MBB vs Arkansas Open Thread
January 21st, 2012 at 4:35 PM ^
These people you speak off will see a 2 point loss and say hey that was a close game. As a big picture person you should focus on the other 18 or 19 games we've played also.
January 21st, 2012 at 5:21 PM ^
That's exactly my point.
Over our "other 18-19 games" we've proven unable to beat anyone on the road, losing by 12 to Virginia, 1 - went down double digits again - to Indiana, a billion to Iowa and 1 to Arkansas - fell behind 20.
It's worrying that we come out so flat and have been unable to beat even the bad teams on our schedule away.
Now we have seven road games left, 4 against currently ranked teams and 3 against teams who are around Iowa's caliber...and we all know how that went.
But yeah, I'm definitely not looking at the big picture.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:10 PM ^
Novak is great and is my favorite player on this team, Burke fights every minute but he's only a freshman and can't carry this team by himself, Morgan is usually good, but we don't use him enough, everyone else needs to step up, especially Hardaway
January 21st, 2012 at 4:13 PM ^
Smot is no where to be seen in your comment.....kind of like his play has been nonexistent in these games.........
January 21st, 2012 at 4:11 PM ^
You people know nothing of basketball.
Beilein probably called a high screen and pop with Burke attacking the lane and Smot popping for three as an option. Smot didn't set a good ball screen forcing Burke to go away from it since there wasn't time to set up a better one. You can see THJ starting down on the block, ready to catch and finish if Burke gets into the lane and draws THJ's defender.
Arkansas played great man defense. That's it.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:13 PM ^
My friend is on spartan tailgate forums, and I find it hilarious that the first page has 4 threads about Michigan. They are so concerned with what U of M is doing half of them have no clue what their own team is up to.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:15 PM ^
lol you must not see this board when msu plays.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:13 PM ^
Tough loss. I love our heart but we just dug too deep a hole.
BTW, the poster who predicted that Arkansas would score 100 points (and bragged about his prediction a few minutes later!) was only 34 points off.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:14 PM ^
Damn. Michigan outscored Arkansas 50-32 over the last 30 minutes of the game. If not for the terrible start, that's an easy victory.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:15 PM ^
A true freshman just got some good experience in big shots... and got to see how it feels to have to power back in a game. Can't be all bad.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:18 PM ^
We are better than Arkansas. They happened to start out 11-11 and barely held on. Hardaway has definitely regressed since last year but he's still our most athletic player. I doubt the last play was drawn up that way but Arkansas played solid D and Burke is the player most able to create his own shot so he went for it and was almost rewarded.We basically played 6 guys today and this team obviously needs an infusion of depth.
All that said, some people need to settle down with the doom and gloom. They were down by twenty and never quit fighting; we had a solid chance to win. Morgan's our only serviceable center without Horford and he played his ass off today. Burke may not be the best freshman in the country but I don't think anyone else his age has the poise and leadership he possesses. Novak carries so much weight when other guys aren't performing their best. This team is young and still has the potential to take out great teams.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:19 PM ^
and MSU is better than Michigan and lost. Some days it is just not your day
January 21st, 2012 at 4:22 PM ^
Yeah, you guys have had three tough days in a row.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:22 PM ^
I can't speak for everyone, but if I came off in the doom and gloom crowd, it's more out of disappointment rather than "Oh noes! We're f-ed!" Like you said, we are better than Arkansas. If they don't start this game 11-11, we win. I'm excited for next year, but I know Novak and Stu want to win this year. Despite lacking some depth, I think we can still do it. I'm glad to get a tough ooc road test like this in the books. Now we've got Purdue and OSU on the road. This game should help us handle ourselves in both.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:27 PM ^
Agreed. I'm usually one of the first to start the piling on of Smotrycz but I don't hate him. I think it's just when we hit a bad run everyone starts posting negatively and the atmoshpere becomes toxic. This team is good. We definitely have road struggles and I'd like to see us get over the hump of that first road win. I love Coach Beilein but I do think coaching had a part in this loss. We seemed ill prepared for Arkansas' playing style and I think a timeout would have settled our guys down even if it hadn't slowed down Ark. Part of what I think is being overlooked due to Ark's fast start is our four quick TO's.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:18 PM ^
Smh...On to Hockey vs ND...
January 21st, 2012 at 4:19 PM ^
so many questionable shots..
January 21st, 2012 at 4:29 PM ^
What's more concerning is that he can't hit the wide open ones. You can call plays around him, but as long as Stu is on the floor, he needs to be able to hit an open jumper. Being a senior, There is no more learning or preparing for next year. Vog might be a step down right now, but at least there is an up side for us in the future.
January 21st, 2012 at 4:26 PM ^
January 21st, 2012 at 4:36 PM ^
but if you have four guys that aren't bringing anything to the table right now (Stu, THJ, Smotz, Vog), then it's going to make for a long second half of the season.