Recent Comments

Honestly, there is not much of a bias for Lebron.  If you've actually watched the series, he gets maybe one call per game.  The problem is the Chicago has no idea how to play smart.  What, we have a very short bench and we're playing against the most talented team in the league?  Let's play like thugs and shove superstars and bitch about the refs!  Grow up. 

This idea irritates me the most.

"Pshhh what upperclass Michigan student wants to watch their team play a Michigan directional school in Row 80 in September?"  Seriously?

You're right.  We should only expect students to show up for The Game.  Or against a highly-ranked B1G school.*  Is that where we're drawing the line?  I mean, screw it.  No more tickets to a student section, then.  Buy individual tickets for games that you want at actual market value.

The student entitlement is ridiculous.  Yes, we all love pregaming and want to sit in Row 1.  But my god, it's your football team.  Go watch the 6 home games you had last year.  When did it become acceptable to be so cavalier about football indifference? 

I graduated last year but I feel like Clint Eastwood.  Rabble, rabble, rabble....

*BTW, more than 3,000 students didn't show up at all for the MSU game last year.  Ridiculous.

They also won't choose it because you can't see his number.  NCAA is paying bucks for #16 on that cover! 

My hopes for the cover photo: 

/s

But....This isn't Crisler.  This is a student section that seats 20,000.  About 100 of the seats are elite.  9,900 are awesome seats  5,000 are okay.  5,000 not so much.

Camping out two weeks before?  C'mon now.  You'll have to stand in line a little early to get the first 30-40 rows.  Everything else, just come before the game starts. 

A lot of people are worried about the competitive balance between the two new divisions, but I'll have to echo those who have pointed out that the balance is pretty well-distributed.

Michigan, Ohio, Penn State, and MSU v. Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern.  As of the results from last two years that's a pretty even-handed distribution.

It's so difficult to predict who is going to be the "powers" even with the strengths of Michigan, Ohio, Penn State and Nebraska's programs.  Tell me who thought Northwestern was going to have a 10-win season?  Tell me who thought MSU would nearly win the B1G ?  Tell me who thought Penn State would undergo the Sandusky scandal and lose a huge chunk of its competitive advantage?  Anyone actually think Ferentz's team would be reduced to the laughing stock of the B1G?

Hell, we could turn out just like the Big 12.  Minnesota and Purdue could all of a sudden turn out a couple great classes and MSU and Penn State could fall off the map and we could be looking at an imbalance in the opposite direction.

As of right now, competitively, these divisions make sense.

Yeah, you need high individually ranked players to comprise a top class, but the way they are using "top class" is indicating more than just a numbered ranking.

How many highly ranked classes don't pan out?  They get to campus and not that many contribute, they burn out, they don't work together. 

It's good to see that their focus isn't on how many stars one player is racking up on Rivals, and more on how successful this class can be come time for the season.

If either of Walton/Irving have breakout seasons, this could be a lot of fun again guys. 

Like, a lot of fun. 

Yeah, consider me surprised that Lunardi has us so high, seeing as there is a very good chance we lose all four starters. 

Or maybe he is just very bullish on Walton and Irvin. 

This is what I'm clinging to right now.  We've looked shaky in the opening weekend games (SDSU, Kansas, Syracuse), but we've been working on all levels for the second games (VCU and Florida). 

I guess if Stauskas hits 5 threes before half, we'll know if we're on or not...

I don't think Michigan's path has been as impressive as this might lead you to believe, though.

Sure we played more top teams.  But we didn't necessarily beat them.  Playing Indiana and Wisconsin twice isn't impressive seeing as we went 0-4 against them.  On top of that, Florida's Kenpom ranking was misleading from the start.  Just like Pitt's high ranking.

I think both teams have had it pretty even when it comes to their key wins/paths here.  Michigan had some nice wins against Kansas, Syracuse, MSU and OSU.  Louisville had some nice wins against Duke, Syracuse, ND, and Georgetown.

Good analysis though.  It's always fun to see just how tough the B1G was this year.

Yeah a lot of mixed feelings from me too.

On the one hand, this would be a step in the right direction to support the team, and like the article says, Chris shouldn't feel like everyone at Michigan hates him and never wants to see him again.  I think even people who aren't on his side would like to see him come forward, make amends, and be on better terms with the program, even if it is just a small gesture.  Not to mention, like was said, this is about the team and these kids now, and it would be huge to see him and the rest of the Fab Five there to support Mitch, Nik, GRIII, Spike, and Caris and the rest of the team.

On the other hand, that is a best-case scenario and the media would never let it go down like that.  The second he is there at the game, reporters want to know his thoughts on the team and how they compare to his time and if he is ready to make amends, and how hard it is been for him to be distanced from the team.  It would be an ultimate distraction and would confirm probably why Chris hasn't come forward since then:  the media is never going to leave him alone if the cameras see him and Michigan together again, and that's not what his return in Atlanta would be about. 

I hope I'm not the only one....

I think the current uniform design is, well, pretty awesome.  And this is coming from someone who has hated the collar detailing that Adidas has been trying to add in recent years.

They are modern and sleek, but not flashy.  Minimalistic and actually somewhat classic (simple Michigan front with consistent blue detail), with a couple really nice touches that fulfill the "wow" factor (the mini block-ms that comprise the shading in the shorts).  The only criticism I'd have is still the shoulder piping that isn't quite working.

The best part?  Adidas understands design in motion.  We can nitpick looking at a picture of the jersey, but when Trey throws a lob to streaking GRIII in transition, those blinding highlighters look explosive and intimidating.

I get that uniforms tend to be a touchy subject and most want to revert back to the oldest of the old schools jerseys, but the team looks really good in the bright, bold maize jerseys.  The Adidas criticism is generally justified, but in terms of our basketball jerseys, I think they've done a good job.

That McGary save was just stupid.  Lolwut indeed.

Spike had quite the GIFable game as well.  That baseball pass is a huge reassurance for next year.  Dude has split-second court vision like whoa.  I guess his acrobatic steal was okay too seeing as he just punked Florida starters who've been to the Elite 8 the past three straight years.

For me, the GIF of the game was Hardaway pounding his chest.  You want to know what happened in the Kansas game?  Watch The Yell.  You want to know what happened in the Florida game?  Cue Hardaway.

I was gonna say, he would be less competing with Timmy and Nik and more sharing minutes with GRIII. 

Personally, I think that would have really added depth as we don't have a true "4" man other than GRIII who is really a stretch-3.  Sure we can go two bigs but that affects our offensive production.

Burke/Spike at the 1

TH Jr/Stauskas/LeVert at the 2 and 3

GRIII/Smotty at the 4

McGary/Morgan/Horford at the 5

Anyway, good luck to the guy.  Hopefully he wasn't trying to run away from the B1G...

The picture of Brad Stevens takes the cake.  Literally screaming "Noooooooo!" like a Disney villain.

Best edition of One Frame At A Time ever.

The Yell and The Growl should be in every NCAA 2012-2012 highlight reel.  Overwhelming emotion.

Ace, you did an incredible job of finding even the hidden GIFs amongst the life-alteringly monumental ones.  The Kansas lady, Corey's halftime dance, etc.  Great work.

Mitch McGary (on playing senior Kansas star Jeff Withey): I expect to dominate him.

Mitch McGary may have just become my favorite player.

Also, between his interest in wandering in general and calmly reading Chinese texts after that game, Jon Horford is as interesting of a basketball player as I've ever seen.

Crean to Syracuse, "YOU'RE RUINING OUR PROGRAM!"

The 2012 ND football team was an augmented version of the 2011 Michigan football team.

Both overachieved (obviously ND had no business being 12-1, and we were a lofty 11-2), but were very solid squads.  Honestly, if we had taken care of business against Iowa that year, we would have sat in the same position at 12-1. 

They weren't a Cinderella story.  They were the same ND team that usually goes 8-5, or 9-4; they just got an inordinate amount of lucky breaks last season. 

I'd be lying if I said that wasn't going through my head as well when he went to make that pass.  "NO SPIKE, DON'T TRY TO....Wow.  WOW.  Carry on...."

I still went with McGary SMASH.  It was the equivalent of a kick return team getting an enormous crack block.  It's gorgeous and not as common as a (very, very) nice pass.

Bacari was talking about this team being the Justice League.  McGary is so "the Hulk" it's not even funny.  He can't control himself when he gets excited.  It's amazing.

Ohio's chances looked better before Gonzaga fell.  If I were a Buckeye, I would want to meet the Zags in the Elite 8.  Pretty favorable matchup.  Hell maybe they get the Shockers who have proven they're better Gonzaga and have less to lose.

I agree with the fact that they usually never work.

However, with parity this year, I feel like everyone is a little upset-happy.  Everyone thinks that there is no way that #1s can hit the Final Four together and therefore no one is picking them.  Everyone is looking for the upset.  I've seen more brackets write off Kansas and Gonzaga like they weren't close to being contenders than not.

I'm not saying this is the best strategy, but I feel a little bit more confident putting in one chalk bracket this year. 

The Gonzaga/(hopefully)Pitt matchup is going to give me fits.

I want to go with Gonzaga, because they are honestly 10x more legit than people give them credit for, but Kenpom is telling me that Pitt is going to the Final Four.  This makes or breaks my bracket.

Also, I have no idea what versions of Kansas, Florida, or Minnesota teams we're getting so goodbye any confidence I had in the South.

And I can't bring myself to rationally believe it won't come down to Louisville/Indiana, but I'm guessing that's true of about 65% of the brackets, so naturally neither will make the Final Four.

And so it begins...

Very aggressive game between St. Mary's and Middle Tennessee already.

Someone got laid out by a pick in the opening possession and another player just got rocked bringing down a rebound.

I like the winner of this game taking Memphis to the wire.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned UNC at all.  They enter the tournament playing some pretty good ball.  Winners of 8 of their past 10 games.  I can see them in a Sweet 16 matchup.

I don't know how to feel about Minnesota.  They're more bipolar than Michigan. They have all of the pieces in place, but you never know if you are going to get the version of their team that lost to Northwestern and Nebraska, or the version that beat Michigan State and Indiana.  I can see them getting blown out in the first round against UCLA, or reaching the Elite 8 after big wins over Florida and Georgetown.  Eh.

That was my only huge takeaway from the story.

Yes there is an alleged rape and let's hope it's not true.

But my god, putting Dodson's name in the newscast?  For him, it doesn't really matter if the charge is true or not.  He's pretty much cast as a villian now.

Sad stuff.

As someone who was mildly freaking out about the voting at the end...

...I'm sitting here dumbfounded as to the idea that I though Ryan Swope could actually be put on NCAA Football 2014.  Over Denard Robinson.

So silly.

At first I hated the idea of Spike and Trey on the floor at the same time, because I figured if we were gonna trot out Spike, at least use his minutes to give Trey a rest. 

However, the system does run more smoothly, I think, because Trey gets more open looks when Spike drives.  I think the only downside is that Trey gets no rest on the offensive end when he doesn't have the ball in his hands.  Usually he can catch his breath a little bit if he's running the point, but with Spike running it, he's cutting and back screening and running all over the place.  I wonder what that does, if anything, to his stamina late in the game.

If the negativity consisted of:  "DAMN FREE THROWS! AH BAD FREE THROW SHOOTING! RAWR WHY CAN'T WE MAKE FREE THROWS! ARGH!", I wouldn't be surprised.

However, for some reason the negativity I'm hearing is: "DAMN FREE THROWS!  WE ARE THE WORST TEAM IN THE B1G!  WE CAN NEVER CLOSE ANY GAMES!  HARDAWAY IS THE WORST!  CUT MORGAN!  CUT MCGARY!  WE'RE NOT MAKING THE TOURNAMENT ANYMORE!  FIRE EVERYONE!  SCRAP THE PROGRAM!"

It's safe to say the negativity has been a far-reaching overreaction.

Wait, are you serious?

Last year football:  Under the Lights vs. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Virginia Tech.  Late game clinchers.

This year football:  Northwestern, Michigan State.  Late game clinchers.

Last year basketball:  Michigan State, Ohio State, all of our freaking overtime wins against Northwestern (x2) and Minnesota.  Late game clinchers.

This year basketball:  Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue.  Late game clinchers.

Remember the good with the bad.

I wasn't aware that rebounding alone constituted whether a team plays tough.

Also note how I didn't say we dominated on the boards.

This is what I came away with.

Yeah, that last minute sucked.  The free throws sucked.  The loss sucked.  No B1G Championship.  That all sucks.

But my god that was the toughest I've seen Michigan play all year.  Were they perfect?  No.  Did they miss bunnies throughout the game? Yes.  Did they get outrebounded by 20? Yes.

And after all of that we still controlled most of the game and it came down to a few free throws that our usually good shooters just missed. 

CALL OFF THE SEASON, THEY'RE DONE, BOYS.

Buck up and realize that we don't all of a sudden suck because we lost by 1 to Indiana.

We are either going to win by 2-5 points or lose by 15-20 points.  We have two versions of our basketball team.  It all depends on which one shows up in the first 5 minutes of the game.

Facebook allows way more than one account per person.  Keep clicking the vote bubble and you'll see that your vote will be added again. 

So there's still the problem of deleting multiple votes too. 

The whole thing is poop.

This was mentioned before, but you can vote as many times as you want.  Keep clicking, and when it prompts the "block", you simple enter a code to prove you're not a bot.

Really poorly setup vote for something that is potentially really lucrative...

I still think it would be tough for us to reach that one seed.

Win or lose on Sunday, Indiana will be a one seed.  I feel like that is a lock.  Gonzaga is pretty much a lock seeing as they won't lose in their weak conference.

That leaves two spots up for grabs for Kansas, Michigan, Duke (or Miami), and Louisville (or Georgetown)

Whoever wins their tournament will fill the final two spots.  If we do that, you can bet your ass we're in.  Even if other teams in that list win their tournaments too. 

Yeah, this is either going to end like the Purdue and Iowa games did earlier this season....or like the Penn State game last week did. 

I understand that if you're going to take a couple seconds to catch your breath and stand around, do it on offense.  That being said, if we're collectively too tired to run a motion offense, we need subs or a timeout.

Our defense hasn't been that bad.  It's the tired offense that leads to one player driving and taking an awful shot.  After that it's a long rebound and an easy transition bucket for Purdue.

I have a feeling this game will go very similarly to the Penn State game:  close throughout, sudden flashes of Michigan's offensive prowess offset by some uncharacteristically good outside shooting from Purdue.

I'm hoping that there's some resurgence of leadership and drive from Burke, THJ, and Morgan and the game ends differently.

Michigan 72

Purdue 66 

And for the love of all things holy, can we please pull away from an inferior opponent before the 15:00 mark of the second half?

Quality conference teams?

Yes, St. Mary's is pretty good.  They're just slightly below Minnesota's level on Kenpom.  BYU?  They're on Purdue's level.

The rest of their conference has a sub-500 overall record.  That's a lot of Northwestern and Nebraska type teams. 

Yes, they did well non-conference and they've been running the table.  They should be a top-5 team.  But the strength of your conference can and should be held against you.  They've had no gauntlet.  No tough stretch.  And they've done what they needed to do.  But let's call a spade a spade here:  they've had a very easy 2013. 

From the article, regarding Burke's steal and dunk:

"Appling took the blame, saying, "As a point guard, I should be able to multi-task and no what's going on.''

Heh.

I think one of our biggest concerns is our defensive rebounding after short jumpers and layups.

In the past few games I think we've actually done a decent job defending the block; it's just that after our opponents throws up a bunny around the hoop, we cannot seem to grab a defensive board.

It's almost as if no matter if they make or miss a contested post touch, they have the putback immediately there. 

Especially with State's size, I think that is the deciding factor.

I absolutely love half of the reactions in this thread.  "I don't even wanna be #1 again!  That's asking to be knocked off!  How frustrating would that be?!"

If you were to tell any Michigan basketball fan at the beginning of last season that we would be having this conversation, they'd laugh at us.  It's crazy to see how far they've come to toy around with the question: "We're #1 again, is that a good thing?"

In addition to the Kansas/TCU "game", Stanford is on the road against a top 10 team, is shooting less than 30% from the floor, and is up at halftime.

Creighton got blown out.  Cincinnati lost to Providence.  Not the most glamorous night for college hoops.

After 14 minutes of play:

BOTH teams combined score:  15

BOTH teams total turnovers: 14

Those are some truly incredible photographs.  The training facilities are simply stunning.

Not to mention I think my favorite photo was of some student room with the Michigan shotglass power hour.  Take me back to undergrad, NOW.

This weekend is gonna be huge for analysts to compare Duke and Michigan.  Duke beat Ohio State at home, Michigan beat NC State at home.  I know the matchups aren't exact but seeing how we fare with OSU and they fare with the Wolfpack will be interesting.

Maybe this mediocre performace against Nebraska will really kick the team into overdrive this weekend.  HUGE implications if we can steal these next two games.

Well...as much as that is not going to work, at all, against us, it's not that bad of a strategy.

We're a really really good three point shooting team but transition buckets are the easiest of points and if they are trying to slow down possessions, this may be their only chance of winning:  hope that we're incredibly off from behind the arc and can't get into our flow.

But yeah....poison.

First off, this is the first Bracketology that has Michigan winning the B1G instead of Indiana.  I'm fine with that.

I echo some other posters:  I'd much rather take a solid, but not-very-intimidating Baylor (or, honestly, a scarier Marquette bunch), than some other 8/9ish teams out there:  UCLA, Kentucky, North Carolina, etc.  I know they're big name programs that are having off years, but they are all still much better than 8/9 seeds.

Granted it's not gonna shake out exactly like this, the Midwest bracket looks the toughest.  UNLV, NC State, VCU, Florida, Davidson, Virginia, Syracuse, Marquette

Dear God, those are eyes.  I was trying to figure out what they were.  I didn't think the "K" at the back of the helmet was that bad, but the eyes are horrendous.

I swear, if DB approves some f'ed up throwback that puts wolverine eyes on our helmets to make us look like the animal, I will throw up.  Continuously.  For a year.

Not to be the (hopefully unnecessary) buzzkill, but I think the pertinent question is will the team get to 16-0.  Last year's Nebraska team beat Indiana.  Granted we're playing at home and are better than last year's Indiana team, this conference is very good and very deep - even Nebraska has some athletes that can steal a game.  Purdue just beat Illinois, who absolutely crushed OSU.  We got bounced by a terrible Iowa team last year unexpectedly. 

I'm hoping that Trey's and the rest of the upperclassmen's (thus far phenomenal) leadership makes sure that everyone's expectations stay in check and the team takes one game at a time.  Every team has us circled on the schedule right now, especially the Nebraska's and Penn State's who really will push it to try to prove they're not bottomfeeders.  One game lost and the entire conference championship could be out of reach.  I would hate to see them take it to OSU next Sunday only to have it resonate as a makeup win for an ugly home loss.  Again, the team has seemed humble enough to know this.  Just a reiteration.

That being said, once we beat Nebraska, I'm more worried about Minnesota than OSU.  I have them as being better than Indiana at this point (caveat being they're only up 17-14 home against Northwestern right now). 

I agree.  He needs to be much more assertive.  Whenever he touches the ball, his first look is someone to pass to.  I'd like to see him attack the basket a little bit more.

Haha I love how on fast breaks, we look for him on the outside before a layup

Foot.  Please go on pedal.  Please stay there for the rest of game.

Thanks.

So happy to see us getting the passing lanes.  It's been bugging me this season and we already have two hustle plays on defense that have led to two easy steals and two easy layups.

Now please make a shot on offense.  Thanks.

Seriously bad defense today.

The only part of our defense that looks good is when our big men hedge ball screens.  Everything else has been lazy as hell.

If you're guarding a wing, how can you let their point guard, who just picked up his dribble and has no options, simply flip the ball to the man you're guarding without trying to get the passing lane?

Our transition defense has looked awful today. 

They'll be strong come tournament time.

I don't disagree with anything you said (although I think Appling is much better than anyone credits him), but with the combination of Appling, Harris, and Dawson, they'll be very competitive and well-conditioned and coached.

Touch matchup as always.

"Mitch McGary is a 6'10" puppy, one of those with the crazy googly eyes that runs around barking at everything because everything has always been so exciting it will kill him."

Wait.  This is perfect.  Best description of him I've ever heard.

To me, it's seemed less like the inability to dominate on the defensive boards and more complacency after taking the lead.  Neither are desirable, obviously.

I might be remembering incorrectly but a lot of those second chance points came in the second half when they went on their run and into the end of the game.  We just have to do a better job of keeping our foot on the pedal and finishing down low defensively when we take control of the game. 

Really, everything down low has to improve.  McGary and Horford getting into the rotation has done wonders so far this year in terms of easing the pressure on Morgan foul-wise.  But in terms of getting them involved on the offense, cutting down on turnovers, and defending the paint, it's still a work in progress.

I agree.  But in his defense, three of the attempts he missed tonight were products of the shot clock running out and someone passing it to him with a second or two left. 

I really appreciate THJ's aggressiveness in terms of taking it to the hoop this season.  Even Stauskas had a couple nice drives against NC State.

Make no mistake, NC State is a very good team.  They shot poorly against a damn good Oklahoma State team and putzed around against UNC-Asheville, but this team is gonna bring it.

Burke, Hardaway, and GRIII need to be physical and get the offense going early by attacking the basket and setting the tone physically. 

LET'S GO BLUE!

Consider it the SEC perception.

Reigning co-champion in the toughest conference in the sport returns most of its top talent and brings in a top recruiting class.

Hard to say they aren't a Top 5 team.

On top of that a lot of preseason favorites have faultered.  UNC, UCLA, NC State, etc.

"...but the fact that he isn't working with his own talent remains....We can't put Borges of the cross for this season."

That is irrelevant.  Borges has these players.  Plainly put, today he did not use this talent effectively.  It was obvious.

The fact that he could not recognize that running up the gut didn't work and Devin/Denard fusion did work is inherently the source of our criticism.  This isn't 20/20 hindsight, Sunday morning quarterback type-deal.  This is a real time analysis that a good majority of us were complaining about in the 3rd and 4th quarter while it was going on.

I don't want to fire Borges.  But how can today's second half be defended?

This I mostly agree with. 

More than often I sit back and think that instead of going with predictable strengths, Borges is trying to prove himself in weird unnecessary ways. 

It's almost crazy that we had to sit there and think: Is he *really* not going to continue to do everything that we did well in the first half?  Is it because he thinks the Ohio D is going to expect Denard/Devin and automatically shut it down?  It seems as if he already skipped to the "their D is going to overpursue the edges because that's where we were successful and so let's hope running between the tackles will open up."  It's, in a way, sound logic to assume that may happen, but my lord wait for them to actually stop your strength before you try to adjust.  It really does seem like overthinking everything.  Like he's trying to outsmart himself.

I don't think he should be fired by any means.  But it's odd.  And while he's called good games with complex game plans, there are a few frustratingly simple decisions that don't get made.

Yeah, turnovers are about execution.  But that's a different story.  If Devin hadn't thrown the interceptions and we marched down the field, scraping by on one yard dives and 8 yard slants, and scored and won, I would still have these head scratching questions.  Don't blame turnovers on Borges.  Blame the fact that even without committing them, we had no shot with that playcalling.

Brady Hoke loves the fact that this is probably a conversation occurring in the Ohio coaches room right now.  And because of that, Michigan gains a huge competitive advantage.

You have two tremendous athletes that have both proven they are dangerous and proficient, both of whom can attack at three or four separate positions in different combinations.  The largest criticism of the Michigan offense this year has been the fact that it is predictable.  I'd love to argue with anyone who thinks that notion at this point in the season. 

If anything, I think this argument is serving one purpose and one purpose only for Saturday and that is to keep the Ohio defense honest about the pass and rush threat that Michigan now has.

Both Devin and Denard will run.  Both Devin and Denard will attempt to throw.  Hell, both will probably catch a pass.  And you probably won't be able to tell before they snap the ball.