Michigan is fixing some issues, but blowing big prospects is becoming a problematic trend

Michigan failed its final nonconference test, blowing an 11-point lead over the final 10 minutes. Up three with the ball, Michigan turned it over and allowed a four-point play to fall.

Here’s a closer look at Wednesday’s 87-86 loss in Charlotte, North Carolina, from the inability to put away Oklahoma to the mistakes Michigan was able to clean up.

Broken wires lead to close losses

Michigan’s three losses have come by a combined five points. Michigan led by double digits in all three: by 13 in the first half to Wake Forest; with 15 in the first half against Arkansas; and the aforementioned 11-point lead midway through the second half on Wednesday.

Michigan head coach Dusty May has lamented these one-possession games because he figures they can go either way. On the flip side, Michigan has two Big Ten wins by a combined five points.

Michigan’s problem has been not kicking opponents when they are down. The Wolverines have talked about being complacent and taking their foot off the gas after building a double-digit lead. It’s unclear why this happens or if it happened against Oklahoma, but it has to stop.

Correcting mistakes, sort of

The good news is that the Wolverines seemed to take their recent lessons to heart. With a week off since their last game, Michigan focused on turnovers and defensive rebounding.

The Wolverines committed just 10 turnovers Wednesday, their second-lowest rate of the season. They didn’t allow Oklahoma too many other chances, all while hitting the offensive glass pretty hard themselves.

However, Michigan was sloppy at times, including during Oklahoma’s run to get back into the game. Up three and taking the ball out of bounds along the baseline with 38 seconds on the game clock and 10 on the shot clock, Roddy Gayle Jr. the ball and waved off point guard Tre Donaldson, opting to drive into traffic instead. His errant pass was stolen, leading to Jeremiah Fears’ and a 3rd.

Gayle was whistled for the foul, although it is unclear whether he actually made contact with Fears. Michigan got another shot at the win, but Donaldson tried a 3 — with Michigan just one point short of holding — and missed long. Vladislav Goldin appeared to be pushed under the basket during the shot, but there was no call. The Wolverines didn’t get a favorable whistle late, but they put themselves in a position where it would matter.

Missed opportunity

We’ll see what becomes of Xavier (and TCU and Virginia Tech, though early returns aren’t promising there), the Michigan teams beat last month. For now, the Wolverines’ non-conference performance looks just OK. They will need to beat Purdue Fort Wayne and Western Kentucky to close out December and avoid really bad losses.

The Big Ten is good enough that Michigan will have plenty of chances for Quad 1 wins, but the NCAA Tournament selection committee will also consider what happened before that.

Michigan will certainly have some regrets given how these losses have played out. Before last season’s tire fire, Michigan struggled to win close games under Juwan Howard. May is experiencing similar setbacks in her first season on the job.

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