MBB Second Best Start in Conference Ever

Submitted by btjabrone on

With the win over Purdue, the Michigan Wolverines are now 8-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since the 1976-77 season.  The only other 8-0 Big Ten start was in the 1970-71 season.  Our best start was in the 1964-65 season, when we won 13 straight to start the conference season.  So right now we are tied for the second best start in conference in team history, and, with a win at Indiana on Sunday, this team will stand alone as the second best start in program history.  GO BLUE!  BEAT THE HOOSIERS!

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mich/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2013-…

(Apologies if this has already been posted, but I didn't see it anywhere.)

 

jtmc33

January 31st, 2014 at 11:42 AM ^

The team better be ready for a fight from IU; they just got beat at Nebraska, are outside the bubble looking in, and are going to be desperate for a signature win.

I can't remember beating IU on the road... and I am old.

AAB

January 31st, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^

Came back from 20 points down in the second half.  Laval Lucas-Perry hit a late three that hit the front of the rim and somehow bounced up and in.  If they don't win that game (against a very, very bad IU team), they probably don't make the tournament that year, and who knows where the program is right now.  

Farnn

January 31st, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^

Beilein better win coach of the year if Michigan wins the B1G. Lose a preseason all-american plus 2 first round picks and have this kind of success is unbelievable.

alanmfrench

January 31st, 2014 at 12:23 PM ^

pretty stiff competition with Izzo since half his team is injured and he's been forced to only play four (sometimes only 3) players at a time to try keep a fresh and healthy bench. He's also had to resort to padding the film room with 2 ft thick padding for obvious reasons.

I'm surprised you haven't heard about this or been as amazed by it as East Lansing folk have.

LSAClassOf2000

January 31st, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^

Even more encouraging, we go into Sunday as one of the more disciplined ball handling teams as well as one of the most efficient on offense. Right now, per TeamRankings, our 1.58 A/T ratio is good for 8th in Division one, and our 56.7% overall effective FG% and 1.203 efficiency rating are good for 6th and 3rd in Division I respectively. It will be a fight all the same on Sunday, I bet though, so we'll need all of the discipline and efficiency we can take down there. 

trueblueintexas

January 31st, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^

There is good talent on this Indiana squad. I'm surprised they are not playing better at this point of the season. Still, they are one of those teams that can play with anyone at home. Michigan will need to play much better defense than last night if they want to walk out of Bloomington with a victory. 

trueblueintexas

January 31st, 2014 at 2:03 PM ^

I see it a little different. I see Indiana as a team that has pieces and capabilities that for some reason have not come together. I see Purdue as a team that has very low ceilings on most of their players. They also have had struggles bringing it all together as evidence by one of their players quotes after the game about not buying in to Painter's plan. 

A team like Indiana scares me, a team like Purdue, you have to play your worst game to lose. 

Also, Hammonds and Vonleh are very different types of players. Hammonds is the bigger slower guy who will beat you with size alone. Vonleh is very athletic (young and learning) but athletic. I think Hammonds is a far better match up for Morgan/Horford than a guy like Vonleh.

umumum

January 31st, 2014 at 2:32 PM ^

I am certainly not questioning that IU doesn't have markedly more talent than Purdue.  But we are well into the season and IU simply cannot shoot--not even in a hot-and-cold kinda way.  Now if Sheehan suddenly gets his stroke back things may well be different--and bad karma says he will on Sunday.  Yet IU still turns the ball over at a very high--Purdue like--rate. 

Personally, I don't think West Lafayette will be a cakewalk.  Like Penn State and Nebraska, Purdue does have dribble-drivers--who we seem to struggle with more than tall teams (who you would think would be our krytonite).

I also wasn't comparing Hammonds and Vonleh's styles--just that  both teams have solid big men.  And while I agree that Vonleh (more active and a better shooter) will be more problematic for Horford, I think Morgan matches up with him pretty well.

trueblueintexas

January 31st, 2014 at 4:58 PM ^

I don't completely disagree with your disagree of my disagree. But I do disagree with one aspect of your diasgree. 

In looking at the stats, both teams have played 21 games. I threw Michigan in as well for reference. Here are the high level stats:

                               FG%           3pt%             FT%      Avg pts/game

Indiana                .447            .330              .735            75

Purdue                .428            .330              .663            74

Michigan             .490            .395              .749            77

 

Looking at those stats the team are very similar except for the free throw percentatge. 

Looking more closely at free throws IU has attempted  27.6 per game and made 20.3

Purdue has attempted 23.5 per game and made 15.6. That is a 5 point difference per game where Indiana is better. Good thing Michigan does not foul much, except they are playing at Assembly Hall where the refs often call odd things. 

 

The other big difference when you look behind the numbers is 3 point shooting. Here's each teams top three point shooters by attempts. I have included their % as well.

Indiana:

Ferrell           128         .414%

Sheehey       58           .259%

Gordon         43           .326%

 

Purdue:

Stephens    118         .364%

Carter            71         .268%

T Johnson    69         .362%

 

Indiana is getting more shots from it's best shooter where as Purdue is spreading it's averageness around.

All this disagreeing leads me to believe we are both right to some degree. Both are bad shooting teams, but Indiana has a a few better players who could make a difference and has an advantage when they are getting the foul calls.

pullin4blue

January 31st, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^

All they need to do to motivate the players is to show  the Olidepo dunk at the end of the IU game last year. It got me pissed off and I'm over 50. IU will be tough at home. Crean is the second biggest prick in B1G behing Izzo. He will be all over the refs.

CJsWolverines

January 31st, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^

Glad to see our boys are 8-0 in conference play. But, they have another really tough stretch coming up. They are playing Iowa, OSU, Wisconsin, and MSU one right after the other. I hope they can run through all of them again. I would be happy with only losing 1 of these games.

mgobleu

January 31st, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^

Bloomington and East Lansing are 2 places that seem like when the crowd gets rolling, they can just will their team to win. I fully expected it to happen against Staee but they kept throwing daggers that shut them up. If they don't keep the crowd tamed IU could get rowdy.

Perkis-Size Me

January 31st, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^

Don't know why exactly but I'm really concerned about the OSU game. Not that I'm not concerned about all the other games, but I feel like that's one of those games where we'd be ripe for an upset. OSU basketball is on the ropes, in real danger of not even making the tournament, and they need some kind of statement win. They're going to show up for that game, and the crowd is going to be raucous no matter what their record is.



That seems like one of those games where all of a sudden they develop an offense and someone comes off the bench and inexplicably can't miss from 3.



Maybe I'm just a Debbie Downer pessimist.....

mgoblue78

January 31st, 2014 at 1:19 PM ^

for Michigan basketball forever.  Per MGOBlue.com, through the 08-09 season Michigan was 12-60 at Indiana, far and away the worst win percentage at any away venue.  

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/062509aaa.html

 Three more losses since then. 12-63.  16% winning percentage. Ouch! 

Even when Michigan has clearly superior talent, Indiana manages to find a way to win at home far more often than not.

This is going to be a tough game, and an exceedingly  rare win at Assembly Hall would be huge.

 

CLord

January 31st, 2014 at 2:29 PM ^

Indiana finds a way to win at home?  You must be new to Big Ten ball.  Few teams in the history of sport enjoy better home cooking from the zebras than the Hoosiers.  Playing at Indiana is playing 5 vs 8.  I'm at a point where I cannot watch games at Assembly, ever.  Won't watch this one either.  Just refuse.  Each time cuts about a month off my life expectency, not from anything Indiana does, but 100% the refs.

woodfeld

January 31st, 2014 at 2:02 PM ^

Do we know how long it's been since ANY B1G team has started 8-0 in conference?  I get it's been a while for UM to start 8-0, but when is the last time a B1G team has done this?  I'm going to guess 6 years just for fun.