Michigan Basketball: Chronic Turnovers Have U-M Headed Toward Rock Bottom

The wheels on the Michigan bus haven’t fallen off just yet—but they’re barely hanging on by the thinnest of threads.

Well, make that one thread, because Saturday’s 62-51 loss to Southern Methodist—the team's fourth straight—has the Wolverines quickly tumbling, sinking and doing other things that don’t describe a positive start to 2014-15.

A home loss Monday to Coppin State would essentially have John Beilein’s bus sitting on bricks.

During his postgame press conference, the Michigan coach pointed to “many” contributing factors to his team’s early demise. One of those obstacles during the four-game skid has been poor shooting from everywhere, not just beyond the arc.

Michigan made 17 of 54 field-goal attempts and just eight of 38 from three-point range Saturday; it made 19 of 54 from the field and seven of 26 from long range versus Arizona (L, 80-53); it made 14 of 43 from the field and four of 21 from beyond the perimeter versus Eastern Michigan (L, 45-42)…

Get the picture?

Teams aren’t going to have success hovering near 30-some percent.

But there is a larger issue: Public Enemy No. 1 isn’t missed shots—it’s the turnover bug, which continually sinks its teeth into the Wolverines at every available turn.

“That’s what we talked about in the locker room [after SMU loss],” said Beilein, whose club coughed up the ball 14 times versus the Mustangs. “That was my big point. I realized—I’ve been coaching a long time—I realized sometimes the ball just doesn’t go in the basket...

"[SMU] had some good looks too from three—except the flurry [of shots] at the beginning by [Nic] Moore, they didn’t make a lot of outside shots, either. They’re longer than us… but you’re going to have those games.

"We cannot go down and blow up fast breaks…we started the second half with a great stop on a fast break but we threw a bad pass… That’s not how you’re going to win, and our guys know it. So they’re upset about that as well.”

The line of “It’s only December, so wait…” is approaching its expiration date. Pretty soon, it’ll be January and time to dance in the Big Ten. The previous four losses have been alarming, but not enough to jump ship.

And while it may be difficult to imagine, things can get worse—much worse. With that said, wait until after Monday’s home stand before declaring a state of emergency.

What’s the Deal with Caris?

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The 6’7”, 200-pound junior just hasn’t looked like himself lately.

Attacking the rim hasn’t exactly been his thing, and getting to the line hasn't either. Since scoring a career-high 32 points versus the New Jersey Institute of Technology, he’s combined for a meager 22 during the three games since that 72-70 loss at the Crisler Center.  

Needless to say, he wasn’t thrilled about scoring just four points versus SMU, and he wasn't too happy about making just one of eight attempts from the field. But that wasn’t the main problem.

“Turnovers—definitely,” he quickly said. “We turn the ball over way too much. We didn’t make shots, but that’s not the end-all, be-all. We turn the ball over way too much.”

Michigan has turned the ball over 51 times during its skid, and LeVert has 16 of them; he had a team-high five versus SMU and Arizona. He had 11 prior to the four-game dive. He didn’t commit his first one until the third game of the year—just something to think about.

Here is a little more to digest: Despite having zero turnovers against Arizona, Derrick Walton, the starting point guard, has gifted seven to the other guys in the past four games; Spike Albrecht, Walton's backup, had three versus SMU and four versus Eastern Michigan.

Michigan is No. 3 in the Big Ten with a turnover margin of +4.80 (14.3 TOPG). 

Can Irvin Revive the Offense?

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With LeVert on a negative tilt, the Wolverines need more from everyone, especially Zak Irvin—the 6’6”, 215-pound sophomore scored a team-high 17 Saturday versus SMU and averages 15.3 per outing. He’s been in double digits all but once this season—he scored five versus NJIT—and has hit 20 twice.

But he’s not clicking on all cylinders; he’s shot 17 of 51 from the field during the past four contests. Throw that on top of Michigan’s scoring droughts—some of which have lasted 10 minutes—and you have more problems.

“It’s just tough—it’s like a lid is on the rim right now,” Irvin said. “But when shots aren’t falling, we’ve got to be able to do things in other areas [such as] get to the basket—we were in the double-bonus for awhile in the second half [vs. SMU]. We just have got to be able to get to the basket, get to the free-throw line and get back into rhythm.”

Part of finding rhythm coincides with finding a handle, which Irvin has—he’s committed just three turnovers during the losing streak. But his spotty shooting certainly isn’t doing the Wolverines any favors.

Establishing some sense of confidence prior to Big Ten play is a priority. But more of the same from Michigan will result in ruin before anything has a chance to get built. Granted, a win over Coppin State wouldn't magically cure what ails the Wolverines before they open league play Dec. 30 versus Illinois. 

But it’d help. 

So would one over the Illini. 

“[We need to] just learn from what just happened [during losing streak] and go out with a win—go into break with a win and come out as a new team going into the new year,” LeVert said.

Follow Bleacher Report’s Michigan Wolverines basketball writer Adam Biggers on Twitter @AdamBiggers81

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and references were obtained firsthand by the writer.