July 28, 2011 - 6:49pm
Live Blog: Michigan Men's Basketball vs. Houston Baptist
BY JOE STAPLETON
The Wolverines are all set to take on Houston Baptist at Crisler Arena. We're expecting the same starting lineup as last week's game.
Starting for Michigan:
Darius Morris
Laval Lucas-Perry
Zack Novak
Manny Harris
DeShawn Sims
19:28- Turnover on first posession for each team.
18:56- All turnovers so far. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.
18:24- First bucket of the game scored by Houston Baptist. 2-0
18:00- And Harris puts Michigan on the board
17:00- Michigan can't hit anything. they're down 6-2
15:21- Missed wide open 3-pointer by Lucas-Perry. Michigan can't buy a bucket. Meanwhile, Houston Baptist has taken an 8-3 lead.
14:00- Now that's more like it. Michigan just capped a 4-0 run with Novak stealing the ball and taking it in for a layup. Looks like those are the only baskets they're going to hit right now, though.
12:37- Finally. Lucas-Perry nails a 3-pointer to bring Michigan to within 2. Huskies, 12-10
10:29- Seems like all the bounces are going Baptist's way, they keep scoring on these wacky bounces. Also, I know Manny can't hit anything right now, but just get him the ball. He makes a midrange jumper to bring the Wolverines to within two, and he's at the line now. 14-12, Baptist
8:24- You can tell these guys are well-coached, especially offensively. They've been straight taking it to the Michigan defense, and the Wolverines haven't gotten very many easy buckets. It doesn't hurt that there seems to be a lid on Michigan's basket, but the Huskies, at least on offense, know what they're doing. And that's coaching.
7:42- And Michigan finally ties the game on an and-1 from Zack Gibson. Timeout before the free throw.
7:23- And Gibson nails the free throw to put Michigan up one, 17-16. Maybe this will get them going.
5:25- Ok, a lot just happened. DeShawn nailed two 3-pointers in a row, Baptist scored, and Gibson scored on a fast-break layup. Michigan, 25-20. Also, we haven't seen Darius Morris in a while
4:22- Check that, Morris just came in. Also, 3-pointer from Harris. Mich 28-22
3:19- He talked about it before the season, and it was true: Manny has nailed at least three pull-up midrange jumpers, he's clearly been working on them. Instead of driving to the rim and possibly drawing a charge, he pulls up and nails shots. Just another addition to his arsenal. Mich, 30-22
2:10- Pretty skyhook from some guy on Baptist named Mario. Good for him. It's a lost art. Mich, 31-24
Half- Ok, CRAZY. Sims just nailed two more triples in a row. He can't hit when he's three feet away from the basket, but he can hit when he's 27 feet away. Also, after scoring, Harris stole the ball and scored again just before halftime. Michigan is up, 41-29. Because for some reason, the Wolverines can't stop Houston Baptist.
19:23- Harris gets a tip-in off his own missed layup. Nobody in the Big Ten follows his shot like Manny Harris. Nobody.
17:56- 3-pointer from Novak, his first of the game. Fans, just resign yourselves: it's just an off night for Michigan. They aren't rebounding, they aren't playing tough defense, and more often than not they can't hit anything. The rebounding is partly due to bad bounces, but still. Wierd night. Michigan will win, but it might not be by as much as fans would like.
17:28- Ooh. We've got a Baptist player down. He's limping back to the bench, so it doesn't look too serious. Also, Sims finally got an offensive rebound and put it in for two.
15:45- Michigan scored on a fast break after Morris took an uncharacteristically long time to realize Lucas-Perry was streaking down the left side of the court unguarded. Michigan is starting to distance itself a little bit. Mich, 50-34.
14:46- Big 3-pointer from Novak. Mich 54-39.
13:00- What's been a real issue for the Wolverines has been the lack of fast-break opportunities. Against weaker teams, that's where good teams use there talent and athleticism to overwhelm the defense. Michigan hasn't been able to do that, partly because Baptist isn't missing much, and partly because the opportunities just haven't been there. Anyway, Mich is up 58-41.
11:04- Wow. Baptist has 14 offensive rebounds. This is going to be Michigan's number one issue this year: rebounding. It has definitely hurt them tonight.
10:57- Intentional foul by Houston Baptist on Darius Morris fast break. He nails one of two free throws, then Gibson gets an inside bucket. 63-41, Mich.
10:17- Another 3-pointer for Sims. Dude is unconcious from back there tonight. Just give it to him.
9:24- Important triple for Stu Douglass. Feel like he really needed one. He puts Michigan up 70-42.
8:00- Terrible blocking call on Stu. He could have made a cup of coffee before the Husky got there.
6:45- Oi. Michigan is back to not hitting anything. Missed triples from Stu and Novak, consecutively, and a miss from Sims inside.
6:00- Bucket from Lucas-Perry. Mich, 72-49.
4:09- The game is winding down a bit. Eso just came in, for not-quite-garbage-time minutes. Good to see him in there. I know Beilein can only get a certain number of players ready to play every game and there are going to be some good players who get left out of the lineup, but this dude can play. Trust me. Mich, 74-51.
2:46- Very nice drive by Morris for two. And we have another Husky down, after...er, stumbling over himself while backpedaling. He's walking to the bench, so it's ok to joke about it, right? Haha, he tripped. Mich, 77-55.
1:30- Unfortunate moment for Cronin. Completely rejected by a player who was at least six inches shorter. Vince, the Detroit News reporter next to me, asks, "Did he even get off the ground? " No, Vince, I don't believe he did.
END OF GAME- Well, Michigan played like absolute crap the vast majority of the game and still pulled out a 20+ point victory. Houston Baptist sucks, but still a good sign for the team. Off to the locker room. Thanks for following.
