Front Court
Keeping Davis from earning at least a B+ grade for his offensive performance is the fact he was such a huge liability on the defensive end. He frequently found himself switched onto guards, who either blew past him or hit a three in his face when he was sagging off too much.
Michigan coach John Beilein made it an emphasis to take away the Aggies’ size by running and setting screens all over the place. It worked, and Davis didn’t have nearly the impact on this game he had in previous despite scoring the most points he had in the tournament so far.
FINAL STAT LINE: 11-for-17, 24 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block
Williams didn’t dominate the boards like he had in the Aggies’ first two wins, but that was mostly due to Michigan hitting basically everything they were shooting. There aren’t that many rebounds to go around when your opponent shoots 62 percent from the field. In fact, the Aggies out-rebounded the Wolverines 33-28.
Although no fault of his own because his teammates need to get him the ball, Williams did not take advantage of his size inside in the first half. I went to the game, and it felt like he didn’t get a touch on the block until the second half despite having 6-foot-8 and defensive liability Duncan Robinson on him. Williams could have done more to demand the ball down low and apparently didn’t feel compelled to do so.
FINAL STAT LINE: 6-for-8, 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks
Hogg was a non-factor and his shooting was off all night, going 1-for-5 from the three point line. He was also unable to stay in front of Michigan’s wings and Charles Matthews had his way with Hogg, especially in the second half.
Hogg might have a place in the NBA due to his size and range, but he should come back for his senior season to improve his draft stock. It is almost certainly at an all-time low.