Michigan Officially on the Bubble (according to Lunardi)
Joe Lunardi's bracketology this afternoon included Michigan as the last team in the "Considered" category, which would put us as the 13th team out. So you're saying there's a chance...
https://twitter.com/ESPNLunardi/status/1623055333273772037?s=20&t=1Qn44L166j1I8HOHPYl5iw
February 7th, 2023 at 4:40 PM ^
Does the big ten even deserve eight, let alone six teams though??
February 7th, 2023 at 4:45 PM ^
Can they fill 68 spots otherwise?
Getting an at-large bid really isn't that hard.
February 8th, 2023 at 9:03 PM ^
And yet here we are . . .
February 7th, 2023 at 4:40 PM ^
So...we're in the next, next, next, next 4 out?
February 7th, 2023 at 4:43 PM ^
I just need to know where to put my quarter...
February 7th, 2023 at 8:29 PM ^
We're on the bubble's bubble. If we have a strong finish and the teams ahead of us slip up, we could move to the bubble proper. And from there, who knows.
February 7th, 2023 at 4:41 PM ^
Still have 9 games left.. anything is possible
February 7th, 2023 at 6:14 PM ^
I agree. Tom Brady and I have a combined 7 Super Bowl rings. I’m just your average guy so it’s true, anything is possible. Go Blue!
February 7th, 2023 at 6:23 PM ^
Hold on to your ring(s)…
February 7th, 2023 at 4:42 PM ^
We don't deserve the tournament. I don't even want to display to the whole country that we're having a horrible year. I especially don't want to be embarrassed by some small school no one knows. And it's a entirely possible.
February 7th, 2023 at 4:46 PM ^
If Michigan makes the tournament, it means that would have been definitively NOT horrible during the final stretch of the season. Plus, the opponent would likely be a higher-seeded team from a major conference.
Regardless, I will take a tournament bid over not getting one any year.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:06 PM ^
As harshly as many of us look at this year's team, we have been competitive in many games against good competition and lost the game in the last minute or two. Had we won just a couple of those games we would be singing a different tune. The Iowa loss is one game we should have won that comes to mind.
February 7th, 2023 at 4:47 PM ^
Pull it together man.
”Deserve’s” got nothing to do with it. Either you make it or you don’t.
February 7th, 2023 at 4:56 PM ^
This is over the top. We're not a terrible team, just a young team that has gone through some growing pains and has struggled to close games out.
Anyway, if we just sneak into the tourney, we won't be playing some huge underdog, but probably more like a 6 or 7 seed.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:47 PM ^
JUST LEAVE THEN!
February 7th, 2023 at 5:50 PM ^
I don't even want to display to the whole country that we're having a horrible year
Why are you worried about what the people in Rhode Island think about Michigan basketball?
I especially don't want to be embarrassed by some small school no one knows
Like when Michigan lost to NJIT and Appalachian State? Or Michigan Staee
February 7th, 2023 at 6:25 PM ^
GBGW, just look at how embarrassing Michigan’s loss to the Buckeyes was this past weekend.
Oh, my mistake, Michigan won that game…
February 7th, 2023 at 7:21 PM ^
I love that last entry. That lowly school we lost to that we will avenge on the 18th of this month. I will definitely be present and celebrating at the Pizza House afterwards.
GO BLUE
February 7th, 2023 at 6:21 PM ^
I see you know how to MgoBlog. Get some curly fries.
February 7th, 2023 at 4:42 PM ^
https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-basketball/bubble-watch-2023-ncaa-tournament
Andy Katz with Fox Sports also has us as one of his 'Rising' teams.
Posted this elsewhere but tonight is actually a pretty big bubble night tonight. Lots of games to keep an eye on. Here are a few I'd highlight:
Rutgers @ Indiana - I'm not sure what I prefer in this one. Probably Indiana only because we play them twice and want their resume as strong as possible
North Carolina @ Wake Forest - We obviously lost to UNC earlier this year, so we want that loss to look as good as possible. Plus Wake is on the bubble on many brackets.
Louisville @ Pitt - Our win against Pitt is really our only good non-conference win. A loss to Louisville would be a massive hit to their NET ranking. We need Pitt to win this one
South Carolina @ Missouri - Missouri is squarely on the bubble. We want the Gamecocks in this one
CMU, EMU, and Ohio U all play conference games tonight. Wins by all can only help our NET ranking
Maryland @ MSU - Maryland, all the way. F*** Sparty
The last one is a big one: Arkansas @ Kentucky - Arkansas is squarely on the bubble. We need a few losses from them. And we lost to Kentucky, so them contuining to win is a good thing for our resume.
February 7th, 2023 at 4:59 PM ^
That Maryland-MSU game is big. Our win over the Terps is currently Q1 but that could change if they lose.
February 7th, 2023 at 4:43 PM ^
NIT bubble...
snark aside, i would love for them to get it together but they have been epically unpredictable in their performances. sunday was really good though, go blue.
February 7th, 2023 at 4:47 PM ^
How about we get a few Quad 1 wins in the next 3 weeks and put ourselves in the conversation!
February 7th, 2023 at 4:48 PM ^
February 7th, 2023 at 4:52 PM ^
Not sure that's on the bubble, so much as it is "can see the bubble in the distance"
What is the consensus on what Michigan needs to do to get in. 6-2 in the last 8 games and 2-1 in the BTT? Although that's pretty unlikely that gets you to 21-13 (13-7).
Reasoning would be that 4-4, 0-1 feels like the minimum to make the NIT. So 5-3, 1-1 would be pretty bubly, leaning out, and 6-2, 2-1 would be safely in.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:07 PM ^
I know they have some bad losses, but I’m not sure they need to go 6-2. 5-3 or maybe even 4-4 with the right wins could put them in the discussion in my opinion. My guess is if they win the next two they are in the next 4 out possibly first 4 out discussion.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:13 PM ^
4-4 won’t do it unless we win the BTT. We need to improve our status. 4-4 would just be treading water.
I think we need 19 wins.
5-3 probably requires at least one BTT win.
6-2 probably gets us in, regardless of BTT performance.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:21 PM ^
I think that you are close, but I would also include a BTT win for the 6-2, just to be safe, a final record of 18-13 (6-2 with a 1st round L in the BTT) I believe would have us sweating it our on selection Sunday. Due to the lack of quality wins and that ugly ugly loss to CMU...
February 7th, 2023 at 5:28 PM ^
FWIW Torvik says if we went 6-2, then BTT was beat Northwestern, lose to Purdue, we would be in the 1st 4 out.
February 7th, 2023 at 6:24 PM ^
It's very hard for me to imagine a 20-win Michigan team (with 13 regular-season Big Ten wins) getting left out.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:16 PM ^
That would be nice. But when I look at Torvik, who predicts they go 4-4 for a 17-14 (11-9) finish, and try to compare similar tournament resumes, the 10 results are all teams that missed the tournament.
February 7th, 2023 at 4:53 PM ^
Purdue, Alabama and Houston as 1 seeds. What happened to college basketball?
February 7th, 2023 at 5:03 PM ^
They all have coaches among the current Top 10.
They aren't coaches people immediately think of as being among the best ........... BUT Coach K, Jay Wright and Roy Williams aren't around any more. Izzo and Calipari aren't what they used to be. There's a bit of a vacuum, and Painter, Oats and Sampson have risen to fill it.
February 8th, 2023 at 9:06 PM ^
Oats is the new Beilein. I wish it was for somebody other than Alabama.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:07 PM ^
Purdue and Houston have a lot of history in this sport. Remember Phi Slamma Jamma?
Bama’s the one that’s odd.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:01 PM ^
Officially off the NIT Bubble - LET'S GO!!!!
February 7th, 2023 at 5:11 PM ^
The bubble teams all look horrible, so that could help. Wisconsin and Penn State are both very unimpressive.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:32 PM ^
Unfortunately, Penn State looked impressive against Michigan though.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:34 PM ^
Penn State has honestly looked quite a bit like us this season. Kind of all over the place.
February 7th, 2023 at 6:26 PM ^
We went 1-1 against PSU. That's all that matters to the committee.
February 7th, 2023 at 5:11 PM ^
Win the game. Go Blue!
February 7th, 2023 at 5:19 PM ^
This team plays like a young team. There is the talent to make a run, but has the maturity happened yet?
February 7th, 2023 at 5:36 PM ^
Just got to keep winning.
February 7th, 2023 at 6:20 PM ^
Lunardi has one of the best gigs out there. Just imagine the vacation time this dude gets.
February 8th, 2023 at 9:11 PM ^
He has the best job in the world. He only has to work 6 weeks a year and nobody cares what he does the first 4 weeks. And he does not even have to be accurate.
He's like cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving . . . something that's not all that great, but you do it because it's the time of the year you're supposed to do it.
February 7th, 2023 at 6:28 PM ^
Since it is sort of “out there”, is the Webb Telescope strong enough to actually identify which bubble Michigan is on?
February 7th, 2023 at 6:51 PM ^
How is MSU for sure "IN"?
February 7th, 2023 at 7:33 PM ^
They have 1 Q3 loss, no Q4 losses and they're 7-8 in Q1/Q2 so far. They're pretty much the same team as last year which is a solid B1G team.
February 7th, 2023 at 7:52 PM ^
Tom Izzo is still the coach.
February 7th, 2023 at 6:54 PM ^
We need to finish at worst 6-2, and beat 2 of Indiana/Rutgers/Illinois and then probably at least 2 games in the tournament for there to be a real shot.