Michigan basketball must get more physical to be ‘championship level’ program

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There are 365 NCAA Division I basketball teams and Michigan basketball finds itself ranked in the bottom 10% among all teams in turnovers.

The Wolverines (14-5, 6-2 Big Ten), No. 333 nationally in turnover rate, committed a season-high 22 turnovers against Purdue on Friday night at Mackey Arena — a primary reason U-M had no shot from the tipoff in a 91-64 dump-trucking from the Boilermakers.

Yet still that wasn’t what disgusted head coach Dusty May most in the immediate aftermath of his team’s most lopsided loss in his first year in Ann Arbor.

“The theme (for us) lately, especially with the traditional Big Ten teams: We haven’t risen to the challenge from a physicality standpoint,” May lamented. “We’re not there as a program quite yet. But we’re going to be obsessed with getting to the point we need to where we match the level of intensity and physicality in these games.”

Jan 24, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Nimari Burnett (4) and Purdue Boilermakers forward Caleb Furst (1) battle for a loose ball during the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

HAVE TO BE BETTER: After measuring-stick loss at Purdue, Michigan basketball ‘not there yet’

There are several indicators on the stat sheet of a team’s level of aggression — Michigan had a season-low 28 points in the paint, it got just 13 points from its bench unit and forced just six turnovers on defense.

But it was the details that don’t show up in the box score that he and assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. saw piling up on Friday.

Purdue seemed to be first to every 50/50 ball — poking out offensive rebounds for extra possessions, diving on the floor to create an extra possession — while also “setting the terms of engagement” from the outset. C.J. Cox picked up guard Tre Donaldson for all 94 feet and forced him to have his worst night of the season with six turnovers compared to one assist.

His counterpart, Braden Smith, became the first player to have at least…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-basketball-must-more-physical-110926018.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-01-27 11:09:00

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