Deepak is a writer for the Big Ten microsite of Rush The Court. Follow him on Twitter for more about B1G hoops at @dee_b1g.
When you are ranked in the top 10 and loaded with talent such as Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway and Glenn Robinson III that could be drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft, expectations will be high in March. It may seem like we are picking on the Wolverines as they head into the postseason but despite their obvious offensive talent, they need to figure out a way to contain guards from penetrating into the paint. Burke has been phenomenal during both games this month — 21 points against Michigan State and 24 against Purdue — to keep his team in the hunt for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But last night’s comeback win in West Lafayette exemplified the Wolverines’ often porous defense against guards who can get into the paint, especially off the pick-and-roll.
A couple of key defensive metrics indicate the Wolverines’ weakness on defense: They rank ninth in the conference in opponents’ shooting (49.1% effective FG%) and dead last in blocks (6.6%). The latter statistic can be explained because Jordan Morgan isn’t necessarily a great shot-blocker and Mitch McGary is still learning how to play defense without picking up cheap fouls. But blocks don’t matter too much as long as there is good help defense when opposing guards get past the first layer of defense at the perimeter into the paint. Last night’s game is a good case study for the Wolverines’ confusion on defense as Purdue’s Terone Johnson torched them for 32 points and shot 12-of-17 from the field. Johnson isn’t known to take his man off the dribble effectively but can shoot a deadly floater in the lane if he is not defended off the pick-and-roll. With A.J.Hammons and Sandi Marcius setting high ball screens on the left side of the floor, Johnson was able to roll to his right consistently during the second half because Morgan and McGary couldn’t recover in time to defend him. The Boilermakers are not necessarily known for their offense, as they rank ninth in the league in scoring just 0.96 points per possession, but they got their way offensively to score 75 points last night. Another bottom feeder, the Nittany Lions (0.89 points per possession), scored 84 points to notch their first win against Beilein’s defense. It has been a consistent theme during the conference season for the Wolverines and it may come to bite them again in the postseason if they can’t make some notable adjustments.
Those adjustments are certainly possible because Burke and company are some of the best at executing the pick-and-roll. They clearly understand the different variations of the play because they consistently use it with the McGary/Burke or Morgan/Burke combinations on the offensive end. Last night’s game showcased their execution as Burke went off for 20 points during the final 15 minutes after Marcius went down with an ankle injury. Marcius had done a great job of moving into the paint around the “B1G” logo to prevent Burke from pulling up for jumpers, but once he was out, the sophomore star had his way off the bounce. If the Wolverines are sent out west as a #2 seed, they very well may have to defend the pick-and-roll against Gonzaga’s Kevin Pangos and Elias Harris. In the east, with Ryan Kelly back, Duke can exploit that weakness if matched up against Michigan as well. When Burke is determined to take over a game like he did against the Boilermakers, the Wolverines don’t have many clear weaknesses, but one of them is to tighten the screws a bit on their defense. With a few minor adjustments, it can certainly be done.