Michigan Men’s BB, one of Yahoo sports “Bracket Lames” and "Fake Five"
Brad Evans of Yahoo sports calling Michigan one of 6 “bracket lames”. States their defense will give them an early departure from the tourney. Other lames they mention: Gonzaga, New Mexico, Marquette, Florida, and Arizona.
Overall, not too kind, including such gems as "Blinding opponents with its retina-damaging florescent yellow uniforms hasn't even helped." Last line of article sums up their whole take; “Michigan is currently in the midst of a rebirth under John Beilein, but unless it maximizes defensively, its Final Four drought will surely continue.”
Link: Bracket Lames: Fake Five, No. 4 seed Michigan a likely early round victim
It's great that he is judging Michigan on the basis of a Final Four appearance. A few years ago, even getting into the tournament was in question.
Yeah, to speak of a "Final Four drought" for this program is pretty laughable. We haven't exactly fielded a ton of Final Four-caliber teams over the past 20 years.
The writer doesn't have his own page. That's lower than Bleacher Report.
Yahoo! DOES give space to fans. Who knows who this guy is and who cares?
Evans is one of their four regular writers on fantasy football. He's the one of the four I always ignore (or, better, fade).
I don't even want to know what that is.
is probably not wrong, though I am not happy to hear it. I could easily see a first round exit.
I think would be a big surprise to most. But from what I'm hearing, a loss to VCU is one that a lot of experts are predicting. I'm going to enjoy laughing at them when they're proved wrong.
After touting the new BPI rankings all year, suddenly all of their experts dismiss it? According to BPI, Michigan is a borderline 2-seed, yet as a #4 they are everyone's upset pick?
If Michigan had a 2 seed, I don't think many people would pick them to be upset. The reason Michigan is a trendy upset pick is because everyone knows some team will probably get upset, and out of all the favored teams in the first round, Michigan probably has given people the most reasons to doubt them. Also, there is the fact that the underdogs against Michigan are quality teams.
Sweet title Brad!!!
I think he's calling us some sucka ass lames.
He's the king, and he's staking his claim.
In this bracket game.
He does 2 weekly football pieces: "Week __ Flames", and "Week __ Lames", so this is probably just a reappropriation of that title to suit a bracket article.
I think this team will benefit from being criticized. They seem to have struggled with the expecations that come with being a highly ranked favorite. I hope to see lots of pro-SD St. and pro-VCU stuff all week.
Well, we are their biggest rival.
Brad Evans thinks he is a fantasy sports genius. I occasionally follow his stuff on Yahoo and he is wrong more than one would expect from an "expert." And anyone who uses "Fake Five" in their headline is a joke.
Furthermore, Evans makes it seem as though Michigan lost every time they donned the all-maize unis. Quite the opposite in fact, as they were an inch away from being 3-0 in them.
I remember a common analysis of the Michigan Tenessee game 2 years ago was "I really like the Duke Tenessee matchup"
No one in sports media is held accountable for their predictions, thus I just don't pay attention.
He has a point about our defense being a serious concern to our hopes to making a deep run in the tourney. Not sure what the color of our uniforms has to do with anything. I don't see how being the 4 seed with the number 2 overall seed in the tournament makes us the presumptive favorite to be in the Final Four and anything less is some kind of indictment on Beilein's program.
Overall, he kind of sounds like a dick.
Big Illinois fan: https://twitter.com/YahooNoise
I guess he thinks we are basketball rivals, too.
Your opinion doesn't matter if you use the word "maximize" without a direct object.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that he thinks the Illini will go far in the Tournament ... slappy much, Brad?
Illinois Fighting Illini (REC: 22-12, RPI: 38, RPI top-50 Ws REC: 6-8, Seed: 7, Region: East)
It's been a seesaw year for the Illini. They roared out of the gate reeling off 12 straight wins, including arguably the best non-conference road win this season (at Gonzaga), only to stumble to a 2-7 start in Big Ten play. But a late-season turnaround, spurred by key wins over Indiana and Minnesota (twice), has Illinois on a roll. The enigmatic club will go as far as its guards will take it. Brandon Paul's and D.J. Richardson’s shooting from behind the arc is instrumental for Illinois. When the pair blaze the nets from distance and commit to defense, the Illini are capable of eliminating anyone. However, bouts of inconsistency leave them vulnerable to 20-point blowouts, particularly against zone-oriented teams with considerable front-court depth. Nnanna Egwu, their primary interior presence, must stay out of foul trouble. X-Factors Tyler Griffey and Joseph Betrand must also attack the rim to weaken defenses, particularly if the Illini draw Miami in Round 2. The Hurricanes' massive size down low is a matchup nightmare, but Illinois has overcome similar disadvantages (See Gonzaga). Still, this is a dangerous midrange seed that could reach the second weekend if it finds its long-distance stroke.
That sure is a lot of "if" and "when" and "could" to be picking Illinois to make a deep run.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/bracket-flames-divine-in…
and the content there is typically lacking. I feel like they pretty much troll for catchy titles (for the yahoo front page) and page views. Nowhere close to the level of content Hinton used to have at Dr. Saturday
hopefully the team uses it as fuel and goes on a long tourney run. That will be the only way to silence the critics.
that if your team doesn't make the Final Four, they suck.
No matter what the mutual fund guys say.
So here are Evans's 2012 lames, and their results:
- Duke, #2 seed, lost in first game. We'll give him that one.
- Syracuse, #1 seed, lost in regional final. Minor victory.
- Michigan State, #1 seed, lost in regional semifinal. That's at least 2 1/2 - 1/2
- Missouri, #2 seed, lost in first game. I didn't expect this, to be honest.
- Baylor, #3 seed, lost in regional final to eventual champion Kentucky. That one's a fail.
- Indiana, #4 seed, lost in regional semifinal to eventual champion Kentucky. I'll call that a push.
I honestly didn't expect anything like those results but in the interest of honesty and fair play I'll post this anyway.
Last year's "flames", on the other hand, didn't win a single game even when favored, and most of them were on the wrong end of major blowouts. That's the Brad Evans I know.
And 2011's "lames" included Connecticut. I'm starting to feel better.
Their stale starts, proneness for turnovers (14.1 TOPG), difficulties at the charity stripe (67.7%) and general mental lapses on defense will force these Gators back into the swamp before the regional final. Not the three-seeded dark horse they were a year ago, the enormous target on their backs will have everyone aiming to turn the Gators into luggage – especially uber-athletic Arizona.
Prediction: Second Round loss to Arizona
Yes, that would be Evans's #1 Bracket Bust in 2007. You probably remember how that one turned out.
Why they bust: The illustrious career of Mike Krzyzewski is well-documented in car commercials, motivational videos and print. Whether or not you like him, he’s a legendary coach. But underneath the numerous 20-win seasons this decade, the Blue Devils have greatly underachieved... A second round matchup with Samardo Samuels and Louisville, which upended Syracuse twice this season, could prove devastating.
So that's four seasons I've looked up, and in three of them the champion came from his short list of tournament busts, with the only exception being last year's Kentucky, probably the most prohibitive favorite since the old UCLA days. The guy is uncanny.