U-M took care of Saginaw Valley State in Friday night’s exhibition game 82-51. We have five takeaways from the game.
1) The fast paced offense that has been hinted at is no joke
This is something we haven’t been accustomed to seeing from U-M basketball in the John Beilein era. The days of slowing it down and running lots of action are, for the most part, over. But, alas, it’s a new day at Crisler Center and the Wolverines are getting up and down the floor at a rapid pace.
Juwan Howard admitted on Thursday that there will be some “bumps along the way” with the regime change. This is an area that most stands out as a difference stylistically, and subsequently feels like an area where it will take time to adjust.
U-M had 11 turnovers against Division II Saginaw Valley State. That’s not a huge number, but consider the opponent and the way in which those turnovers happened. Several of them were in transition when a pass was forced to someone who was simply not open. Players after the game said that they knew that giving the ball away was an issue.
It must be said, too, that maybe a higher number of turnovers in exchange for a higher number of open looks in transition created by pushing the pace may be the bargain Howard and his staff are looking for. At the very least, turnovers are an area to focus on going forward in the beginning of the regular season and beyond. We must remember there are different ways to win games and it might be a little bit of ‘pick your poison.’
