MBB Michigan/Illinois post game thread
January 28th, 2013 at 12:11 AM ^
He's shown our guys some love though (or at least has seen our games):
January 28th, 2013 at 1:14 AM ^
January 27th, 2013 at 8:21 PM ^
This team is really fucking good, you guys.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:25 PM ^
We definitely didn't play our best game. Very sloppy boxing out and way too much Trey Burke iso in my opinion. I know Trey can hit a lot of those step-back jumpers; but the offense can create better options than that on any given possesion.
That said, we are really really really good. This team has to lay a complete egg (see OSU game) to lose at this point. So many weapons, so well coached. Love watching this team. If this team stays healthy and continues to grow, watch out world. Can't wait to see us peak late in the season.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:33 PM ^
Not disagreeing with your analysis necessarily, but I love that we can not play our best game, be sloppy in a number of aspects, have our best player come up a bit short of his own high, high standards, and still win by 14 on the road in the B10 with the refs and a raucous crowd against us. Just one year ago, a 14 point win like this would've been among our better Ws of the year. Now it's just how we roll, meh.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:50 PM ^
January 27th, 2013 at 8:56 PM ^
6-25 from 3. Most of those in the first half. I was surprised Illinois went away from their game plan of attacking the basket in the 2nd half and instead attempting nothing but NBA 3's.
Those two steals from the inbounds to dunks for them pissed me off, though.
January 27th, 2013 at 9:20 PM ^
That's kind of what I'm getting at. We played just ok; and still stomped a pretty decent team in their gym. Sky = limit
January 27th, 2013 at 8:26 PM ^
January 27th, 2013 at 8:29 PM ^
maybe not so much against an unranked Illinois team.
January 27th, 2013 at 9:25 PM ^
January 27th, 2013 at 9:39 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 9:07 AM ^
...that Muppets are in order for the #1 ranking. Rankings come out today, IIRC, so I'm sure we'll see Muppets later.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:26 PM ^
I also enjoyed this win because I hate Illinois, their students and all those Muck Fichigan t-shirts they wear. (I guess they only wear those for football games)
January 27th, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^
January 27th, 2013 at 8:58 PM ^
they hate us because they tend to lose to Michigan often, especially football. Even during the RR years, we pulled off the ridiculous triple overtime win among others.
January 27th, 2013 at 9:44 PM ^
But during the RR (I liked him) years we also had the Carlos Brown Power from 1st and goal that turned the game.
-not sure why I thought of that, I guess it was the awesome .gif.
January 28th, 2013 at 12:47 AM ^
It started when Moeller went there (to U of I), they fired him after only 3 seasons, he came back to Ann Arbor, and the next season, Bo hung 70 on them to teach them a lesson. That started it. Basketball, and, specifically, 1989, solidified it. They have no real natural rivals. They also hate Kelvin Sampson and Bruce Pearl, among others. And have a pseudo-rivalry with Northwestern. It's kind of sad, really.
January 27th, 2013 at 9:42 PM ^
Same here. I went to a game in champaign with my dad when I was about 10 and a bunch of drunk idiots were coming up to me and screaming in my face. My dad just about got into a fight with some dude (and he would have clobbered him since the guy could barely even stand). I've never had a bad experence anywhere besides that.
January 27th, 2013 at 11:53 PM ^
It's the one-sidedness that makes them hate us all the more.
January 28th, 2013 at 1:12 AM ^
For an engineering school, they're not terribly bright after 6pm.
January 28th, 2013 at 5:41 AM ^
The Illini hate us for all the same reasons other B10 schools hate us.Because they will never be Michigan.They win once every 5 times we play.And every time they have a top 250 recruit (football), we take them, leaving them with the Mac- level kids.
January 27th, 2013 at 9:23 PM ^
They should make shirts that read "ON WE"
(=ennui)
get it? eh? eh?
January 27th, 2013 at 10:37 PM ^
January 27th, 2013 at 8:27 PM ^
Snowflake: Very impressed with Horford tonight. He stepped up big when Morgan went down.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:36 PM ^
All three of the "bench" bigs stepped up. I know many are probably critical of Mitch but he played better than most give credit for. Max also played very well. Those two free throw makes were huge and to mentally rebound from the two previous ugly misses just minutes earlier was a feel-good moment; props to Bielfeldt.
January 27th, 2013 at 10:39 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 6:32 AM ^
Probably more importantly, his family donated the money for and its name is on the Athletic Department's administration building.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:31 PM ^
This is a surreal feeling. But I love it.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:38 PM ^
Downvoted for excessive use of Nelly. Sorry boss.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:44 PM ^
Does not compute
January 27th, 2013 at 8:55 PM ^
January 28th, 2013 at 9:19 AM ^
you obviously aren't down with the st. Lunatics!
January 27th, 2013 at 8:42 PM ^
Michigan -
FG% - 52.5% (31-59)
3PT% - 35.7% (5-14)
FT% - 53.8% (7-13)
Illinois -
FG% - 35.9% (23-64)
3PT% - 22.2% (6-27)
FT% - 88.9% (8-9)
Statistically, the key here turned out to be a few more rebounds and a few more timely blocks and steals, it seems. If you compare that to season averages, it wasn't the best performance by Michigan, but the season averages are already pretty damn good as it is, so it was still an overall good effort which included Burke with 19 points, Stauskas with 14, and Hardaway and Robinson with 12 each.
So, yes, this team is effing fantastic by the numbers as well.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^
What does it take to be #1?
January 27th, 2013 at 9:18 PM ^
You just saw it.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:41 PM ^
Yee gads the next part of our schedule is brutal.....
| Wed., Jan. 30 |
vs. Northwestern *  |
Crisler Center | 6:30 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Feb. 2 |
at Indiana (8) * |
Bloomington, Ind. | 9:00 p.m. ET |
| Tue., Feb. 5 |
vs. Ohio State * |
Crisler Center | 9:00 p.m. ET |
| Sat., Feb. 9 |
at Wisconsin * |
Madison, Wis. | 11:00 a.m. CT |
| Tue., Feb. 12 |
at Michigan State * |
East Lansing, Mich. | 9:00 p.m. ET |
Win three of those of those five and we've got a pretty clear shot at an outright B1G regular season championship. Win four or somehow five of the five and we're a lock.
I shudder to think how insane (and by that I mean B1G referee intimidating) Assembly Hall will be next Saturday night when we roll in 20-1 and ranked #1. Our guys thought playing at OSU was hostile? They aint seen NOTHING yet.......
Don't believe me? Ask any of the Fab Five what they thougt about playing there.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:50 PM ^
I believe Arthur Miller wrote a play about those next five games once upon a time.
January 27th, 2013 at 9:35 PM ^
January 27th, 2013 at 8:56 PM ^
January 27th, 2013 at 9:22 PM ^
I was actually surprised at the refereeing at today's Indiana-MSU game. There were some (intimidation) homer calls for the Hoosiers, but it was not the Duke-fest I expected. It bodes well for us if it can continue there.
January 27th, 2013 at 10:18 PM ^
They had a lot of non-impact makeup calls in the second half to even things out but the damage was done by the ticky-tack fouls on Appling who only played 19 mins. Imagine one of Burke/Hardaway only getting to play half the game and I don't think we would like the result.
January 27th, 2013 at 10:35 PM ^
Exactly right. I have watched Michigan basketball since about 1970 and I can tell you that without question the toughest place to play is Assembly Hall. There is no building where the officials are more intimidated into giving the home team ever every possible break and call than there.
Winning at Indiana is like winning a youth rec tourny being held by the home school and officiated by the home school's dads. The visiting team (and I dont care which visiting team it is) is always playing against eight players (Indiana plus the 3 refs), not five. And IMO opinion their fans are as bad as Notre Dame in football in EXPECTING every call, every break, every decision to go their way EVERY time. And crying little baby girls when they don't.
January 27th, 2013 at 11:30 PM ^
i think the home cookin was more due to bobby knight than the arena. he doesn't have ed hightower in his back pocket anymore.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:42 PM ^
January 27th, 2013 at 8:44 PM ^
NIU scored 4 pts in the first half.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:48 PM ^
we....played.....Univ of Illinois....ummm.....I....uhhh...
haz confused.
January 27th, 2013 at 8:49 PM ^