Monday Quick Hits: Michigan Plays Tough in 69-61 Loss to #1 UConn

By Sean · Monday, February 9, 2009 · 1:00 AM |  Share | Leave a Comment 

• Michigan may not have defeated #1 UConn on Saturday, but it was probably the closest thing to a moral victory you’ll ever see. Rather than get blown out by 20 or more points like many (myself included) thought would happen, Michigan pushed UConn to the limit and had them on upset alert. Not only that, but Michigan actually led for a good portion of this game and showed that despite being at a clear matchup disadvantage, they weren’t about to go down without a fight.

  After trailing 8-1 early on, Michigan stormed back and went on a run that made this a close game. That run gave Michigan momentum to take the lead in the final seven minutes of the first half when they went on another run. Michigan actually led 29-21 with about four minutes left in the half before UConn made a comeback of their own. After Stu Douglass missed a layup that would have given Michigan a 10-point lead, UConn answered back with a 10-2 run that resulted in a tie game. Douglass made up for his mistake by draining a three-pointer with a minute left to put Michigan ahead 34-33 at halftime (UConn made a two-pointer with about 22 seconds left).

  In the second half, UConn got off to a slow start and trailed Michigan 43-39. Michigan’s lead wouldn’t last for too long, though, as the Huskies went on an 18-4 run and looked like they were going to pull away for good. Stu Douglass, who had the best game of his career, wasn’t about to let that happen. Douglass nailed back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead from 10 to 4 points and gave Michigan a chance to pull off the upset. UConn only scored a single point in the following three or so minutes, but Michigan’s offense struggled even more. Michigan couldn’t score at all during that span, allowing UConn to pull away and eventually win 69-61 thanks to good free throw shooting in the final minutes of the game.

• Even though Michigan was unable to pull off the upset, I am very impressed with how they played. Despite having to matchup against 7-foot-3 Hasheem Thabeet with 6-foot-8 DeShawn Sims and 6-foot-10 Zack Gibson, both of whom got in foul trouble during this game, Michigan made the most out of what it had and managed to almost take a double digit lead in the first half. What’s even more impressive is that when UConn went up by 10, Michigan didn’t quit. Stu Douglass made two clutch threes to put Michigan within reach and made the final minutes of the game very interesting.
• In total, Stu Douglass had 6 three-pointers and 20 points. He led Michigan in scoring and was one of only two Wolverines to score in double digits. The other was Manny Harris, who had 15 points and only turned the ball over twice. As a team Michigan only turned the ball over 9 times. UConn, on the other hand, had 17 turnovers as a result of both sloppy play and good defense by Michigan.
• No offense to Laval Lucas-Perry, but I think it’s time he leaves the starting lineup. He only played for eight minutes on Saturday and scored 1 point. He missed three shots during his time on the floor and simply doesn’t look good at all. I don’t know if he is just lacking confidence or what right now, but unless he suddenly starts playing well again, it’s time for someone else to start.
• Kelvin Grady didn’t play at all, which is probably due to the fact that C.J. Lee did a great job defensively for the second straight game. Lee may not have scored in his 31 minutes on the floor, but he played a large role in containing UConn’s big men.
• Zack Gibson and DeShawn Sims both did a great job defending Hasheem Thabeet as best as they could. Thabeet did score 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but those numbers could have been much better if it wasn’t for the defense played by Gibson and Sims.
• Michigan’s most important game on the rest of the schedule is tomorrow night in Ann Arbor. Michigan State comes to town to play Michigan in the Wolverines’ third game in six nights. Aside from the fact that this is a rivalry game, this is so important because it will really set the tone for the remainder of the season for Michigan. A win would put them one step closer to an NCAA tournament berth, whereas a loss would make their bubble one step closer to bursting. Also, a win would give them the momentum necessary for a strong finish, which is vital to having any chance of making the Big Dance.

  Tip off for the MSU game is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

• Michigan swept Lake Superior State over the weekend in hockey despite trailing 1-0 in both games. On Friday, Michigan tied the game up with six seconds left in the first period, giving them the momentum to take over the game and win 6-2. On Saturday, Michigan went down 1-0 with 47 seconds left in the first period but answered back with a goal of its own just 19 seconds later. Michigan added another goal in the second period to win 2-1.
• Michigan is currently in third-place in the CCHA standings and is only six points behind first-place Notre Dame. That makes the blown calls in the loss to Notre Dame two Saturdays ago even more frustrating, as a win would have put Michigan only two points back of first-place. Even so, Michigan is in second-place Miami’s rear-view mirror since only two points separate the Wolverines and RedHawks. Michigan has another two-game homestand this coming weekend (against Nebraska-Omaha), and another sweep could move them up in the standings to at least a tie for second if Miami doesn’t sweep Lake Superior State.
• MGoBlue posted interviews featuring Will Campbell and Vlad Emilien.
• MVictors has an update on the repairs done to Yost Arena. The exits that were affected by the damage in early January were reopened for the Notre Dame game on January 31, so the work done recently on Yost seems to have cleared up the issue for now.
• Gordie Howe is going to be at Yost before the Ferris State game on February 28 to autograph a limited edition picture featuring him and Red Berenson.
• Lane Kiffin either makes a fool out of himself, pisses a large number of people off, or does both every time he opens his mouth. Now that his comments about recruiting players from Pahokee are out, I think he has done both, but also inadvertently complimented Michigan coaches for their recruiting success.

  “Let me break this down so that you guys understand in recruiting what this means to get this done,” he said. “Pahokee is probably the hardest area in Florida to ever go into as an out-of-state school or a school not named Florida Gators and get a guy. And for (assistant coach) Eddie Gran to be hired only less than three weeks ago to go down in there. … For those of you who haven’t been to Pahokee, there ain’t much going on.

  “You take that hour drive up from south Florida, there ain’t a gas station that works. Nobody’s got enough money to even have shoes or a shirt on. This is an area that great players have come from for years, but you’ve got to have the right guy to go in there. If we didn’t have Eddie Gran on our staff, we probably don’t get in the school.

  To get three players from Pahokee in two years, I guess Michigan must have some pretty amazing recruiters. I realize recruiting anybody from that region is tough, but why Kiffin feels the need to share every detail about it is beyond me. I get that he enjoys inflating his ego, but when it comes to the world of recruiting, the less said the better. Kiffin needs to learn that.