1. Free throw shooting
The Achilles heel for the Wolverines last year was their free throw shooting and it seemed like they were destined to have it beat them during the tournament. They were lucky that it did not come back to bite them as it did not cost them a game.
So this year would have to be better right? Well, so far that has been a big fat no. It even looked like it might be what helped Western Michigan upset the Wolverines on Saturday. Michigan was horrible from the line in the first half before finally finding their stroke in the second half.
On the year the team is shooting just 65% from the foul line. Iggy Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole are the only two that are shooting over 75% for the year that has more than 20 attempts. Charles Matthews is shooting 61% and Zavier Simpson is only hitting 41% of his. Add in John Teske shooting only 55% and that makes three-fifths of the starting lineup as a liability from the line.
The Wolverines have got to start hitting more shots from the foul line. The second half was better against Western Michigan and if they can get some confidence and start having good games from the line, hopefully, it will propel them into the second half the season.
Wolverine fans hope they can start to breathe easier when a player goes to the line and that in itself would be a great Christmas present.