Joe Lunardi at ESPN has us a 3 seed in the tourney playing in the East Regional with an opening round game in Auburn Hills (one can wish)l
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology
The one seeds are Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Louisville and our first round matchup is Robert Morris with likely second round game against 6th seeded Texas.
Like I said, we can dream.
Auburn Hills would be so
he had an even earlier one.
i
he had an even earlier one.
i think a 3 seed is pretty realistic, frankly. i don't think we're a top 5 team, but we're a very good team. as long as we have no huge injuries, we're top 10ish.
You don't think UM is a top 5
You don't think UM is a top 5 team, do you think IU is? What about OSU? UM is just as good as both of those teams, if not better.
UofM is just as good as
Indiana and Ohio? Based on what? The combined 0 games the 4 freshman coming in that look like will get significant minutes have played? Michigan may be as good they may not be. Way to early to tell. Don't be foolish.
I can see arguments for
I can see arguments for indiana over michigan, but I don't understand the osu vs. michigan arguments that conclude osu is better unquestionably. Your being foolish if you have that much more faith in osu's team than ours, based on returning players and their usage and roles in addition to incoming players. We are trying to replace production of 2 relatively low usage players (with highly touted freshman) while osu is trying to replace usage of 2 multi-year starter/high usage players with talented but similarily unproven players. You can't be only skeptical of michigan while ignoring similar issues that osu faces.
Honestly that 3 seed would
Sorry replied to wrong post.
In other news, ESPN is going
In other news, ESPN is going to release their post-2013 season bowl projections and the projected composition of the 2016 Summer Olympic team. Ya know, just for informational purposes.
Don't forget
Don't forget their early 2030 World Cup predictions with the 5 year old Francisco Chave of Argentina as their most valuable player of the tournament.
2013 will be the year.
In Lunardi's defense, when
In Lunardi's defense, when you're hired to be a Bracketologist, what else are you going to do all year besides create new Bracketologies? Besides, people still click them, and link to them, and talk about them (see this post and all the comments).
Wow, OSU as a 1 seed and both
Wow, OSU as a 1 seed and both Michigan and MSU as 3 seeds? While OSU could end up being good if things fall just right for them, I don't see why they're ranked that high given what we know right now.
A 3 seed? And based on where
A 3 seed? And based on where he's put us (with Kentucky) I'm guessing he has us slotted as either #11 or #12 behind Florida, Kansas, Syracuse and Duke (all 2s).
Sorry Lunardi......we'll be a 2 for sure and maybe....just maybe...a 1. But no way will we drop to a 3.
Honestly that 3 seed would
Honestly that 3 seed would have made Michigan the #9 team in the country... Could be higher. You have to remember the selection committee likes to reward top teams with games closer to home. I would rather Michigan be the 3 seed in Auburn Hills than the 2 seed in say Austin Tx or Philly.
I don't understand why
I don't understand why everyone is so down on Michigan being a top 5 team.
903 wins most in college football
I agree with you but could
I agree with you but could see an argument to be made.
So far the team has impressed but both performances have been exhibition games against overmatched teams.
Let's see how we perform in the neutral site games and the home game against NCSU. We should learn a lot over the next month or so.
Here's hoping for a bright future. This team does try hard and I will continue to support them.
Ok, so who have osu, Indiana,
Ok, so who have osu, Indiana, Msu, etc beaten so far. All we have to go off so far are those games and projections based on how we think returning players will gel with the incoming players. I don't see why people only seem to be skeptical of Michigan. All of the criticisms are non-unique at this point in the year.
"Down?"
I'm not "down on Michigan being a top five team;" I'd just like to see them earn it first. The freshmen look great against overmatched, lower division teams, but the Big Ten is a bit tougher than the GLIAC.
Personally, I think Michigan will lose too many early Big Ten games to be in the top five for their season record, but they might be good enough for the Final Four by the end of the season.
Having OSU as a #1 seed seems
Having OSU as a #1 seed seems a bit high, given that they are banking on a bunch of guys without the Sullinger blanket to cover up. But the Big Ten looks to be one of the top 2-3 conferences in the nation, especially at the top.
I really don't get the OSU
I really don't get the OSU love either. They lose Sullinger and Buford, add nobody, and they got better than last year (despite their league getting better)? It doesn't add up to me.
OSU fan here. What you're
OSU fan here. What you're missing here is that we have guys like LaQuinton Ross and Amir Williams who were certifiable studs coming in as true freshment a year ago but got little to no playing time last year because Buford and Sullinger played their respective positions.
Guys who get paid to analyze these teams realize this and so they're projecting that these stud players will not be busts and while they will not replace the production of Sullinger/Buford, they will not be a dramatic dropoff. Now, is it possible that Ross and Williams turn out to be mediocre? Sure. Just as possible as any blue chip recruit whether it be those that go to Michigan or even Kentucky.
You could make the argument, however, that the fact they had some PT last year and had at least one year in the system makes them more likely to succeed than the true freshmen Michigan brought in and are going to rely upon greatly this year.
As far as our veterans, we have the almost unanimous top-ranked player in the Big 10 next to Zeller (Thomas) and an elite PG in Craft. Lenzelle Smith who started almost all of our games last year is also returning.
Probably the biggest change this year is that we have actual depth in our rotation. Last year we were 7-8 deep, this year we will be 9-10 deep.
On paper, OSU and Michigan are very similar. I think the reason most pundits (not everyone) are giving OSU the edge as of right now is that the combo of Thomas/Craft is objectively better than a combo of Burke/Hardaway.
Should be a fun season, however. We'll see how it plays out.
I get what you're saying, but
I get what you're saying, but from my standpoint, if Williams and Ross were guys only a year away from being that good they would have gotten a lot more PT. I know they were behind good players, but Sullinger and Buford almost never came off the floor last year. You just don't often see guys who ride pine and then become big time players the next year.
Thad Matta
is notorious for playing a very short bench. I think he said that it's much easier for players to get into rhythm if they play more minutes as opposed to playing in spurts especially shooting wise.
Good analysis. People should
Good analysis. People should be more curious as to why Kentucky is such a high seed, having to replace damn near EVERYONE. It is because the pundits see the young talent and make a projection based on how they feel their potential "plays out".
Thank you very much for this
Thank you very much for this post, it was very insightful.
My one counterpoint/question is to your duel argument of your sophomore studs stepping and having an improved depth this year is this:
If your sophomores are such studs (although I agree a year in a system can do wonders), why didn't they warrent playing time last year when they were freshman and you guys were lacking depth? Where is the added 1-3 guys in depth coming from this year when your only recruit was a 3-star PG in A**** D***** (blanking on his name, but the Italian kid from AZ), considering you lost, arguably, your two best players? That means this year, you are going to have 3-5 players step up that didn't play last year.
Who are these players and why do you think they didn't push for PT last year?
With that being said, I do agree that Williams and Smith, and then to a lesser extent Ross, will step this year. While that will get OSU to a top 10ish team, I am not convinced on their top 5/1-seed ability.
The Michigan Difference. Oh yea, it is real.
They were 7-8 deep last year
They were 7-8 deep last year because there were two players who were clearly better than their replacement players. This year you have guys that are marginally better coming in to replace them. I am far from sold on Amir Williams unless he has improved dramatically. He may be a capable shot blocker, but other than that: meh. Craft is not an elite PG. He is an elite defender at the college level, and a capable ball handler. He did shut Burke down once last year, but I think Trey is going to be a lot harder to stop this year, especially since he doesn't have to do everything by himself. I guess we'll see. I just don't see OSU being better than Michigan now that we have the athleticism to actually grab rebounds when we need them.
Except for the other thing. That hurts the most. But the lack of respect hurts the second most.
Craft
I mean, I realize that this is a Michigan forum, but not sure how anyone, even Michigan fans, can think that Craft is not an elite college basketball player. He is an old school point guard that makes our offense hum, he's second to none in leadership, hustle, and intangibles, and he is the best perimeter defender in the NCAA.
Don't just take my word for it. He ranks as an elite player in all CBB sites that rank college players. Here's the most recent ranking from ESPN of the top CBB players. Craft comes in at 15. One spot ahead of Burke. Should be fun to see those two match up again this season!
http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8567397/co...
Ohio will not finish higher
Ohio will not finish higher than 4th in the Big Ten this year (Behind Indiana, Michigan, MSU). Raback it.
Ohio is overrated. They lost
Ohio is overrated. They lost Sullinger and Buford and replaced them wth no one. I think the big ten will come down to us and IU.
903 wins most in college football
I think if you asked most OSU
I think if you asked most OSU fans they would agree with you. They are counting on LaQuinton Ross and Amir Williams becoming dominant players (to replace Buford and Sullinger), and neither of them are close to that level. I think OSU is more along the lines of a top 20 team. On the other side of things, I believe MSU is underrated. Gary Harris is a stud, but still not quite as good as GRIII.
Doesn't crean have an
Doesn't crean have a craptastically bad conference road record?
When the ADept sells special jerseys and gear, you'll see my picture next to the targeted customer crowd. A sheep.....but a Blue one.....
Crean In The Conference...
Depends on which stop we're talking about. In his career at Marquette (Conference USA basketball at the time he was there, but now in the Big East, I believe), he was 90-56 in the conference, but at Indiana, he is 19-53 overall to date. Indiana's in-conference record improved quite a bit last year, of course, but this season is young yet obviously. Indiana only broke .500 in the conference last year with about seven games to go, so they definitely can't be accused of getting off to a quick start in the Big Ten.
"Funny isn't it, how naughty dentists always make that one fatal mistake."
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Auburn Hills
That would be a lot of fun to have UM and MSU in Auburn Hills.
Ugh, we don't match up well
Ugh, we don't match up well against Robert Morris AT ALL. Time to look forward to 2013 football. The basketball season was fun while it lasted, I guess.
Please. Please. Please be
Please. Please. Please be Auburn Hills.
As for the bracket, Wouldn't that be something if somehow the Elite Eight matchup would be against SDSU and Fisher?
When the ADept sells special jerseys and gear, you'll see my picture next to the targeted customer crowd. A sheep.....but a Blue one.....
This is going to be a great
This is going to be a great season for us. I could definetely see us making it to the final four if we don't have any big injuries.
-UM class of 2018
I still don't see why
I still don't see why everyone is so high on Ohio State
I'd say it's highly doubtful
I'd say it's highly doubtful there are two one seeds from the Big Ten. The conference is absolutely stacked. The losses will be spread around.
"Michigan Defense" is dominating everything, in every aspect of life. That's a rough definition.
-Craig Roh 10/29/2011
Remember...
that in 2009, Louisville, UConn and Pitt were all one seeds despite playing in a ridiculously stacked Big East, while Syracuse and Villanova were also three seeds in that tournament. Their records looked like this (a lot of the losses were to each other):
#1 Louisville: 31-6 (16-2)
#4 Pitt: 31-5 (15-3)
#5 UConn: 31-5 (15-3)
#11 Villanova 30-8 (13-5)
#13 Syracuse 28-10 (11-7)
Go Blue!
ncaa tickets in auburn hills
Hey there,, question for all. I was interested in buying a couple NCAA tourney tickets (auburn hills) for my father and I for a Christmas gift. Can anyone tell me how the ticketing thing works as it relates to the sessions? Do I buy a ticket for the day and hang out all day? Do i have to buy tickets for each game that day? I think it'd be cool for us to hang out all day and just watch game after game if that's possible. I think they sell them in sessions, but I couldn't find that anywhere.
Extra cool bonus if Michigan was there, but Dad and I have always wanted to attend. I guess it's a bucket list kinda thing.
Thanks for any info.
You buy tickets by the session (game)...
with an option to buy all of them at a dicsount. I don't know what the policy about leaving between games is, but there will be two games March 21st and one on the 23rd. This is the NCAA's ticket page, and they link to this page as well (where you can actually purchase them).
Go Blue!
thanks for the info
The way I'm reading that is that there are 2 sessions on the 21st. Session One starts at noon and session two starts at 6pm. Wouldn't there be 2 games in session one and 2 games in session 2 on the 21st?
Then session 3 starts at 6pm on the 23rd. Wouldn't there be 2 games in this session also?
So if i bought all 3 sessions I could see 6 games? 1 game per session just doesn't seem right, but maybe I'm incorrect.
I think you're right, and I
I think you're right, and I just typed too quickly. My bad.
Go Blue!
I believe they sell them in
I believe they sell them in sessions. You'd have to buy a ticket for each session to stay all day.
This is ridiculous. I can see
This is ridiculous. I can see bracketing the next four or five games, but come on man. For the record, I think our ranking is pretty close to legit. I just can't understand why they release these, other than they feel the need to constantly pump out SOMETHING, ANYTHING...
not just "douchey" MGoBlog user, but now TRUSTED MGoBlog user
Auburn Hills would be so awesome.
Whatcha gonna do, little brother?