Buzz Williams laments late Michigan run: ‘We weren’t getting stops’
Texas A&M had 10-point leads a few times in the second half against Michigan Saturday, threatening to pull away. Each time, the Wolverines responded, but never more so than in the last 7:56 of a 91-79 win that propelled them to the Sweet 16.
Down 4, Michigan did what they do in the last several minutes of tight games — they ramped up the energy and execution. A 9-0 run in 2.5 minutes brought them from four down to 5 up and got the Michigan contingent into it. After two Wade Taylor free throws slowed the bleeding, the Wolverines got four straight points from grad center Vlad Goldin and a driving finish from point guard Tre Donaldson that gave them a 9-point lead.
“My brain is completely fried, but I do think at the 8-ish-minute time-out, I don’t know if [Michigan coach Dusty May] called it, I called it, or it was the media … I think we had 70 points,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “And you’ve watched nearly all of our games. We were doing really well. We averaged 71 points in SEC play, and we had eight and a half minutes to go with 70.
“But we didn’t finish at the rim [down the stretch]. We got them into the bonus too much. We didn’t shoot enough balls, and I didn’t think that we protected the rim as well as we have. I thought we did a good job relative to the threes and the prowess that they have, but in that run, we were not getting stops. I think we had three turkeys in the first half and got a turkey to start the first four minutes of the second half … I don’t know that we got another one. It was too often we weren’t scoring, but arguably the more important thing, we weren’t getting stops.”
Credit Goldin, Michigan guard Roddy Gayle Jr., and L.J. Cason for that. Each had mini runs of their own, including 10 straight from Gayle at one point to help the Wolverines storm to the lead.
“I don’t know what [May] said on your question on that, but I thought Coach May did a good job,” Williams said. “I don’t think we finished at the rim at the rate we needed to, and I think we fouled way too much.
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“We played with a low turnover rate, but for us, we are dependent on shooting more balls from the field and from the free-throw line. So, to get in the bonus, to allow them in the bonus so quickly both halves, goes against us.”
Michigan allowed 15 offensive rebounds but corralled 16 of their own. As such, both teams managed 17 second-chance points in an area A&M was expected to dominate.
“We are reliant completely on extra shots from offensive rebounds, and we are reliant and dependent on only allowing the opponent one shot,” Wiliams said. “We did not do as well as our averages up until today from a defensive rebound perspective or an offensive rebound perspective.”
Goldin and Michigan junior forward Danny Wolf both corralled 5 offensive rebounds to lead the charge, and they combined for 21 of U-M’s 48 rebounds to 39 for the Aggies. As such, Michigan is headed to Atlanta to face Auburn, while A&M heads home at U-M’s expense for the second time in 7 years.
