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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — While Michigan has had a solid offense all year, rated No. 24 at the moment by KenPom, its worst two games this season haven’t been against the top teams it’s faced to this point, per se. The Wolverines shot over 50% from the floor against both North Carolina and Gonzaga — both top ten teams at the time of the matchups — on a neutral court, en route to lopsided victories.
But the two losses on the season thus far were both true road games, at No. 1 Louisville and unranked Illinois.
In those two games, Michigan shot 26% and 44%, respectively, easily the worst shooting performances in the short season.
With No. 10 Oregon coming to town on Saturday, while it is a home game, Howard is looking to diagnose just what has caused the Wolverines’ road woes. noting that there is an obvious disparity on that front.
“I looked at that, too, and those numbers are staggering,” Howard said. “We just gotta stay the course and not think about – ‘Okay, the last two road games that we’ve had, we didn’t shoot well.’ It can’t become a mental problem. We’ve just gotta stay the course and know and trust ourselves and one another.
“I think if we would have did a better job of moving the basketball, I think a lot of those shots would have been a lot easier shots for us. At times it was just too many one-pass/shot or there was an opportunity where we went to an isolation and there was no space.”
But why has it been such a struggle on the road? Does it have something more to do with Michigan or does it have to do with the defense it was facing?
As far as Howard sees it, a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.
“Give the other team credit, they do a really good job defensively,” Howard said. “I’m not gonna ignore the fact of what Louisville (has) done defensively. They’re a very good defensive team. When you’re ranked No. 1 in the country, you’re there for a reason. Illinois, they’re a very well-coached team.
“Not to get off track, but all the Big Ten games that have been played, every team that has played at home has won. It’s been tough to win on the road in the Big Ten. And I knew that coming in. I recalled that when I played here at Michigan, and going on the road to play at Minnesota, which I thought was one of the toughest places to play. Not discrediting Illinois. It’s a very competitive conference.
“Now, getting back to your question, I think our guys, the shot just didn’t go in for them. But yeah, defensively, they played well defensively. But we also missed some open shots, too.”
So, what does he do to keep this type of thing from happening?
Michigan won’t go on the road for several weeks now, but with it’s next game against rival Michigan State on Jan. 5, Howard is working to continue to build confidence among his shooters.
“Keep encouraging them,” Howard said. “’Shoot it! Let it fly!’ It’s that simple. You have an open shot, let it go. I trust that it will go in, but you have to trust it, too. When the shot doesn’t fall, be patient. Take the next open shot.”
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