| The Detroit News
Ann Arbor – Like most quarantined people across the country during the spring, Juwan Howard had plenty of time to review the film and review his first season as Michigan’s head coach.
Looking back, Howard was satisfied with the offensive numbers. Defensive statistics? Not much.
The Wolverines finished last season in 10th place in the defense of scores (71.1 points) and 11th in the percentage of defense (43.6%) during the Big Ten game. Among all Division I teams, Michigan qualified in the middle of the pack nationally.
“We had a coach meeting and I said, ‘We need to be an incredible defensive team,'” Howard recalled after Michigan attacked Minnesota 82-57 on Wednesday night. “It’s simple, if we want to give ourselves a chance to be one of the elite teams at the conference and, most importantly, college basketball.”
When the team arrived on campus in mid-June, the first thing Howard spoke and trained from day one was the defense.
“I remember doing the defense every day for five or six days,” said senior striker Isaiah Livers. “Coach Howard was not playing. We were locked up and we all agreed. “
This was shown throughout the season and was shown again on Wednesday when Michigan made another dominant defensive effort.
Wolverines have limited themselves since the beginning – deflecting passes, interrupting plays, contesting pitches and not allowing anything to be easy. The Gophers struggled to match intensity and energy, adding 26 points and missing two-thirds of kicks in the first half.
Michigan’s relentless effort and pressure has never abated, and Minnesota has never come close to setting an offensive pace. In the end, the Gophers finished with 57 points, the lowest number of the season, hit 32.4% of field shots (22 out of 68), made 12 turnovers and tried only six free throws.
“Michigan had a lot to do with it,” said Minnesota coach Richard Pitino. “They were getting us out of our stuff.”
Pitino added that the length between Michigan’s attacking court with Livers, sophomore winger Franz Wagner and pivot Hunter Dickinson was particularly problematic.
“This is a recipe for some really good defensive possessions,” said Pitino. “They will make you win everything.”
The Wolverines did just that against perhaps the best center and point guard they have faced so far this season. Liam Robbins, the Big Ten player of the week, came from a 27-point, 14-rebound performance against Ohio State. Marcus Carr entered the fray as one of the Big Ten’s top scorers.
Both were neutralized, mainly Robbins. The 7-footed player made his first two shots in the game, but was kept goalless the rest of the way by Dickinson. Robbins drew his lowest point of the season with five points on a worst 2-to-9 night of the season, while Dickinson did it on both ends and spilled 28 points, the highest of the season.
“You have to be able to protect yourself here in college. You can’t just be a one-way player, ”said Dickinson, who gave credit to the Michigan guards for putting pressure on the ball and not allowing Robbins to receive easy passes.
“The coach is always telling me to be a two-way player. This is really what you have to be at this level. These one-way players, they are really exposed in defense. If you’re just a top scorer, the teams will come back and attack you on the offensive side. I think it’s something that I put a lot of emphasis on trying to defend my position with, not being a weak link and holding my weight for the rest of the team. “
The work of playmaker Eli Brooks and playmaker Chaundee Brown on Carr, who entered the game with an average of 22.1 points, was not left behind. Brooks chased Carr until he left the game in the second half, when he had a tooth pulled in a collision.
When Brown took over, Carr still had little success during one of his less productive matches of the season, finishing with 14 points from 16 shots and two assists, the worst of the season.
“Eli Brooks is known for taking down the best owners of each team. I think he’s the best defensive player in the Big Ten, if you ask me, ”said Livers. “We feed on your energy.”
After Carr was free for a pair of 3 points at the end of the first half, Livers said Michigan wanted to upset him as much as possible, hinder him and “show that he can’t drive here, not today”. The Wolverines adjusted their ball screen defense in the second half and had Dickinson protect himself on the perimeter to corner Carr.
The adjustment worked, because Carr did not make another 3 points and had difficulty going down. As a result, Minnesota made just three baskets in the first 13 minutes of the second half, when the game was over.
“Instead of trying to get in there and attack his physicality, we were playing on his heels, turning his shoulders,” said Pitino. “We had a lot of turns with a live ball, but they had a lot to do with it. They were fantastic. “
In five Big Ten games, Michigan kept four opponents with less than 70 points and three of them with less than 40% of the field shots.
Following their last strong performance, the Wolverines lead the Big Ten in the percentage defense of field goals (38.1%) and blocked kicks (5.6) and occupy second place in the defense of scores (64.6 points) in games conference call. They are also 18th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing 0.913 points for possession.
These are the types of defensive numbers that Howard likes to see.
“Obviously, the guys have goals, but I think everyone on the team understands that those goals are not going to come unless everyone fixes on that team, fixes on Michigan culture,” said Livers. “Coach Howard talks about buying. I think everyone agreed, from top to bottom.
“Everyone here just wants to win and we will do whatever it takes”.
Twitter: @jamesbhawkins