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wtka roundtable

WTKA Roundtable 3/14/2019: Weird Guys Comment Count

Seth March 15th, 2019 at 7:10 AM

Things discussed:

  • The debacle in Breslin: Shot selection, Winston is a dude, MSU got better because they're forced to play Tillman, who's a better player than Ward especially against Michigan.
  • Brandon Johns done messed up when he was auto-benched onto the floor at a position he hasn't played
  • How is Romeo Langford an NBA prospect and Winston isn't?
  • Weird Guys hour: Michigan botched their opportunity to stretch a 12-point lead with State's backups on the floor
  • The officiating: When Dan Dakich is talking on national television about how the officiating is completely unbalanced, that's a tough pill to swallow. Beilein angry: referees should stop giving Izzo games for being a whiny little bitch. Free throws: 28-6 not counting intentional fouls at the end. INSANE calls in this one—note that they started after a (legit) travel on Winston that Izzo lost his shit over. Craig checked every (140) Big Ten box score for massive free throw disparities (Michigan, which rarely fouls, got 20% of them). Izzo got them: could have been a 10 or 20-point swing. How is the biggest game of the year in the Big Ten also the most unbalanced officiated game in the Big Ten this year? Also: par for the course. Expect Beilein to start lobbying more because what happens on the court is less important than what a Hall of Fame-bound coach is telling them what's happening on the court.
  • Big Ten Tourney: Michigan got a decent draw but….
  • Iowa is a bad matchup: they're a zone defense and their weakness is Garza is a bad defender and Michigan doesn't excel at attacking either of those things.
  • Games from last night: we preferred Iowa, predicted Minnesota win. Did not predict Maryland.
  • How is IU on the bubble: They have the best wins of anybody on the bubble, but also the most losses. Put Indiana against a low major with a huge W-L record in a First Four: IU vs IU-Belmont! Brian would do this every year.
  • Purdue Renaissance: Ryan Cline makes weird shots, Haarms has emerged, they have a 280-pound backup five now too.
  • Wisconsin: Trice has fallen apart, Reuvers is an interesting player
  • State to win it? This has been Izzo's best coaching job in years. Helps when his mistakes injure out of the lineup. This is the kind of team he's better at coaching: stop recruiting lottery picks Tom.
  • Do you keep Livers in the starting lineup?

You can catch the entire episode on Michigan Insider's podcast stream on Podbean.

Segment two is here. Segment three is here.

THE USUAL LINKS

Did you know Izzo hasn't been to the Sweet 16 in three years? I do. I do too. I'm aware.

Comments

crg

March 15th, 2019 at 8:27 AM ^

Considering how deep people get into the stats and analytics of major sports these days, I find it surprising there is a site dedicated to a rigorous and unbiased assessment of officiating performances.  Market opportunity, perhaps?

Joined: 04/30/2015

MGoPoints: 75054

MGoLow

March 15th, 2019 at 9:04 AM ^

Man I dislike Izzo as much as the next guy, but he's obviously a really good coach. It comes off as whiny and bitter when some dudes *cough* Brian *cough* can't acknowledge that without saying he "lucked" into an injury. Tillman is clearly a better defender, but Ward is a valuable post scorer. Am I the only one who thinks it's bonkers to say MSU is better with him injured? That narrative is starting to feel lazy. 

Joined: 02/06/2013

MGoPoints: 2217

ldd10

March 15th, 2019 at 9:47 AM ^

It's lazy and dumb.  Is Tillman better than Ward?  Perhaps.  Nonetheless, having Ward on the roster is of course really good for depth as he's a solid player.  Would you rather have your top three bigs be Tillman, Goins and Ward or Tillman, Goins and Kithier right now?

Joined: 07/20/2011

MGoPoints: 944

bronxblue

March 15th, 2019 at 12:21 PM ^

The thing about Ward is that he was barely an above-average offensive player and he was demonstrably worse defensively than Tillman.  And Tillman has been much better offensively in-conference than Ward while still maintaining solid defensive numbers.  So yeah, Izzo was splitting time between the two and when Ward went out he was able to slot Tillman into more minutes and that makes the team, overall, better.

Yes, Brian comes across poorly when he complains about MSU on everything, but Izzo has shown an IMMENSE stubbornness over the years and so his worse tendencies were altered because of an injury.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171777

Charles Martel

March 15th, 2019 at 8:14 PM ^

I believe that Brian was quoting DD. DD went so far to criticize the officiating that he stated he was getting looks from the officials. Brian is only fault is that he has the wrong route in the picture snuggling with Izzo. It should be Terry Oglesby. He once again guided MSU to a big win today, And MSU is now 6-0 with his support.

Joined: 09/18/2014

MGoPoints: 102

Boner Stabone

March 15th, 2019 at 11:22 AM ^

I think Izzo has a solid rotation without Ward in the lineup.  He has a lot of players he wants to give minutes to and sometimes this creates a problem. 

This year has forced him to play a shorter bench and get some good team chemistry.  Before he always wanted to rest players and equal out the minutes.  That is why he always had Ben Carter and Tum Tum play so much.  Sometimes a shorter rotation is a good thing.

I always laughed the last couple years when Tum Tum would play just as much if not more than Cassius Winston.  If Izzo was smart he would keep his rotation short and just go 8 deep.

Joined: 01/06/2015

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