Predictions for Mich/Pitt bball

Submitted by goblue85 on

I know its early but very excited to see the boys tomm night at Garden 930 espn2.  I think this will be a great game.   I think this could be a stage where Burke shines along with Frosh.   Can't wait

 

Michigan 74

Pitt 62

 

BEAT OHIO

ijohnb

November 20th, 2012 at 8:41 AM ^

sir have gotten ahead of yourself.  Pitt is solid, a far cry from what you have seen thus far.  They are a physical team that will be able to compete with our athleticism.  I expect Michigan to come out on top but this will be a real, actual contest.

mGrowOld

November 20th, 2012 at 8:36 AM ^

Close at half - Michigan pulls away at end.  Final score won't indicate the type of game it was. Pitt will play tough but will ultimately fade.

FWIW - can anybody remember any team (and yes I'm including the FF here) that boasted as much depth as these guys?  During the course of a long season players are going to get hurt, have shooting slumps and we'll play games with guys in serious foul trouble.  It's just part of basketball but if ever we had team built to withstand those problems it's this one.

My prediction is that MIchigan will reach #1 status at some point this year.  Hopefully at the very, very end of the season but for at least one week we'll make it there.  That's my long-range prediction.

Needs

November 20th, 2012 at 9:29 AM ^

Way too early to know about the #1 ranking. I'm waiting to see how this team responds when they face a team that can challenge them on either end. Pitt will provide this test. Even if we are favored, they'll play tough D and force us to grind out possessions and will challenge our wing defenders off the dribble.

The depth point is interesting. I think you'd have to go back to the Fab 5 to see a team this reliably deep. Beyond the starting 5, those teams had Riley, Michael Talley, Pelinka, and Voskuil who all contributed about 10 minutes a game. 

I expect Belein to settle on an 8-man rotation by the time the games get tough in the Big 10, with Burke, THJ, GRIII, McGary, Morgan, Stauskas, Horford, and Vogrich all getting around 10 minutes, but there are some guys behind them that can fill some emergency roles. Bielfelt if there's foul trouble or rebounding issues down low, McLimans if we need to space the floor, Albrecht if Burke gets in foul trouble. I don't expect those guys to see a lot of time over the course of the year, but they might be able to fill in for some key minutes.

Of those, I'm least confident in Albrecht, just because we haven't really seen him against steady ball pressure and that's something you don't know about until you see it.

mGrowOld

November 20th, 2012 at 9:43 AM ^

Way too early to call for the #1 rating?  Which team in all of the NCAA would you want to trade rosters and coaching staff's with if you could?

I see nobody out there right now with a better overall roster and staff than us.  I'm not saying we're going to win it all (that IS clearly too early to call) but i do think we're the best team from top to bottom right now.

Needs

November 20th, 2012 at 10:15 AM ^

C'mon. We've played two division II teams, IUPUI, and Cleveland State. We don't know anything about how the freshman are going to handle tough games, how well we defend as a team, whether Stauskas can guard anyone, how well we play on the road, and a million other things you don't know about a young team in the tomato can portion of the schedule.

Just in terms of winning this year? I'd definitely trade rosters with Indiana, Louisville, and Kentucky (last year made me a believer in Calipari's ability to get incredibly talented freshman to play with each other), and maybe Florida (they ran Wisconsin off the floor) and UNC (that's a very talented team, if young). Each of those teams have really good coaches too. That I'm only talking about 5 teams, given where Michigan basketball was 5 years ago, is on the level of a miracle. But I think the first three are more talented and in the case of Indiana and Louisville, more experienced. (There are reasons I wouldn't want to have Calipari or Pitino coaching Michigan, but winning games isn't one of them).

Look, I think this team has a lot of potential. It's undoubtedly Belein's best team at Michigan if not ever (the Pittsnogle teams at WVU were kind of set up perfectly for his coaching philosophy at the time). It'll be interesting to see how he adjusts to a team that doesn't have the hallmarks of a "Belein team," ie no stretch 4 and the jury is still out on reliable 3 point shooting aside from Stauskas. I'm confident that he's a great coach and will adjust to his talent, but I'm not willing to proclaim this the deepest or best team in the country, given the teams we've played. 

Oh, and I'm going to the Friday game. Hopefully, the late one.

aiglick

November 20th, 2012 at 10:31 AM ^

Pretty sure in basketball IUPUI and Cleveland State are D1. Your point mainly stands but those two teams are probably in the upper half of the NCAA in basketball (remember there are 300 plus programs).

They're not Duke and UNC as you stated but they're also probably not Bryant or Binghimton either.

Next couple of games should give us a much better idea of where the team is.

Needs

November 20th, 2012 at 10:36 AM ^

Sorry, I meant 2 division II teams (Slippery Rock and ... was is Saginaw Valley?) plus IUPUI and Cleveland State. The Cleveland State win was very promising, as they were good last year (won at Syracuse) and they beat Old Dominion last weekend, but they were playing a road back-to-back, which, as NBA fans know, frequently produce blow outs.

robbyt003

November 20th, 2012 at 9:03 AM ^

Last year if I saw we were going up against a talented 7'0", I'd be very concerned.  With our plethora of big guys this year, not worried.  

Michigan 78 - Pitt 69

MGoCombs

November 20th, 2012 at 9:25 AM ^

I don't think we kill them but I think we win pretty handily. Pitt is solid competition, but not elite. I think (and hope) this team has gotten to the point where we should beat solid teams by a decent margin.

Needs

November 20th, 2012 at 9:32 AM ^

One advantage Pitt has going in is that they've been in a close game. Now, it was against a team that they should have probably beaten easily (Oakland) which may mean that Pitt's not all that good, or they may have just had an off night in mid-November, but their players have been under pressure to score and get stops in a way we haven't to this point. 

Braylon 5 Hour…

November 20th, 2012 at 9:33 AM ^

I will be heading to this game tomorrow at MSG...hard to really tell anything about Pitt at this point; they certainly will be an upgrade over who we have played before on a neutral court.  I haven't seen a line on this one yet but my guess is we struggle at points but end up winning 75-65; comfortable winning margin.

kakusei

November 20th, 2012 at 9:45 AM ^

goin to barclay's tonight to see my hoyas shred indiana, then to MSG tomorrow night for the michigan game - hoping they put up big numbers on pitt (they should). 

Saint_in_Blue

November 20th, 2012 at 10:03 AM ^

Pitt its a good team with a great coach. Last year was a fluke for them and they will challenge for the Big East title this year. With that being said, Michigan will be down at halftime. But then we show them how a Big Ten defense plays and win the game 70 - 60.

LSAClassOf2000

November 20th, 2012 at 10:26 AM ^

I think we will win this one, but not by the sort of 30 or so point margins that we've been seeing to date, as I think Pitt is better much than that. Still, average offensive outpout for both teams would estimate a 85-67-ish performance with Michigan winning.

taistreetsmyhero

November 20th, 2012 at 10:50 AM ^

If we start like we did against slippery rock, we're in for a long night. Defensive communication needs to be better and the offense needs to get into their plays when the break isn't there.

IPFW_Wolverines

November 20th, 2012 at 10:52 AM ^

Michigan is a far superior team to Pitt. The only reason Pitt will hang around is becuase this will be the freshman's first road game. I expect by midway through the second half Michigan will be coasting to a 17 to 20 point win.

michfan6060

November 20th, 2012 at 1:39 PM ^

Pitt is a good team and is far better than anyone we have played so far. They are a deep team that plays good D and is very good on the boards. We need our front court to step it up if we want to win. I say we pull it out 70-65.