Fair point. A lot depends on automatic berths going to regular season champs winning conference tournaments. I suspect 2019 was heavily aligned in that regard.
Ball needs to be in Kobe’s hands at the end of the game with Hunter pick and roll. Kobe was away from the ball on the opposite side if the court for that possession after the time out.
If Hunter executes pick and roll instead of pop, he ends up with a five-foot shot for the win.
Fully agree. I don’t think a 15 loss team has ever received an at large bid. Need to win four straight. As crazy as it sounds, I can see that happening.
Fully agree. Reed entered at the 13-minute mark and blocked two shots, altered one or two other shots, and grabbed a difficult offensive rebound in four minutes. For some reason, that led to getting pulled until the final minute.
I have no idea why Reed isn’t getting 25+ minutes per game. If Howard opts to do that, this team could make a nice run in March.
This week was a minor detour on the road to the sweet sixteen. This team will be able to beat any team in the Big Ten when Levert gets a couple games in.
Michigan's first, second, and third down plays on the last series (all runs up the middle) took 5, 7, and 6 seconds, respectively. Running sideline to sideline on those plays while being careful not to get pushed out of bounds likely would have burned 1 or 2 more seconds per play. Then, with five seconds on the clock instead of ten on fourth down, give the ball to Peppers and have him run back and burn the remaining time.
Giving the ball to DeVeon on those types of runs brought back memories of A-train getting stripped against NW 15 years ago.
Great win. I think our best half-court offense is giving the ball to Stauskus and letting him create. I wonder what our points per possession number is when Stauskus is doing that versus the rest of the time (for possessions that are not transition shots).
Levert was outstanding. If he can become a solid #3 scorer on a consistent basis, this team will be in very good shape in mid March.
After the first foul wasn't called: Wow. The ref missed that one.
One second later after getting tripped: That ref missed two in a row!
One second later after having the ball knocked out of bounds by a Minnesota player and having it called their ball: That ref must have money on Minn -2.5.
Very well done. It would be interesting to compare the fumble rates to decades earlier. I guarantee that the fumble rate was lower in the pre-1990 timeframe. Seems like that was when the art of stripping the ball became mainstream.
It has been four weeks since we last saw a Bacari Alexander motivational speech during the pre-game telecast.
This has coincided with Stauskus and GR3's games going into the tank.
Coincidence? I doubt it.
Bring back Bacari.
Have him use his masking tape where he tapes up the team to show unity. Have him wear a hard hat and yell go to work. Have him do anything. It seemed to work.
Last year's Big 10 Title banner is still hanging from the rafters. It would have been nice to have another; but, that isn't the main goal for this year.
Last night was a learning opportunity.
We are playing with a future NBA All Star on our roster. Can't wait until next year.
The ultimate verdict on this season is not our placement in the Big Ten regular season standings. Same is true for the Big Ten tournament.
Here is how it will be judged:
- Sweet Sixteen Loss or worse: Failed to meet Expectations
- Elite Eight Loss: Met Expectations
- Final Four Loss or better: Exceeded Expectations
The question on Vitale is whether or not he says ANYTHING during the game that adds to the experience of watching it. The answer is NO. Compare him to Jay Bilas; the best in the business. Bilas breaks the game down and uses replays to show the strategy involved. Vitale just screams pre-determined rants after great plays and gives out canned lists. If Burke makes a three-point shot, he is "the best PG in the country!" If he misses his next one, he is taking too many shots and needs to get others involved.
There was a time in the mid and late 80s when Vitale was solid. Now, he needs to just stick to the motivational speaker circuit.
Doris Burke is significantly better than Vitale.
On a separate note, there has to be a way to get GR3 involved early in the offense. He is too talented to force him to rely on offensive put-backs and transition dunks.
The announcer made the following comment last night:
Michigan is 9 - 0 for the first time since the 1988-89 National Championship Team.
That was an interesting comment.
Then, he followed it up with this:
Rumeal Robinson, Eric Riley, Terry Mills - That was a heck of a team.
I wonder if Glen Rice was watching that game. I am sure Riley would have been happy to hear that comment.
Leaving Rice off the list of three players mentioned is like stating that the Bulls of the 1990s had a heck of a team with Luc Longley, John Paxon, and Horace Grant.
The announcer made the following comment last night:
Michigan is 9 - 0 for the first time since the 1988-89 National Championship Team.
That was an interesting comment.
Then, he followed it up with this:
Rumeal Robinson, Eric Riley, Terry Mills - That was a heck of a team.
I wonder if Glen Rice was watching that game. I am sure Riley would have been happy to hear that comment.
Leaving Rice off the list of three players mentioned is like stating that the Bulls of the 1990s had a heck of a team with Luc Longley, John Paxon, and Horace Grant.
Recent Comments
Agreed. 1997 season last five games are a close second place.
Was in attendance at all five of those games this season. Skipped Iowa game.
Also attended school 1985-1989. Was in the street celebrating after Rumeal made two FTs in 1:1 situation. Great times.
Go Blue!
Big fan of your posts over the years. Hope you get well soon.
Fair point. Howard gets at least two more seasons.
Could have been Dug’s fault One of the two Bardo ripped on Hunter incorrectly
Bardo made another mistake later calling out Dug for not getting back on Simpson’s breakout dunk (should’ve pointed out Twill on that)
Here is the winning recipe:
1. Start Tarris Reed! Already eight games late on that.
2. Minutes distribution:
Dug 36
Kobe 37
Jett 34
Reed 30
Hunter 36
Baker and Twill get remaining 27 (both get 7; more effective player gets most of remaining 13)
That is it Seven players
Awesome article. Love this line. So good.
If drinking bleach and driving a thousand miles an hour into the ocean was a basketball team, this would be it.
Agreed. Talk about that situation pre-game and make sure everyone knows to clear out for Kobe - Hunter pick and roll.
Fair point. A lot depends on automatic berths going to regular season champs winning conference tournaments. I suspect 2019 was heavily aligned in that regard.
I am thinking:
18–15 (0% chance of getting at large bid)
19-15 (8%)
20-15 (63%)
Ball needs to be in Kobe’s hands at the end of the game with Hunter pick and roll. Kobe was away from the ball on the opposite side if the court for that possession after the time out.
If Hunter executes pick and roll instead of pop, he ends up with a five-foot shot for the win.
Agreed. Dug is not the problem.
Fully agree. I don’t think a 15 loss team has ever received an at large bid. Need to win four straight. As crazy as it sounds, I can see that happening.
Up 7 with 1:39 remaining tonight.
Up 7 with 1:47 remaining in Iowa City in January.
I still think this team beats Indiana on Sunday and wins at least one game next week to get an 11-seed.
Jett with a nice throw down in the half court offense in the first half.
Fully agree. Reed entered at the 13-minute mark and blocked two shots, altered one or two other shots, and grabbed a difficult offensive rebound in four minutes. For some reason, that led to getting pulled until the final minute.
I have no idea why Reed isn’t getting 25+ minutes per game. If Howard opts to do that, this team could make a nice run in March.
I noticed that. It also seems 96-86 with 39 seconds left should have had the highest win probability.
I am thinking Iowa fans won’t be leaving games early when Michigan teams visit going forward.
It has been 30 years - I felt like I was reliving that game.
Giving the ball to DeVeon on those types of runs brought back memories of A-train getting stripped against NW 15 years ago.
This should be published and released to a wider audience.
Great win. I think our best half-court offense is giving the ball to Stauskus and letting him create. I wonder what our points per possession number is when Stauskus is doing that versus the rest of the time (for possessions that are not transition shots).
Levert was outstanding. If he can become a solid #3 scorer on a consistent basis, this team will be in very good shape in mid March.
My thoughts after that play:
After the first foul wasn't called: Wow. The ref missed that one.
One second later after getting tripped: That ref missed two in a row!
One second later after having the ball knocked out of bounds by a Minnesota player and having it called their ball: That ref must have money on Minn -2.5.
This was the football version of Rocky I.
How in the hell does Indiana leave Gallon so open the entire game? I don't think Gardner looked at Chesson all day.
Looks like the O-Line situation might be settled.
Good to see Gardner play so well when he has protection. His six yard TD run was amazing and came at a key point in the game.
House looked empty in sections. Why?
Very well done. It would be interesting to compare the fumble rates to decades earlier. I guarantee that the fumble rate was lower in the pre-1990 timeframe. Seems like that was when the art of stripping the ball became mainstream.
It has been four weeks since we last saw a Bacari Alexander motivational speech during the pre-game telecast.
This has coincided with Stauskus and GR3's games going into the tank.
Coincidence? I doubt it.
Bring back Bacari.
Have him use his masking tape where he tapes up the team to show unity. Have him wear a hard hat and yell go to work. Have him do anything. It seemed to work.
Last year's Big 10 Title banner is still hanging from the rafters. It would have been nice to have another; but, that isn't the main goal for this year.
Last night was a learning opportunity.
We are playing with a future NBA All Star on our roster. Can't wait until next year.
The ultimate verdict on this season is not our placement in the Big Ten regular season standings. Same is true for the Big Ten tournament.
Here is how it will be judged:
- Sweet Sixteen Loss or worse: Failed to meet Expectations
- Elite Eight Loss: Met Expectations
- Final Four Loss or better: Exceeded Expectations
The question on Vitale is whether or not he says ANYTHING during the game that adds to the experience of watching it. The answer is NO. Compare him to Jay Bilas; the best in the business. Bilas breaks the game down and uses replays to show the strategy involved. Vitale just screams pre-determined rants after great plays and gives out canned lists. If Burke makes a three-point shot, he is "the best PG in the country!" If he misses his next one, he is taking too many shots and needs to get others involved.
There was a time in the mid and late 80s when Vitale was solid. Now, he needs to just stick to the motivational speaker circuit.
Doris Burke is significantly better than Vitale.
On a separate note, there has to be a way to get GR3 involved early in the offense. He is too talented to force him to rely on offensive put-backs and transition dunks.
The announcer made the following comment last night:
Michigan is 9 - 0 for the first time since the 1988-89 National Championship Team.
That was an interesting comment.
Then, he followed it up with this:
Rumeal Robinson, Eric Riley, Terry Mills - That was a heck of a team.
I wonder if Glen Rice was watching that game. I am sure Riley would have been happy to hear that comment.
Leaving Rice off the list of three players mentioned is like stating that the Bulls of the 1990s had a heck of a team with Luc Longley, John Paxon, and Horace Grant.
The announcer made the following comment last night:
Michigan is 9 - 0 for the first time since the 1988-89 National Championship Team.
That was an interesting comment.
Then, he followed it up with this:
Rumeal Robinson, Eric Riley, Terry Mills - That was a heck of a team.
I wonder if Glen Rice was watching that game. I am sure Riley would have been happy to hear that comment.
Leaving Rice off the list of three players mentioned is like stating that the Bulls of the 1990s had a heck of a team with Luc Longley, John Paxon, and Horace Grant.