In Reply to: Looking ahead at the conference games posted by mh on December 29, 2024 at 13:02:25
coming up against USC and then the Bruins. They tied a school record this evening hitting 19 of 40 threes, one short of the Big 10 record. They normally only average around 24 threes a game and hit near 35% of those.
Tonight was a bit difference with those 40 attempts as Western Kentucky didn't play much defense at all. The Wolverines had 6 players with 2 threes each (including the two 7 footers who were 4 of 5 combined and 6'10 Alabama transfer Walters who also made 2) while 6'5 Nimari Burnette was showing off with 5 of 8.
They love to get the ball up court very quickly and this evening, there always seems to be an open man somewhere beyond the arc in three point range (often NBA range) and they had a knack of getting it to him quickly and he was ready to let it fly and did so with no hesitation. Bruins will no doubt be aware of their run and gun style that Dusty May teaches.
Even with this as their primary attack, when they can't find an open man beyond the arc, they also run a nice half court offense with a lot of movement, cutting, and pick and roll action---many times the pick and roll is between the two 7 footers who are both starters. It will be very interesting watching how the Bruins play them on the D end. Worked well with Gonzaga but the Zags don't have the number of three point shooters that Michigan has and IMO, even considering the Zag's 6'9 star center, Ike, Michigan still has an advantage over the Zags with the 2 physical and talented 7 footers that they have plus two decent bigs off of the bench in 6'10 Walters and 6'8 Tschetter who both shoot threes well with Tschetter being their highest percentage three point shooter at 44%.
My Michigan wife loves the make up of their team (and she really knows basketball) and I have to say, I like it a lot too---but not when they are playing the Bruins.