While Washington and Michigan have built a mini rivalry on the gridiron in recent years, the Huskies and Wolverines had not played on the hardwood since 1995. One similarity to the football teams is that the matchup included two teams with new head coaches. The Wolverines came into the game red hot, with dominant wins over solid USC and UCLA teams in their last two and a #8 ranting in Barttorvik.com efficiency.
Unfortunately for UW, the game looked more like the CFP Championship game than this year’s win over the Wolverines. While never quite a blowout, Michigan got an early lead and asserted its physical dominance throughout. Despite some bright spots for UW and the occasional run, Michigan won 91-75, sending the Dawgs back to Seattle at 10-7 (1-5 in conference) and empty-handed on the tough Michigan road-trip.
The Huskies knew going into the game that they would have to defend the three-point line. The Wolverines shoot well from outside and shoot it well, whereas the Dawgs generally struggle from the perimeter. Although Tyler Harris made the game’s first three, the inside-out big man combo of Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin gave Michigan a 13-7 lead at the first timeout.
The Dawgs continued to struggle in half-court offense, but stayed within touch by forcing turnovers and scoring in transition and Great Osobor getting to the rim. The need for the Dawgs to play deliberate offense against a tough defense led to some turnovers. However, Michigan opened only 2/9 from outside and both Goldin and Wolf picked up two fouls in the first 12 minutes, which allowed the Huskies to stay close. A Zoom Diallo layup brought the Huskies within one possession at 29-26, but Michigan quickly answered with six straight points by going to the rim, leading to a Danny Sprinkle timeout.
Osobor continued to score, but Washington struggled defensively in the last minutes of the first half. Michigan got to the rim enough times against man defense that the Huskies tried switching to zone. That alternative led to open threes that finally got Michigan on track. Nimari Burnett hit three of them from the right corner to total 13 points and stretch MIchigan’s lead to double figures. UW’s 38 first-half points were a big improvement on the 13 they tallied last time out against Michigan State, but surrendering 48 still put them in a hole at the break.
The second half started with more of the same. The Dawgs came out in man-to-man and Michigan attacked off the dribble. An early third foul for Wolf slowed down Michigan’s offense. Washington struggled to take advantage with several missed jump shots. After four minutes without a Wolverine bucket, Washington went back to the 1-3-1 zone and immediately gave up a three to push the lead back to double-digits at 60-49.
Washington was not able to do enough damage with Wolf on the bench, and when he came back on the court he started to make plays for his teammates and even hit a pull up three in semi-transition- an impressive play for a seven-footer.
Game Notes
- Washington’s offense has struggled at times this season, but it was not the problem in this one. The shooting percentages were respectable across the board (setting aside some ugly misses on open jumpers). They got their turnovers under control after a nervy start. They even rebounded very well on the offensive glass, especially when Michigan played zone.
- Michigan was just too good offensively. They moved the ball smoothly from side to side to create open shots, and they made the shots that were there for them. After their cold start from three, they were over 50% the rest of the game. More impressively, they shot over 60% from two for the game.
- Mekhi Mason was very solid offensively off the bench. With DJ Davis out injured, it was hard to see where the scoring would come from off the bench.
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