lee in the MNC game, there's no way of knowing if Burke not sitting out for as long as he did would have resulted in a win or even a competitive second half. With that said, Michigan was down four when he went out and went on to enter the half with a 10-point deficit. It was never really a game at any point in the second half, either. As much time as I've spent fretting about Burke's heavy minutes in the non-conference, seeing a miniscule by comparison "27" next to minutes played on his stat line--paired with 19 points in that short time--is a little bit frustrating. This is the game in which Beilein's propensity to bench on sight when a player accumulates 2 fouls becomes somewhat of a problem. If Michigan is a team with quality depth, then maybe this isn't a problem; alas, they are not that team. This tactical choice is the basketball analogue of punting from the opponent's 35.

Point the second: the offense and Jordan Morgan. I understand that Morgan is not a pure, back to the basket scoring threat, and he likely never will be. The Wolverines will have to wait for Mitch McGary's arrival to have that as an option. While Morgan has his issues with the ball in his hands, there have been too many games--to the point that it is an out and out trend and not just a product of the "flow" of a given game--where Morgan will only have a couple field goal attempts well into the game. The offense needs to get him involved in some way other than hoping he gets some easy put backs. Iowa's Aaron White, who I thought was Iowa's closest thing to a Jordan Morgan type player, scored 12, largely on the back of 10 attempts from the FT line. There's no reason why Morgan can't be involved in that way. I hate resorting to sports cliches, but Morgan is a player that seems to desperately need to see the ball go in before he starts believing in himself. Otherwise, he is generally invisible, partly due to his skill set but also because he just doesn't see the ball unless it is careening off of the rim after an ill-advised three.

Point the third: road games. In the Middle Ages, serfs commonly never traveled outside of a tiny slice of land throughout the course of their entire lives. While this was the case for a number of reasons--one being that feudal lords were kind of like the University of Texas of their time, personified--one was that the outside world was a dangerous, warring place, and venturing out into it was often as imprudent and likely to yield misfortune as a life of continued miserable agricultural servitude would. The aforementioned was a stupid analogy indeed. Hitting the road has been a dicey proposition for Michigan (as is the case for most teams, even really good ones), but we will have to grab a few road wins at some point in order to keep our heads above water.

As I said in the preview, road wins are quality wins no matter the opponent. This was especially true against an Iowa team that has given us problems of late. No game on the schedule is a gimme (except maybe Nebraska?), and Michigan will need to really bring it against the dregs of the conference if they want to avoid the horrible fate of missing out on a tourney bid. I'm not saying that's a likely outcome whatsoever, but I think Michigan's top 15 ranking has lulled us into a sense of deservedness that just doesn't line up with reality. What happens tomorrow night in Crisler will go a long way toward determining what sort of team we'll be watching the rest of the way.

Player Bullets, Also Known As "Trey Burke And Those Who Are Not Trey Burke":

• Burke--Insert the aforementioned benching rhetoric. Otherwise, scored the ball relatively efficiently given his minutes, scoring 19 and going 5/6 from 2. Three-point shooting continues to be mediocre, as he went 2/7 from beyond the arc. The much-circulated talking point among various personalities proclaiming that Burke>Morris because of the ability to shoot might be losing a tiny bit of traction, although Trey is still shooting 34% as opposed to Darius's 25% last season. Also, only had 3 assists (Michigan had nine total, compared to Iowa's 18). We are not going to win like that. Morris's ability to simply create space via his frame and a sheer force of will is becoming increasingly missed as the offense completely bogs down from time to time. 

• Hardaway--After a strong performance from outside against Northwestern, THJ reverted to his previous shooting form, going a turrible 0/8 from 3 and 2/13 overall. The gripes continue to be the same re: THJ's game. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if conference-wide scouting reports tell defenders to sag and dare THJ to take the three from now on. A brief 2-minute period in the second half in which THJ made three trips to the line, with a dunk in that span, gave me hope that he was deciding to enter SEARCH AND DESTROY mode. Unfortunately, that did not happen. THJ's affinity for the 3 is akin to a bag of Costco brand cheesy poofs that aren't very good but your hand keeps going in the bag regardless and then 30 minutes later you realize you've eaten the entire bag and approximately 3,000 calories in the process and your fingers are tinged orange no matter what cleaning agents you use to eliminate it and OH HOW DID THIS ALL HAPPEN SO FAST. 

• Novak--Ace mentioned on Twitter that there was a play where Zack seemed to be "loafing"...the game is a haze and I don't remember the play in question, but, if true, RUN TO THE HILLS. If Zack Novak isn't being gritty at all times then we have no shot. However, an efficient output of fourteen points on 5/10 shooting (4/8 from 3) might be the lone bright spot of this game. 

• Smotrycz--A true clunker of a performance, as if this game was meant to be held up as a hyperbolic example of the infrastructural flaws in Evan's game. Smotrycz's stock has crashed precipitously, not unlike Notre Dame football after Week 2 this season. He has become an "X factor," and not in a good way. Rather, his performances have been either "really bad" or "really good" as opposed to steady with occasional bouts of brilliance. We need him to be the latter. Michigan simply has no chance against anybody with Evan putting up a goose egg and THJ going 0/8 from 3. 

• Morgan--Frustrating to say the least. As mentioned, he will never be a pure post-up threat, but he will never improve upon his admittedly limited bag of tricks if we don't get him the ball in some form or fashion. 

• Douglass--I kind of want to stop talking about this game but I guess I might as well just hunker down and finish this post. He went 3/6 from the field (2/3 from 3), which is nice if he can keep it going with a modicum of consistency. This might be the time to give him some retroactive praise that I forgot to give him in the Northwestern recap; he did an excellent job defending Drew Crawford. Crawford had a much tougher time after THJ rotated off of him. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not, but he is definitely our best defender. I just wanted to make sure I said that after looking back and realizing that I was maybe overly harsh on his performance last Wednesday. 
• Vogrich--Zero points, 1 attempted three. Did grab three boards in his continuing quest to be a sneakily effective rebounder. 
• McLimans--Am I irrational in saying that I'd like to see him get a few more minutes? Not that he's an overwhelming force on either end of the floor, but, he is tall. HE'S TALL, GUYS. When Smotrycz and Morgan comprise the entirety of your team's relevant bigs, you're kind of in trouble. The sky is blue, water is wet, and so on. 

Northwestern: A Preview

Note: So, if you haven't noticed, I have been doing some anecdotal/mostly impressionistic game recaps for each game since the Royce White Iowa State game [ed: actually, I forgot that I did the UVA game as well]. I'm going to try and see if I can get a word in before the games now with a little previewin'. The format is a work in progress but we'll see how it goes. 

(HT: UMHoops)

General Outlook

Michigan comes in to play its third home game of the young B1G season on the heels of a string of sellouts (previously unheard of) and crowds that actually made their presence somewhat audibly known. Michigan is even offering $5 tickets for "5 straight sellouts," so if you are in Ann Arbor then you really have no excuse to not go to this game. 

Michigan enters the contest at 13-3 (3-1) and #13 in the polls, its highest ranking in FOR-EV-ERRRR. Northwestern comes in at a respectable but inflated 11-4, with a tough start to the conference slate, going1-2 by losing at Ohio State by 33, a tough 1-point loss to the Illini, and a home win against PSU (the other 2 losses being a respectable 8-point loss at Creighton and a 28-point thumping at the hands of undefeated Baylor). On the MGoBlog "Need To Win" and "Fear/Paranoia Level" scales, this is probably a 9 and a 3 respectively. Yes, one of those, where's there's nothing to gain and a whole lot to lose. As excellent as the Wisconsin win was, those good vibes would instantly wash away against a tide of pessimism and teeth-gnashing if the Wolverines drop one at home to an, in all likelihood, non-tournament team. 

With that said, when you are a high-volume 3-point shooting team like we are, you can never take anyone for granted. Plus, being in attendance for a home loss against the Wildcats in the 2009-10 "Year of Unmet Expectations," there's no doubt that the Wildcats have the ability to beat us at the Crisler Center, which is still not quite close to reaching the upper-echelon of tough places to play in the conference. Additionally, top-scorers Drew Crawford--who killed us that day--and John Shurna are holdovers from that year's Wildcat squad. 

The Offense

As much flak as the Hoosiers have gotten for winning despite having the conference's worst defense, the Wildcats aren't exactly too good themselves. As you would expect, Northwestern lacks size and athleticism all over the court, and in a sense they are just a very poor man's version of us. With that said, look for Michigan to push the issue regularly; there will be open guys on the perimeter on the break and in half-court sets. It simply comes down to making those shots for guys like Smotrycz and Douglass, and, yes, Hardaway. 

While Michigan should be able to drive and dish their way to some good outside looks with regularity, look for Michigan--particularly Jordan Morgan--to be active and successful on the boards. I think I've had a bit of a tendency to look at his stat lines of late, see not very many points, and assume that he wasn't a strong player that day. That sometimes is the case for Morgan around the basket, but, of late, he has been a rebounding maven. Also, Morgan dropped 27 on the Wildcats last season at home, a career high. As Nick Baumgardner notes, Northwestern is the worst rebounding team in the conference and it's not even close. Horford sitting on the bench means less for this one than any other matchup we could have in the conference. 

On a similar note, while the 3-ball will almost always be there, this is the type of game that THJ should simply dominate. Unless Burke is ultra-efficient with his shooting (in which case Michigan will likely score 80+), which he hasn't been of late, then this will probably be a game where he puts up anywhere from 10-12 and distributes the ball like he's a basketball Oprah. HERE'S AN ASSIST FOR YOU, AND YOU, AND YOU!

The Defense

As mentioned, the Wildcats, like us, will shoot the three if you look at them funny or suggest that they're a state school (the effrontery!). John Shurna is a wiry 6'9'' fellow that shoots a very nice 42% from outside. Drew Crawford, as we've seen before, is a dangerous guy that we don't really want to go Brandon Paul on us. I would assume that Hardaway will be matched up on him or either the 6'5'' JerShon Cobb, but, if it is Crawford, then THJ will have to play better D than he has at times or Crawford will put up a crooked number on us. 

At the point, Northwestern's Dave Sobolewski, despite sounding like a Wisconsin offensive lineman, is actually 6'1'' 185 pound guard. After Burke shut down Jordan Taylor, this shouldn't be much of an issue at all. Sobolewski averages 8 ppg and shoots a nondescript 36% from 3, the team average. 

Once again, the story for Michigan's defense will be whether or not they can defend against the 3. With Shurna and Luka Mirkovic being, as far as I can tell, the only semblances of an inside game, Michigan should be able to key against it, but that doesn't guarantee success, as we know. 

Who To Watch

I just see this as a game where, if everything goes right, THJ and Morgan simply go off. Morgan's career high of 27 came against them last year, so it's definitely one of the few teams he will look like Shaquille O'Neal against. As for THJ, I just don't see anyone on Northwestern's roster being able to defend his combination of size, speed, and athleticism. The only one that can stop him in this game is himself and the 3-point line; THJ, SEARCH AND DESTROY MODE PLEASE. 

Prediction?

Michigan comes out and destroys Northwestern on the boards, but has trouble defending against the 3 in the first half. Beilein and Co. figure it out, and Michigan pulls away for a smashing victory of 20-25 points. Michigan 78, Northwestern 57. 

Michigan-Wisconsin: That Was Wisconsin That Was Yesterday

Michigan 59, Wisconsin 41

After a frustrating but valiant performance in Assembly Hall, Bo Ryan's troupe of basketball-aesthetics-destroying minions rolled into Ann Arbor to grind out a much-needed conference win. Despite an abundance of pre-season hype, the Badgers had managed to lose four games, including two consecutive home losses (including an unforgivable one against the generally hapless Hawkeyes). Nevertheless, the Badgers are still a team that presents the same set of obstacles to its opponents as it has in years past: tough defense, a grinding slow pace, and efficient 3-point shooting. As Dylan detailed in his discussion with Bucky's Fifth Quarter, the last cornerstone of Wisconsin basketball--3-point shooting--has taken a significant nosedive, namely in the form of one Jordan Taylor, who comes in averaging about 5 points a game less than he did last season. However, he did drop 28 on the Spartans in the second aforementioned home loss as the Wolverines performed whatever voodoo Bayou magic that drove them to victory in the Superdome. 

Michigan, as we know, has had its troubles on the defensive end that, to me, will determine this team's fate far more than Tim Hardaway's penchant for shooting and missing from beyond the arc. The Wolverines have had trouble defending the three against even the tiniest of minnows on the schedule, and thus defending against the three against a slumping Taylor, a 52.6% shooting Josh Gasser, and Ben Brust, would have necessarily been one of the keys to the game, in addition to a settling down of Trey Burke's game after some dodgy moments in B-Town, a return to prior form for Smotrycz after a pair of relatively quiet games, and, lastly, yes, Hardaway being a little more efficient and prudent in his shot selection.

To put it simply, this was a conference win that Michigan needed to have. The first half went about as expected, pace-wise; however, I don't think anybody could've expected the defense to be as airtight as it was. Aside from the Badgers only scoring 19 in the first half, they were very little threat to do much of anything. Burke did a masterful job containing Taylor all day, making you wonder at times which one was actually the freshman. Michigan went into the half up 24-19, with Michigan's own poor shooting and Wisconsin's offensive rebounding keeping the game somewhat close.

The second half was more of the same, and it was awesome. Michigan played more of that tight boa constrictor defense; there were few open looks and penetration was nearly impossible. Other than the Taylor vs. Burke matchup, the game hinged on the Wolverines' treatment of Berggren (#40). Kudos to Beilein et al for doing the scouting and recognizing that he is not exactly Shaq or Webber [REDACTED] when it comes to successful passing big men. Michigan played solid defense all-around, but when they did take their chances they doubled Berggren on the block, usually with Hardaway as the doubler. The result? Either: a) a Berggren turnover, often leading to a quick transition play or b) a missed open three if Berggren managed to dish it out. In short, GAME BLOUSES.

Michigan held Wisconsin to 41, by far the latter's season low, and they only got there via a good day on the offensive glass. Wisconsin might not be the team they have been in recent years, but Michigan held serve at home and looked impressive defensively in doing so. It was a smashing victory of the Bo variety (not the above Bo...the real Bo). It's easy to be excited about what Michigan has in Burke, Hardaway, and even Novak's burgeoning AND1 basketball career, but what will carry Michigan through the B1G schedule with a youthful, undersized lineup is defense.

Player Notes, Also Known As "Trey Burke And Those Who Are Not Trey Burke":

• Burke--As mentioned, outright blanketed Taylor in his best Darrelle Revis impression. It was just about as impressive as anything Burke has done to date, especially after Taylor just recently dropped 28 on the Spartans. Only 14 points (on 6/15 shooting) and 2 assists, but did show some strength on the attack that I haven't necessarily seen from him yet, specifically one basket where he entirely absorbed contact on the block from the obviously much bigger Berggren in order to knock in a bunny. 

• Hardaway--Tim returned to "Search and Destroy" mode today. Like Burke, the shot is still a bit off, but that will come with time. I'm not sure if the fact that he took only three threes is significant or not--i.e. by design/coaching instruction or just the flow of the game--but he did make two of three, FWIW. Was aggressive and creative around the basket even after a tough first half. I like it. KEEP DOING THAT. 

• Novak--The Mayor of Gritville had another impressive day putting the ball on the floor and being all-around gritty. Two sequences in particular come to mind. 1) One in which he swatted the ball from Berggren after he brought it low, leading to a fast break, a Morgan score, and a Wisconsin timeout after Michigan went up 32-19. Big play here, as Michigan had defended nearly the entirety of the shot clock only to relinquish an offensive board after a missed three. If Novak doesn't make that play then maybe the Badgers mount a run? 2) The seminal moment of gritty grit grit...yes, the play where both Douglass and Novak dove on the floor one after the other, with Zack corraling it and executing a nice little flip to a streaking Burke who went to lay it in uncontested. The three-ball was off today (0/4), but otherwise a cool 12 points on 5/6 from 2 isn't so bad. Keep working on that handle, Zack, and we have The Professor 2.0 on our hands. 

• Morgan--Only 19 minutes in this one. A quiet day for Morgan but he generally did his job on the boards, reeling in 11 on the day, 5 of those of the offensive variety. 

• Smotrycz--Has cooled off significantly and as expected. There was no way he would continue the torrid pace he was on near the end of the non-conference schedule. Only 3 points and 1/5 from 3 (including some pretty good looks) in 25 minutes would be more worrisome against a team not named Wisconsin; hopefully he can find his way back into the offense after a tough start to the conference slate. Got easily backed down by Berggren for 2 once when Hardaway didn't double; somebody get this man some Cottage Inn STAT. 

• Douglass--The only bench guy worth mentioning, as he's essentially playing starter's minutes. You know it's just not your day (i.e. Taylor) when Stu Douglass straight up pilfers the ball from your hands like it's a sack lunch. Had five steals--FIVE!--on the day. A three or two and some defensive activity from Stu would be a tremendous contribution from him from game to game. 

Michigan-Penn State: Search and Destroy

Michigan 71, Penn State 53

The theme of Tim's night from the field

After a ho-hum non-conference slate that saw Michigan make people intermittently excited and worried about the rest of the season, the conference schedule began tonight against a struggling Penn State squad in the friendly confines of Crisler Arena the Crisler Center. Penn State after making the tournament last season, figures to be one of the worst teams in the conference this year. Tim Frazier is a very nice player (17.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 7.2 apg), and has done a very nice job replacing Talor Battle's outgoing production; unfortunately, other departures--such as Jeff Brooks and his 13 ppg--have not been replaced as adequately. As such, if this was an MGoBlog football preview, this game would be at least an 8 on the "need to win" scale. A loss at home to what seems to be the worst team in the conference would have been nothing short of disastrous. In his non-conference rundown of all B1G squads, Dylan at UMHoops summarized PSU in a manner that reminds me of 2007-08 Michigan basketball: 

Penn State’s offense, centered around Tim Frazier, is the worst in the league and its average defense isn’t enough to save it.

Thankfully, the Wolverines took care of business in front of what I imagined to be a depleted home crowd (at least the student section, which seemed full but only approximately 10% MAIZED OUT). Missing Michigan-Penn State to go home and see their families? I guess some students just don't get it. 

In any case, it was as smashing a victory as one could expect and the halftime entertainment was apparently a Quick Change performance. REAL GOOD TIME, indeed.

Michigan came out in the first half and shot threes early and often with very little success. Luckily for the Wolverines, the Penn State offense was about as anemic as the Penn State football team's. Despite reading all the scouting reports and looking over the stats, there's always a little bit of doubt with respect to how bad a team may or may not be, and with Michigan sort of struggling against some who dat non-conference opponents, no one can be taken lightly. In this case, Penn State's reputation of being mostly "total garbage" was actually true. Other than Frazier, who isn't much of an outside shooter, the Nittany Lions couldn't do much but hope to GRIT their way to some garbage points via offensive rebounds. Sorry guys, but Zack Novak is on our side, and there's only room for one TRUE GRIT in this town.

Michigan went up by 14 (36-22) at the half and more things happened in the second...but nothing of note that can't be mentioned in the section below. You know that you're not doing so hot when you're down 20 with a few minutes to go and the commentators are talking about how hard you tried, even tossing in the word "grit" in that euphemistic verbiage salad. With that, Michigan goes to 11-2, with the next outing coming on New Year's Day against the Gophers. Unfortunately, I'll be on the road to NOLA so I won't be able to watch and thus won't able to write a post on it. So, to the notes. 

Players Notes, Also Known As "Trey Burke and Those Who Are Not Trey Burke":

• Burke--Another rough night from the field, going 3/11 (and an abysmal 1/7 from 3), but he still notched a solid 13 on the back of a 7/7 showing from the charity stripe. Additionally, it's hard to complain when your freshman point guard puts up 7 assists to zero turnovers. Penn State isn't a squad of defensive ninjas like say, a Purdue is, but it's encouraging to see your point take care of the ball to that extent, even if it is against probably the worst team in the league. 

• Hardaway--As the hockey guys say, HOLY JUMPIN'. Glad I picked Tim in UMHoops' Pick To Click challenge. The story if his game is told by his shooting splits (from 2 and 3): he shot an almost perfect 10/11 from 2 and 1/7 from 3. In any case, Tim continues to showcase new moves and ways of getting to the basket. Last game he executed a nice little euro step tonight he had a nice drive to his left and a spin back right for a bank from around 10-12 feet. He also had a Magic-esque running hook through the lane, which good luck stopping that shot B1G defenders. He was also superbly set up by Smotrcyz on a couple backdoors in the second half, but overall this was by far his best game of the season for the simple fact that he was the aggressive slasher/2-point finisher that we all know he can be. He dropped 26 in this one so imagine what he'll start to do once he finds his shot from beyond the arc. 

• Novak--A run-of-the-mill gritfest for True Grit. Despite only 7 points, a 4:1 assist:turnover, 4 boards, a steal, and a block make for another Swiss Army knife of a stat line for Zack. He continued his with-the-ball improvements, posting up (!) a PSU defender, backing him down like MJ backing down John Starks or some other such scrub, and executing a flawless fadeaway jumper. Yes, I am talking about Zack Novak. Fadeaway jumper. Zack Novak. Not MJ. 

• Smotrycz--Only 2/4 from three...keep that up and you'll find yourself in St. Saban's Memorial Dubious Injury Infirmary, son. But seriously, another solid game for The Smoshtrycz despite not filling it up a la the last few games. Two assists to Hardaway late in the second half were particularly impressive, but 3 TOs indicates that ball security will likely continue to be an issue. Had the ball in the open floor near mid-court in the first half and attempted a one-handed pass that resulted in a turnover...I'm sure he got an earful from Beilein after that one. Otherwise, did have a nice strong take (no, not the Jim Rome STRONG TAKE kind) from the 3-point line to draw a block call. He seems to be able to do that sort of thing. He can take the ball from the arc and go to the basket with success, but once he starts to dribble for an extended period of time, with his back to the basket in the post or elsewhere, things start to get dicey. 

• Morgan--A pretty unsatisfying performance for Morgan, only scoring 2 points. He couldn't finish on a nice feed once, and awkwardly traveled around the basket another time. A little bit disappointing after a great second half against Bradley, but it's not a huge deal given the final score and productivity of other players. However, Michigan absolutely needs more from Morgan, and it probably starts with him attempting more than 4 field goals, but he does need to be a little stronger around the basket. I can live with him getting his shot blocked but there are times when he gets the ball and should at minimum draw a foul but doesn't. 

• Douglass--Seven points on 2/6 shooting from 3; had an attempted dunk--still a hilarious concept despite it having already lost its novelty--that he couldn't finish but did send him to the line. 

• Vogrich--Took a charge (again...the GRIT, it's spreading), also made two threes from pretty much Ypsilanti. With the way Smotrycz is shooting and Vogrich's ability to knock it in from NBA range, you've got to think that driving lanes will be there for Hardaway and Burke like running lanes were for the A-Train. Vogrich's shooting percentage still isn't good, obviously, but this would be a good time to start to turn it on. 

Michigan-Iowa State: Steele Jantz Isn't Walkin' Through That Door

Michigan 76, Iowa State 66

I went into this game thinking "How weird/sad is it that it's noon on a Saturday while football is being played elsewhere and I'm watching Michigan basketball?" Suspending my disbelief that the regular season is over for the duration of this post, I will say that Michigan needed this one or else, to quote Russell Peters, "somebody was gonna get a hurt real bad," where "somebody" here refers to Michigan's tournament chances. Fortunately, Michigan pulled it out as an at home 7-point favorite should. I donned a 2007-08 Michigan basketball shirt that I got via a t-shirt tossing as a freshman at a game against CMU (which we lost), laughing the whole time at how far we've come as a program since that miserable 10-22 season

Jordan Morgan started Michigan off with four straight points, after which the Cyclones went on a quick 8-0 run to take a 10-4 lead. Luckily for Michigan, Trey Burke was on from the outside; a couples three and a layup later and Michigan was back on top. It was a strange half; it didn't seem like Michigan was doing anything extraordinarily well, but I looked up and Michigan was up nine at the half. After not very long, Michigan blew it open in the second, and held a seemingly permanent 16-20 point lead until the final three or so minutes, where teams of Michigan's level usually allow the opponent back into the game just enough that you wouldn't dare change the channel in favor of the Southern Miss-Houston game. Iowa State's late run doesn't really concern me so much as the individual plays from Michigan's side that made it happen: turnovers (including one play where Royce White just sort of snatched the ball from Smotrycz as if it was a gift given to an unappreciative friend), a lack of rebounding, etc. In short, the symptoms of a young team with a big lead doing what a young team with a big lead does. 

Otherwise, the narrative really hasn't changed much. Michigan needed this one and got it; a loss would've been fairly disastrous, and Michigan put the outcome beyond doubt for approximately 95% of the game. That's good, particularly on the heels of a somewhat disappointing loss on the road in Charlottesville. Given the disparity between the pre-Maui and Maui and on Michigan, it's clear that this is a team that's still finding itself. When you look at the individual parts, this is even more obvious. Burke has been astonishingly poised and consistent for a freshman, despite being bottled up for the first time against UVA. The post-Morris version of Jordan Morgan is like the post-Braylon version of Henne...just trying to figure it all out, man. Hardaway is still trying to find a balance between outside shooting and getting to the basket/mid-range shots. Evan Smotrycz is talented but still seems like a teenager who grew half a foot overnight and it still getting used to his body. He is 20 so I guess that's technically almost true, but the added weight is taking some getting used to. He is improving; where as the idea of him putting the ball on the floor last year was a cringe-worthy concept, this year it's more of a 50-50 proposition. Horford is Horford, the consummate work-in-progress player. Douglass and Vogrich are trying to find their shots. 

The only negative takeaway from this game is that Royce White absolutely dominated us on the inside, adding one more data point to the unfortunate reality that we are not very big or athletic and will continue to get owned by big men with a pulse. I didn't know anything about him so I naturally gave him no respect (like I did UVA's Mike Scott, assuming he was just an athlete scoring garbage points); I was so wrong. The guy is sophomore but looks like he could be a power forward on a mediocre NBA team's roster, which says more about the athleticism of our bigs than it does him, probably. White looks like a quality player with some nice quicks for a big, but if we're going to get completely destroyed by dudes that play for Iowa State then we will have some issues against actual teams. 

This was likely Michigan's last real test--I hope?--until the conference slate begins; some of the aforementioned can be improved upon in an environment of limited competition. Some cannot be. Either way, a win's a win, and all the youth and room for improvement makes this an exciting team to watch. The process is almost as rewarding as the destination itself. EMBRACE THE PROCESS. 

/Ron English'd

Player Bullets:

• Burke--Awesome. Seriously. I miss Morris's ability to get into the lane at will using his size but Burke's outside shooting and distribution is getting to be just as fun to watch. He will surely hit a rough patch or two at some point this season, but he seems to have the perfect demeanor to weather those storms. While Morris thrived on a sort of expletive-based verve, Burke is a cool customer. Both work, but the latter is particularly surprising for a freshman. The minutes he has been logging thus far is somewhat worrisome, however. I guess I'd have to go back and see what kinds of minutes Morris was getting last year (I'd imagine they were similar if not higher), but you'd imagine that Morris's body would be more capable of handling a long season, including a TOUGH Big Ten schedule. I actually didn't realize this until looking at the box score just now but apparently he went 3/11 from three, which: a) is not good and b) only in a Beilein offense can you shoot 11 threes and be okay. 

• Hardaway--An encouraging performance after he was relatively invisible at UVA. It's well-known that his 3-point shot needs some work, and he tends to go to it a few times a game when you'd like to see another shot. In a basic sense, it was refreshing to see him actually get some shots up (then again, not being in foul trouble helps, doesn't it?). Putting up 19 after getting 5 in the last game is nice, although the similarly bad 2/7 from three isn't all that encouraging (a minor concern on this day, though). 

• Novak--The grittiest man this side of the Mississippi had somewhat of a quiet day on the offensive end,  going 1/4 from the field (he did go 6/6 from the line). However, as usual his gritty ways propelled him to excellence in other portions of his stat line, namely rebounds, of which he grabbed 11. With Hardaway, Burke, and even Morgan filling it up today, Michigan didn't really need him on the offensive end, but his rebounding and general gritastic exploits continue to be amazing. 

• Morgan--There were a couple times where you would've liked to see him have the strength to finish around the basket, but that only happened twice from what I remember. Otherwise, a great outing for Morgan (probably one of the best of his career). He was aggressive, and even showed some range in hitting an elbow jumper. That could be an invaluable tool if he can hit that with any sort of regularity, although  I doubt he has the green light to shoot that more than once or twice a game. 

• Smotrycz--He fouled out for the second game in a row, which...stop that. Otherwise, a solid day, going 3-7 from the field and pulling in 7 boards. Not everybody can score in double digits every game, and with the aforementioned trio performing the way that they did, it wasn't necessary. I'd like to see him build up some confidence in his offensive game in these contests before the B1G schedule begins. 

• Douglass/Vogrich--I'm just going to pair these two until there's a reason not to...Douglass did have a nice charge that wasn't a charge, so there's that. Regardless of how he's shooting, we'll need him to play some good minutes backing up Trey or he [Trey] is going to have nothing left in the tank by the end of the season. 

• Horford--Fumbled a perfect feed from Burke that would've resulted in a sure dunk...still pretty much a non-entity on offense. 
• Akunne--Hit a three; if he can contribute any points at all then I'd say that his minutes=win. 
• McLimans--Scored five points in six minutes...might as well call him Fielding Yost because he's practically scoring a point a minute. Blake "Point-a-Minute" McLimans...yes.