Michigan's performance leaves UNC coach 'the most frustrated I've ever been' - MLive.com

ANN ARBOR -- A North Carolina player drove and Michigan's Isaiah Livers likely got a piece of his shot, which hit the side of the backboard. A different Tar Heel corralled the ball and Jon Teske sent his shot into the Carolina bench. Given another chance, a third Tar Heel tried to score, only to have his shot smacked 10 feet out of bounds by Charles Matthews.

Playing offense against Michigan this season has been an unpleasant experience for those who have tried.

"(I'm) the most frustrated I've ever been," North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said after Michigan's 84-67 win Wednesday night. Williams was considering his entire 31 years as a college head coach.

North Carolina was held nearly 30 points below its season average. Michigan is 7-0, and no opponent has cracked 40 percent shooting.

"We're a bunch of pit bulls out there on the court," Michigan's Ignas Brazdeikis said. "We're hungry on defense. Defense kind of inspires us. If our offense isn't going, we always have our defense no matter what."

Brazdeikis, a freshman, has no choice but to have that mentality given the leadership of Michigan's captains.

John Beilein has coached for 44 years. He called Matthews and Zavier Simpson and "the most driven defensive players I've ever coached." Jon Teske is a rim protector the likes of which Michigan hasn't had in a long time. He blocked five shots on Wednesday against a talented Tar Heel frontcourt.

"They have a sense of urgency on the defensive end," Williams said. "They're hard to screen because they fight through the screens. If they switch, they communicate and get that done."

Michigan forced 10 turnovers and turned them into 18 points. But when North Carolina did attempt a shot, the goal was always the same according to Beilein, who quoted his assistant coach.

"As Luke Yaklich says, 'We're going to contest shots with every fiber of our being.' He actually says that. And we do."

For good measure, the Wolverines shot 57 percent from the field on Wednesday and drained 11 3-pointers. Brazdeikis, Matthews, and Jordan Poole combined for 63 points. Michigan trailed by 10 early but did not panic, going on a 17-2 run in response.

Brazdeikis was on the bench after picking up a foul when North Carolina made its push, but checked back in to help Michigan seize control.

"I was like, 'Damn, I need to do whatever I can. I don't care. I'll take my leg off if I have to. I'm going to do whatever it takes to win the game,'" Brazdeikis said. "I feel like we all have that mentality. It's all about winning for us."

And Michigan is winning sooner than some of Beilein's recent teams. Even with the postseason success -- two straight Big Ten Tournament titles, an appearance in the national championship last season -- Michigan has taken some lumps in the early part of the season. Matthews didn't see why that trend needed to continue.

"We went on a good run at the end of the year and we basically came together and said, 'Let's not wait until the end of the year to be special. Let's try to start off the year on a good note and continue to grow from there.'"

The growth is the key. Beilein will insist on it. "I hope we'll get a whole lot better," he said before rattling off a few ways in which that can happen -- developing the bench, better offensive balance, sharing the ball.

"Inch by inch, you get one percent better every day, who knows what could happen?"

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