rpi

I am too optimistic about this game. This QB situation is about to meet a Don Brown defense that returns nine starters:

Brian Kelly asked if Brandon Wimbush is still the guy or if Ian Book has closed the gap. Said game plan set to Wimbush’s strengths and “we’ll play them both if we need to.” Wimbush will start.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) August 23, 2018

Brian Kelly is going to run a spread 'n' shred against Don Brown. Where have I seen that before?

When neither option is actually an option. https://t.co/Kn7DnuAWyP

— Gordon McGuinness (@PFF_Gordon) November 22, 2015

I hate myself for thinking the things I think about this game, which will be insanity like all ND games are.

Two and done, a love story. Former DX and current ESPN draft analyst Mike Schmitz on basketball's breakout star:

Looks like Michigan’s Jordan Poole has added more to his off the dribble game. Has had some impressive shot creation moments tonight. Should make a jump this season. Plays with a lot of confidence.

— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) August 23, 2018

It's happened before and will happen again. Maaaaybe Michigan gets a third year out of Poole, but they should be keeping that third slot in the 2019 class warm.

The Bentley, profiled. Michigan's history—all of it—is meticulously documented at the Bentley Library, which has been an invaluable resource for Seth, Craig Ross, Greg Dooley, and anyone else who wants to delve into the rich history of Michigan football. So it's good to see that the Athletic profiled Greg Kinney:

“This must be the ’98 team,” Kinney says. He is holding a black-and-white picture of men wearing funny clothes. He is not talking about the Lloyd Carr football team that went 10-3. He is talking about a team that went 10-0 and beat Chicago in front of a record crowd of 12,000, the original Champions of the West.

He is talking about 1898.

Standing just beside him, Brian Williams, a coworker, shoots over a knowing stare. “He can tell you that just by looking at it.”

[After THE JUMP: post takes a turn for the negative.]

Open practice! Sunday 6-7. Free parking, be there or be normal.

Sponsor note. In these trying times when every week brings another boggling scandal, you can turn to Richard Hoeg for a calm and reasoned take on the situation. If you'd like a calm and reasoned take on your small business, whether it's incorporation or contracts or any of the other varied legal niceties that come along with having a business, you should call Richard Hoeg.

He's excellent at parsing things.

This is a separate bullet point and therefore not part of the sponsor note. Police horses.

Basketball practice. This was the longest segment of the open basketball practice I ran across:

Jon Teske for 3: eyeballs emoji. UMHoops and Brandon Quinn have some takeaways for you, Quinn's from Michigan's first game in Spain.

AS THE URBAN TURNS. If you thought things were weird in Columbus, you are correct, but we're gonna need a bigger word:

Zach Smith Ordered Sex Toys to Ohio State Offices, Had Sex With Staffer, Took Nude Photos at White House

More than $2,200 in sex toys! To the office! Hugh Freeze is impressed! He's like "dang, son!"

[After the JUMP: what does 2,200 dollars worth of sex toys even look like! How big was this box? I don't want to know the answers to these questions!]

This was a good idea. Also omigod #23 is Carlton Brundidge; I totally forgot that. [Fuller]

The Question:

Nothing we can do about Michigan basketball's crappy nonconference schedule, but I asked the MGoCrew who they'd play in a home and home.

Opponent KP Rk %win Elon 268 97% Xavier 31 72% Uconn 32 57% Syracuse* 33 ~57% Zaga, TX, A&M, Wash 8, 34, 39, 135 ~21% at NCState 41 46% Hou Baptist 308 98% at SMU 23 38% Delaware St 335 99% N Kentucky 271 97% YSU 287 97% Bryant 240 96%

*Cuse plays Charlotte (261st) in the first round.

---------------------------------

Ace: Michigan's non-conference schedule outside of Xavier and the Battle for Atlantis tournament—admittedly some strong competition—is woefully bad. Xavier is the only non-conference home opponent ranked within the top 240(!) teams on KenPom. While you want to schedule some easy wins, that's taking the concept to an extreme while sacrificing both RPI standing and fan interest; games against Houston Baptist and Delaware State aren't exactly big draws.

I'd love to see the Wolverines rekindle a local series against a team that's still quite beatable but at least has a pulse: Oakland. The Grizzlies tend to be ranked in the 150 range on KenPom—they're 160th this preseason—and John Beilein went 4-0 against them from 2008-2012, playing those games either at Crisler or The Palace. They're seemingly the perfect level of opponent; they hung within 20 points of Michigan in each of those games but never came closer than ten points in the final score. Their coach, Greg Kampe, still very much wants to play the series. They're local. They play MSU on a near-annual basis. It makes almost too much sense from both a resumé and fan interest standpoint—I'd so much rather watch Michigan take on Oakland or Detroit than some bottom-feeder from outside the Midwest, and I'm sure I'm not alone there.

[After the JUMP: if you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.]