After an outstanding start to the 2019-2020 season, Michigan basketball has fallen flat on their face.
In fact, following a home loss to Penn State on Wednesday night, the Wolverines are now 4-7 in their past 11 games with two of those wins coming against Presbyterian and UMASS Lowell.
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After the 72-63 loss to the Nittany Lions, Michigan head coach Juwan Howard ripped his team for not communicating on defense.
“Oh, they got too many open looks,” Howard said. “It was because of a lack of communication on the defensive end. It’s January 22. We talk about, where we have to communicate on defense, be physical, don’t be surprised, we have a great scouting report, we watch film on every opponent. We see guys’ tendencies as well as strengths and who can shoot the ball and where they shoot the ball from. So there is no surprises.
“I don’t understand why guys are getting open looks. So it tells me, because of a lack of communication on switching. And at times, I thought we were lazy on our switches. We switch up on shooters, not back. Or assume that a guy has the (something), that particular player’s not guarding.
“Or if your hand’s down versus a shooter, for example, Curtis Jones, who was lighting us up and shot it right in our face. That’s unacceptable. So you have to own it. You have to be able to do your job. But we’re gonna see it tomorrow, for sure.”
One thing is for sure, with a 11-7 overall record, just 2-5 in the Big Ten, the Wolverines have placed themselves squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Michigan’s next game is this coming Saturday at home against a very good Illinois team.
–Quotes courtesy of Orion Sang, Detroit Free Press– LINK
