Michigan basketball was a top-10 team on offense and defense before the school’s COVID pause in January. They may need that form again to defeat LSU.
There is a generally accepted piece of wisdom that says college basketball teams should want to be at their best entering the postseason. So, then, it is worth asking: Is Michigan basketball at its best right now? The Wolverines are one of three No.1 seeds still playing in the NCAA tournament. Yet many prognosticators don’t like their odds of reaching the Final Four. Before the tournament began, ESPN asked a group of 38 commentators, analysts and writers to fill out their brackets. Only one — former UDM and Pistons coach Dick Vitale — picked Michigan to reach the national semifinals. On Monday night, the Wolverines will face a significant obstacle in LSU. The Tigers have yet to show they can play championship-caliber — or even adequate — defense. But their offense ranks No.5 in the nation, according to KenPom.com, and features several players with the firepower to end Michigan’s season. BIG-GAME BRANDON: Why Michigan basketball’s Brandon Johns could be an epic contributor with more time SCOUTING REPORT: Inside the second-round matchup vs. LSU SHAWN WINDSOR: Johns delivers a lesson for lesser-known Wolverines: It’s time to let it fly The trajectories of each team seem to differ: The Tigers have won five of their past six games. The Wolverines, meanwhile, have won just three of their past six. There is a handy tool on the analytics site run by Bart Torvik that allows readers to segment the college basketball season by date. This is particularly useful for anyone hoping to get a sense of how well a team played during a certain period of time. Using Torvik’s site, one discovers there are two distinct demarcations within Michigan’s season. The first: On Jan.24, the entire athletic department went on pause due to an outbreak of the B.1.1.7 COVID variant. The basketball team went two weeks without team workouts or practices, and 23 days between games.
