Five Takeaways: Breaking Down Michigan's Blowout Win Over Houston Baptist
Take most of this with a grain of salt because Houston Baptist was flat out out bad on both ends of the floor in a 111-68 Michigan win. What did we learn from this game? Take a look...
1. Houston Baptist is not good on defense
The Huskies are giving up an average of 97.3 points through four games now so it's not a surprise that Michigan dropped 111 on them. Still, they looked worse than bad at times. Zavier Simpson found himself completely unguarded on his three-point makes and Eli Brooks was able to cut to the basket unimpeded on several occasions. Throw in the fact that their tallest player is just 6-10 and played only 16 minutes and you have an undersized team trying to deal with Jon Teske, Colin Castleton and even Brandon Johns unsuccessfully. It was a rough night for them on the floor and on the scoreboard.
2. Michigan's guards have a knack for getting into the lane
Guards getting into the lane in order to make things happen is not a new concept but Michigan's guards, especially Zavier Simpson, made a living out of it against Houston Baptist. It resulted in a lot of open looks from behind the three-point line and almost always resulted in some sort of bucket. Eli Brooks, and to a lesser extent David DeJulius, are also very good at getting to their spots via the dribble. Brooks is very aware he does it and DeJulius is more of an attacker. Even though they all do it a little differently, it's almost always a good thing.
3. I'm just not sure about Adrian Nunez
I really don't like being overly critical of a kid who's just getting his feet wet, and this will probably a moot point once Franz Wagner gets cleared and joins the lineup because he's going to start instead of Nunez, but I just don't think he's ready yet. He's a bit heavy footed on defense and he's not shooting the ball from three very well, which is what he's supposed to be great at. I think he'd be much more effective as a shooter off the bench, which is probably what he'll be once Wagner is ready.
4. Colin Castleton has a chance to be special
The 6-11, 235-pounder has all of the tools to be a great big man in today's game. He's long, athletic, can run the floor, has great feet, good touch around the rim and, reportedly can shoot it from the outside even though we haven't really seen it yet. There were times in the game where he made a move or did something with the ball that made me say "wow". They were few and far between, and rather subtle, but the flashes were there. He finished the game with 14 points, three rebounds and two blocks in just 14 minutes of action.
5. Michigan's core is rock solid
Seniors Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske, along with junior Isaiah Livers, are going to keep Michigan in a lot of games this year. Throw in super smart, crafty and actually very athletic Eli Brooks and you have four guys you can trust in just about any situation. The four of them combined for 58 points and only six turnovers despite playing a lot of minutes in a blowout.
What takeaways do you have from the game? What do you think this team's ceiling is? Floor? Comment below!!!
