MBB Second Best Start in Conference Ever
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.)
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.
January 31st, 2014 at 11:46 AM ^
But yes, a win at IU is always very tough to come by.
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.
January 31st, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^
I'm sure they will be, and it is a tough game. That said, Indiana seems like another offensively-challenged squad that might have for a half, but Yogi Ferra alone isn't going to be enough.
January 31st, 2014 at 11:50 AM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^
If they "literally" can't score, don't we only need to score 1? 70 seems like we'd just be rubbing it in.
January 31st, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^
Lol. I think he meant.
They literally can't score 70 points.
:P
January 31st, 2014 at 12:31 PM ^
You score 1 point, that ought to be enough.
January 31st, 2014 at 4:43 PM ^
Literally as in: Tom Crean is literally the biggest jackass in college basketball.
January 31st, 2014 at 12:50 PM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^
vonleh is a tough matchup for us and he plays well at home.
January 31st, 2014 at 3:14 PM ^
Is any team bad in transition at this level?
January 31st, 2014 at 4:59 PM ^
Iowa against MSU.
January 31st, 2014 at 1:24 PM ^
*figuratively
January 31st, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
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.
January 31st, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^
Half? I heard that all of his team is injured....
January 31st, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^
Izzo pretty much has the award sewn up already since no other coach has had to play such weird guys.
January 31st, 2014 at 2:26 PM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 5:01 PM ^
coaching decision of his life.
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.
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.
January 31st, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^
Neither can shoot, being one. Also, both turnover prone and both have a good big man--Hammonds v Vonleh. IU's shooting issues are so pronounced that Yogi is now forced to be a shooter first and a distributor second. That said, weird things can happen at IU.
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.
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.
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.
January 31st, 2014 at 12:35 PM ^
I think Michigan should beat Indiana simply because we have more talent, but have a horrible feeling Indiana is going to upset Michigan on Sunday.
January 31st, 2014 at 1:59 PM ^
This feels like it's going to be That Annoying Away Game where we can't get the crowd out of it and the home team keeps hitting shots despite themselves
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.
January 31st, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 1:12 PM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 4:10 PM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 4:45 PM ^
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.
January 31st, 2014 at 1:00 PM ^
they can also will refs into blindness.
January 31st, 2014 at 2:20 PM ^
January 31st, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^
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.....
January 31st, 2014 at 1:42 PM ^
They'll be raucous until they fall behind.
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.
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.
January 31st, 2014 at 2:45 PM ^
Many talented Michigan teams have gone into the assembly only to face not only BK's stare downs but zebra's making sure...we leave out with a loss.
IU is down...but this place isn't very kind to us.
January 31st, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^
"Your forefathers await you young Michigan. Keep wining and join us......"
January 31st, 2014 at 2:41 PM ^
The twins...Marty & Mark Boddner (sp?) O skool ballers...
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.
January 31st, 2014 at 2:14 PM ^
OSU started 11-0 in 2010-11 and finished 16-2....this is what this UM basketball team should be striving for. :)
January 31st, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
Just gotta get past Tanned Tommy and that five-head of his.
January 31st, 2014 at 2:38 PM ^
8-0 would describe our B1G record.
January 31st, 2014 at 2:50 PM ^
Virtual +1, OP