snarling wolverine

February 4th, 2021 at 7:48 PM ^

The Michigan team you’d be watching wouldn’t look anything like the team of January.  You just can’t take two weeks off and come back like it’s nothing.  Especially against Illinois, who is probably the second best team in the league.  If we had to play them so soon we’d probably get run off our own court.

TheCube

February 4th, 2021 at 3:57 PM ^

This is bordering on absurd at this point if the team truly has no positive cases. Really the most Michigan thing to happen tho in a year when it seems like everything might be lining up for things to get magical. 

MNWolverine2

February 4th, 2021 at 4:02 PM ^

No the most Michigan thing would be a player testing positive in the 7 days leading up the tournament because they've had no positive tests all year and Michigan having to forfeit vs. a 16 seed.

Meanwhile, MSU sneaks in the backdoor to the tourney with so many team bowing out and makes it to the Sweet 16 since they essentially their entire team has already had COVID.

mgoblue0970

February 4th, 2021 at 4:48 PM ^

It’s odd that UM requires healthy athletes who test negative to be quarantined.  

Not so much that as one doesn't necessarily wait for the chance of a positive to take action given we were told there were contract tracing concerns which led to the shutdown.

But if that healthy athlete is quarantined, and remains healthy, then why are they not back to playing 2 weeks later?!?!?!?

RAH

February 4th, 2021 at 9:33 PM ^

I have never heard that either. The understanding I got from the public statements is that the quarantine was just a general decision to shut down the entire athletic department. It had nothing to do with any contact tracing involving anyone on the team.

Kilgore Trout

February 4th, 2021 at 4:37 PM ^

An interesting thing about this extension is that it means we will probably never know if someone on the team tested positive in the initial wave of the variant around the department. 11 athletes tested positive last week, but we don't know what team they were from. Given the B1G's 17 day sit out after a positive test, anyone who tested positive before January 28 (5 days after the shutdown started) would theoretically be eligible to play on 2/14 vs Wisconsin. 

100% reading too much into it, but if the 2/14 game is in doubt due to testing and medical protocols, that feels like someone on the team may have tested positive.

MGoArchive

February 4th, 2021 at 4:00 PM ^

This season is toast - even if they have a week to practice, this is not the same team. Great job guys.

Perkis-Size Me

February 4th, 2021 at 4:01 PM ^

Not sure I'm really understanding the need to shut down the entire athletic department for weeks when the rest of the conference is clearly carrying on without any serious problems. Or without any problems at all. 

Either the AD knows something we don't, which is the most reasonable, likely scenario, or as the cynical asshole within me would say, it would be Michigan inadvertently continuing to be its own worst enemy. 

mwolverine1

February 4th, 2021 at 4:37 PM ^

There was spread of the UK variant that the AD could not account for using tracing. The state assumed that meant the UK variant was spreading uncontrollably and strongly suggested a 2 week quarantine. The time beyond that is on Michigan to get back into game shape and prevent injury.

Hab

February 4th, 2021 at 4:02 PM ^

I'm supposed to overreact to the overreaction.  That's how this works, right?

 

Ed:  Based on the downvotes, we're just overreacting.  Got it.

MH20

February 4th, 2021 at 4:16 PM ^

Am I the only one seeing it as a good thing that Michigan isn't having to jump right back in playing Illinois after they'll have sat on their butts for two weeks and with only 2-3 potential practices? Obviously it sucks they were shut down in the first place but playing the second-best team in the league after missing two weeks of conditioning always seemed like an auto-loss to me.

MGoArchive

February 4th, 2021 at 4:25 PM ^

Ask the players your same question - no one at this level is ducking anyone. You want to compete.

The sooner this team is back on the horse, the better. Even if they lose to Illinois/UW, so be it - learn and move on. That's life.

If the athlete on team is mad about the extended delay - talk to Warde/petition the local media (local ABC/NBC/CBS stations) to further to let them know you disagree with the AD/State of Michigan Department of Health decision.

TheCube

February 4th, 2021 at 4:43 PM ^

The Michigan AD’s stupidity is what led this. Allowing a student athlete just to casually go to the UK and bring back COVID without a care in the world when it comes to isolation is pure incompetence from Warde on down. (Astounding when you consider the precautions w the football team) There is no excuse for that kind of negligence when the news about the UK strain is already public. The student-athlete is as dumb as a rock even by college kid standards and the AD is even dumber for allowing such a failure to occur. 

True Blue Grit

February 4th, 2021 at 5:52 PM ^

Agree.  It would not sit well at all with the team, fans, and alumni if what could have been a Big Ten basketball championship season is thrown away by incompetent, unnecessary decisions that weren't justified by the actual facts.  If a player on the team tested positive for covid, that's another thing.  But we certainly have no evidence or hint that that's the case.

BlueTimesTwo

February 4th, 2021 at 5:16 PM ^

So should we just go the OSU football route, not play anymore games, and then get awarded a 1-seed?  I'm pretty sure the B1G will pull whatever strings it takes to make sure we get preferential treatment, right?