Michigan vs. Louisville NCAA Tournament Game 6 Open Thread
Once more unto the breach, dear friends....
Not only keeping with the front page style, but I feel that way. I'm pretty live and let live on threads. But I might have fought someone for this one tonight. I'm taking no chances. I even had subs tonight. Because I bet it's going to get crazy. Liveblog is up on the front page, so if there are zero posts in this thread, that's fine. It exist. (Oh, and you can check out the Gameday open thread till this game really gets started).
It's funny how 2 and a half hours, plus commercials, can bring such misery or joy, over how a ball bounces. Both teams here have accomplished a lot. But only one gets to go home happy. For every person who loves this team and thinks "we're due" there's a Louisville fan thinking the same. Programs, recently overshadowed by their in-state rival, trying to win their first national championship since the late 80's, with a coach trying to set a historic personal milestone and prove their ranking among the elite. And someone is going to end very unhappy. So it's time to seize the day. Better them than us.
Because one of these opportunities may not come along for awhile. It doesn't have to be 20 years of darkness to not get back to this point; it's really hard, and you can be good for a good long while and not have the perfect mesh of players who come together in the right year, the right amount of chemistry and luck in big Tournament games, and things belong your control like some opposing team who is just better than you that year.
Is Louisville that team? We'll know before the night is done. But we should try and enjoy every player and play tonight, because we have no idea how many of these guys will be back. And while I expect we'll always be good under John Beilein, there's no guarantee we get back this far, even fielding good team after good team. If you had told a young me that after going 3 out of 5 years and back to back that we wouldn't be back till I was 20 years older, I don't know that I'd have believed it. We were Michigan. And we will be; a new generation will get to experience that from this day forward. I just hope they also don't have to experience the agony of losing one of these things. There's not much in sports worse. But only with great risk can come great reward.......
We are here. Louisville may be the better team, but we have the better players; and while Pitino does a great job when you consider recruiting and everything, I think we have the better X&O coach. One day to prepare. Time for them to shine in the short turnaround. Play for 40 minutes, leave it all on the court, and have no regrets. And bring home the ring and the banner, and fire up the pep rally and parade. I want to watch One Shining Moment and be happy. 5 down, only 1 to go. Let's do this. Go Blue!
This reffing is a goddamn embarrassment to the game. I've never been this pissed about a sports game in my life.
Are coming back to win this game right now.
Yes!!!!
Refs are all loooville...
After watching this game, I have no idea how basketball is played anymore.
Being called like refs have money on the game
are hitting everything. Every roll o every bucket. When that stops we need to strike. Fuck.
At no point during this sequence was there body contact
Clean block
Not a foul
I'm the last guy to blame officiating, but in the increasingly likely event Michigan loses, the zebras are solely at fault. Absolute hose job.
These refs are garbage. I'm incensed!!!! These guys need to go crazy right now and make some stops and shots.
It looks like the air came out of our sails when we got jobbed there.
Guys. This moment is ours.
A block is a block, unless it is a Michigan block.
Our ball screen D has just been awful this half. They are killing us with mismatches.
It's a fucking shame the refs have had such an impact on this game...
Embarassing actually.
Fuck Louisville. Fuck the refs.
Unbelivable how bad a team can be at free throws.
We gonna lose b/c we couldn't hit FT's. That sucks.
Make the damn free theows
It's been an issue all year.
Game
We need to chill out on the refs. Stop whining. Louisville is an awesome team. Well coached, well rounded.
My question is: why is levert in the game?
Ball game.
God just toys with us. Whenever we get close, nope. Lose in the championship every god damn time.
Down 8 with 3 minutes to go. Ugh
Once again, it happens
Letssss gooooooooooooooooooooo
They gave up, and they FUCKING blew it
Hardaway a pro? Riigggghhhtttt. Disappears. Shoots worse from the line than Shaq.
free throw
And I'm out. No reason to make the pain worse. Props to Louisville, they have one hell of a team this year and we gave them a run for about thirty minutes.
stop
GAVE up
Can't rebound when it matters. Fucking ridiculous.
Mugging.
Louisville just wants it more. They're making all the hustle plays.
i need a brown paper bag to breathe into.
Don't stop believing
The officiating has been bad, but what's really hurt us is 1) continually going over ball screens and getting burned; 2) our complete inability to rebound and 3) our pitiful FT shooting.
The fix is obviously in.
GR3 needed to attempt the shot there
just make
STOP!
Tonight will be the night we make the clutch free throws fellas
And put in STAUSKUS
Goaltend. Block call. Hancock should be fouled out.
Fucking great. Over now.
Fuck
Idiot
why not foul right away, gonna cry