Michigan vs. Marquette
As Xavier was our co-favorite(both 3-1 to win Old Spice) I think Marquette made our road easier by winning yesterday.
Marquette lacks size(I believe their tallest contributor is 6-7). They've been kind of a one-man team with a poor man's Deshawn Sims by the name of Lazar Heyward. They've also got a poor man's Manny Harris by the name of Jimmy Butler. They shot a really ridiculous percentage against Xavier. They dont shoot many 3-pointers at all(Beilein's zone stew will hopefully be effective) however against Xavier EVERYTHING was falling.
They have an excellent blog at crackedsidewalks.com if you're looking for more info.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:10 AM ^
Purely from an RPI standpoint, I almost wish Xavier had won. That was likely the highest quality team we were going have a chance to play in this tournament, and OOC wins against good competition are generally a big deal. I don't hold out much hope for winning @Kansas, just because Kansas is probably the best team in the NCAA, and while UConn isn't as stiff, their size is going to be a huge problem. After this, we're either going to play Bama or FSU, neither of which are that exceptional.
So...let's hope that we can beat BC and win at Utah, I guess.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:17 AM ^
fluctuate based on the success or failure of Marquette over the rest of the season? As far as we know, Marquette could end up being an upper echelon team in the Big East.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:43 AM ^
Well, yes. But Xavier is generally accepted to be the better team, and yesterday's game would be termed an "upset". Clearly, it may shake out that Marquette is awesome, and they're generally a quality program, so it's not that bad. But this is roundly thought to be a down-year for them - they graduated Wesley Matthews who was the focal point of their team last year (he's now the Jazz's 6th man).
November 27th, 2009 at 9:57 AM ^
your argument, but I think that the final RPI of Xavier and Marquette probably won't be all that different and Marquette's might actually be better considering they will have played much better competition during conference play.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:16 AM ^
Agreed. The Atlantic Ten, besides Dayton and Xavier, is a generally weak conference. Xavier hasbeen conference champs the last two years and made it to the Sweet 16 last year, I will say.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:15 AM ^
They lost Thabeet, Price, and Adrien, whose averages round up to 42 points and 22 rebounds a game. Thabeet was a beast, Price was great in the clutch, and Adrien did the dirty work. I know that UConn is a team that "reloads," but UM is better and a little more athletic this year, while UConn isn't quite as good as they were. UConn is still a very good team, but they aren't nearly as daunting a task as Kansas.
Luckily, though, UM won't have to beat either team to remain in the top 25. A top 25 ranking should be enough to get them a decent seed in the touramant. Also, if there is one thing to take from last year's experience, it is that Beilein is very good at helping a team improve as the season progresses; this should mean that UM will be a dangerous tourament team.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:26 AM ^
Let us worry about winning the damn game before we speculate who we have in the final, eh?
November 27th, 2009 at 9:44 AM ^
I'm not looking ahead. Even if we lose, we will play either Alabama or FSU next in the 3rd place game.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:42 AM ^
I always get a bit of a laugh when a person on this blog tells people to "keep focused on the next game" or "don't look ahead" as if our thoughts and speculations will somehow negatively effect the focus of the team.
This is a blog where we talk about UM sports. Speculation on the future is what we do. Don't take it personally, it won't impact the game one way or the other.
November 27th, 2009 at 2:11 PM ^
In September, I was drinking them cleanly and in perfect harmony with The Victors feng shui. Since then, I find myself spilling at th3 most inopportune time.
My early New Year's resolution is to work on my form. I'm nearly deaf from the earful I've been getting from Barwis.
November 27th, 2009 at 2:19 PM ^
Those are the three topics a focused MGoBlogger should stick to: the past, the present, and the future.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:57 AM ^
where I can watch that game online today? I don't have the correct plug-ins at work to watch on 360.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:41 AM ^
Justin.tv should have the game there.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:14 AM ^
As a Xavier student myself, I know for a fact that we aren't the same team that we were last year with our top 3 scorers graduating and a new coach hired in the off-season. SI didn't even project us as a tournament-qualifying team. I hope they prove them wrong. AWith that being said, GO BLUE!
November 27th, 2009 at 10:32 AM ^
Xavier's size was scaring me. I'm fine with playing Marquette as they are a better match up IME.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:49 AM ^
blew that game for Xavier. He needs to be able to dish the ball to Jason Love, who had a ridiculous game (21 pts, 19 rebounds). Love kept Xavier in the game.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:57 AM ^
As a Marquette graduate that grew up a Michigan fan I must set the OP straight. Lazar Heyward is no poor man's Sims, he is more athletic than Sims, just as streaky a shooter and is the only starter left from a very solid squad and the leader of a very young team. Jimmy Butler is a SF and no Manny Harris but a solid player with a mid-range game and a physical rebounder. Because this is a Michigan blog and I a Michigan fan (although I am torn for this game) UM has the better team but they must rebound and stop the transition game of Marquette. Acker (I believe Michigan's toughest matchup) can really push the ball and Buzz Williams knows his team is most potent when they run. Michigan's size at the guard position will be difficult for Marquette to defend. Even though this is a rebuilding year for Marquette I believe it will be a tough and interesting game to see where both teams stand. It is one of those rare times in sports when a fan will win either way.
November 27th, 2009 at 10:57 AM ^
I think "Old Spice Classic Champions" will resonate much more with the selection committee than the +/- 5 RPI that would occur from presumably beating Xavier over Marquette.
But we still have to beat two good but not great teams, so I'd rather worry about all that in March.
November 27th, 2009 at 11:56 AM ^
The Defense definitely gave Belien somethings to work on. I watched the game quickly last night on a DVR, so I may be off on my assessments. Creighton was getting into the lane and getting very easy buckets. There seemed to be some type of mis-communication on D, I am confident Beilien will get it corrected.
Michigan hoops and Devin Gardner this afternoon should be fun.
November 27th, 2009 at 12:02 PM ^
Well, let's hope Marquette doesn't shoot like they did yesterday.
November 27th, 2009 at 12:20 PM ^
Rough so far. Need to take better care of the ball.
November 27th, 2009 at 12:30 PM ^
Wow. Marquette shooting 65%. It's going to be tough to stay in it if they keep shooting lights out.
November 27th, 2009 at 12:57 PM ^
M's porous D is a contributing factor to Marquette shooting the lights out. You can't let guys repeatedly drive into the lane and get quality looks. Where the hell is the help? Not playing team D imho
November 27th, 2009 at 12:35 PM ^
Now we're playing.
November 27th, 2009 at 1:12 PM ^
And Michigan finally shows up! Here we go.
November 27th, 2009 at 1:17 PM ^
Yeah buddy, now we are seeing some defensive intensity, hope we can sustain it. This ain't Houston Baptist
November 27th, 2009 at 2:09 PM ^
has played poorly all season. His shooting is just not there. He's quite useless without the shooting. I haven't been impressed with his tentative ball handling either. Vogrich is a prolific shooter and once he learns the system expect him to play more. We really need the 3 point shooting. Live by the 3, die by the 3.
November 27th, 2009 at 2:53 PM ^
I was just about to say something about Stu. I don't know why you get negged for a spot on comment. Overall he's played poorly. Shots just weren't falling for the guy, and when he tried to dribble penetrate nothing good ended up happening.
The most frustrating aspect of the game was definitely down 1 49-48 or something after making a great run, Marquette takes a timeout. Ensuing play the defense gave up an easy two handed drive to the lane and a dunk. Game just wasn't close after that.
It's really early in the season, so I'm not mad at this loss at all. But the fact of the matter is they got outplayed badly by Marquette.
November 27th, 2009 at 4:43 PM ^
It's too early to make any judgements yet. Basketball is a funny game. Sometimes you don't hit anything while anything the opponent tosses up goes in. That's pretty much what happened today. The team will be fine by the end of the season, and one loss really isn't going to affect things much one way or the other.