BREAKING NEWS: Phil Martelli Announced The Problems Michigan Woverines Are Facing…
the assistant basketball coach at Michigan, spoke with Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider on WTKA on Wednesday morning. He discussed the Wolverines’ recent losses to Ohio State and Rutgers, offered his analysis of the team’s struggles this season, and looked ahead to the team’s final game against Nebraska. A portion of the interview transcript is presented below; to hear the whole interview, click the embed link located at the bottom of this article.
Hey, I’m with you! (Laughter). I’m back in the saddle and prepared to think back on the previous week. Although I am aware of the two losses, I believe the two games were very different from one another. We’ll discuss about the Ohio State game, which was a “game” up until the second half, when they scored a run. This season, the Rutgers game seemed unlike most others. It’s been a game in the first half between Michigan and whatever you were playing, as it has been with the majority of your games this season. However, Rutgers appeared to be able to toss it into the ocean on this one as he left the gate early. And to be honest, nobody ever dug out of that hole.
Several aspects about Rutgers (stand out) to me. The clubs that won the previous away games when we was handed the towel were just superior.
Rutgers, on the other hand, enter the game having defeated Maryland with 46 points. You devise a strategy and attempt to limit their drives to the hoop, which were detrimental to us in Ann Arbor, and they make their first two three-pointers. We’re turning the ball (over) and weren’t really in the game if it wasn’t for missed shoots. Just say it like it is. After the first media timeout, there was no longer a game, which is rare given that we were able to hold in and continue to play. It’s also clear that our defense has failed us in several of these games in the second half. However, if you look at the stats in this game, and I’m not referring to its metrics here.
However, it was their early made three-pointers that really put us out of the game and prevented us from truly competing.
And so you go play Ohio State, a team that fired coach Chris Holtman and has been improving under Jake Diebler’s leadership.” With Diebler in charge, they undoubtedly appear to play more quickly. Give them credit; I too felt that their defensive posture appeared more entrenched. I would want to give them some credit for your early defensive troubles. However, you retaliated.
When they were up early in the game, Terrence may have made a three-pointer late in the first half to bring the score closer to one. After that, they continue to sprint, and Dug makes a layup at the buzzer. Phil, that makes it a five-point game at the half. And that’s when it starts to feel a lot like most of the Big Ten games you guys have seen this year—a contest at halftime followed by a surge in the second half where they are able to pull away.
Without a doubt. Without a doubt. Yes, it was undoubtedly ugly from both angles. They deserve credit for sort of creating the conflict between Thornton, Gale, and Jamison as the major three. Consider the previous game. We won at Ann Arbor because of our outstanding performance at the three-point line. and being aware that, if that makes sense, modifications need to be done. Similar to Rutgers’ match, At halftime of the Nebraska and Illinois games, you’re trying to get your spirits up so that it doesn’t affect you for the next game and a half. You just try to cheer them up. It was also a more technical game. We trailed by five points at the half and committed nine turnovers. However, we managed to insert a few reserve players. It goes without saying that George Washington played a little bit longer in the first half than he had previously. We were dispersing the accountability. This wasn’t like, “Okay, Dug, go get us a basket” each time we needed one, and I don’t mean that in a bad manner. We were distributing that.