Diagnosing Michigan’s identity crisis after yet another unranked loss

When the Michigan men’s basketball team boarded its flight to Las Vegas earlier this week, the fourth-ranked Wolverines had an opportunity to rebound quickly after a narrow loss to unranked Seton Hall.

Instead, Michigan is returning to Ann Arbor with its second loss to unranked competition in its last three games.

Sunday night’s defeat came in blowout fashion at the hands of Arizona, 80-62, in the Roman Main Event title game. The 18-point margin is tied for the second most-lopsided loss of the Juwan Howard era.

Familiar issues prevailed as the Wolverines shot just 1-of-14 from beyond the arc and once again surrendered a double-digit offensive rebound total. With six scholarship freshmen and a graduate transfer responsible for replacing the likes of Franz Wagner, Isaiah Livers, Chaundee Brown and Mike Smith, a learning curve was always expected.

But through five games, the problems look more severe than that. And with three seniors and a returning All-American in the starting lineup, that's somewhat puzzling.

Chief among them is Michigan’s lack of an offensive identity. Howard’s NBA-style offense is rooted in ball screens, but the Wolverines haven’t handled ball pressure well so far this season. Traps have led to turnovers, and full-court pressure has made them uncomfortable quickly.

Even with two graduate students in the backcourt and a proven star in Hunter Dickinson patrolling the paint, offensive roles still appear to be in flux while communication is missing.

“At times, we weren’t in the right spots offensively,” Howard said. “There were some sets where players, maybe three guys knew what we were going to run and two guys didn’t, or four guys knew and one didn’t. We had a lot of mental breakdowns. … Our mental fatigue was one of the things that settled in with our group.”

Dickinson and fifth-year guard Eli Brooks have emerged as the team’s top two scorers, but Michigan hasn’t found a reliable third option behind them. Jones still looks to be adjusting to the speed and physicality of the Power Five game, and foul trouble has limited his opportunities at times.

Five-star freshmen Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate have shown flashes, but they haven’t provided the consistency the Wolverines need to function at their best. The ‘4’ position has been a revolving door of Diabate, sophomore Terrance Williams II and senior Brandon Johns Jr., whose roller coaster career has coincided with his own battles against his confidence.

Through five games, Michigan has more question marks than answers.

“We’re going to get better, and I trust we will,” Howard said. “It’s part of the game: adversity. Adversity hits, it defines the man, or how he responds the next time.”

Poor outside shooting is also starting to limit Michigan’s spacing. Beyond the starting backcourt of Brooks and Jones, the Wolverines are shooting a combined 21% (14-for-66) from beyond the arc. Houstan, who was advertised as a lethal sharpshooter in high school, has made just six of his team-high 26 3-point attempts. Michigan is sorely missing the frontcourt experience and shooting contributions of Livers and Wagner right about now.

The Wolverines began the season ranked No. 1 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom, but they haven’t looked sharp at that end of the floor, either. Players are struggling to keep their one-on-one matchups outside the paint, and when they get beat, rotations have been a step slow.

The Wildcats also exposed Michigan’s ball-screen defense on Sunday, tallying an eye-opening 54 points in the paint. Arizona used ball screens to turn the corner and get into the teeth of the Wolverines’ defense at will, creating open floaters and alley-oops to rolling bigs.

“They did a really good job of getting anything they wanted, when they wanted to,” Howard said. “… That’s not the Michigan defense we’re accustomed to.”

It’s a far cry from the team’s sentiment a few short weeks ago.

“We have the pieces to be the best defensive team in the country,” Brooks said Nov. 9.

But so far, it’s apparent that the Wolverines are a collection of puzzle pieces rather than an assembled finished product. Michigan may have one of the highest ceilings in the country, but the first five games have shown a significantly lower floor than anticipated.

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