Bracketology Update / Tonight's Rooting Guide
What a win last night! We aren't seeing a ton of updates on brackets but as of yesterday, we were in 114 of 137 brackets on Bracket Matrix.
Two brackets that have been updated are CBS and Lunardi's with ESPN. Palm at CBS has us as the 3rd to last team in and playing Memphis in Dayton with a potential next game against Colorado State in Pittsburgh.
Lunardi has us as not only not playing in Dayton but basically at the top of the list for teams that avoid Dayton. A win against Iowa and we're pretty clearly safely in his bracket. As of yesterday, he had us playing LSU in San Diego.
Now for the rooting guide tonight:
- Indiana vs. Rutgers is a really interesting case. I'm thinking we want Rutgers to win here as it will bring up their NET and we played them twice. Whichever team losses here needs to win quite a few games at the BTT next week to have a chance.
- We're rooting for UConn to beat Creighton. Creighton had a really big injury to one of their lead guards in their last game. It wouldn't surprise me if they don't end up making the tournament. This game will decide a lot.
- We're rooting for Boston College (vs. Miami) and NC State (against Wake Forest), specifically NC State. Miami is a bit ahead of us on the bubble but a loss to BC would change that. Wake's in trouble if they lose tonight.
- For our own SOS, we absolutely need Seton Hall to beat Georgetown. The Hoyas are bad, bad this year. A loss there would hurt.
- I'm honestly not sure what to think of the Minnesota - Maryland game. I'm not sure that Minnesota is going to be able to get to a Q-II loss but a few wins couldn't hurt. We also want that Maryland win to look as good as possible. I guess I'm rooting for Minnesota here but will be curious what others think.
So, that's where we're at. Great win last night, let's keep it going against Iowa tomorrow!
So many bubbles...
Beat Iowa.
Torvik rooting guide says to root for Maryland
Everything is still fluid at this moment in time, but if there's a possibility for Michigan to grab the 5 seed and get over to the 1/4 side of the bracket (Wisconsin) and avoid the 2/3 side (Illinois/Purdue), that's what we should be cheering for, so a Rutgers loss helps that IMO.
Not related to bracketology but does anyone else think we should use the 1989 inspired design worn last night as our normal unis? Use the same design for blue & whites as well (the 1988-89 jerseys only had blue & white versions). They look so much sharper than our current unis.
Did anyone see Hunter get benched last night after pointing toward Izzo and the State bench and yelling something? I didn't catch this. Was wondering if anybody has an explanation? I guess he was pretty close to being T'd up and Izzo was yelling back at him....?
Sorry, this isn't new thread worthy and there is no other spot for this.
@ BTB grad
Yes. Since 1989 I have thought this.
@stay classy: Wasn't able to watch the game last night. When did it happen?
@ code 7: Just googled it, apparently HD was jawing with the bench after all the buckets he was getting and Izzo got pissed off at the Refs for not addressing it. The refs stopped play, calmed Izzo's whiny ass down and told HD to shut up, LOL! That was it.
Little worried about tired legs tomorrow night. Glad it's at home. Hopefully the tournament drive will get the blood pumping a little bit more than usual.
@ Stay Classy...Hunter wasnt really jarring with their bench, I really only ever saw him stare at their bench after he scored. I read Izzo's lips and he was crying to the ref "he's looking at me too." Just your classic grown man 2nd grade argument.
@StayClassyAn.
Hunter was woofing... a bunch. It was funny, because it was Michigan State and Izzo starting blabbering about it. I think that Hunter should cool it off a bit though. He goes overboard at times and is going to get a tech. I think the refs are going to keep a close eye on him the rest of the BIG season and that he should knock a bit of it off.
Is it just me or did the last one of these posts go 100% for the team we were rooting against?
@rice4114, you're absolutely right. It was REALLY critical we got that win last night because the bubble was not kind last night. Hoping for a better night tonight and we can make some moves!
As a reminder Lunardi is pretty bad at his job and so is palm. Absolutely focus on the overall metrics of the bracket matrix over either of those guys
We definitely want Rutgers over IU because they're pretty close to getting to top 75 which changes the quadrant of both games against them (the road game goes from Q2 to Q1 and the home would go from Q3 to Q2) and there's an SoS benefit you mentioned because we played them twice. And IU is more closely competing with us on the bubble. A loss pretty much ends IU's chances of getting in which helps us.
Seton Hall is ranked 32nd right now, so a big win over Gtown (25+ points) could get them to top 30 which moves that game from Q2 to Q1. If they get to top 30 and Rutgers gets to top 75, our Q2 record improves from a suspect 3-3 to a very nice 4-1 with the only "cost" that it adds two Q1 losses which are not very damaging.
We want Maryland (90th) to beat Minnesota (104th) because they have an outside chance of getting to top 75 and making that game a Q2 whereas the Minnesota game is all but locked in as Q3. Even still, it's a long shot for Maryland from 90th at this point so this game is pretty inconsequential.
Root also for UNLV against Wyoming to improve our resume, to make sure that UNLV game stays Q2, and to potentially knock Wyoming closer to the bubble / out (I don't think they're a lock).
@BTB grad: 100% wish they would wear that uniform the rest of the season. They are sharp, love the maize with the white numbers. And to quote Deon Prime Time Sanders "if you look good you feel good, if you feel good you play good".
Go Blue.
@Angry Dad: I'm a bit worried about the tired legs, but Martelli is a lot like Beilein. He likes to ride the starters for more minutes. I think it is a blessing that Jones and Houstan were in foul trouble. Kept their minutes down some.
@GoBlu330 Hunter should have slapped the floor. That, as we all know, is the classy thing to do
I can't root against Creighton - my son is a professor there.
@MaximusThrax.
Like I said, I am really not looking at it from a class perspective, MSU jaws with the best of them. I think it could just cost Michigan in a game sometime if he keeps carrying on. I don't think Michigan is particularly popular right now around the BIG. One tech can change an entire game.
@GoBlu330 true. I was not trying to argue against your point. I was more or less just observing that Tom needs to take his medicine, particularly since he has presided over a lot of floor slapping
Hunter absolutely taunts the other bench almost every single game. Dude is clearly an asshole on the basketball court who this fanbase would hate if he was on any other team. He's not dirty so I don't really care but I wish he would tone it down just a bit because he's going to get a tech one of these days.
He also whines about every single foul called on him, which is just a personal pet peeve of mine watching sports.
He also whines about every single foul called on him, which is just a personal pet peeve of mine watching sports.
@AK at least that part of his game is NBA ready. Yeah he overdoes it and Im wondering if it has an effect on Coach Howard. I really think it had a part in last years fiasco with Maryland.
@m9tt Rutgers can win both of their remaining games and we can still get the 5 seed.
In fact, it appears the path to the 5 (or 4) seed is crystal clear: win our remaining two games. I haven't been able to come up with a scenario in which that doesn't result in the 4 or 5 seed.
And if we don't win both, there's no path to a top 5 seed. So Rutgers is irrelevant to our chances of being a 4/5 game. The only impact they have is they get the 4 seed if we both win out but I think I'd prefer the 5 seed and them in the 4/5 to a double bye with someone else in the 4/5 game. That's all highly unlikely anyway. So root for Rutgers. For many reasons.
Wisconsin could still end up with the #2 seed if they lose to Nebraska, which isn't as crazy as it sounded a week ago!
Win 1/3 should be enough. 2/3 and we golden. 2/4 should be enough. 0/3 we done.
I read Hunter’s lips yesterday when he was woofing. He said something along the lines of “Get someone else in there Izzo.” It wasn’t as profane or awful as it appeared but he definitely mentioned Izzo by name. And he does talk hella shit. Would probably hate him if he played for someone else. I hope he stays all four years :D
If we finish 0/3 we are probably done and im not sure why we would want to see us in the tourney at that point. That being said if we are 1 or 2 of the final 8 teams in there is lots of chances for other teams to fall apart as well. Yesterday everything went the wrong way but there will be days where 1 to 2 teams will eliminate themselves with bad play. This should be an interesting selection. Wonder what seed we could get if we win out and get the BTT championship? What do you think that seed could be? Im picking up UCLA 2021 vibes from this team. When they focus and dial it in for a game they are deadly.
Understand about Rutgers, but them loosing bumps us up in the B1G standings. We're one game away from 4th place (!) but currently tied with three teams in 6th place (tie breaker is 8th place I think)
@rice4114
If Michigan wins the next 6 games (or 5 if they get a double bye), they'd be looking at probably a 6 seed. Maybe a 5, maybe a 7 depending on what else happens.
It would be pretty comparable to the 2016-2017 team's run that got them a 7 seed but which was pretty badly underseeded. I think that was the last year the committee used RPI and since they've ditched that, they are seeding closer to the predictive metrics which would likely have Michigan in the top 20 or even top 16 in this scenario (but their resume ranks would keep them from getting a protected seed, I'm sure).
Thanks @true. This team is hard to figure out. We keep talking about a 3 and D wing out of the transfer portal Are we sure Twill cant be that guy? He has the tools and great energy. Can he be a solid upperclassman for our team?
@rice4114
Twill could be a lot better than he is but he loses focus SO easily. And that's frustrating because he appears to have the physical tools and the shot to be a good (probably not great, but Matt EM is the one to ask about how his athleticism projects) 3 and D guy.
But from an execution standpoint, these are the problems I see way too frequently from him.
In the first MSU game, he's checking Christie here on the wing:
gets caught totally ball watching and doesn't move with Christie, only realizing his man has moved all the way upcourt here. Christie hits the open three and to add insult to injury Williams fouled him for the and1 on an ill-advised late contest:
Against Illinois he did something similar which was a killer. Guarding Grandison here on the wing:
Caught ball watching again, Grandison slips behind him for the easy layup. You must know where your man is at all times and you can't let this happen.
So yeah, he has the tools to be a good three and D guy. He's quite solid as an on-ball defender. But these are the kind of mental mistakes that have kept him on the bench behind Houstan even through all of Houstan's struggles.
Again, the good thing is, these are the easiest things to correct. He's gotta be able to focus if he wants to actually have the D to be a 3 and D.
Beat Iowa!
@StayClassyAn Yes, Hunter was talking a lot and doing his usual gestures of "the guy guarding me is shorter than me" and "OMG I have a right hand", etc. Honestly looks like an idiot. I don't know exactly what he said, but it was directed at Izzo and Izzo whined to the refs about it. The refs told Hunter to knock it off, told Izzo to knock it off, and told Martelli to calm Hunter down and direct his celebrations to himself and not the other team. Refs actually handled it VERY well. And yes, Hunter was pulled briefly and Martelli talked to him, but he went right back in.
In his postgame interview before they left the court, when asked about Hunter's performance Martelli started his answer saying "well, I think he missed 2 free throws" and then something along the lines of "had an altercation with the opponent for no reason other than that he's Hunter" before complimenting his performance. Won't speak for others, but to me that came off as a polite way to say "homey needs to grow up and knock it off" without trashing his player. The reporter hadn't asked him about that "altercation", Martelli brought it up, which spoke volumes.
I made this comment on a front page post, so sorry to be redundant here..... Even if this stuff doesn't warrant a technical (it probably did last night if the refs had seen/heard a comment made directly to Izzo and mentioning him by name as others have claimed), the taunting and whining about every foul absolutely gives him and the team a bit of a reputation and fair or not can influence calls over the course of a game/season/tourney.
I'm not going to start a separate thread on it, but they're in a wild final minute in the Rutgers @IU game, especially the haymaker punch that Mulcahey threw at an IU player and his subsequent ejection.
On BTN right now, 19.2 seconds remaining, IU with the ball down 3...
Watching IU meltdown against Rutgers at home in a must-win game is high quality entertainment.
Ron Harper Jr’s onions celebration was something! 🧅 🧅
@Indy Pete: IU losses (especially at home) are ALWAYS entertaining.
Going back to that punch thrown by Mulcahey, gotta believe he'll be getting a one game suspension.
Yeah Rob - that tussle was quite the twist to the IU meltdown. Rutgers getting 6/6 from the line from Shaq-level free throws shooters was incredible. IU has lost 6 of 8 with one game left… at Purdue. This is a truly special collapse.
They didn't make it on here but two other games of consequence went well for Michigan/the bubble:
Xavier lost at St. Johns. They've lost 5 straight and are in real trouble of missing the tourney. Resume is still slightly better than Michigan but they're squarely on the bubble now.
Notre Dame lost a Q2 game at FSU so they'll move back to danger territory as well. Frankly, I don't understand why anyone had them on the 10 line even before this loss. They're only 2-6 in Q1. Now 3-2 in Q2. They have a Q3 loss. Michigan now has a better resume than ND.
Defeat Iowa and UM is in the tourney. By far UM's easiest path to the tourney.
A win at OSU is too much to ask for. OSU already defeated UM at UM. OSU is a bad matchup for UM.
I feel 90% likely the Iowa game is gonna be the game of any remaining games UM plays that will decide if UM makes the tourney. (Unless UM wins the B1G tourney getting UM the auto-bid, which aint gonna happen.)
#GoBlue
Did Mulcahey muss up his cute headband?