preview

Probably inundated with a bunch of negative fan feedback, this guy at the Michigan Podcast deadpans an entire 30 minute Penn State Preview. (Youtube link)

My favorite quotation: 

"We’ll be back after this break to discuss whether Michigan will even show up the game..and we’re back. You’re right Steve, not much of break, but after 2 seconds I realized Penn St is unbeatable." 

Here's the linkarooski.

Some observations:

1. Nothing too crazy in their justification of Michigan's top 10 ranking. I do think it underplays the value of good o-line play, especially where they rank the o-line top five in the conference.
2. Speaking of ranked units, Michigan is in their top five for all but LBs/DBs.
3. Ohio State, which pretty much graduated everyone from their secondary, gets a top ranking for their DB unit. Bold stuff.
4. No mention of Michigan State's offseason from hell. They expect State to go bowling.
5. DPJ suggested by all three contributors as freshman of the year, which sounds like a definite possibility given his talent and Michigan's needs.
6. Michigan sweeps the breakout player of the year--but it's not the same guy. 
7. Ohio State beats out Wisconsin for the B1G championship. 
8. Michigan finishes 3rd in the East, behind PSU and OSU.

Got the following info in an email from the Chicago Alumni Association. I went last year (http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/chicago-aaum-football-preview-recap) and had a great time. I definitely recommend the event and I'll see you there

2014 Michigan Football Season Preview with Brian Cook (MGoBlog) and Chris Balas (TheWolverine/Rivals.com)- NEW

When: Tuesday, July 29th, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Where: McGuireWoods LLP, 77 West Wacker Dr, Suite 4100, (map)

Cost: $20 for Alumni Association members; $30 for non-members. Pay at the door for $30 with Cash or Credit Card

Details: Join fellow alumni and several special guest speakers as we preview the 2014 Michigan Football season. During the evening, alums will be joined by Chris Balas from TheWolverine/Rivals.com, Brian Cook from MGoBlog.com and others to be confirmed. You'll get insights on the upcoming season and an opportunity to ask your questions. There will be appetizers and complimentary beer & wine available for those in attendance.
Walk-ups will be available for cash or credit card of $30 day of the event.

Register/Contact: To buy a ticket, click here. If you have any questions, email David Ingmire at [email protected]

Club Trillion (Former OSU Walk-on Mark Titus) has written up his B1G Basketball preview.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9938701/the-big-ten-won-championship-2000-elite-conference

He makes the case that the B1G is an Elite Bball conference despite the fact that the B1G hasn't won a National Title since 2000 (that was a clean block!)

He thinks McGary is over-hyped, GRIII is going to be the best pro, and Spike is awesome. His anti-Michigan bias comes through a bit, but in general it's a good read. I'm hoping that McGary can be tournament McGary for the year, but we'll see what happens moving forward.

having already equalled their 2011-2012 win total at 2-8…and…well…they aren’t good at basketball.

6-4 freshman shooting guard Jordan Reed paces the bearcats with 18 points per game. He also paces them with 10 rebounds, shooting 46% from the field. Truth be told, stop him and you’ve beaten Binghamton.

6ft senior point guard Jimmy Gray leads the team in assists with 4/game, and is second in scoring at 10 points per game, shooting 33% from the field and 27% from deep(8 attempts/game).

6-1 junior guard Rayner Moquete chips in with 7 points shooting 36% from the field and 34% from deep(4 attempts/game).

6-1 junior guard KJ Brown contributes 5 points on 30% shooting, 21% from deep(2 attempts/game).

6-7 senior forward Taylor Johnston leads the frontcourt scoring an efficient 7 points/game and pulls down 4 boards shooting 54% from the field and a scorching 54% from deep(3 attempts/game). 

6-8 junior forward Ronald Brown is also a major contributor in the post, adding 8 points and 5 boards, shooting 50% from the field.

6-8 junior forward Alex Ogundadegbe( Oh gun Dad! Egg be! )

(M R Piders M R. C D E D B D I’s.) will drop 4 points and 3 rebounds on you in a heartbeat…or in a game, shooting 45%, but whatevs.

That’s basically the rotation.

Let’s take a look at their last 5 games. Binghamton lost to Bryant 78-56. They were outrebounded by 9 and outshot by 12%. Monmouth beat them 77-65 by hitting on 10% more of their attempts. Mt. St. Mary’s squeaked out a 71-70 win when Binghamton lost the turnover battle by 12(yeah, Binghamton turns over the ball a lot…not good at basketball remains the general theme). Binghamton lost to Pennsylvania 65-54 despite grabbing 10 more boards than the quakers. Penn went 10-25 from deep(40%).

Binghamton beat Marywood of the Colonial States Athletic Conference 76-51, outrebounding them by 20 and outshooting the pacers by 14%.  

So what does this mean for Michigan?  Well...Binghamton is going to turn over the ball...a lot.  Michigan is going to outrebound Binghamton...but not by a ton.  Michigan is going to outshoot Binghamton by about 15%.

I've got Michigan 95-55.  This should not be a challenge.

Didn't see this posted and I always enjoy reading Paul's stuff at Pre-Snap Read.  If you've never read the blog, he counts down teams until the season starts.  WMU checks in at 71 and has some good info on who to watch, etc.

http://www.presnapread.com/no-71-western-michigan/#more-22613