Michigan a 6 seed in latest Joe Lunardi Bracketology

Submitted by amaizenblue402 on

Michigan has jumped to a 6 seed in Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology. If they keep playing like they have been, they'll be a dangerous out.

Purdue is now a 1, MSU is a 3 and OSU is a 6.

To think that we could very easily be undefeated in the B1G right now. Should have beat both OSU and Purdue. Huge games that we "should have" won.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

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mfan_in_ohio

January 15th, 2018 at 12:48 PM ^

Teske was removed after foul #2. Once all the bigs had 2 fouls Beilein went super-small. If think Livers was playing the 5 and Duncan the 4 at one point at the end of the first half, which is why it was Livers getting posterized by Schilling on the dunk. That said, the bigs did a great job after the first tv timeout to stay in the game and defend without fouling. Also Izzo should have kept attacking them and drawing more fouls, but I'm not complaining.

Joined: 01/26/2009

MGoPoints: 18189

mgobleu

January 15th, 2018 at 11:49 AM ^

You think Izzo isn't all whiny and red-faced about some games his team "should have won"? Urban Meyer got left out of the playoffs for his. Everybody has them. I bet Sparty and Dantronithon thinks they had 9 of them in 2016.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 38428

Ty Butterfield

January 15th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^

But basketball is still overperformimg compared to football. Michigan basketball has been like MSU football the last few years. Coaches are developing players and getting the most out of unheralded recruits. MSU basketball was supposed to be a buzzsaw and a shoe-in for the final four. Now of course they could still make a run but their players seemed more interested in trying to make highlight dunks to get on ESPN and don’t seem to have the best chemistry. Hope to see Michigan make a deep run again in March.

Joined: 09/07/2009

MGoPoints: -81685

Perkis-Size Me

January 15th, 2018 at 12:06 PM ^

The difference is that the basketball team can turn around and win a big game right after that. There are obviously quite a few games over Beilein's tenure here that he should've won. But there are also plenty of big games his teams have walked into, being expected to lose, and they came out on top. 

The football team hasn't won a big game (especially on the road) in years. In basketball, every team loses at least one game a year that they should've won. There's a lot more variance in basketball, as it's just part of  the game. Especially in March Madness. But with the football team.....yeah....it's a real problem. 

Joined: 11/30/2011

MGoPoints: 105739

Fezzik

January 15th, 2018 at 12:55 PM ^

The Wisconsin game was a "big" win. The PSU game not so much. They were a different team early in the year compared to late. We were fortunate to play them early on the schedule. There was even hot seat chatter for Franklin early that season. They struggled to beat Temple, lost to Pitt, and Minnesota took them to OT the week after us.

Joined: 09/11/2015

MGoPoints: 5552

Richard75

January 15th, 2018 at 12:56 PM ^

The narratives with the football team have gotten ridiculous. The Wisconsin win is forgotten because it doesn’t fit the can't-win-big-games narrative. The Penn State rout is forgotten because PSU was banged up then—an excuse no one wants to hear when U-M is throwing its 3rd-string QB out there.

And then there’s MSU. When Dantonio beats any Michigan team, no matter how awful (RR/Hoke), it’s a glorious achievement. No qualifiers or asterisks. But U-M's win at MSU in 2016? Eh, MSU wasn’t any good.

Joined: 09/23/2008

MGoPoints: 5291

mfan_in_ohio

January 15th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^

It would likely have to be a second round matchup with Xavier. There are two pods going to Detroit. Purdue is getting one of those spots, so we can't go in that grouping. They are not going to give a 5 seed what amounts to home court advantage, and it probably wouldn't matter because we'd also have to finish ahead of MSU and Xavier, which seems difficult at the moment. They might do a Michigan-Xavier matchup in Detroit because Xavier is close enough that it mitigates the home court aspect, but if I was Xavier I'd be pissed about that. If Michigan gets to a 4 seed and slides ahead of Xavier, and MSU continues to struggle, there's a chance, but it probably requires us to go at least 10-2 or maybe 11-1 the rest of the regular season. Not impossible, but difficult.

Joined: 01/26/2009

MGoPoints: 18189

Naked Bootlegger

January 15th, 2018 at 11:48 AM ^

Not sure if I agree with the sentiment that we should be undefeated in the B1G at this juncture.  We could have and should have beaten Purdue.  Ohio State?  Not so much.   They absolutely steamrolled us in the 2nd half of that game.   

Joined: 01/28/2011

MGoPoints: 34714

Naked Bootlegger

January 15th, 2018 at 4:28 PM ^

I actually agree.  A 20 point lead should be sacred.   We led 43-30 at half.  They outscored us 41-19 in the 2nd half.   Maybe that's why I don't think of that game as "should have won" - I only remember the sour taste of getting lambasted in the 2nd half.   But you're correct with the 20 point lead sentiment.    

 

Joined: 01/28/2011

MGoPoints: 34714

Perkis-Size Me

January 15th, 2018 at 12:01 PM ^

All that matters about OSU and Purdue is that the team gets another crack at both of them. Beating Purdue in West Lafayette will be a very tall order, but Beilein and Co. just beat MSU by 10 at Breslin in an absolute "must-win" game. They will not be intimidated by whatever the Mackey Arena throws at them. As for OSU, we get them at Crisler, in what will likely be a nationally televised matchup, in front of our fans. And this team will only continue to improve from now until then. I expect Crisler to be rocking for that game.  

Absolutely should've beaten OSU the first time around, but it is what it is. The silver lining there is that OSU looks MUCH better now than anyone expected. So our loss to them looks "better" by the day. 

Joined: 11/30/2011

MGoPoints: 105739

NCalBlue86

January 15th, 2018 at 12:34 PM ^

a tough bracket for us. UNC in the 2nd round, Villanova as the 1. Though I like where sparty is located with Duke as their 1 seed as we know they can't beat Duke. 

Joined: 12/26/2016

MGoPoints: 635

goblue16

January 15th, 2018 at 3:22 PM ^

Shoulda coulda doesn’t matter right now. We need to take care of business. 8 of are next 10 are against I ranked opponents and it starts tonight against Maryland. If we can win 8 of our next 10 we will be in excellent shape for the NCAA tourney. If we can somehow beat Purdue on the road than we still have a shot to win the big ten. Beat Maryland!

Joined: 03/28/2010

MGoPoints: 17468

tlo2485

January 15th, 2018 at 5:03 PM ^

5 or 6 seed would be a nice draw for this team. Avoid the couple of elite teams early on, if there are even more than 3 or 4, and see what they can do. 

Joined: 08/06/2010

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