Michigan Basketball: 3 keys for the Wolverines against South Carolina
By Adam Childs
3. Don’t force shots
In the keys for Michigan against Northwestern, we talked about moving the ball. They did that for most of the game, but there was a point in the second half when Charles Matthews and Zavier Simpson starting forcing shots when they could have helped the team get better shots.
Matthews is doing better, but his nature is to try and break his defender down one-on-one and it can lead to trouble sometimes. When he is hot, it can be good for the Wolverines for him to do that, but against Northwestern he did not have his best shooting day and he kept trying to work in it down. It turned into bad shots that helped the Wildcats during their run.
Simpson is not going to be confused as a great outside shooter and sometimes will actually pass on open shots. Apparently, against Northwestern he decided he needed to get out of his slump and shot a three on three straight possessions, one of which was blocked. He may have been open, but he seemed to force it and that is not what the Wolverines needed at the time.
Jon Beilein’s offense is based off ball movement and working guys open. When it runs like that these Wolverines score at will. But when they dribble too much and stop moving it turns into forced shots. That is not the strength of many teams and especially the Wolverines. Work the offense and the open shots will come.
This is a game that could get out of hand early if Michigan shows up ready to play. South Carolina is struggling and has lost to some teams they should have beat including a 20 point loss to Wofford. Michigan, on the other hand, has been playing great and still have not given up more than 67 points in any game. This could be a game where the Gamecocks would take a moral victory if they get to 60 points.
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Look for Michigan to come out fired up and take it to South Carolina. They want to prove that last game was just a tough conference road game and not the beginning of close games. The Wolverines win this one easily.