B1G Hoops Preseason Poll: Michigan 5th

5th?  I mean, I know we have a lot to replace, but we did just post a more efficient offense last year when having to replace Burke and McGary.  I have faith.

Nebraska won't sneak up on anyone this year.

When I saw 5th I assumed it had to be a nationwide poll. Wow.

Ehh, it's just a preseason poll. I don't agree with it, but I'm not getting worked up over it. I do think that we will finish the year second or third to Wisconsin and maybe Nebraska.

Lol ooooook

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

1. Wisconsin makes sense.
2. OSU - Good recruitng class?
3. IZZO
4. Nebraska - New shiny things
5. SAY MY NAME!

 

OSU and MSU seem completely unpredictable right now, save that MSU will probably win 18-20 games and be good but not great.  I know Izzo is regarded as always having elite teams, but what players are coming back for MSU to make people think they'll be a top-3 team in what is probably one of the top 2 conferences in America?

It's so much fun to be able to look at a pre-season poll like this and just laugh, because we already know that we're going to exceed expectations (again).  It's so refreshing, especially on the heels of football season.  It's like John Beilein is a frosty glass of coconut water on a scorching summer day.

I have no qualms about our guard play. Walton, Irvin, and LeVert will be among the best backcourts in the conference and probably in the country. I do have concerns about the center position, however. We replace McGary (granted he was a glorified cheerleader last season), Morgan, and Horford without without bringing in a highly rated guy to replace then. This will be the year when we either really appreciate Morgan for all he gave us in the post, or recognize that he was mainly the beneficiary of Beilein's high flow perimeter based offense.

Bias aside, 5th is too low. That's fine with me, though. This year will be just like last year because JB

fun conference season.  Just looking at the lineup of teams, if things break the right way, the B1G could very well get 9 teams into the tournament, assuming the top 7 from this poll make it and two of Illinois, IU and Maryland sneak in.  If Illinois can get some wins against Memphis/Baylor, Villanova, Oregon and Mizzou in the non-conference, it seems likely.

I find it funny that even though MSU always overachieves based on their roster they are always rated up there. Michigan has "overachieved" the
last couple of years yet we are always underrated. And Nebraska by the way, loses nobody and adds quite a bit. They will be really good.

Looking forward to seeing Coach B continue to own Tiny Tommy. I still say with confidence we finish 2nd

I think Beilein is where Dantonio was a couple years ago. Media perception (and perception is all that matters to them) was, "Yeah, he's had a nice run the last few years, but was it just him hitting the lotto with some diamonds in the rough who went boom, or is it actually long-term sustainable?" 

It turned out to be the latter with Dantonio, and I believe it is with Beilein as well. And I also believe Michigan will turn out to be significantly better than MSU this year. 

No major quibbles. I'd put us ahead of Nebraska. But they have a couple really good players returning while we lost 3 to the NBA (though one didn't play much). I trust JB and we'll be competitive once again. If Caris makes another major jump and the bigs are decent, we'll challenge for the regular season title. 

Wisconsin deserves the #1 spot until someone takes it from them. That team could be very, very good this year. Which pains me to say because of my seething hatred for Bo Ryan.

I guess OSU had a good recruiting class from what I've heard, but until they can prove they can consistently score some points, I'll play wait and see with them. Matta is a good coach, and they'll undoubtedly be solid defensively again, but as of right now, who on that team can score?

MSU....ehh I don't know. They've got the Izzo factor, sure, but a lot of talent left last year, and from what I understand, not a lot came in. They'll be good as always, but I don't know that they're better than us right now.

I like what Tim Miles is building at Nebraska. They'll definitely make the tournament again this year, but I'm not really sure they're better than us at this point. We're the only conference team that beat them in their own house last year, and they looked like a deer in headlights against Baylor in the tournament last year.

I'd probably put us somewhere around 2-3. Lack of a front court presence is going to be a problem until Beilein can get Donnal rolling. But if there's anything I've learned over the past 3 years, its to never question Beilein's ability to develop talent and get the absolute most out of his players. He knows X's and O's as well as anyone in the country, and he'll put this team in position to win basketball games every time it steps onto the court. If Donnal can quickly develop into a good option down low, we'll be in great shape come March.

 

not too worried.  Coach B always gets his team better as the season goes on.  Happens every year.  I think we will start slowish then the team will start to gel...class coach B style.

Hail!

So it looks like there are some tiers here in the media rankings (based on how the # of votes group together):

1:  Wisconsin
2:  OSU, MSU, Nebraska, Michigan
3:  Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland
4:  Purdue, Penn State, Northwestern
5:  Rutgers

Nothing there seems too crazy to me.

I'm gonna repost all of my B1G team previews in the diary. These aren't done as well as ace does them, but they are a shorter read and a little bit of a different take from everyone else's.

If Doyle and/or Donnal can play above replacement value, then we good.  

To outside observers, losing 3 players to the NBA plus the only 2 bigs with starting experience on the roster while only bringing in 1 top 50 recruit is going to leave a lot of questions about the team.  OSU brought in a very good class, Izzo has an unjustified reputation at this point, and Neb is returning almost everyone from a pretty good team.  Also, the teams ranked 2-5 are not seperated by much, there is a bigger jump between 1-2 and 5-6 than there is between teams 2-5. 

I also think people here are also overestimating Beilein a bit, the sample size is too small to have as much confidence as people have in him turning so many players into stars.  People tend to forget the players who didn't turn into stars like Smot and a few others I can't even think of at the moment.