Opinion Roundtable: Why Can't Michigan Win On The Road?
Michigan is now 0-5 on the road and four of those losses are within the conference. The Wolverines fell to Illinois, Michigan State, Iowa and Minnesota, all away from Ann Arbor. The maize and blue got beat pretty handily in East Lansing, but had a shot in each of the other road losses. No one in the Big Ten is winning on the road, so it's not a huge red flag for Michigan, but are there specific reasons why U-M can't win away from Crisler?
Brandon Brown
Michigan doesn't seem to have a killer down the stretch. As mentioned above, U-M had a chance in three of the four road losses but in those contests, didn't really have anyone to take over as the game played out. Isaiah Livers played against Illinois, but missed the other three road losses, which definitely hurt U-M's offense. At 6-7, Livers can shoot it from the outside, create his own shot and get to the basket. Franz Wagner seems to have that combination of skills as well, but as a freshman, he doesn't seem ready to seize those opportunities. Livers is also missed on defense. Sophomore Brandon Johns Jr. is starting in Livers' place, and while he's got good size and athleticism, he's not playing smart enough or effectively enough to replace what Livers does. Home teams are more efficient than Michigan on both ends of floor down the stretch and that's why U-M hasn't figured it out on the road yet.
Steve Deace
There are two answers here — one macro, one micro. The meta answer is this league, like college basketball as a whole this season, lacks a truly elite team. But at the same time the conference is uniquely deep with quality teams. Which means nobody so far has shown that they’re superior enough to rise above the inherent advantages to playing at home. As for Michigan’s particular situation, its individual road struggles have manifested themselves with this unholy trinity — ice cold shooting, too much fouling, and too little defense. We’ve seen at least two of these three things in every Michigan true road game this season.
Michael Spath
In each of Michigan's last two losses, at Minnesota and at Iowa, the Wolverines were in a one-possession game at about the 4-minute mark. Both times, they fell apart. In crunch time, Michigan isn't sure what it wants to do with the ball. Zavier Simpson is the clear leader but while he can get to the hoop, it's not always so simple, and he's not capable of creating any other type of shot for himself. Franz Wagner, David DeJulius, Eli Brooks ... none of them seemed intent on seizing the moment even though each of them has a better offensive game than Simpson. Meanwhile, defensively, U-M gives up too many easy buckets around the rim or is prone to fouling, allowing for their opponent to find success in those late-game situations. Simply put, the Wolverines have to get tougher defensively when it matters the most and either DeJulius or Brooks needs to take charge with the ball.
What do you think? Are there specific reasons Michigan can't win on the road? Comment below!!!
