IOWA CITY — To Franz Wagner, the most pressing issue for the Michigan men’s basketball team is simple.
Daniel Dash
Daily Sports Writer
Men's Basketball
IOWA CITY — There weren’t many positives for the Michigan men’s basketball team following its 90-83 loss to Iowa. The play of Eli Brooks was one of them.
IOWA CITY — In a slugfest complete with an eyebrow-raising foul differential, a litany of 3-point shots and the back-and-forth action one hopes for when buying a basketball ticket, Michigan came up just short.
IOWA CITY — Zavier Simpson crossed midcourt and whipped a pass from the top of the key to the corner, as he’s done countless times before.
So that leads to one big question heading into Friday’s match against the Hawkeyes: are the Wolverines happy with letting Garza drop 40-plus points on Michigan with relative ease, or is it time to lock down the post and one of the nation’s most prolific scorers?
Months ago, during Michigan’s media day, associate head coach Phil Martelli raved about freshman forward Franz Wagner.
As a unit, Michigan’s frontcourt hasn’t developed on the defensive end. Opposing Big Ten post players are averaging a staggering 29.8 points on 55 percent shooting against the Wolverines.
I’ll preface this by saying: I hate writing about recruiting. I hate the speculatory, veiled insinuations. I hate the underlying transactional tomfoolery that is so abundant it’s best left unsaid. Grown adults begging (and paying) teenagers to come play for them.
MINNEAPOLIS — A Big Ten center had a huge game against the Michigan men’s basketball team. Again.
Despite a fast start and halftime lead, Michigan men’s basketball lost to Minnesota on the road this Sunday, 75-67.
Senior guard Zavier Simpson scored 19 points, but Michigan struggled to keep up with Minnesota big man Daniel Oturu, leading to a closely contested loss.