Assorted Tidbits Copout Post: Iowa Basketball, MSU Hockey

We actually outshot MSU 35-30 (14-7 in the 3rd) but it doesn't matter if you can't convert.

Hassan Wasabi LOL!!!!

a horrible, sloppy, relatively boring game.  Just far too many missed opportunities that were actually good and everything we got was due to a lucky bounce (story of our season, if we had this kind of luck in 2008-2009, or 2007-2008, or... or... or... I can't even imagine how good we might have been.  Imagaine, good luck and actually creating scoring chances!).

EDIT:  This ended up far longer than I intended... sorry

Rust, Brown, Lynch and Cappy have GOT to start scoring.  I think that the offensvie production from our defense is perfectly sustainable.  Probably not to the level it was in the Alaska series, but it's been pretty good all year and I'd expect that to continue.  Several of the best opportunities we had last night were tips or point shots that just missed.  But the forwards (sans Hagelin and to some extent (assisting) Rust) have to start creating something, anything, down low on their own.  The reason we didn't ourshoot Alaska and barely outshot MSU is becasue our forwards aren't shooting, aren't getting into scoring areas and all too often aren't around the net enough to get a shot off, instead they send a prayer of a centering pass directly to an opposing player. .  And when they do get a chance, through luck, skill or whatever, they're too surprised that they have a scoring opportunity to bury it.  That's why Scooter's extremely loveable 4th line self is outscoring just about everybody, because he works hard and can generally clean up after somebody else throws the puck somewhere.  There is plenty of puck whizzing around the net, but precious little of it going to, much less into, the net.  Brown is setting up around the net, but even when he has the puck directly on his stick and an out of position goalie, he can't get it home to save his life.  It's extremely frustrating.  The playmaking (passing wise) is there most nights, but nobody except Carl is finishing with anythinng resembling consistency. 

Hunwick has been our saving grace most of the last few games.  His rebounds are what they are, but he does do a really good job of stopping the initial shot, no matter how good of an opportunity it is, it seems (ignoring the first State game and Alaska's shorthanded goal), which gives our normally (ocassionally?) capable defense a chance to get to it.  You can't really ask for much more than he's giving from him. 

I thought that Bennett looked really good Saturday night, for most of his shits.  A turnover or two, but none were particularly dangerous, created some offense and didn't give up much defense to do so.  Merrill looked good not great to me, a couple times someone passed the puck back to him in the defensive zone and he took so long to move it, that a State forechecker closed in on him and Michigan was stuck in their zone again.  I don't remember if any of those led to a goal and maybe he didn't have any decent passes, but he needed to do something with that puck on those ocassions.  I thought Moffatt looked really good again in this game.  He made a couple plays that make me think he's going to be really good when he gets some more ice time in future years.  Isn't it sad that far too often our best players are our (former?) walk-on goalie,  various freshmen and Carl?  Somebody else needs to step up if this team is going to win consistently, but that's been said most of the year and it hasn't happened yet.  We'll see.

Also Lynch... I was really high on him coming into the season and for the first month or two he lived up to what I expected from him.  Then he stopped scoring, or even getting many chances and the last 2 games I've thought that his defense hasn't been very good either (except for one defensive play against Alaska Saturday that was really nice).  Since Red's logic for taking the penalty shot instead of the penalty (from his postgame quotes on MGoBlue) was to try to get Lynch going, I'd like to see Lynch and Brown switch lines this weekend.  Lynch has had success against Miami with Carl and Rust, Brown's still not really producing on the top line and he might have done more on the third line with Treais and Moffatt.  Brown's a decent defensive player (though I think that when he's on his game, Lynch is better defensively) and given the way Lynch has been playing all around, he'll be an upgrade on that wing on both sides of the ice, whereas the defensive capabilites of Carl and Rust should make up for Lynch's defincies though with this being Miami, if Camper and Miele are on the same line, maybe this is not such a good idea.  But, maybe just the change will jumpstart Lynch's defense, if not his offensive, in which case the top line should be more effective against Miami's and normal-Brown on the third line is better than what-did-you-do-with-the-real-Lynch, so both lines are better.  Obviously Red knows his team far better than I do, but that's the thought I had.

For hoops, I think I'll play the youth card when formulating my opinions for the rest of the year. After all, McLimans is young, and his youth is part of why the team has to go smaller.  There is a lot of young height on the team.  Big guys are like little guys, but more extreme.  Some succeed and some don't, but the relative successes and failures of the bigs seem to be, well....bigger.

There are four players 6-8 or larger who count as freshmen this year.  If two develop into Big Ten-caliber starters by their junior year, it will be about average.  If, as I think, they get three starters and one capable bench player by their junior years, it will be above average.  

I said at the beginning of the season that I expected a lot of ups and downs, and both inexplicable wins and inexplicable losses.  I haven't really seen anything to change my original assessment.  I'm having fun watching the team grow, and when surprises like the MSU game happen, it's even better.

"Time was Michigan's second round picks were offensive machines; Michigan's are just guys. Lynch, Rust, Brown, Caporusso—all of them are second or third round draft picks that don't seem to do much in the offensive zone.  All are getting outscored by Scooter. That's the big issue with the team—the guys who are supposed to carry the water offensively aren't. "

I don't think this assessment (and the one in the post above this one) is particularly fair with respect to Lynch, Rust and Brown.  Just because they were second, second and fourth round draft picks, respectively, doesn't have any bearing, really, on what their offensive productivity should be at the NCAA level.  The long term projections on all three of them are laden with the words upside and potential when describing their offensive game.  In other words, they were drafted because of the non-offensive skills that they already bring to the table and the offensive abilities that they might develop are a bonus.  I don't think, in terms of long term development, that there is anything wrong with the game that any of the three of them are playing right now.  I think the problem is almost completely with fan expectation (i.e. the expectation that because they were draft picks, in the case of Lynch and Brown, relatively high draft picks, that they should have a boatload of offensive ability).  The fact of the matter is that those three are not guys that we should reasonably expect to carry the scoring load for this team.  Lynch, Rust and Brown are all very likely to be third and fourth line players at the NHL level.  I'm not exactly sure why the expectations have become so out of whack with regard to Lynch and Brown.

I'm fairly certain we outshot MSU 35-30.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

EDIT:  I have no idea how I didn't see it was the first comment.  *headdesk*

Basabe seems to genuinely be very good.  He had like 20 and 10 against Sullinger and OSU.  I have no idea how he fell under the radar.  He looks like a future NBA player.

Brian sure is sucking out the joy of the hockey and basketball seasons. Honestly, would anyone disagree if I said both teams are outperforming expectations at this point, be it ever so slightly? I fear that the Rich Rod era and ensuing coaching search has made Brian so cynical he may never fully return.

 As hard as it is to believe, I think we need to all just realize that Novak is the best 4 on this team.  He's 6'3" and there are other guys that seem more obvious, but when it comes down to it, he makes the most plays at the position.  I was actually sitting there watching the MSU game saying, "they need to put Novak on Green."  They did, and he essentially shut him down.  We should just stop thinking and worrying about it and accept it.  

It doesn't matter who starts, when the game is on the line, you can guarantee the lineup is going to be Morris, Douglass, Hardaway, Novak, and random big guy.  

Hardaway angers me because he has the ability to penetrate but usually settles for contested jumpers.  If he'd pick up the aggression we wouldn't have to rely on Darius to create a play every single possession. Not until Tim recognizes his strengths (driving, creating space) and weaknesses (taking bad shots, not rotating on defense) will he begin to reach his potential. 

I don't get as mad at a guy like Douglass for taking but missing a lot of jumpers because he's basically just a shooter. So if he's not going to bother shooting then he's essentially just a person who passes the ball around the perimeter. But watching Hardaway, who has a more complete offensive package, take and miss a lot of jumpers just seems lazy. 

The way the team has played the last two games, I am excited for the stretch run.  Going 6-3 would mean a .500 record in the conference and 19 wins before the B10 tournament starts (I can't believe i just typed that). While it may not be likely or something I would bet my house on, it is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities... 

If you assume a loss at OSU (sorry), the rest of the schedule looks like this (with current RPIs - Michigan RPI is 74)

 at PSU (45), NW (87), IND (150), at ILL (40), at Iowa (158), WISC (27), at Minn (20), MSU (36)

the PSU game is huge.  to go 6-2 in these 8 dropping that game is not an option.  Beat PSU, take care of business against NW, IND, and Iowa.  then just need to split with ILL, WISC, Minn, and MSU which probably means winning the home games.  Not easy but certainly doable given the way this team CAN play.