Michigan basketball vs. Illinois takeaways
Michigan entered Thursday night sitting in second place in the Big Ten standings and if the Wolverines could win their final two games — plus Purdue to lose both of its games — the maize and blue would be crowned the Big Ten regular season champions. Oh, and Michigan is playing for its NCAA Tournament life.
But the Wolverines would need to handle business in Champaign against the Fighting Illini. And Michigan received good news early that it got Jett Howard back after a two-game absence and he was back in the starting lineup.
The Wolverines started the first half up 10-4 but turnovers led to the game being much closer than it felt. Michigan allowed eight turnovers and Illinois forced six steals during the first 20 minutes of action. Hunter Dickinson led the Wolverines with nine points. Michigan entered halftime down, 33-31.
The game went back and forth during the final 20 minutes of regulation. Michigan found itself down nine before the Wolverines went on a 10-0 run to get right back on top. The maize and blue went on another 7-0 run in the final 2:30 seconds of the second half to tie the game. Michigan had a chance to win the game with 15 seconds left, but Dickinson’s shot was no good — another overtime game for Michigan.
Ovetime was just as entertaining. Michigan was up seven with 1:47 left in overtime before allowing Illinois to get right back in it and force double OT. But the second OT didn’t go in Michigan’s favor. The Wolverines were outscored 10-6 in the final five minutes and the maize and blue fall to Illinois, 91-87.
Here are our takeaways.
Michigan had plenty of opportunities to get a much-needed road win
(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Michigan lost a heartbreaker on Thursday.
The Wolverines badly needed at least one win in the final two games in the regular season. The maize and blue not only had a chance to beat Illinois, but they let it slip through their fingers.
Michigan was in full control during the first half but turnovers got in the way. Then once the Wolverines went on a big run in the second half to regain the lead, Michigan let the Fighting Illini regain control. But credit to the Wolverines for forcing overtime after going on a 7-0 run.
Then overtime happened. Michigan was up seven points with less than two minutes remaining — yet couldn’t win. Terrance Shannon took over during the first OT and Michigan didn’t score in the final 1:43 of the first OT.
After Illinois forced OT for the second time, the Illini wasn’t going to lose at home. Even though Michigan had yet another chance with 10 seconds left — Joey Baker put up an air ball — it wasn’t met to be.
Michigan now needs a win at Indiana on Sunday to lobby itself to the NCAA Tournament committee.
The Wolverines' post defense let them down
Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
The Michigan offense was really good on Thursday, save for the turnovers. The Wolverines played through Hunter Dickinson for most of the second half and overtime, and Kobe Bufkin got hot in the second half to help Michigan come back.
But what didn’t help the Wolverines was their defense in the paint. Illinois scored 46 points in the paint against Michigan. It felt like the Illini had a dunking practicing in at one point in the second half when they had six dunks.
Illinois was able to drive at will against Michigan and that’s ultimately what hurt the Wolverines. The Fighting Illini wasn’t afraid to attack and the Wolverines had a hard time defending.
Kobe Bufkin and Hunter Dickinson are 'the guys'
Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Jett Howard made his return to the court after being sidelined for two games due to injury. At one point during the second half Michigan was -10 with Howard on the court and the Wolverines finished -4 with the freshman on the court. Credit to Howard for hitting a crucial 3 in the second half to help send the game to overtime, but it’s evident this team needs to roll through Hunter Dickinson and Kobe Bufkin.
Dickinson scored 31 points on Thursday and was dominant when Michigan decided to give him touches on every possession down low. Meanwhile, his counterpart Bufkin scored 23 points and hit some tough shots.
As we seen against Michigan State, Rutgers, and Wisconsin: this team is really good when it runs through those two.
Howard is going to get his shots and he can be an excellent option, but going forward, Michigan needs to run more two-man game with Bufkin and Dickinson.
