WBB B1G Tournament 1st Round vs Illinois Game Thread
Go Blue!
Let's get both basketball teams in the NCAA!
I should have taken the day off work for this one!
Go Blue!! Beat illinois!
BTW, how good are the illinois women?
we are the 7 seed in this 7-10 matchup. We are leading 27-11 with less than 4 minutes left in the first half. We are playing sickening defense today.
Good first half. Barring a second half collapse (which has happened a couple times this season), we should be set with a win here. Probably still need another one to guarantee a spot in the tourney and playing OSU tomorrow and getting a win would solidify our resume. A loss and we're sweating it.
Though I don't necesarrily gravitate toward women's basketball, I appreciate the stress they put on fundamentals and playmaking. Not that men's bball doesn't focus on these things, but they are usually more easily recognized in women's games.
It's tough to get into women's sports sometimes. Especially when I feel like I could easily make the roster of a women's college basketball team. But the good teams are actually fun to watch (UCONN, Tenn, Baylor etc). And it's Michigan, so I'll watch and support the girls.
Basketball just doesn't translate well from men to women. However, you're correct, elite women's bball is fine.
But it's not like baseball and softball where the field/rules have been tailored for women. I have no problem with softball. In fact, when Michigan has good years and makes it deep in the tournament, I always watch. It's intense and good stuff. Much better than baseball, IMO.
I'm not sure what you can do for women to even out the level of play so that it compares to men. Lower the hoop to 9'? Make the ball even smaller?
All I know is that the fact they have no backcourt violation is the DUMBEST thing ever.
I stopped watching women's basketball 8 years ago when I witnessed this series of events take place in the 2nd round of the women's NCAA tournament. I forget the teams, but one was Black and one was Red, so we'll refer to them thusly:
Black team inbounding ball with about 15 seconds left down by 1 point. Girl throwing it in pump fakes the pass, at which time the defender guarding her grabs the ball right out of her hands (while she is still waiting to inbound the ball). Red team gets hit with a delay of game warning. Black then inbounds the ball to their PG at the top of the circle. The defender guarding her decides (for no apparent reason) to run at the Black team player who was at the wing. Since there was now nobody defending the ball, the woman with the ball drove to the basket (which was 100% wide open) as time was expiring. She missed the wide open lay up and the Black team lost.
I'll still watch if Michigan is playing, but then again I'll watch anything Michigan related.
I think that's a fair assessment. But I don't think soccer fields are shortened for women. But at the same time, there is much more open play and the elite athletes really stand out because of it. Makes it fun to watch.
Soccer and Tennis are two sports that may be MORE exciting on the women's side.
These is exactly what I was saying...for basketball, it just doesn't work.
MSoccer vs. WSoccer --- Fine
MTennis vs. WTennis --- Fine
Baseball vs. Softball --- Fine
Track & Field --- Fine
...basketball just doesn't work on the women's side until it's one of the elite teams in the country. Obviously football wouldn't work. I'm not sure about hockey, I've honestly never paid attention to women's hockey. Lacrosse isn't as exciting for the women, but it's not a huge difference like basketball is.
about womens hockey, and here's my take:
At a young age (14U these days) there really isn't a difference in the sport. Sure, an elite team of fourteen year old guys would beat up on an elite team of 14U girls, but the sport is played in the same way, without checking, and the differences just don't exist.
Once you start getting into older divisions, the differences become pretty pronounced because of the lack of checking. In mens hockey, you'll see a good shooter/a pesky winger in front of the net get hit a second late or the defenseman will lead with an elbow (the point is that defensemen make their presence known through their style of hitting). In womens hockey, without the ability to check, many/most turn to slashing/hooking and other stickwork. With the new standard of play put into place since 2005, this has made the few womens bantam/midget games I've refereed complete shitshow penalty-fests.
Also, girls can be really, really unsportsmanlike. I don't know if that's a function of expecting some type of "ladylike" behavior that's engrained into my psyche, or a function of girls generally taking insults more personally than their guy counterparts, but there can be a ton of drama trying to keep a womens game in check that just doesn't exist on the boys side, for the most part.
Even though this post is already too long, I'll share what I think is a funny story. Young referees in Illinois are given chances to prove themselves and be evaluated at select camps, so this was a 16U game featuring many AAA all-stars and elite AA players. Generally, these games are very clean affairs because there are a million scouts in the stands; we're not supposed to have to call a bunch of penalties. Well, one girl scores in the second to make it 1-0, skates by the other teams bench with her leg lifted like a dog at a fire hydrant, and I called (at that time) the only misconduct penalty in the decade long history of this showcase. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, although I had a good laugh about it later.
/coolish story bro
I work in athletics...so I've seen more sports than most. But I've NEVER seen women's hockey other than highlights during the Olympics or something. I've always wondered how the game was played in comparison to the men.
Thanks for sharing!
Women's basketball should have had a lower rim. Maybe not nine feet tall, but like 9'6". It seems like common sense to me, given that women are shorter than men.
We struggled down the stretch (ala N'Western MBB), we need this win to get us in the tournament. Currently sitting as one of the "Last 4 In"...this could put us over the hump for the first NCAA Tourney appearance in a looong time.
20 wins - plus it would guarantee a .500 conference record.
We win and upset Ohio tomorrow and we're easily in.
We're up 15 with just over 3 minutes to play. We played very well in the first half (Illinois played terrible)...it's been even in the 2nd half but we've kept a comfortable lead.
Big win. Get another one tomorrow and we guarantee a spot. Go Blue!!
Courtney Boylan is not nearly as camera shy as her beau Stu.
Solid win (68-53) to get to 20 on the season. This is only the fourth time in the history of the program the team has won 20--two of them have been under Kevin Borseth.
For those interested, an ESPN writer had a nice profile of the team that was published yesterday focusing on how Michigan is a program on the rise: Michigan Is on the Rise
Thanks for the read.
but Borseth is a good coach. He could probably be moderately successful at a mid-major men's team somewhere.
any Michigan positive story, just remember that this one was written by ex-Detroit News moron Joanne Gerstner.
It is remarkable that these Detroit media hacks keep getting national jobs--Drew (not the) Sharp(est), Michael Rosenhack, Waaab Parker, etc.(sorry, I know that's an aside, but it is still true).
BEAT OHIO!