Only 5 out of 11 WWL "experts" pick Michigan over Kansas
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/82063/on-the-record-expert-predictions
Considering all the hype going Michigan's way over on ESPN, it's interesting that less than half of their analysts picked Michigan to beat Kansas. Granted, they didn't poll Scoop Jackson and some of the other people who built up the Michigan hype train. I still think this shows how the WWL cherrypicks it's stories to advance whatever narrative they think people want to hear...
actually.
Everybody is entitled to their opinion and that's all their giving. The team with the most points at the end of the game will win. And I sure hope its Michigan
Exactly. Just because some people at ESPN had picked Michigan doesn't mean everyone there needs to agree. And sometimes fans take a person's opinion as the opinion of their employer. If Sam Webb picks Michigan to win a game, that doesn't mean Scout or Detroit News has that same opinion.
It just seems that everyone was railing on ESPN for "flip flopping," as in they published several articles about how Michigan was the upset special before the first two rounds, and now published several articles about how Michigan is the favorite.
But in reality, it seems like the general opinoins of their analysts is consistent, it's just the narrative they are spitting out is inconsistent.
Is that flip flopping though? We played good basketball. People are allowed to change their opinion when new information presents itself. Would you rather ESPN say "we picked Michigan to get upset before, so we're sticking with that no matter what."?
This. Changing your opinion on something in response to a different data set is not flip-flopping. If the flip-flop is a result of analyzing a different data set and coming up with a different conclusion, shouldn't this be a good thing? If not, what's the point in having rankings? Pre-season #1 is post-season #1 -- no flip-flopping on ballot rankings allowed.
Right, but the data set isn't WHOLLY different, so you're not supposed to put all of the weight on the most recent data point. Kenpom has updated along with the tournament as well, but the odds of Michigan winning vs. Kansas hasn't changed much for him from before the tournament to now.
I don't think ESPN is trying to spin some particular narratives about Michigan, but it can't be denied that the main articles on predictions in the media picked Michigan as a popular upset, and then completely changed their tune after the first weekend. Of course that doesn't mean everyone in the entire media believed Michigan to be upset in the first place, but we didn't know everyone's opinions.
EDIT: If the Marquette game holds up, it would be a perfect example of why not to put too much stock in the first weekend just because it's the tourney.
Did you know that Michigan is 26-0 when outscoring their opponents? Stats!
Well they've won 28 games, so how does that work out?
Know what time game would be on Sunday? Looking at flights right now.
I think when i was doing research on tickets it said 7. So that would be 8 Eastern. Don't hold me on this. Officially announced on Saturday.
No, the 2 games on Sunday are going to be at 2 and 430. The teams that play at what time is dependent on who wins tomorrow.
Careful....
I picked Kansas as well... I just don't see us being able to keep them off the glass..Rebounding will cost us the game
Fair enough. You very well may end up being right, but I like UM to win this game becuase of the huge mismatch at PG. If you look at all of the teams Kansas stuggled with (even in wins), they all have on thing in common, good to great PG play. Baylor (Pierre Jackson), Oklahoma State (Marcus Smart), and Iowa State (Korie Lucious) all were at a disadvantage on the interior, but managed to beat (or should have beat in Iowa State's case) Kansas due to having very good PG's. Either way it should be a great game.
Korie Lucious is a good PG??
In rebounding based on KenPom rankings.
Michigan is ranked 136 with a offensive rebounding percentage of 32.6 and 68 with a defensive rebounding percentage of 29.2. Kansas is ranked 91 with a offensive rebounding percentage of 34.1 and 69 with a defensive rebounding percentage of 29.2. Despite Withey's shot blocking prowess, he is just solid in rebounding and McGary is a superior rebounder. Withey is almost comparable in defensive rebounding. Kevin Young is the guy who gets the bulk of rebounding and it's up to GRIII to keep him off the glass.
March 28th, 2013 at 11:42 PM ^
that's fine...but pick them over at the Kansas blog...wherever that is
I hope the players don't read ESPN. Their ego inflating can have no benefits.
5 out of 11 picking Michigan should tell us all we need to know. This game is a tossup. Two great teams will be going at it tomorrow.
No, it does not mean it's a tossup, it means nothing more than 5 of 11 people think Michigan is going to win.
If all 11 picked Michigan would that skew your view of the game tomorrow?
I think his point intended to convey that the split of the picks is a reflection of how close this game will be and how difficult it is to predict. If all 11 picked Michigan, it wouldn't change anyone's prediction, but then it also wouldn't be an accurate reflection of the consensus of predicitons.
I think you read into my comment way too much, pal. This is a tough game to predict, so its easy to see why the so-called "experts" are more or less split down the middle on who they think would win.
But to answer your question, even if 11/11 picked Michigan, my opinion wouldn't change. Kansas is a 1 seed for a reason.
does not like the B1G. He has all four teams losing their sweet sixteen games????
Looks like Bruce Pearl has Arizona over OSU in the elite 8. Ooops.
Must have been my subconscious refusing to acknowledge OSU. Looks like my therapy is working
the Tennessee coach when Douglass posterized that fool in the first round?
That's correct. If I remember correctly that was his final game.
Bruce Pearl also hates weddings, peace, birthdays, charitable organizations and kittens. So, don't be too offended.
but he loves BBQ's .... hahaha
Go Blue!
The same Bruce Pearl who's last game at Tennessee was watching his team get manhandled by Michigan?
Who cares?
It's going to be sunny tomorrow.
Hopefully this will not slow down our transition game.
WWL? World Wrestling League? Women's Waterpolo Ladies? Wisconsin Winter Loons?
Wild With Loquaciousness?
Just kidding. I think it's ESPN, the WorldWide Leader in sports.
I feel like that's not really outrageous. Vegas has Kansas winning by 2 so really this game is up in the air.
For a coin-toss game, that sounds about right.
Hmmm. Not exactly "going out on a limb."
Anyway, with the track record of these so-called experts thus far, does it really matter?
I do not care very much.
It's a pretty evenly matched game - so just under 50% seems about right one way or the other.
Never mind the common sense approach. Slightly less than half = MAD DISRESPECT.