Michigan plays at Villanova Wednesday night in a rematch of last year’s National Championship game, albeit with several new starters on the floor for both teams. Head coach John Beilein finally forced himself to watch last year’s 79-62 loss … and it wasn’t fun.
“Five minutes to go in the first half, we’re down two. We were up seven … it happened so quickly. The last five minutes of the first half, the first five of the second half it got to 15 points and we never could get back.”
As much as the Wildcats’ personnel has changed, their philosophy hasn’t. They’re great at ball screen offense, Beilein noted, and playing a bit more small ball like Golden State in the NBA. They’ve had great guards, he said, and they’ve got them again, have had very versatile big men and great shooters and have both of them again, too.
One thing they don’t do, however, is play zone like the first two teams on the schedule. Beilein warned the Holy Cross game could be ugly for a while, and it was. The Wolverines trailed 24-18 at halftime before rallying in the second for a 56-37 win.
“They’re throwing knuckleballs at you … you have to think completely different for a game,” Beilein said. “We did a great job in the second half.
“Now we’ve got to change back, go to more normal rules. Villanova is a very talented team, and they’ve lost a lot like we’ve lost a lot. They have three five-year guys, which is the biggest difference between the two teams right now. We really have three, three-year guys as our maximum experience.”
They’re looking for any of a number of players to break out, Beilein said. Only one — redshirt Charles Matthews — has been asked to carry the team in scoring in the past, having plays run for him. Sophomore shooting guard Jordan Poole was supposed to have picked up the scoring slack, but he’s struggling to get good looks.
Junior center Jon Teske has another gear he can reach, Beilein added, and the coaches want sophomore Isaiah Livers to hunt shots while playing three different positions, be a more athletic version of Duncan Robinson.
They got several good look in the first half against Holy Cross; they just didn’t make them. And Beilein isn’t going to overthink things with his personnel. His conundrum is one he hasn’t faced much of in the past — a team that excels on defense vs. a team that has the potential to excel on offense, and how to mix and match the pieces to maximize the talent.
“We were just talking about that [as coaches], what it would be like if we played this guy instead of that one. Okay, do we want to give that up?” Beilein said.
“The only thing we can keep doing is keep working on both ends with everybody. The ones that aren’t as offensive minded or as offensively efficient, make them better. The ones that are more offensive minded and not as good at defense, make them better. That’s the answer. It’s not going to come overnight, but it’s going to by daily growth we go through.”
He’s done it before, after all, many times.
The pieces are there, but the puzzle sometimes takes longer to put together. Tomorrow night they’ll find out how just how far they’ve come — and how far they might have to go.
NOTES
• Freshmen Brandon Johns and David DeJulius still have opportunities to play significant roles on this team, but Beilein said the second half against Holy Cross wasn’t the time.
“Down six and go in and guard this stuff … they would have got layups,” Beilein said. “We’ve had good workout with them. They’ve been on and off the scout team, so they’ll get their reps in … we’re trying to do whatever we can to grow them as quickly as possible.”
• Two players, frosh Iggy Brazdeikis and Eli Brooks, will be amped up tomorrow night for different reasons. Brazdeikis will be playing his first game on the national stage, while Brooks is headed home.
“I know this will be great for him. Typical freshmen in this one get a little amped up, first National TV game, great crowd sellout ticket,” Beilein said of Brazdeikis. “We’ll make sure he sort of focuses and plays the game the right way still even though I know he’s excited.
“Eli’s parents will be there. He’s really played well, and we want him to continue to do that. Obviously, [Villanova] was an option for him as well. I’m looking forward for him to be able to play in front his family … hope he really plays well.”
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