michigan-basketball – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Michigan basketball loses key player for season

This one hurts. #GoBlue

Michigan basketball has been bad this year and things just got a lot worse.

The Wolverines have struggled on the court and have missed point guard Dug McDaniel for road games as he’s suspended away from Crisler Center due to academic issues. But one player has at least helped make things entertaining.

A transfer from Tennessee, Olivier Nkamhoua certainly has been among the bright spots on a game-by-game basis, but he’ll now miss the remainder of the season as he’ll be having wrist surgery — which will have a recovery time of three-to-four months.

“Decisions like this are never easy,” said Nkamhoua via a statement. “Playing with this injury became taxing and we knew something had to be done. I feel like I wasn’t able to finish what I came here to do; however, the support and love from the coaches, my teammates and everyone involved with this program has been so amazing.

“Coming to Ann Arbor and having the opportunity to play for a coach like Coach Howard has been something I will cherish. I cannot thank Chris (Williams) and his training staff enough for all they have done for me throughout this season and going forward in my recovery. I am proud to be able to say I was part of this great university. I am proud to be a Michigan Wolverine.”

“This is not how things were meant to be for Olivier,” said Howard. “From the moment he stepped on campus, he brought maturity, class, insight and leadership. I truly feel blessed that I was able to learn a tremendous amount from him both on and off the court. He was a true warrior playing with this injury; however, it was just time to do something. We know this will pass and he will return to have a successful playing career. We are so grateful to have been a small part of his journey.”

Without Nkamhoua, the Wolverines will need to find another scoring option. The forward was second in points per game behind McDaniel and Michigan will likely turn either to Will Tschetter or Tray Jackson to replace his production on the court.

Turnovers, miscues doom Michigan basketball vs. MSU

Typically pathetic. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The last time Michigan basketball faced a rival at home, it surprised by downing Ohio State. Despite losing in a blowout to Michigan State in East Lansing, could the Wolverines get the win in Ann Arbor in the rematch?

Michigan would have to work without Terrance Williams II who was out with an undisclosed illness. Jaelin Llewellyn was thus inserted into the starting lineup and he came out strong, with an early and-one continuation and 3-pointer. The Wolverines shot well early, but turnovers slowed them down as they nursed a tenuous lead.

The hot shooting for both teams cooled off by the under-12 media timeout, as both struggled with two-plus minute scoring droughts. MSU broke the stalemate first, and with just under 11 minutes, the score was knotted at 16.

The Spartans had a one-point lead but after a steal, Coen Carr was on a breakaway and drew a flagrant one foul on Michigan forward Will Tschetter, but he only hit one of the two free throws.

The maize and blue continued to struggle on both ends of the floor, finding themselves down nine, and unable to finish at the basket. The Crisler Center crowd erupted — but because the MSU contingent on hand was becoming more and more boisterous and bloodthirsty as the Wolverines faltered.

But after MSU’s 7-0 run, Michigan guard Dug McDaniel went on a 7-0 run of his own, hitting a floater, two free throws, and a 3-pointer to pull within two points with three minutes left in the first half. It took all of a minute for the Spartans to go back up six, but Nimari Burnett hit a clutch 3 followed by a turnaround jumper by Olivier Nkamhoua. Michigan retook the lead with 38.7 left in the first half with a Llewellyn 3-pointer. MSU tied it back up on ensuing free throws and McDaniel had a disastrous sequence — turning the ball over, and then fouling with 0.4 seconds left in the half, sending the Spartans to the line to retake the lead, 39-37.

Michigan was in striking distance, but given how the maize and blue have tended to play in the second half, it was worth wondering if there was any chance. But the script could have been flipped, as MSU had a two-point lead at the half this time around, whereas Michigan had one in East Lansing.

At least the beginning of the second half was a script-flipped, as the Wolverines went from down two to up five in the first three-and-a-half minutes. Michigan pushed the lead to six, but the Spartans clawed back with some Wolverine miscues, and with 12:43 remaining, it was a one-point game. By the under-12 media timeout, it was a tie game, once again.

The Spartans retook the lead and went up five after the Wolverines continued to be turnover-prone. Michigan had 16 turnovers with McDaniel and Nkamhoua having a shared 11 giveaways at that point of the game. Considering that MSU had 19 points off turnovers while Michigan outshot the Spartans, it was the difference in the game as the maize and blue were down five.

Michigan took a quick timeout and scored five unanswered points to tie the game, but MSU took the lead back on a putback dunk with just under eight minutes remaining.

Tschetter tied the game back up at 63 coming out of the under-eight media timeout. Shoddy defense mixed with anemic offense and turnovers allowed the Spartans to take the lead again with under six minutes to go — 67-63, MSU.

After more miscues, MSU had an eight-point lead and possession at the under-four media timeout. Michigan was imploding — albeit later than usual. Cries of ‘Go Green, Go White’ drowned out the marching band playing ‘The Victors.’

Michigan immediately turned the ball over after running a slow-developing offensive set. Though MSU couldn’t capitalize, time was running short, up eight with 90 seconds remaining.

Alas, it wasn’t to be, as Michigan lost, 73-63, to rival Michigan State.

The Wolverines finished with 22 turnovers in the game, giving the Spartans 25 points in return. This despite out-shooting and out-rebounding MSU in the matchup. The Spartans finished the game on a 10-0 run.

Warde Manuel discusses Juwan Howard, Michigan basketball future

This isn’t going to be popular. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan basketball has been in something of a tailspin in recent months, if not the past year-plus. After winning the Big Ten and going to the Elite Eight, the Wolverines have been in decline on the hardwood, and this season has more so resembled that of Brian Ellerbe and Tommy Amaker’s tenures than that of John Beilein. It’s caused many to question whether or not favored son Juwan Howard is the right man to lead the program.

On the heels of a 29-point loss to Illinois — a team Howard has yet to beat since he arrived in June 2019 — Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel discussed the state of the basketball program after meeting with the media in an unrelated Zoom call. He says he has spoken to Howard about the state of the program in recent weeks and that he’ll continue to support the former Fab Five standout in the head coaching role.

“Juwan and I have talked, yes,” Manuel said. “And we’ll continue to have those conversations as the season goes through and I continue to support him in an effort to turn this around and win like he expects to. There’s no there’s no lack of effort from our student-athletes or coaches. And it’s a lack of execution at times and we have to be better — he knows that, they know that and expectations are high, but I will continue to have the conversations with him. And we’ll continue to support him in our program and continue to be there for him.

“It’s difficult. None of these student-athletes or coaches or staff — they’re working to win. And when it doesn’t happen, there’s no bigger disappointment than they have in the results or lack of results in the success of winning. And so they will continue to get my support and we will continue to have conversations and work through it.”

So, does that mean no changes at the top? As far as Manuel sees it, despite having lost 12 of the last 14 games, at the moment, Howard’s job appears to be safe. Whether or not that could change at season’s end remains to be seen, but at the moment, the status quo will continue.

“It would be fair to say I have not really thought about any changes in our men’s basketball program at this time,” Manuel said. “It’s one of those things that — I guess I can’t say it any clearer; I want to support Juwan to be successful and have not given any moment or thought of anything about changes at this time. And so my support is of him, of our student-athletes, and our staff.”

Michigan basketball’s next game comes on Saturday when it hosts rival Michigan State at Crisler Center at 8 p.m. EST. The Wolverines’ last game against the Spartans was an 81-62 loss in East Lansing.

Warde Manuel addresses Juwan Howard’s future with Michigan basketball

This isn’t going to be popular. #GoBlue

Is Michigan basketball favored by analytics to win another game? Let’s take a look

Hahahaha! #GoBlue

In case you missed it, Michigan basketball is imploding. It’s actually somehow kind of impressive.

15 times in 2023-24, the Wolverines have had a halftime lead only to lose. After letting Rutgers go on an 18-2 run to end the game and overcome a 12-point deficit relatively late in the game this past Saturday, Michigan is now 7-15 on the season and 2-9 in the Big Ten.

Which leads us to the question: can Michigan basketball win another game this season? Will it?

Using ESPN FPI, we take a look at each of the remaining nine games in the 2023-24 season and the chances that the maize and blue have to getting another W at any point this year.

Michigan basketball implodes, as usual, in second half, loses to Rutgers

Fifth straight loss. Pathetic.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan basketball had been languishing ever since surprising Ohio State in mid-January. But with KenPom No. 106 Rutgers coming to Crisler Center, the maize and blue had an opportunity to right the ship.

As usual, the Wolverines got out to a torrid start, going up 10-2 over the Scarlet Knights before even hitting the under-16 media timeout. Unlike the last contest at Michigan State, Michigan was particularly aggressive on the defensive side of the court.

Up 14-5, Michigan went to an interesting lineup with Dug McDaniel and Jaelin Llewellyn on the court at the same time, along with Will Tschetter, Tarris Reed Jr., and Terrance Williams II, but quickly switched out of it, replacing Reed and Williams with Nkamhoua and Tray Jackson. It was in this time that Rutgers battled back, cutting the deficit to five. But Tschetter hit a timely 3-pointer to extend the lead back to eight. Both teams then had something of a stalemate before Jackson hit a 3 to put the Wolverines up 11.

It didn’t take long before Michigan got quiet offensively again, with Rutgers cutting it to six, but — as was the them of the game — then Llewellyn drained a 3 to put the Wolverines back up by nine. The maize and blue struggled to add to their lead, having turned the ball over nine times to this point, compared to Rutgers’ five.

While Michigan had gone four of its last four, it was on a field goal drought, having not hit for over three minutes. Rutgers took advantage — as the Wolverines tend to let teams do near the end of the first half — cutting the deficit to just five. However, Williams hit an impressive floater with the shot clock expiring before Nimari Burnett got a steal on the other end, leading to a Nkamhoua slam dunk as the seconds came off the clock to push the Michigan lead back to nine at the half.

The Scarlet Knights drew first blood in the second half — a period in which the Wolverines have typically fallen apart. But Michigan quickly answered with a layup by Reed and a 3-pointer by Dug McDaniel. Shooting 55.2% from the floor and 46.7% from 3, the maize and blue would need to continue the torrid offense while keeping Rutgers to 37.1% shooting — as it had to that point.

Up 12, Nkamhoua hit a shot underneath and was fouled, draining the and-one, putting Michigan up 15 — the largest lead of the game — with 17 minutes remaining.

But the maize and blue got stagnant, allowing a 6-0 run to the Scarlet Knights. With 14:58 remaining, the lead was 47-38.

Again, the Wolverines found themselves in a scoring drought and Rutgers took advantage. With just over 10 minutes to play, the lead was just four, until Burnett cut down the baseline for a dunk to extend it back to six — momentarily. The Big Ten foes traded blows for a few moments, and Michigan brought McDaniel and Reed back into the game to stem the bleeding. Now shooting 50% from the field and 33% from 3, the Wolverines needed to make something happen.

Nkamhoua hit a floater to extend the lead back to six, but Derek Simpson hit Rutgers’ second 3 for the day to make it just a three-point game with 6:53 remaining. A minute later, after a trip to the foul line, the Scarlet Knights were down just one and the Wolverine offense was rudderless and hanging on for dear life.

A minute later, as tends to be the case for the maize and blue, they were down two. Rutgers had its first lead of the game with just over four minutes remaining. Michigan was 1-of-its-last-8 and hadn’t scored in over three minutes. Less than a minute later, after some fouls and turnovers, the Wolverines were suddenly down six and fans, accustomed to seeing Michigan struggle in the second half, started heading for the exits at the under-four media timeout.

That turned out to be prescient as the Wolverines continued to struggle and ended up losing, 69-59.

Michigan turned the ball over 19 times and allowed 19 points off turnovers. It shot 33% in the second half and was 1-for-11 from 3 in the final 20 minutes after starting 6-for-13. Rutgers went on an 18-2 run to finish the game.

With the loss, Michigan moved to 2-8 in conference play and 7-15 overall. It was the Wolverines’ fifth loss in a row and 10th in 11 games (with the win over Ohio State being the only win in 2024 thus far).

U-M to begin alcohol sales at Crisler Center

Woohoo! #GoBlue

If you’re going to Crisler Center this weekend, you may be able to have a little extra fun.

The University of Michigan announced on Thursday that starting on Friday with the wrestling meet against Iowa, and continuing on Saturday when Michigan basketball hosts Rutgers, that alcohol will be sold at the arena. It’s the first time that alcohol will be officially sold at an on-campus sporting event.

This begins the new era in Ann Arbor, and it will continue into football season when alcohol sales will officially begin at The Big House this fall.

More details in the full press release below.

Full release

The University of Michigan Athletics Department has been approved for state liquor licenses and will begin offering the sale of alcohol at events in Crisler Center and Yost Arena.

In October, the Board of Regents approved alcohol sales in select U-M athletic facilities, following bipartisan legislation enacted last summer, which permits such licensed sales at university athletic competitions in the state.

Alcohol will be available for purchase for the first time at Crisler Center, starting February 2 with a wrestling meet against Iowa (8:30 p.m.)

The first men’s basketball game with alcohol sales will be Feb. 3, with a 4 p.m. game against Rutgers.

The first hockey game with alcohol sales will be Feb. 9 (7 p.m. vs. MSU).

Other upcoming events at Crisler Center with sales include women’s gymnastics on Feb. 4 (3:45 p.m. vs. MSU) and women’s basketball on Feb. 6 (7 p.m. vs. Nebraska).

The regulatory features to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all fans for all events will include all patrons being required to show ID at every purchase, and each transaction will have a limit of two alcoholic beverages per legal drinking age guest. Implementation for potential alcohol sales at Michigan Stadium will be considered after reviewing data and the experiences at the other two venues.

The Board of Regents voted Oct. 19 to authorize asking the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to issue liquor licenses at several athletic venues. U-M’s liquor license allows for alcohol sales at the venues for U-M events and during a small number of non-athletic events each calendar year.

The move corresponded with an expanded implementation at Crisler Center and Yost Ice Arena of U-M’s Weapons Detection Systems, which was successfully rolled out at Michigan Stadium in the fall. The walk-through system allows U-M to expand its extensive security measures throughout its venues. Guests are encouraged to arrive early to ensure a smooth entry into Crisler and Yost; gates open one hour before games and events start.

For game-day updates from DPSS and Athletics, follow @UMichDPSS on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Updates include information about safety and security, potential game delays, parking suggestions, bag policies and traffic updates.

Everything Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard said about MSU

Gotta win this one. #GoBlue

Michigan basketball has lost three straight games after shocking Ohio State two weeks ago at Crisler Center. But the Wolverines have a tough task ahead of them as they take the show on the road to play rival Michigan State.

Though the Spartans aren’t quite as dominant as expected, they’re still quite good. And with the maize and blue coming off of one of the worst losses in recent memory in Purdue (the Wolverines lost to Iowa since, in a game in which they were favored), they need to get right. And beating the biggest rival in basketball in East Lansing would certainly help.

Michigan head coach Juwan Howard met with the media via Zoom on Monday to discuss Tuesday night’s matchup. Here is everything he had to say.

Five takeaways: Michigan basketball vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

JUST LIKE FOOTBALL! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan basketball has been something of an inverse of its gridiron counterparts, finding ways to lose of late instead of hanging on to win. But if there was a game that the Wolverines really wanted — and needed — this season, it was to beat the rival Buckeyes.

Michigan enters the game at 6-10 while OSU is 12-4, but the Bucks are 2-3 in-conference — just one game better than the maize and blue.

The Wolverines appeared disjointed in a lot of ways, but still scored in bunches. After a couple of 8-0 runs in the first half, Michigan had a nine-point lead at halftime, but had to hold on in order to maintain victory in the second half.

Michigan had a 12-point lead, but mistakes and fouls on the defensive end kept it close, with the Buckeyes pulling within one with 10 minutes remaining. Just a minute and a half later, OSU had a one-point lead. 30 seconds later, it was a four-point Ohio State lead.

Would the Wolverines follow the typical script, allowing themselves to be pushed around in the waning minutes to lose after dominating much of the game?

Michigan ended up pushing it to a six-point lead again, but with just minutes remaining in the game, OSU was making another run. A blocking foul was called on Nimari Burnett with the maize and blue up just four, even though it appeared as if an Ohio State player had elbowed him in the face. 1:14 left in the game, Michigan maintained the four-point lead, and Olivier Nkamhoua drained a floater to push the lead back to six. But OSU guard Bruce Thornton hit a floater on the other end to keep it a four-point game with 52.8 seconds remaining.

However, another timely 3 from Terrance Williams helped the Wolverines pull away to ultimately beat the rival Buckeyes, 73-65.

Here are our five takeaways.

Michigan makes official statement regarding Dug McDaniel

A bad situation gets worse.

While Michigan’s football team is winning a national title, the basketball squad has been struggling amidst a 6-9 season that has the Wolverines sitting in the basement of the Big Ten. Tough.

To make matters worse, the team has suspended star player Dug McDaniels for the next six road games due to apparent academic issues. McDaniel will miss matchups with Maryland, No. 1 Purdue, Michigan State, Nebraska, No. 10 Illinois, and Northwestern.

This is a heavy blow for a team that relies on McDaniels, who leads the team in both points with 17.8 per game and assists with 5.1 per game.

David Kaplan, Meredith Kaplan, and Juwan Howard made a statement regarding the McDaniels suspensions which reads as follows:

“We have very high standards within our program, culture and university. Serving as mentors, we need to set the standards and pathways for our young men to succeed.

“Beginning with our game at Maryland, Dug McDaniel will not travel to road games until further notice.

“Dug will dress for home games, however, when we are away from Ann Arbor, he will work towards meeting several academic goals he has set and needs to meet.

“While I am disappointed, this is not something we take lightly. This is an important step for Dug and his success as a student-athlete.

“Going forward we will not have further comment.”

Michigan will likely lean on backup point guard Jaelin Llewellyn to replace McDaniels in the lineup. Llewellyn, who transferred in from Princeton, has been in and out of the lineup this season with various injuries and has played in just five games to date. In his appearances, he averages 8.8 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists. Llewellyn’s best statistical season was in 2021-22 with Princeton when he averaged 15.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Michigan will need him to step up if they expect to make a late run at a low March Madness seed.