Michigan drops to 7th in AP and Coaches Poll
So Michigan dropped two spots in both polls this week after losing at Iowa. I feel like 6th is about right at the moment, I would not place Michigan behind Nevada. FWIW Kenpom and Torvik both have us 6th.
February 4th, 2019 at 3:53 PM ^
OMG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
February 4th, 2019 at 3:54 PM ^
#1 in our hearts.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:27 PM ^
And msu will always be a number two.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:42 PM ^
they used to be. then about 200 sexual assault victims stepped forward.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:55 PM ^
Notice how he snuck an "a" in there.
February 4th, 2019 at 6:35 PM ^
i liked that, too.
February 4th, 2019 at 3:59 PM ^
No team has ever won the national title in the Kenpom era (since 2002) with an offense rated this poorly at the end of the year. Michigan is currently 42nd. The worst offense was UCONN in 2014 (39th). Last year we did make the final with the 35th ranked offense so it is not impossible to imagine Michigan making a run based on the strength of the defense.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:17 PM ^
Never ever, had a 16 seed beat a 1 seed before last year ...
February 4th, 2019 at 4:37 PM ^
"At the end of the year" is the key part there. Beilein's teams often slump around now and then get in gear down the stretch.
February 4th, 2019 at 5:26 PM ^
I would agree that we need to wait and see if this is just a bit of slump rather than the actual level of the team. However, it has historically been the case that teams do not win the title without a top flight defense and offense. Last year's team making the final was a bit unusual given the ranking of the offense.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:43 PM ^
So you're saying that Michigan is about to make history?
February 4th, 2019 at 5:27 PM ^
If Michigan wins the national championship, its offense will not be ranked #42. You should be looking at a similar point in the season if you want to make this kind of comparison. The champion's rankings will naturally improve as they continue to win.
Anyway, offense may be flashy, but there's a reason that KenPom's default sort is AdjEM. Denying an opposition basket is just as useful as scoring a basket yourself.
February 4th, 2019 at 5:55 PM ^
Yes, I was going to say, that UCONN team was probably much worse at this point that year, and moved up throughout the conf and NCAA tourneys.
February 4th, 2019 at 6:05 PM ^
Kemba balled out!
February 4th, 2019 at 6:16 PM ^
Wrong year... The Kemba UCONN run was 2011
February 4th, 2019 at 6:17 PM ^
I would agree that the current data about the team is not a great comparison to end of the year results. I wish I had access to the rankings of teams in February as a comparison point.
I think we likely have the same view on this subject, which is that Michigan's offense will improve a lot between now and the end of the season if they are going to be a championship contender.
The larger discussion I was trying to engage in here is that the ranking is not really that important, but the offense needs to improve a lot before the end of the year.
February 5th, 2019 at 10:15 AM ^
Records are records until they’re not. They’re made to be broken. A 16 seed never beat a 1 seed until it happened.
I agree in that the offense does need to get more consistent, but they made it all the way to the title game last year on the back of their defense, and outside of the A&M game, had very lackluster offense. Nothing saying they couldn’t do it again this year. Beilein’s teams always kick it up a notch starting around mid-February through to the end of the season.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:11 PM ^
let's just get the kinks worked out by the time March rolls around.
February 4th, 2019 at 5:54 PM ^
New team motto: "Be less kinky!"
February 4th, 2019 at 8:11 PM ^
Good idea. I don't think these guys are ready to contribute just yet.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:12 PM ^
We beat Ohio State and lose at #20 Iowa. Gonzaga beats the Salt Lake Mormons and the mighty San Diego Tortillas. Nevada beats UNLV (sans Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon) and Boise State (didn't know they had a basketball team).
We drop to #7 below both.
Makes sense to me...
February 4th, 2019 at 4:48 PM ^
You know you're old when you empathize with the old man
February 4th, 2019 at 4:50 PM ^
Its almost like winning is better than losing.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:19 PM ^
So we are out of the playoffs now. Damn!
February 4th, 2019 at 4:24 PM ^
Yeah, I know....it sucks. Projected 3-4 seed or so but they decided on that abbreviated format this year where Clemson and Alabama just play automatically and .......*shuffles papers*.....sorry, wrong notes.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:20 PM ^
Nevada has zero quad 1 wins this year. Zero.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:36 PM ^
Reminder that these are the AP and coaches polls, not the selection/seeding committee.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:42 PM ^
Yep, plus when idiots like Graham Couch are allowed to have a say in this it automatically invalidates the result.
February 4th, 2019 at 5:59 PM ^
They have zero chance of getting a one seed. Zero.
Human polls are dumb because they simply drop teams that lose, no matter by how much or to whom, and move up teams that win, no matter by how much or to whom.
If Michigan wins a share of the conference, they'll get a 1 seed. Mark my words. Even if it's at 15-5.
February 4th, 2019 at 9:05 PM ^
We would also have to win the BTT.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:28 PM ^
DISRESPEKT!
February 4th, 2019 at 4:42 PM ^
I just know Ill be heated if we end up seeded below Nevada or Gonzaga.
February 4th, 2019 at 5:10 PM ^
I’ll take a 3 seed in the West behind Gonzaga and Nevada.
February 4th, 2019 at 6:22 PM ^
Seconded
February 4th, 2019 at 5:22 PM ^
We're going to be the 2-seed in Duke's bracket.
February 4th, 2019 at 7:10 PM ^
February 4th, 2019 at 8:24 PM ^
It’s refreshing to lose and not drop like a rock. I’m too used to NCAAFB rankings.
February 5th, 2019 at 8:38 AM ^
I still don’t care about polls & rankings. I care about 3 things -
1. The two MSU games.
2. The Big Tournament.
3. March Madnees.
It’s incredibly petty I guess but nothing would make me happier than to see us beat MSU not only at Crisler but also in E. Lansing. I’d almost give up #2 & #3 to see that happen. I hoping for another year of Izzo saying, “This may be my best team ever,” and then watch to see MSU once again fail to make the E8 or even the S16.