Five Takeaways: Michigan Drops First Big Ten Road Game
With a 71-62 loss against Illinois in Champaign, Michigan fell short despite a valiant comeback and is now 1-1 in the Big Ten. Juwan Howard's squad is now 8-2 overall and still looks like one of the better team in the league. It wasn't a perfect game for either team, and now Michigan has to get back to the drawing board. Here are some things of note from the loss.
1. Zavier Simpson never stops talking
There were several instances throughout the game where Simpson assertively talked to his teammates, the referees and, unfortunately, the opponents. Simpson picked up a technical after being warned for chirping at Illinois and then bumping into a player on the way to the bench during a timeout. On another occasion, Simpson was telling an Illinois player that he was going to miss a free throw, which he did. Simpson pulled Teske into a huddle and had a stern message for him and also demanded that his teammates give him the ball after a turnover led to an Illini layup. He's the leader and he knows it, and so do his teammates.
2. Franz Wagner seemed rattled
The freshman has everything he needs to be great, but he's not there yet. He finished with just four points on 2-for-8 shooting, including going 0-for-4 from three, and turned the ball over three times. He played 27 minutes, so he had a chance to impact the game, but failed to really do so. It's still coming together for him and that was apparent on Wednesday night.
3. Offensive rebounds were a problem
Obviously 7'0", 290-pound Kofi Cockburn is a big reason for this one, but it was a group effort for the Illini. Cockburn snagged six offensive boards on his own, but Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Ayo Dosunmu each had a pair as well. The Illini finished with 15 offensive rebounds total, which led to 16 second-chance points. You simply can't allow that on the road and expect to win.
4. Michigan needs to hit threes to win
Of course every team wins more when they hit three pointers but it's a big deal for a Michigan team that can shoot from distance 1-5 and had done so at a high clip. The Wolverines finished just 3-for-18 from three-point range and could never really hit the big one when they needed it. Illinois went just 1-for-11 from distance, but the home-court advantage, free throw discrepancy, rebound edge and second-chance points pushed the Illini to victory.
5. Winning on the road in the Big Ten is hard
Perhaps the understatement of the season. Big Ten teams are now 0-9 on the season after Michigan's loss to the Illini in Champaign. Wisconsin lost to Rutgers in Piscataway earlier in the day and Maryland was knocked off by Penn State in Happy Valley on Tuesday. There's no shame in losing some road games, but I'm sure Juwan Howard and the team would tell you that they're capable of winning in a tough road environment and they'll have to do so in order to truly contend in the conference.
What stuck out to you tonight? How could Michigan have gotten it done? Comment below!
