Michigan’s last chance for a signature non-conference win felt even more frustrating than its previous two losses. The Wolverines led for most of the night, including by double figures at multiple junctures, but then let things slip away with familiar mistakes and bad breaks down the stretch.
Jeremiah Fears hit Oklahoma’s 12th 3-pointer of the night and converted the four-point play to win the game, while Tre Donaldson missed Michigan’s 24th of the game as time expired.
The Wolverines are 8-3 and have lost those three games by five points. It’s hard to have mild feelings about that reality: the frustration of not having a quad-one non-conference win or the mathematical truth of moving up ten spots on KenPom against a top-40 schedule in the country.
Rational minds will convince themselves that Michigan’s KenPom page means the program is in a great spot to contend at the top of the Big Ten, and others will use the same data to paint a picture of dread. As always, you probably aren’t changing either person’s mind and the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.
There was a lot of action in Michigan’s 70-possession roller coaster of a loss, but it is hard to look past the 3-point shooting. Oklahoma made 12-of-25 threes. Michigan made 4-of-28.
According to the illustrious Will Warren’s research, college teams are 1-101 all-time when their opponents make 85% of their free throws and win the 3-point shooting battle by 30-plus percent on 25 attempts. It’s as impossible as it sounds to win a game when you get outscored by 24 points from the 3-point line.
The fact that it felt like Michigan should have won this game is perhaps the most confusing and potentially encouraging part of the night.
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