ESPN on Bubble teams, undated Sunday Night: Good for UM
ESPN has an article regarding teams on the bubble, updated through 9pm Sunday night. The link is http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bubblewatch?id=91. It reads, in part: "The Wolverines probably went a long way in wrapping up an NCAA at-large bid by beating Minnesota on the road on Saturday. They might still need a victory in the Big Ten tournament -- another loss to Iowa is not advisable -- but the Wolverines seem to be in OK shape because of their high-end victories and strength of schedule (No. 10 nationally)."
The play of LLP against MN bodes well for UofM. The point isn't that LLP will do it again, but with Perry, Novak, Manny, Grady, and Douglass, we have FIVE legit 3-point threats. If one gets hot (a la LLP), we can ride that hot hand. This will only open up the lane, giving room for Peedie and Manny to work, to slash, to score in the paint. I happened to watch some of the WVa highlights from a few years ago, and their three pt prowess opened everything up. They had no end of great back door cuts for Pitsnoggle that wouldn't have been there without the three.
they are playing better and better basketball each and every game. It's almost like, who's going to be hot this game? Still, Jake Kelly scares the shit outta me.
And I think the main catalyst was when JB benched Manny against Iowa.
Since then, this has been a different team. They have played a lot harder on defense, and have worked a lot harder for open shots. They haven't relied on the three so much, and that has opened up more opportunities both inside and outside.
This looks a lot more like Beilein's system than the middle part of the season did.