PeteM

March 6th, 2013 at 9:55 PM ^

I wish they could rebound and pick more loose balls.  I can't tell if it's the players or their style, but we couldn't buy a big rebound tonight and the same was true Sunday.  That said, Purdue just beat Wisconsin convincingly on the road and it's still a great win.

Quick question -- I know that we want to assume a win Sunday, but if not what do we want to happen in other big ten games?  Do we want MSU to beat Wisc because of the tiebreaker?

gdavis23_goblue

March 6th, 2013 at 10:02 PM ^

 

The main point, while nothing new, is this team takes time off. They play hard for 12 minutes and take six off. Second half comes along and Michigan takes six minutes off and then plays the last 12 hard. I think CoachB needs to find or delegate a coach to light a fire under the team’s rump. They have no reason to not play all 40 minutes 100%. They have the talent to win every game but because they're not willing to put forth the effort it doesn't happen. 

Mr. Yost

March 6th, 2013 at 10:12 PM ^

I actually think we played a pretty solid first half...shots just weren't falling.

For those that actually pay attention to me on this board (what MAYBE 1 person?)...I always have a saying when we play "lesser" teams.

"I just want to see us execute...I'm not worried about the score."

That almost came back to bite us in the butt...but in the first half I counted 2, maybe 3 possessions where we took a bad shot or didn't execute. We were getting GREAT looks, they just weren't falling. Either that or something "flukey" would happen and GRIII would fumble an alley-oop or something.

Nonetheless, we were taking the RIGHT shots. That's a big deal for us because when we play bad, a big part of it is because we take bad shots.

In the 2nd half we took a lot more bad shots than we did in the first. We just made the shots that we should've also made in the first.

In the end, I just want to see us execute an offense and get good looks. We have the talent to beat anyone in the country. That doesn't mean we're #1 or a national champion...but it means that we have hope. That if we get to a Final Four or Championship game and we execute we have the talent to make shots to beat anyone. Not every team can say that.

The first thing you have to do is GET a good look. That's the hard part. Then you have to make it.

GoWings2008

March 6th, 2013 at 10:17 PM ^

Seems to me that lately they've been playing to the level of their competition.  Which is a double edged sword.  But they're getting more confidence it seems after Penn State.  I'm anxious for Sunday because now there's a seed of doubt in IU's mind, I'm sure.

JLee0587

March 6th, 2013 at 10:12 PM ^

With all the negative comments, I think everyone just doesn't want to see UofM bounced in the second round again to another mid-major because of the inability to play defense. Good defense leads to a good offense!!!

champswest

March 6th, 2013 at 10:14 PM ^

many guys (Bielfelt, Vogrich, Horford) and it ruined our rythem and flow.  But, the upside is that when more guys get to contribute, it keeps them vested in the team and keeps morale high.

Like the way Stauskas was aggresssive tonight on offense.  The Freshmen seem to play a really good game and then a bad game.  I keep forgetting how young we are.

Mr. Yost

March 7th, 2013 at 6:36 AM ^

I watch the game, then record the replay.

Then I know it'll fit in that 2-2.5 hour block...or I'll know if I want to even record it at all.

Obviously, if you can't watch the original and don't want to wait for the replay, you have to record and add some time on the end.

I usually do this, but we were losing too damn much when I was recording games and missing them, so I stopped recording. Nothing worse than coming home after a loss with the game on the DVR knowing you don't even want to watch. Luckily, I have no more work/Michigan conflicts!

AlwaysBlue

March 6th, 2013 at 10:16 PM ^

I think these last two games have been good for this team.  Beilein and his staff can talk and talk to the freshmen about being on the road, focusing on every play, toughness, etc. but it will never be the same as the actual experience.  Their backs were against the wall Sunday and they hung on to life.  A potential title was on the line tonight and they managed to claw their way back from a double digit defict to get a win.   Some fans see all of the problems but this is a young team that despite the ebbs and flows of games, managed wins while growing their experience.  Yes, Burke is rescuing them in the end, but    don't all champions have that guy?

Hoke-a-maniac

March 6th, 2013 at 10:16 PM ^

Lost in all the excitement of our game. I just checked the other scores from tonight and another team possibly being considered for a #1 seed lost. Georgetown lost to Nova. Beat Indiana and a #1 seed should be well within reach.

BlueinLansing

March 6th, 2013 at 10:23 PM ^

the first time I just wanted UM to have  chance to win the Big Ten title against Indiana in the final game at home.  Michigan basketball has deserved this kind of moment for all its been through in the last 20 years.

 

My dad took me to see UM/IU in the mid-80 when the Big Ten title was on the line and again against Purdue.  Special moments and the Crisler crowd rose to the occasion.  I have no doubt Sunday will be a wonderful atmosphere, hopefully the guys can bring home the W.

 

go blue!

LSAClassOf2000

March 6th, 2013 at 10:27 PM ^

This is current to tonigh  - FG and 3FG percentage in conference play for Michigan:

Photobucket

It was nice to see the threes make a triumphant comeback after being on a slide from Illinois, as you'll note, and and although the upward trend for FGs was hurt some by the Michigan State and now the Purdue games, we've been able to win by getting key blocks, stops and steals lately, which is very encouraging for the Indiana game and beyond, as we'll need to do a lot more of that. 

For the moment, a significant concern is rebounding - we've won two games in a row despite being outrebounded by rather large margins, especially offensively. That being said, it is nice to see a spike in capitalizing on turnovers and making relatively few of our own. 

 

gwkrlghl

March 6th, 2013 at 10:41 PM ^

this team needs to learn absorb blows and keep fighting back. A lot of times when we have big meltdowns like today, a little 4-0 run will rattle us and all of a sudden it's 8-2, 16-5, etc. We get on our heels, gotta fight back and stop those runs

BlueRibbon

March 6th, 2013 at 10:47 PM ^

I usually try to look at refs as "hoomans" doing their best at a difficult job, but this game made that nearly impossible.  Nevermind the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half, when all calls apparently had to be cleared with Coach Painter; I just couldn't see any consistency.  Obvious hacks were ignored while ticky-tack BS drew a whistle every time. 

Wow, it was nice to see Stauskas find his confidence again.  The attitude, effort, and resilience in the face of adversity also makes me feel like this team has just as good a chance as anyone else to reach the Final Four.  This year, March Madness will be an undrstatement.

denardogasm

March 6th, 2013 at 11:09 PM ^

I'm so sick of hearing people blame any of this team's problems on the refs. Refs are gonna ref, usually not well. This team is quite simply weak on the glass and not at all mentally strong. In other words, they're very young. As we're seeing with Kentucky this year a team that relies heavily on freshmen is rarely the smartest or most fundamentally sound team on the floor. We all thought this team had that mental toughness but they just don't. Every guy on the floor is guilty of getting lost on the floor except Burke, THJ, and Morgan. Coincidentally those are our most experiences players. The freshmen are too inconsistent to make up for those three going cold occasionally. Our only hope is that playing on a neutral floor leaves us on the side of our play at home rather than our play on the road.

Needs

March 7th, 2013 at 6:24 AM ^

I don't know how you accuse the team of not being mentally strong after that game. They were down 12 in a loud arena with one of the Johnsons having a career night. They could have simply accepted the loss, but they went on a huge offensive run and scored like 40 points in 10 minutes to turn it around. There are all kinds of explanations of how they got down 12, but it took some significant mental fortitute (ONIONS!) to turn that game around.

bronxblue

March 6th, 2013 at 10:52 PM ^

This was a good win, given the context.  UM is coming off a tough win, they've got IU coming in, and Purdue is a Johnson-headed Hydra that played out of their minds.  Then you throw in the usual B1G crap officiating, and this game could have gotten away.  Instead, they buckled down in the second half and never let the game get away from them.  It wasn't a pretty win, but it could have gone the way of PSU and they held on.

I will say that while I love Burke, I'm getting a little scared that the rest of the team is just expecting him to carry them offensively for stretches.  This team was best this season when everyone was involved, but now it feels like they sit around at times and just let him dominant the playcall.  It's obviously worked, but at some point in the tourney they'll run into a team that can slow him down and, hopefully, other guys (and the coaches) are still capable of stepping up in the absence.

SF Wolverine

March 7th, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^

so, take the win and be happy.

But, B has got to get these guys on the boards better, and we need someone other than McGary diving for 50/50 balls -- they've been looking like 30/70 balls the last 7-8 games.  Here's hoping that this game gives us confidence going into Saturday, but also identifies some concrete things that everyone can do better.  they'll need it.

BlueHoosier

March 7th, 2013 at 1:18 AM ^

It was great to see Stauskas score some points. Hopefully the confidence he gained carries over to the rest of the season. His scoring threat adds another dimension to this offense that we will need. Plus, he's a solid free throw shooter.

umich02

March 7th, 2013 at 8:18 AM ^

It seemed like many were complaining about his defense, but he locked up byrd whenever he was guarding him and looked alright in transition. Plus Levert's defense isn't good enough to make up for his lack of offense. I'd like to see Stauskas with the majority of minutes followed by Vogrich then Levert. 

Needs

March 7th, 2013 at 9:01 AM ^

I generally agree. He was shaky on his help D (I think his lack of strength really hurts him when giving help) but Bird is the kind of guy he can cover. Stauskas is fine chasing someone around the perimeter (as long as he remembers to close out hard) but he struggles against two man games and guys who can change direction. That's not Bird

I thought Hardaway struggled to stay in front of either one of the Johnsons, but no one could cool off Terone. He was just in the zone. Anything he threw up was going down.

Tater

March 7th, 2013 at 1:06 PM ^

Another team plays its best possible game against Michigan and comes up short.  All of these Big Ten wars should have the Wolverines fully prepared for the NCAA Tournament.