Five Takeaways: Michigan Wins, But Still Needs To Be Much Better
Michigan ended up winning by just 11 against Tarleton State and there were plenty of issues during the game. Here's what stood out in U-M's fourth win of the season.
Turnovers
Michigan started the game with 10 turnovers in 10 minutes and finished with 21. Juwan Howard will certainly not be happy about that despite winning by a large margin. Things still seem to be a bit disjointed for the Wolverines, especially on offense, as DeVante' Jones continues to get into foul trouble and the freshman continue to figure it all out. Tarleton State's weird, five-guard lineup definitely rattled Michigan early, but the turnover issue was way out of control tonight.
DeVante' Jones is struggling
I tried to find the positives in Jones' game earlier this season, because he does do some things well, but the bad is outweighing the good right now. He consistently finds himself in foul trouble, and the fouls aren't "good" ones. He's reaching in while in the backcourt, fouling at very inopportune times and simply not playing effective defense. Because of that, his assist numbers and scoring average are down as well. Freshman point guard Frankie Collins played 15 minutes while Jones worked through his foul issues and flat out looked better. It'll be interesting to see if Howard continues to go with Jones as his starting point.
Hunter Dickinson needs more touches
Dickinson finished with only nine points, and he was visibly frustrated more than once tonight because he simply wasn't getting the ball enough. Tarleton State started five guards, the tallest being Freddie Hicks at 6-6, which is obviously a different approach. Dickinson had a huge size advantage, but the speed, quickness, ability to switch everything and unique defensive pressure — double and triple teams and aggressive fronting — gave Michigan and Dickinson some problems. At the end of the day, Dickinson was pretty efficient at 3-for-6 with 10 boards, but he simply didn't get the ball enough.
Caleb Houstan got back on track
Coming into the game, Houstan was just 6-of-26 from three-point range, which is not good for U-M considering he's supposed to be the sniper of the bunch. He had been playing big minutes but hadn't been putting up big numbers over the last couple of games, but he found his stride tonight. Houstan should have success against a team like Tarleton State because of his height and length as a wing, but you still have to go out and do it, and he did. Houstan finished the night with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-5 from three-point range. He also had 10 rebounds and an assist in 37 minutes of action.
The starting five might need a tweak
Because Jones fouls so much, he might be better served coming off the bench. He can still be a leader and an integral part of the team as the main scorer and facilitator with the second unit. Collins showed that he can run the point with the starters and he's got a knack for getting to the rim. He's also very quick as a perimeter defender.
It also might be time to put Moussa Diabate into the starting lineup. Brandon Johns Jr. just hasn't been very good this year as a starter, but we've seen him shine as a reserve in the past. He's tailor made to come into a game, shake things up with his athleticism and energy and commit a good, hard foul or two. As a starter, it just hasn't been there for him. He's been too timid at and around the rim and turnovers have also been a problem.
A starting lineup of Frankie Collins, Eli Brooks, Caleb Houstan, Moussa Diabate and Hunter Dickinson is extremely long and athletic and could be elite on defense. Couple that with a backup line consisting of pieces like DeVante' Jones, Brandon Johns Jr., Terrance Williams and even Kobe Bufkin and Zeb Jackson and you might have a more natural fit and flow.
