Michigan Basketball and the NCAA tournament
Just curious to hear everyone’s thoughts about how far the Michigan Men's B-Ball team will go this season? Do you think they will compete for the Big Ten title? Where will we place in the Big Ten? Will we make the NCAA tournament? How far will we go in the tournament?
I know it is very early in the season, but I like our team. It would be nice to have a more dominant big man in the center, but we are more of a perimeter team anyway.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:27 PM ^
Frankly, I think Michigan can play well and finish in the top three or four of the conference. That might garner a decent seed but a 3-seed may be a stretch, probably around a 5. A sweet 16 berth may not be too unrealistic and who knows, maybe they could pull an upset or two. That would be a great year.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:34 PM ^
The thing about a Beilen team is that they always have a lot of good 3 point shooters. If we have one or two guys get hot in a game from 3 point range, we have the potential to beat anyone.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:43 PM ^
Yeah the team's performance can have a lot of variance when they shoot so many three pointers. A team like that can beat any team and lose to a lot of lesser teams, the key is to get good shooters so there is more of a chance of the first situation occuring. But last year the team had a few games that they had no business being in as both the favorite and the underdog, so we'll see.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:01 PM ^
shot an inordinate amount of 3 pointers last year yet shoot an poor shooting percentage. Imagine if they can keep the 3 pt attempt static while increasing the shot made. Michigan would be a more dangerous team than they already are.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:04 PM ^
True, hence the optimism.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:34 PM ^
Well, Michigan has some pretty high expectations for this season. So based on that they will win the NIT championship. JK.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:36 PM ^
not to let the negativity of the football season spoil the B-Ball season. Though right now that is hard to do. I do like what Beilen has done with the team. That man can coach.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:38 PM ^
Basketball could be a very happy time for us.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:40 PM ^
I am taking the approach that I am not sure it can be any worse.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:48 PM ^
Compete for the Big Ten title, Sweet 16 berth.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:03 PM ^
That is my hope as well.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:55 PM ^
Yeah, I feel like some are setting the bar way high. The BigTen is the best conference in the NCAA going into the season. We could struggle to finish with a record just over .500 in conference. A winning record in the BigTen, if the preseason predictions on conference strength hold, should warrant at least a 7 seed.
That said, I don't think you can really say how far any team outside of maybe the very elite teams should go until you've seen the bracket. Too many chances for a bad matchup.
November 16th, 2009 at 5:38 PM ^
Remember, really the only difference between this year's team and last years is the addition of Vogrich and Morris. That said, I think Michigan will be better, but how much? I don't know yet.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:04 PM ^
Freshmen and Sophomore year. Since Stu Douglass and Zack Novak had a lot of PT last year, I would expect to see their performance improve or at least be more efficient.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:44 PM ^
same for llp. even if he plays less because of morris, he will be better, and hopefully make morris better by virtue of competition.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:19 PM ^
watching LLP on court is kind of painful because the offense bogged down when he's on the court. The spacing isn't there and he seems lost on what to do. Right now, so far he understands the system better and makes better decisions. The spacing with him on the floor looked worlds better. Experience matters in JB's system since it's a hard system to pick up which makes it all the more amazing that Michigan made it to the NCAA tourney in his 2nd year with teams full of freshmen and sophomores.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:04 PM ^
What about Cronin?
November 16th, 2009 at 6:28 PM ^
was hurt last year because of hip surgery and didn't really play last year. I consider him as a freshman since he redshirted last year. His hips will never be the same and it's a sad thing that it happens to a good guy like Ben.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:21 PM ^
Cronin is effectively a new addition (he was out after hip surgery a year ago), and while they may redshirt, Morgan and McLimans can practice with the team, which can help them prepare for taller opposition. There's also Eso Akunne, who is more talented than your average walk-on. He could give us some minutes here and there.
November 16th, 2009 at 5:42 PM ^
I hope we get Kentucky in the 2nd round of the Tournament. Beat Calipari and UK would be a sweet way to get to the round of 16
November 16th, 2009 at 5:59 PM ^
Realistically, its almost impossible to predict how the big ten will finish with so many quality teams. I think this team should be able to win most of their home games, be competitive on the road, but most importantly present huge matchup problems in the BTT and the NCAA. I would settle for making the tournament, and would be excited about a sweet 16 berth.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:15 PM ^
This is Beilein's true coming out party. I think we can compete for the Big Ten title, but we won't quite win it. Could be the year we can finally take out MSU. Probably seeded around 5 and a definite possibility of a sweet sixteen birth. Can't wait to see what Vogrich and Morris ammount to, as well.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:24 PM ^
We should definitely make the tournament; that should be a baseline expectation. Beyond that, it's up in the air. We should be improved, but so should several other teams in the conference. We could finish anywhere from first to seventh or eighth in the league. Our conference schedule is just a hair easier than last year (we get all the bad teams twice), and we should have a better homecourt advantage with more students buying tickets, so I'll predict that we'll improve by a couple of games in Big Ten play, and get a somewhat higher NCAA seed. As for the tourney itself, that depends on the draw.