Jordan Morgan left the game early with an ankle injury, leaving McGary as the only big man to have seen significant action this year.
But the other big fellas stepped up.
Horford stepped up and put up a respectable 7 points, along with grabbing 4 boards. Bielfeldt got to play! He had a nice basket underneath and did a fine job of getting to the foul line.
Horford and Bielfeldt revealed something I haven't yet noticed this year: depth. Note that this Illinois team is not a bad team. They won their first 12 games, and beat Ohio State by 19 points. Bielfeldt and Horford performed well against a solid Big Ten squad.
Besides depth, the most important thing to take away from this game is #1 RANKING!
Michigan is #1 for the first time since 1992. Whether or not they deserve it does not detract from its significance. The utter disappointment I've experienced with this program is over. Michigan will maintain its status as a contender for (at least) the immediate upcoming years. Hardaway and Burke are likely to leave for the draft next year, but they leave behind a solid freshman class led by GRIII and Stauskas.
Speaking of Stauskas...
STAUSKAS OVERRATED AND ONE-DIMENSIONAL PLAYER WATCH FOR SAM:
14 points (2nd on the team)
6/10 shooting (That's 60%, Sam) (Also: note only 2 of those makes came beyond the arc)
2 assists and...
1 solid block
One Dimensional Player right?
Fuck you, Sam.
But anyone can shoot 3s with enough practice. And Stauskas sucks at defense, and he can't drive the net right?
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