Michigan Wolverines basketball falls to 11-7 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten after a Wednesday night home loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Wolverines have now lost three straight games.
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'Gotta Have It' Quickly Turned Into 'Had To Have It'
The Wolverines are winless away from home, and had just dropped two in a row, at Minnesota and at Iowa, coming into the Penn State game that was played within the friendly confines of Crisler Center.
With road wins hard to come by, protecting home court becomes ever-important. When you've dropped a few games already in the Big Ten, home games in January and February become 'gotta have it' type of games. U-M knew it, and so did everyone in the building.
The Wolverines got hit in the mouth, and quickly trailed 9-2. They did come back and take a 19-15 lead with 11:28 remaining in the first half, but then let Penn State go on a 15-2 run, a lead that the Nittany Lions never gave back up.
U-M led for just 2:41 of total game time, at home, coming off two straight losses. In the postgame, some players talked about confidence. Some talked about energy. Some talked about communication. Whatever combination of things that led to a 9-point home loss, it's not acceptable, and it's on everybody — the players and the coaches — to figure it out.
Michigan Had A Lot Of Open Looks
Whenever a team shoots 28 shots from three, it's safe to assume there were some good looks involved. There were a few that were forced, but for the most part, U-M had some open opportunities.
The problem wasn't shooting 28 threes, it was only hitting five of them. U-M has lacked consistent shooting efforts all season long, outside of junior forward Isaiah Livers, who has now missed six games with a groin injury.
Junior guard Eli Brooks was 5-for-11 from three against Iowa. Against Penn State, he shot 1-for-5. Freshman guard Franz Wagner played with great effort, but continues to be inconsistent with his ability to knock down the open ones. He hit on just 1-of-8 from deep. That's not a concern for him long-term for his career, but it's certainly a concern right now.
It wasn't a gem from inside the arc, either (U-M shot 19-for-40 from two), but the Wolverines did a good job taking what the defense gave them, and still weren't able to capitalize. When Livers returns, he will add a huge boost to this area. He's shooting 50.0 percent from long range on the season. But, it can't just be him. Others are going to have to string games together shooting the ball well. Right now, it's just not there.
Curtis Jones Jr. Hit Some Daggers
Penn State senior guard played like, well ... a senior. He's been around the block once or twice, or three times. Jones Jr. started his career at Indiana for two seasons, before transferring to Oklahoma State for a year. He's now playing his final collegiate season with the Nittany Lions, and has found himself in a nice role, playing 18.5 minutes per game off the bench. He's a solid contributor, averaging 6.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest coming in.
Then ... tonight happened. U-M was desperately trying to get itself back within a possession or two the entire second half. U-M was continually fended off by none other than Jones Jr. He scored all 18 of his points in the second half, shooting 7-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-4 from three.
It was senior forward Lamar Stevens early. He had 14 of his 19 in the first half. But make no mistake, it was Jones Jr. late.
