Men's Lacrosse vs. Penn State, 1PM, BTT Semifinals **on BTN**
Your #14-ranked Michigan Wolverines take on the #5 Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big Ten tournament semifinals from historic Homewood Field in Baltimore, Md. at 1PM today. The game will air on the Big Ten Network (hope I'm right about that this time!). A win would likely secure Michigan's first-ever NCAA tournament berth, so it's not an overstatement to say that this is the biggest game in program history.
Michigan is coming off two back-to-back beatings of those punks down south, essentially knocking them off the bubble and ending their season, which is always the best way to beat Ohio State. In their first meeting with Penn State, Michigan looked like the better team almost the whole way, but a late game collapse gave the game away to the Nittany Lions. It was a bizarre game; Michigan won the faceoff and ground ball battles, had fewer turnovers and outshot PSU by a significant margin and held them to 11 goals but still lost. Michigan probably really wants this game back and this is a good chance for redemption.
One of the factors in the loss was Michigan's poor shooting down the stretch. Michigan didn't score in the 4th quarter despite getting several opportunities. Penn State's goalie was hot but Michigan also made him look good with weak and poorly placed shots. And PSU scored on a few man-ups, so staying out of the penalty box will be huge for Michigan today. Faceoff men Rowlett and Wietfeldt are likely to give the offense plenty of opportunities so they'll have to capitalize. I'm hoping for some big games from their creators Josh Zawada and Michael Boehm and veterans like Bryce Clay and Peter Thompson. Defensively, they need to crack down on unassisted goals to help out goalie Shane Carr. They'll have to keep PSU's crafty Trainor brothers in check.
As it stands now, Michigan is juuusssst on the inside of the bubble and knocking off Penn State would be huge for their chances, regardless of what might happen in the championship on Saturday (although, in that case, they might as well just go ahead and win the whole thing!). But, I'm hoping they're feeling confident after the last few weeks and that maybe Penn State is a little rusty from their bye week. GO BLUE!!!
Let's Go Blue!
W Lax is also in the BTT semis on BTN at 6 PM ET vs Northwestern.
This is great for those of us at work who are trying to keep up with the game. Thanks for sharing.
It looks like the Maize & Blue are down by a score of 10-8 at half-time.
Michigan has the edge in both shots, shots on goal, and faceoffs - and the PSU goalie seems to be playing very solidly.
Hoping the adjustments they make are as effective as the squad that plays on the gridiron.
Go Blue!
P.S. - less than a minute into the third quarter, Michigan find the back of the net and is within one goal: 10-9.
P.S.S. - now halfway through the third, Michigan has found the back of the net a few more times - with four goals thus far in the quarter - Michigan up: 12-10.
P.S.S.S. - Eight and a half (8) minutes remain in the fourth quarter - Michigan is up 16-12.
Penn State has looked very good defensively and their goalie has made some excellent saves. Michigan is playing well but has just been a slight step behind - it seems like everytime they have an opportunity to tie or take the lead they can't make it happen.
Defensively, they've given up a handful of soft-ish goals and Carr wasn't especially sharp (they've now put in Hunter Taylor). And I know this is not their style but I would like to see them pressure PSU's gloves and sticks a lot more. They'll need to do that to affect shots and create turnovers if they're behind and badly need the ball.
But Michigan's FOs have been OUTSTANDING and that will give them the best chance to win this game. GO BLUE!
And Brown scores to take the lead - shut my mouth!!!
Just turned it on in time to watch last couple min of the 3rd. 14-11 going to the 4th good guys! Go Blue!!!
15-11 now GO BLUE!
16-11 U-M, 10 min left now.
Duuuuuude. I had jury duty here this morning and just got home and I'm watching now, pretty nice so far.
Are you sure it was real jury duty? Was James Marsden there?
Lol.....exceedingly boring and unreality television-like, so yes, unfortunately legit.
Ergh......getting close, they need to stay with it in their heads
16-14 with 5:51 left
Not sure if this will work for others, but I found a live feed that is a one hour free preview
https://www.foxsports.com/live/btn
Zawada empty net, 17 - 14 with 1.5 minutes
Headed to the big ten championship!
Hail to the Victors! 17-15.
Let's Go W Lax! May they also make the finals!
Great win!!!!! 17-15
Faded a bit down the stretch and made some mental errors at the close but held on.
Yeah, hope the men cut down on those errors next game.
GREAT W!!! Gutsy decision to replace Carr in goal w Taylor and it paid off. Michigan only gave up 5 goals in the 2nd half. Got lots of contributions from diffferent players on offense as well.
They go on to the championship on Saturday. Go win the Big Ten! GO BLUE!!!!
I can’t wait to watch the replay. So happy for the team, coaches, and staff
U-M M Lax vs MD or Johns Hopkins @ 5:30 PM ET Sat on BTN.
For the lacrosse experts who do we stand a better chance against? i know we beat maryland in the season. Just wondering who to root for
Well, I'm no expert. JH beat us 15-11 3/25 in A2, we beat MD in MD 16-11 on 4/1 (no foolies). JH is host, but Baltimore is in MD, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hopkins is the tougher "matchup" but Maryland the more talented of the two teams IMO.
Michigan significant underdogs either way, make no mistake these are two of the blue bloods. Good news is with the PSU win, M has earned a spot in the at-large discussion regardless of Saturday's outcome.
Short bubble guide, a la March Madness: root against UNC, Georgetown, Denver, Penn, Yale... roughly in that order.
Good q - I think Rob is right: Hopkins might be the better team and had the better season but Maryland is probably more talented. Maryland very much had a down year for them but I think they are still capable of beating anyone in the country.
I wasn't particular impressed with Hopkins when Michigan first played them. Similar to the first Penn State game, Michigan was in control and seemed to be the better team but Michigan didn't take care of business in the second and it ended up as a comfortable JHU win. I would rather Michigan play Hopkins again because I think it would go much different. I bet Michigan wants another shot at the them. I also think Maryland would want a rematch with Michigan because they looked flat in the first matchup and they'll want to prove to the rest of the country that they're still the team to beat in the conference.
Box score. Big 3Q for us, 6-1.
Are we in the tourney now?!
Yeah. Record doesn’t look great, but Lax is like hockey: two major conferences (B1G and ACC) so if you do decently in Conf season in either of those and/or the tourney you’ve earned it. M has wins over MD and PSU now which are serious quality wins.
Update: I took a deeper dive and likely was too sanguine about UMs chances: it appears they likely need to win today to make it in as the SOS difference likely wouldn’t overcome the record difference
That was a fun game to watch! As a lax dad, I really enjoyed being introduced to the game when our boys started playing in elementary school. The oldest ended up playing d-pole in high school and is now a rising sophomore in the College of Engineering. The youngest is a middie who would rather play attack but has developed into the JV face off specialist as a high school sophomore. The varsity high school coach played linebacker for Michigan in the late 70's.
It's amazing to watch the talent differential between their high school league and B1G play. I'm still learning the game but I really enjoy watching lax games despite my lack of expertise on the finer points.
Go Blue!
Go Blue ... great win today... one more on Saturday...
In the second semi-final, Maryland leads Hopkins by a goal with under two minutes to play in the first half.
Thanks for the reminder. I saw it too late to watch but love the outcome.
Go Blue!
Mary Land leading John’s Hopkins.. 14-9 with under five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
That’s a take… It’s Final. Mary Land wins…
Michigan faces the Terps on Saturday…
Go Blue!!
WOOOO, 1st trip to BTTCG!
Watched the recording of the game last night. A couple clutch performances in the 2nd half. 1 being Freshman goalkeeper Hunter Taylor entering a pressure cooker situation and stopping the first 5-6 shots he faced! And a gutsy call by Conry to make the change in the crease. That game could’ve gotten away from them in the 3rd quarter, credit Taylor for keeping cool and playing his game.
Justin Brown scoring his first 2 goals of this season and injecting life into the offense in a 10-10 game. Was great seeing #1 turning on the jets, knees pumping as he left his defender in the dust ala Anthony Carter. Great finish on the run.