UCLA Upsets Bama! Bring On The Bruins!
I like our matchup a whole lot better with the Bruins then Bama, to hell with the $EC
March 28th, 2021 at 10:17 PM ^
They're two tallest guys are 6'10" and 6'9" and neither has played in more than 15 games this season.
Time to feed the Hunter...
Bama shot 44% from the free throw line. We can't have a repeat of our performance at the line like we did tonight.
The positive would be that despite shooting abysmally from the line Alabama nearly won this game. UCLA has gotten a TON of fortunate luck thus far and barely scrapped by despite it all. Obviously that's partly good play by them but Michigan is an extremely well-coached team and I don't think we'll see some of the mistakes Alabama had this game play out again.
To clarify that % - Bama went 11 of 25 from the FT line. For a team that is known for its 3 pt shooting - that is horrible and surreal.
Bama was the better team - but they handed the game over on a silver platter. Sucks for the Tide.
Time to send Cinderella back to Cali on Tuesday! Go Blue!!!
March 28th, 2021 at 10:05 PM ^
One kid from Bama went 4-4 from the line, rest of team 7-21. Middle school or worse free throw shooting.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:24 PM ^
And 2 absolute choke misses at the end or regulation to boot.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:35 PM ^
UCLA won’t get away with this when fouling us
I didn’t watch the game - were the refs trying to keep Bama in the game?
March 28th, 2021 at 10:45 PM ^
No. It was just a horribly played game by both teams.
I wasn't impressed by either team. UCLA has one guy that iso's, and they take whatever they can get out of that action. The center isn't very good, but he destroyed Bama in the paint. Neither team can stay in reach when Michigan plays like they did today. Or against LSU. Average Michigan wins, good Michigan beats the crap out of them.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:00 PM ^
I’ll take 65% as a bad night for FTs. Bama lost this game from the charity stripe.
March 28th, 2021 at 11:36 PM ^
We weren't great tonight (65%) but I'm guessing on Tuesday we'll be better than Bama was today.
As we all expected, the Pac 12 will have 1/3 of the representatives in the Elite 8 while the SEC, Big. 10, ACC, and Pac 12 combined will have 3.
The PAC 12 got 2 2/3rds teams into the Elite Eight? That is unprecedented!!
March 28th, 2021 at 10:03 PM ^
Fine, they got 3/8 of the teams, but since one had to beat MSU to get in I dock them a third of a point.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:29 PM ^
To be fair, as it stands now the their are 2 pac 12 teams playing right now and two more still alive, so it’s actually 4/9ths.
4 teams have apparently overlooked them based on record or seed, I hope Michigan does not.
3 teams overlooked them based on seed. The team they met in the play in game wasn’t good enough to beat them.
If you say so, that team beat Michigan like 4 days prior to that.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:09 PM ^
And Staee was stupid enough to foul on a late “and one”.
I mean, they played a 14 seed in the second round and MSU was seen as exactly the same level of competition. BYU really wasn't that good and lots of people sort of assumed they might pull that game off.
They're a good team, but only Alabama really played "down" to them.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:00 PM ^
I thought BYU was a decent team so who knows. Pac 12 apparently good, I just don’t want Michigan to overlook them. I do think Michigan matches up well with them though, much more so than FSU.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:06 PM ^
The thing with BYU I remember people pointing out was that they had struggled in the WCC tournament and hadn't really played anyone other than Gonzaga all year, and UCLA's athleticism was likely to cause them issues.
Michigan does match up well with UCLA, though obviously it'll be a difficult game if UCLA can move the ball around and get moving toward the basket. They do seem good at defending the 3 to a degree that feels more than dumb luck. Dumb luck, in this case, is their FT defense against Alabama.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:03 PM ^
Yeah I examined BYU’s record and was blown away they got a 6. Like how??? They had maybe 1 or 2 good wins all year. Was it just because they didn’t get blown out by Gonzaga a couple times?
March 28th, 2021 at 10:09 PM ^
Yeah, I've been saying for a bit that I think the advanced stats, with limited inter-conference games, struggled to accurately define teams from non-P5 conferences. Like, LUC was a good team but at no point were they the #9 team in the country (as they were to KenPom), and a team like BYU really didn't deserve to be top-20 per KenPom either.
UCLA is better than an 11 seed right now, and UM will have to be prepared.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:06 PM ^
LOL, I'm not sure anyone overlooks an opponent in the tourney, outside of 1 and 2 seeds in round 1
UCLA is playing their best ball right now and any team is a tough out in the E8, but let's not get too BPONE about the Bruins who:
- is an 11 play in seed that beat MSU (who choked the game away late), a 14 seed, 6 seed BYU..
- and now Bama who shot 30% from three and 45% from the FT line for the game.
- would be a 14.5 pt KP dog to M in the regular season (ie, pre tourney using Seth's bracket tool, IDK the updated KP numbers)
- is NOT 2 seed and 5 overall Bama.
This is an E8 draw that M fans would have DREAMT of a week ago
March 28th, 2021 at 10:11 PM ^
Football has me in permanent BPONE. It’s hard to shake it sometimes. Thank goodness for basketball.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:14 PM ^
If you overlook ANYONE this deep into the tourney you deserve to lose.
I like this matchup. However, UCLA is playing great team ball at the right time. It’s going to be a great matchup for sure! Go Blue, beat the Bruins!
Wow.
Lets show Staee how to beat the Bruins !
March 28th, 2021 at 10:04 PM ^
Amazing that Sparty was up 13 before halftime against UCLA - and then choked it away.
You just hate to see that...
March 28th, 2021 at 11:35 PM ^
[jordanpoole.gif]
Definitely the favorable matchup. UCLA doesn't run much of an offense or play much defense. They seem like a slightly more balanced LSU team minus the multiple NBA guys who can make absurd floaters
March 28th, 2021 at 10:05 PM ^
No. UCLA has talent and is very well coached. Big difference.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:10 PM ^
Aren’t like 3 of UCLAs top players out? Not saying they don’t have talent still but I would assume our talent matches up well with theirs.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:12 PM ^
Have we been watching the same team? Their defense is soft, their offense is iso heavy, and Cronin almost blew the game
March 28th, 2021 at 11:41 PM ^
Yes. We've been watching the same team -- the one that upset a higher seeded team in 3 straight games thanks to balanced scoring and clutch play down the stretch, despite the fact that they're down two stars. What are you talking about?
March 28th, 2021 at 10:13 PM ^
They are talented, and I'm not saying they're not well coached but multiple times in this game their offense was just various guys trying ISO, failing and passing to another guy so he could try ISO. They had periods where they moved the ball as well but they don't run offense near as well as Michigan, or at least didn't in this game. I admit I haven't watched much of them prior to this game.
Amazing opportunity - let’s go blue!
Be careful what you wish for. I think I’d rather play Bama. UCLA is the hot team with nothing to lose. And their stars didn’t make their 3s tonight. Not saying we should be scared, but losing to an 11 seed would suck. And UCLA is not playing like an 11 seed.
I strongly disagree with this - why would you wish to play an elite top 5 KenPom team?! Give me the lucky overachiever all day!
In the Elite 8 every team has something to lose. Michigan is also a hot team. But maybe you've just found the national narrative for why Michigan will lose. The length card isn't gonna fly this time.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:00 PM ^
I don’t look for narratives - I just think we are a much better team and I think we will win.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:00 PM ^
I do agree UCLA is playing their best ball right now, but I have significantly more faith in Coach Howard, his staff, and this team. He’ll have the guys ready to go for sure.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:01 PM ^
UCLA shot their season average from 3; Alabama was the one that shot markedly worse both from the line as well as outside. UCLA is a good team and better than an 11 seed, but Alabama's lack of a cohesive offensive system really did play into UCLA's hands in this game, and I don't know how they'll handle a UM team that can attack them in multiple ways.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:01 PM ^
Albama had a top 5 KenPom defense and is very good 3 point shooting team, while UCLA is a poorly coached team on both ends of the floor and that has been hitting their shots. Definitely prefer this matchup.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:11 PM ^
Why would you say they’re poorly coached? He’s a good coach and has clearly outperformed other coaches, including Izzo, in this tourney.
March 28th, 2021 at 10:13 PM ^
They barely run an offense, have a porous defense, then Cronin almost blew the game. They've survived off of guys making shots, not due to superior coaching
March 28th, 2021 at 11:54 PM ^
You made a lazy, illogical argument, then you twisted yourself in knots to defend it. UCLA, despite being down two stars, knocked off three good teams, including #2, and you're saying they survived "off guys making shot." Guess what: the team that makes more shots wins. They play smart. They play poised. They spread the wealth. And Cronin didn't almost blow the game. Alabama hit a prayer at the buzzer. Then UCLA absolutely demolished them.
Cronin is widely regarded as a good coach. He was very good at Cinci, and last year he was coach of the year in the P12. And now he has a depleted team in the E8.
But, yeah, they suck.