Michigan's Season Is Done
Michigan played up and down basketball all season — tonight it was down. The Wolverines had a size advantage and simply couldn't capitalize time and time again. Michigan missed shots right around the rim all night long and also missed seven free throws in a game that ended 63-55.
1. Too many missed bunnies/free throws
Hunter Dickinson, and Michigan in general, had a decided size advantage against Villanova, but the maize and blue missed a ton of shots at the basket. Some were heavily contested, some weren't, but almost all of the close shots were makable. Between Dickinson, Moussa Diabate and even a steady scorer like Eli Brooks, Michigan just missed way too many shots at or near the rim.
Those misses also spilled over to the free throw line where U-M went 7-of-14. Obviously making every single free throw isn't expected, but making even a small handful more would've changed the feel of the game in a big way.
It didn't seem to matter where the shots were taken from tonight, they just didn't go down for the Wolverines.
2. Too many lapses
The numbers are going to say that overall on defense, Michigan wasn't that bad, but there were simply too many lapses at inopportune times. For some reason, Juwan Howard switched into a 2-3 zone early in the first half after several solid possession of man-to-man defense. Collin Gillespie immediately made Michigan pay by knocking down a three pointer. Several Wolverines decided to help hard away from Gillespie at other times, leaving him open to knock down a couple other three pointers. He finished 4-of-10 from deep and scored 12 points. Diabate rotated late and incorrectly at a pivotal moment in the second half that led to him fouling a driver on an and-1 bucket. Even Dickinson, who is usually much more patient, jumped out to hedge way too aggressively when he didn't need to, allowing a Wildcat to drive by him for a layup with less than five seconds remaining on the shot clock.
3. Unproductive minutes
A few guys that needed to show up in a big way, simply did not. Caleb Houstan, Moussa Diabate and Brandon Johns Jr. didn't have their best games tonight. The trio played 65 total minutes and scored just 12 points combined — all by Diabate and Houstan. Diabate did grab six rebounds, but beyond that, the three of them just didn't give Michigan enough while they were on the floor.
