UM-MSU Snowflakes Thread
It is probably not too early to start this up. I love the team and the success they have had this year so far, but in order to go far in the tournament they've got to step it up.
The lack of physicality on this team is a noticeable issue - they have gotten eaten up inside by teams with a halfway decent big man.
Trey Burke is the only one who can create offense for others. No other players can penetrate to the hole with regularity. You slow Burke down and Michigan suffers.
You're not going to get very far on jump shots alone. Take it to the hole.
EDIT: The defense is average at best. Get in front of someone and cut off drives to the hoop...PLEASE.
Enough said.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:00 PM ^
You forget Michigan vs. Indiana in 1937, when most of the stadium was destroyed by invading martians in the second half. The only surviving player, a Hoosier, when on to score 58 unanswered points before the game was called by an injured referee who escaped the alien slave-crafts.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:07 PM ^
This was still worse.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:21 PM ^
Now that's just mean.
I thought we agreed to never talk about that game again on this blog.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:07 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 10:50 PM ^
This is what the team needs. Before this stretch, we were flying too high and got too cocky. This stretch may just bring the team down to earth, and show them that they need to win games with effort as well.
February 12th, 2013 at 10:50 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 10:52 PM ^
You say Penis like it's a bad thing.
February 12th, 2013 at 10:50 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 11:54 PM ^
Morgan was gutting it out on one leg and if you watched he defended Nix beautifully when he was in there. He is a problem only in the sense that we miss having him in the game at 100%
February 12th, 2013 at 10:51 PM ^
We totally are coming back from 30 down with a few minutes to play now.
Well played.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:14 PM ^
I reversed jinxed it.
Sorry everyone. My bad.
Piss poor effort from me as well as the basketball team tonight.
February 12th, 2013 at 10:51 PM ^
Is it possible that this team is just totally and utterly exhausted? Think about this stretch they have played since last saturday. @Indiana, OSU, @wisco, @msu. Plus going to overtime in two of them. They are off until Sunday, I want to see this team get rested, get pissed and come back strong to finish off this season.
February 13th, 2013 at 7:48 AM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 10:51 PM ^
This is why you don't make an "Izzo's team is garbage" thread in November.
Hopefully this game wakes this team up. They aren't doing anything in March looking like they did tonight.
February 12th, 2013 at 10:55 PM ^
You can only say "this was a wake-up call" or "the freshmen grew up tonight" so many times before accepting that this team just isn't as good as we all hoped.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:12 PM ^
I'm not saying this was a wake-up call. I'm saying I HOPE it is.
This team is way too talented to get blown out like they did tonight.
If they get it together, I still think this team is capable of doing big things. However, if this is what we look like in March, we ain't doin' shit.
February 12th, 2013 at 10:51 PM ^
I look at this team the last 3 weeks and see a decent Beilein WV team. I'm not sure what happened over the last month, but I don't like it. Our guys are scared out there. They don't rebound, they don't defend, they don't go to the basket. Its unfortunate that we haven't really improved or grown during b10 play. If anything we've regressed.
February 12th, 2013 at 10:53 PM ^
lol ap#1
February 12th, 2013 at 10:53 PM ^
Running the table the rest of the way and parlaying it into a B1G tourney championship and a strong NCAA tourney showing will most certainly make tonight and Saturday forgettable.
Just don't feel M has what it takes. The next 3 vs. PSU, vs. ILL, @ PSU will be key to kickstarting it.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:11 PM ^
Disagree. Beating up on average to below average teams does nothing. They did that for the majority of the first 60% of the schedule. They have beaten no one (Minn) on the road. They have been exposed from the OSU game forward on how to be beaten. Pressure Burke, take away options, punch GR3 in the mouth (he disappears) and out work Michigan.
Defense always travels. Offense will go into a funk. OSU with 1.5 freaking offensive options almost beat UM on the road. WIscy always is tough to beat with almost no offensive talent. Michigan is a fun offensive team against inferior talent, but does not show the defensive effort or drive to play with big boys. Beating PSU by 15 wont change that.
February 12th, 2013 at 10:53 PM ^
fucking joke this game was... yet another game that JB does not have this team prepared for...
February 12th, 2013 at 10:53 PM ^
Everything is still terrible. No reason to alter my hatred of it yet.
February 12th, 2013 at 10:55 PM ^
February 13th, 2013 at 7:39 AM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 10:55 PM ^
February 13th, 2013 at 1:17 AM ^
How do you come out so flat in the three biggest road games of the year @ OSU, Indiana and MSU games with absolutely no energy and effort. There are two big differences from this year to last, 1. Novak and company had heart and effort but almost no elite talent - 2. This team has elite offensive talent but no heart and effort which is really what defense, rebounding and hustle create.
I would almost rather watch last years team at this point as at least you would count on the kids hustling after almost everything 100% of the time. At this point, it seems like everyone wants to only hustle to get down to the 3 point line to try to get a long-range shot, way too man y offensive boards due to simply not blocking out and putting in effort, and what appears to be a distinct lack of effort and aggresive play around the basket.
There is no killer instinct that has at least been displayed at this point, and it would be nice to see someone finally drive effort around an almost insane level of effort at hustle plays and defense.
February 12th, 2013 at 10:55 PM ^
The team will be in Ann Arbor for the next 15 days or so. They need to get some rest now and watch highlights of this game everyday till they meet these guys again.
They ran out of gas last year, hopefully they can get back some momentum over this break.
They did fail in their most important stretch of the season to date though. They can turn things back around.
February 12th, 2013 at 10:55 PM ^
Scared.
This team is playing scared. Why I have no idea but you can see it in their eyes, their body language and their overall play.
They are scared.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:13 PM ^
They are not scared, they are small. And unlike scared, that can't be fixed easily.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:41 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 10:56 PM ^
I think that the way this team is built sets it up for failure on the defensive end. We have no athletic bigs to cover our mediocre perimeter defenders. Ideally, McGary/Morgan would be a 4, and we would have a stronger 5 presence.
I see that I'm rambling. I dunno. I just think this team is doomed to be soft. I know I know they're allllll freshmen, but I just don't see where we can grow. To me it's like a 6 foot linebacker who could be really good but he's just too small
February 12th, 2013 at 11:14 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 10:56 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 10:57 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 10:58 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 10:58 PM ^
He's like the Alfonso Soriano of basketball. When he's hot you can't guard him. When he's cold the basket could be 10 feet wide and he still wouldn't make it.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:00 PM ^
Game's not over, we can do this!
February 12th, 2013 at 11:00 PM ^
All I really saw tonight was true freshmen playing like true freshmen. Couldn't buy a basket under the hoop, lots of thoughtless turnovers. They got flustered on the big stage because they're young and they're not ready. Hopefully this gets them ready.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:08 PM ^
I thought getting manhandled in Columbus got the freshmen ready? Or was it getting blown off the court the first half against Indiana that taught them what it's like to play on the big stage?
It might just be that we're not a top-10 team.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^
I don't know what to tell you, but growing up takes time. I think the tough games are showing us that we probably aren't a top-10 team. When these guys are hitting on all cylinders, they're really tough to beat. When they're off, they can be beat by good teams. This is much better than previous years when if we were off, we could be beat by anyone.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:00 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 11:01 PM ^
Got pushed around and couldn't do anything about it. Very early 2000s like.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:01 PM ^
Michigan looked like the softest team in the country. What a joke. Well at least we know that GRIII and Hardaway wont be entering the draft. I doubt they could get minutes in the WNBA at this point.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:14 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 11:36 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 11:02 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 11:07 PM ^
We don't have the bodies to match up. It's not just a matter of not giving effort.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:11 PM ^
February 12th, 2013 at 11:02 PM ^
I will be happy if this team only makes the sweet 16 now.
They should fall out of the top 10 after this game. They have lost 3 out of 4...and have just been humiliated on the road.
February 12th, 2013 at 11:04 PM ^