MBB Team Announces More Details about Kentucky Match-up in London
https://twitter.com/umichbball/status/1230871752122621952
The Michigan Men's basketball team announced so more details about the match-up in London with Kentucky next December. Here's some specifics:
- 6pm local time start (1pm EST) on Saturday December 6th
- Tickets are going on sale next week Thursday (the 27th) at 5am EST via Axs.com
- The undercard game will be Marist vs. UMBC, with that game slated to tip at 10am EST.
Anybody else considering going? My partner and I are toying with the idea of making the journey across the pond. Should be a pretty cool experience.
February 21st, 2020 at 10:39 AM ^
Heck of an undercard. How much is it costing UMBC and Marist to fly out there? They couldn't have gotten any other teams?
February 21st, 2020 at 11:35 AM ^
Marist? Is it Rik Smits Day?
February 21st, 2020 at 10:49 AM ^
Our non-con schedule will be a ton of fun/a gauntlet. We have:
- Preseason tournament in NYC with Nova, Baylor and NC State.
- Kentucky in London
- Oregon in Eugene
- B1G/ACC Challenge - if we end the season continuing to play well and get Christopher it will probably be a home game against a Duke/Louisville type.
- Gavitt Games - this one is a maybe. Each B1G team is required to participate at least 4 times. Every B1G team has played 3 games so far (except MSU which has played 1) so it's unclear if we'll participate next year. I have a feeling we'll be off next year since we played these past 2 years.
February 21st, 2020 at 10:55 AM ^
Whew! Well, if anything, next year's team will be tested! lol
I've got my eyes on that game in Eugene. We owe Oregon two-fold with that Sweet Sixteen heartbreaking loss in 2017 and the OT game this year. They'll be losing at least Pritchard, Omoruyi, Juiston, & Mathis. They're going to be a very young but very talented team next year.
February 21st, 2020 at 12:53 PM ^
Dana Altman is probably the most underrated coach in the country
February 21st, 2020 at 2:24 PM ^
It's because he's got Nike bag money coming out of his ears. Hard to give him much credit for that.
February 22nd, 2020 at 1:45 AM ^
He’s been bringing in top classes for the past few years, most likely by breaking the current rules.
Despite the talent, they were actually a better program when they had lesser recruits. That doesn’t say a whole lot about Altman as a coach IMO. I actually think he may be overrated given the struggles they have had with a bunch of 5 stars.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:19 AM ^
I would love to play Duke in the Challenge, but I don't know if there's a rule against two straight road games (Duke was at MSU this season).
That's the type of schedule that would speak to the recruits we're going after.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:28 AM ^
I think we’d be more likely to get UL for a return trip, I think we had that with UNC two years in a row if I recall.
Not allowing a team to go on the road two years in a row would be odd, bc now with all teams playing (I think this is the case) it means only half the teams from one conference could play half the teams from the other. Also, if we played Duke in the past for the ACC/BTN (don’t recall if this happened), wouldn’t that mean one of the two teams either went home or road twice in a row?
February 21st, 2020 at 12:06 PM ^
Yeah - there are generally a few teams a year who are playing their 2nd consecutive home/road game. It's just mathematically necessary.
In 2018-2019: Rutgers, Nebraska and Virginia all had 2 straight road games in the challenge.
February 22nd, 2020 at 10:25 PM ^
I'm 95% certain Michigan played Duke in Durham in the ACC/B1G Challenge in the 2013-2014 season.
February 22nd, 2020 at 10:02 AM ^
Yeah I'm pretty sure that you can't be on the road two years in a row in the ACC/B1G Challenge. So Duke is pretty much off the table since both Michigan and Duke were on the road this year.
My guess is Louisville will have to come to Ann Arbor next year. It won't be UNC since we got them twice in the last three years. Either them or FSU.
February 22nd, 2020 at 9:57 AM ^
I wish we played in the Maui next fall.
February 21st, 2020 at 10:52 AM ^
I'd love to go but I don't think I can do it that time of year unless I can piggyback it off a work trip.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:09 AM ^
Here before WD complains that the B1G Football Championship is the night before this.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:21 AM ^
Are they moving the game in Indy to Friday night? According to OP the hoops game is on Saturday afternoon. Hopefully, this will be the biggest Saturday in M-sports history, topping the day we beat Duke in hoops and Charles won the Heisman.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:27 AM ^
I think the basketball game is a Sunday because Michigan has the B1G Football championship listed as December 5th (a Saturday). Here's a link to the calender...
LINK: https://mgoblue.com/calendar.aspx
February 21st, 2020 at 11:34 AM ^
Good catch! Apparently they moved it from Saturday to Sunday. My apologies for missing that in the initial post.
February 21st, 2020 at 12:12 PM ^
I think a lot of places are having trouble getting the dates/times correct. FREEP has the game at 6PM Eastern time. The school says it's 1PM Eastern. I just hope the team is there at the correct day and time.
February 21st, 2020 at 12:17 PM ^
I would bet the Freep is wrong on that one because 6PM Eastern time means the game would be played 11PM in London.
February 21st, 2020 at 1:18 PM ^
The school typically posts the time in local time where the game is played. For example, if Michigan is playing Purdue at 7 p.m. ET, the school will post on social media that the game at Purdue is at 8 (but sometimes not say central time). It has confused me many times this season.
February 21st, 2020 at 3:06 PM ^
West Lafayette is in the same time zone (Eastern) as Ann Arbor. If it were in the Central Time Zone, your example would call for a 6 p.m. start time, not 8 p.m.
February 21st, 2020 at 12:24 PM ^
Won't matter for Michigan fans...
February 21st, 2020 at 12:27 PM ^
I'm surprised it took this long for someone to say it. I figured this would be the first comment to my post.
February 21st, 2020 at 1:07 PM ^
Lol good one
February 21st, 2020 at 9:01 PM ^
Haven’t seen any WD comments lately, have i just missed them or is he on sabbatical?
February 21st, 2020 at 11:10 AM ^
Even if we only have 5 of those games that will be a pretty good non-conference schedule though I hope they do something about the body bag games. Make them in the low 200s or maybe even a bit better if possible.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:20 AM ^
I may go if Megan and Harry do.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:24 AM ^
My wife has been wanting to go to GB for a long time. Now I have a reason to go. We are definately toying with the idea of going.
February 21st, 2020 at 1:59 PM ^
Maybe just go to Green Bay, its closer and cheaper!
February 22nd, 2020 at 12:19 AM ^
And more romantic.
February 22nd, 2020 at 3:30 AM ^
And more fried cheese.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:30 AM ^
Not a big deal, but the 6th is a Sunday.
February 21st, 2020 at 11:31 AM ^
One correction - December 6th is Sunday, not Saturday
February 21st, 2020 at 12:05 PM ^
It should be a cool experience but I'm not in love with the team doing that much travel in-season and shortly before exams. You play a game in England on Sunday and then have class Monday? Oof. They are going to be tired that week.
They're not going to have much time to sightsee in London, and the December weather there is dark and gloomy.
Going to Europe in the summer is a lot better.
February 21st, 2020 at 2:03 PM ^
Yeah, not ideal for classes. But they miss multiple days of classes when they have mid-week road trips and they're young kids that'll bounce back from a 5 hour time difference pretty quickly. Wonder how early before the game they'll head over there. I find the jet lag going east a lot harder to deal with than coming back west.
February 21st, 2020 at 5:11 PM ^
I agree that going west is easier than going east, but it's not easy. That big time change throws off your body clock.
It just seems odd to me. They won't have much time to sightsee, and London in December is dark and gloomy anyway. (They have even less daylight in the winter than Michigan does.) Normally I'm all for international travel but this is not optimal timing.
February 22nd, 2020 at 7:19 PM ^
Must be nice for Kentucky's players; they're not worried about having to go to class that Monday... or any other Monday.
February 21st, 2020 at 12:07 PM ^
Nothing says London like American college basketball.
<eye roll>
February 21st, 2020 at 12:13 PM ^
Get over yourself
February 21st, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
I'm unsure what you mean.
February 21st, 2020 at 1:42 PM ^
You do realize that basketball is an international game, right? This is analogous to the European soccer teams playing games in the US. There’s nothing wrong with that and if this encourages international understanding in the slightest, it’s a benefit to society and world peace in general.
February 21st, 2020 at 4:33 PM ^
I am fully aware that basketball is a worldwide sport. All I'm saying is no one in England gives a shit about American college basketball. It's good for the players who get to visit London, but that's all.
February 22nd, 2020 at 12:02 AM ^
Must be from Sidney Ohio...
February 21st, 2020 at 12:52 PM ^
Right, that's why it's an interesting event.
February 21st, 2020 at 12:57 PM ^
It's not less ridiculous than the NFL putting the Jags there once a year, or the New Zealand Cricket team playing Sri Lanka in Miami (which yes, was a thing)
February 21st, 2020 at 1:01 PM ^
I didn't say it was. Playing NFL games in Europe is absurd.
February 22nd, 2020 at 10:09 AM ^
Given the ticket sales I'd say you're dead wrong on that. If it wasn't financially feasible or netting the NFL any kind of profit (or promise of profit in the near future), the NFL would've abandoned ship on the London games a long time ago.
But clearly they're investing more and more in it as time goes on. Jacksonville is now going to start playing two games there a year.
February 21st, 2020 at 12:58 PM ^
Marist v UMBC? I wonder if they tried any Ivy League schools, prob slightly more alums and local interest there, and something those schools often do (like Ivy League all-star football teams going to play Japanese college teams in Japan). I remember a hilarious story from 25+ years how one set of ivy league crews put on an exhibition in Korea, only to be subjected to a Kenny G concert by their hosts (It must be what those American kids love!).
February 21st, 2020 at 2:55 PM ^
Well I live here so might try to take my 12 y.o to the game. I imagine tickets will sell well..lots of UM alum here and expats with v little real basketball to experience here.