The Wolverines were ice cold from beyond the arc against Michigan State on Friday night, hitting just 5-of-20 from three. With two weeks left in the regular season, can Michigan’s shooting woes be fixed in time for the NCAA Tournament?
The Michigan Wolverines were riding a six-game win streak and sat in first place in the Big Ten coming into Friday night’s matchup against the Michigan State Spartans .
The Spartans entered the contest ranked dead last in three-pointers made per game (5.5) and three-point shooting percentage (29.1 percent) in the conference, while Michigan was fourth in three-point makes (9.1 per game) and 1.7 percent short of the conference lead in three-point percentage (36 percent).
Nonetheless, the final buzzer sounded with the Spartans converting 9-of-22 threes while the Wolverines made just 5-of-20 threes, leading to a 75-62 win for MSU.
“We really haven’t shot it well in probably three or four weeks, and we liked some of (the shots),” head coach Dusty May said following the game. “Some of them were rushed, some of them were out of rhythm, so that we never really generated any good offensive rhythm for 40 minutes.
“We just didn’t move the ball with the crispness and we didn’t cut with the same level pace that we typically do. We just didn’t play the way we needed to to find a way to win this game and in this environment with what’s at stake.”
Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin combined for 32 points and 12 rebounds on Friday evening. However, Michigan’s guards were ice cold from the floor, with Michigan State’s backcourt outscoring the Wolverines’, 60-20.
For the Spartans, junior guard Tre Holloman didn’t miss a shot in the second half, going 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Freshman Jase Richardson scored 21 points as well. Meanwhile, Tre Donaldson had his worst game as a Wolverine, scoring just three points on 1-for-5 from the field. Rubin Jones finished with two points, and Roddy Gayle Jr. finished with five points on 1-for-6 shooting.
Needless to say, that is not a recipe for success to make a deep NCAA Tournament run.
“Tre Donaldson is a 40+ (percent) three-point shooter consistently on the year,” May said. “We want him to shoot them. Danny Wolf’s a good percentage three-point shooter. I have no problems with him shooting threes. And even Roddy and Rubin, whose percentages aren’t great as long as they’re inside-out threes — they’re going to have to take them just like (MSU’s) low percentage shooters did tonight when they were open.”
The Wolverines have been able to rely on the three-pointer for most of the season. Nimari Burnett is shooting 42.6 percent from three, Donaldson can create his own shot at all three levels, and Sam Walters — who has been dealing with an injury the last couple games — is a reliable three-point specialist when he’s available.
Freshmen Justin Pippen and L.J. Cason have received more minutes with Walters out, but the results have been poor. Pippen had his first points in five games on Friday night, and Cason has scored more than two points in just one Big Ten game all season.
If Michigan is to continue winning big games, the depth is going to need to step up to give the starters a break or to provide a spark when the shots aren’t falling. Michigan State is just one game — and Michigan will see it again in two weeks — so the Wolverines need to put it all together to make a run or risk an early tournament exit.
There is no doubt Michigan can put enough together to win big games. It held off a late Indiana push, showed grit against Purdue, and locked down Ohio State in transition at the end to get a huge road win. The Wolverines can continue stacking wins if Donaldson, Wolf, Goldin and Burnett are on, but the depth and shooting need to improve for Michigan to be a legitimate national title contender.