Michigan Basketball vs. Northwestern Open Thread

Submitted by M-Wolverine on
The road to the Big Ten title starts here. Now every game counts. Go Blue!

San Diego Mick

January 3rd, 2013 at 8:42 PM ^

the announcers for all these games are just marveling at our beloved team.

I asked this earlier in the thread, who do you try and focus on stopping, talk about having to pick your poison.

 

I can't wait to beat down ohio in C'Bus and their anemic shooting team, we'll see how good Matta is at coaching when he doesn't have a stacked line-up like in past years.

SF Wolverine

January 3rd, 2013 at 8:53 PM ^

If you are looking for improvement over an obviously dominant performance, here are two:

1. Did not look great defensively inside. Lotsa good big men in the conference this year. Hopefully, Horford is back sometime mid-month.

2. Gave up a lot of open threes. Almost all of which after we were up 20+, but do not want to do that against, say, Illinois.

But, yeah -- great start and just came out of the blocks on fire.

Wendyk5

January 3rd, 2013 at 11:05 PM ^

We couldn't do it. They actually gave us a stack of purple shirts to put on, and we couldn't do it. So there we were, surrounded by good samaritans - some genuine NW fans, some Michigan fans - all wearing purple. But we did refrain from cheering for Michigan. I instructed everyone not to, and they abided. Hardest thing we ever had to do.  Confession: I clapped, but i kept my hands low so no one would see them. 

jcouz

January 3rd, 2013 at 9:10 PM ^

Michigan came out with intensity on both ends of the floor and scored a knockout after 5 minutes.  I would like to see better defense for 40 minutes (I am greedy...I know) but, damn, they look impressive.  Trey Burke is the best player in the country and this team is flat out loaded.  I look forward to watching every game and wouldn't miss a second of it.  I don't want to start looking ahead to Jan. 13th just yet but........

True Blue 9

January 3rd, 2013 at 9:25 PM ^

Was a great showing by the maize and blue on the court and in the stands. Gotta love that it was easily 2/3 rd Michigan fans. Gotta say, one of my favorite moments was Hardaway hyping up the crowd during one of the TV timeouts! Anybody else at the game catch that? After close wins and loses the last few years at Welsh Ryan, a blow out was much easier on my nerves! Hail!

michfan4borw

January 3rd, 2013 at 9:30 PM ^

recruits lots of players many programs didn't want and creates a team that is tremendously fun to watch . . .

but the "m-wolverine criteria" says that this game is not a data point to be used in concluding that Beilein is a great coach . . . only final fours and national championships count.

Before m-wolverine's insights, I was sure Beilein was a great coach, but now I'm not so sure (/s).

M-Wolverine

January 3rd, 2013 at 9:51 PM ^

Never said Beilein wasn't a great coach; said that saying there were numerous data points that show he's a better coach than Izzo is silly, because Izzo has accomplished far more. One can be great and not the best.

Using "all the players programs didn't want" as the reason for his greatness when they took the next step this season due to a lot of players teams DID want in his highest ranking recruiting class is a poor example.

But no, beating up on a horrid Northwestern team doesn't make one great. That's what should be expected. In the actual example, no one would ever say "Izzo's team just housed Northwestern; he's a great coach." You reach great status when doing that isn't a big deal. Since you're obviously a little slow, let me spell it out for you- the fact that Northwestern sucks doesn't make the team or the coach not great; it just doesn't really prove it either. That will come when playing Indiana, Ohio State, Minnesota, and yes, MSU. It'll also be proven when we actually win more than a game in the Tournament this year. Beilein didn't become a better coach since last year; he just has better players.

But thanks for playing; it was kinda cute. Now off to bed for you to sleep it off.

michfan4borw

January 3rd, 2013 at 10:09 PM ^

says that a great coach can't be better than izzo.

You don't seem to realize that determining who is better is a subjective endeavor.  It's not objective. 

Also, there are far more data points than this game that show that Beilein is a great coach.  He has built up 4-5 different programs successfully.  Izzo inherited the one he still coaches.  Beilein is better.  Just accept the opinion and deal with it. 

Your taunting is cute too.  Now off to bed, little defender of izzo.