Can I ask what our rooting guide is for today?
March 25th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
My rooting guide is for Charles Barkley to pick layola Chicago over us.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
Duke. That is all.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^
first I hate Coach K and Duke and think we could take them; with that step, it seems to me that we emerge as a full-blown basketball blueblood
second I fear Nova of the teams remaining, though--agree--the opportunity to see Simpson go at it with Brunson could be memorable
March 25th, 2018 at 12:53 PM ^
My rooting is guide today is to root for Michigan to beat BU and make it to the Frozen Four.
As for basketball, my rooting guide is: I don't give a fuck -- bring anyone on and we will toast their nuts over an open flame.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
Fuck Barkley that is all
March 25th, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^
Barkley learned his golf swing at Loyola he's obligated to pick them.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
Really sacrificing rhythm and tempo over a mechanical move or position (to the extreme). Turrible.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^
best part of this is the girl who, wisely, moves even further out of the way
March 25th, 2018 at 12:28 PM ^
wisely ducks for cover.
And the guy further out is peeking from behind a tree.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:26 PM ^
Something like 13 of the last 14 national champs have had blue as oneof their team's colors. The one that didn't was Louisville, so some would argue that 14 of the last 14 were blue. So, just root for Texas Tech to make it to the championship game and everything else will take care of itself.
Go Blue!
March 25th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
Michigan Hockey.
Everything else is secondary to that.
March 25th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
Beat me by a few seconds
March 25th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
Michigan over BU for a berth to the Frozen Four
March 25th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
Texas Tech and Kansas. Villanova is very very good and they can shoot it. An experienced team too. Duke is a bad matchup for us with Bagley at the 4. I don’t know how we’d neutralize him. Robinson has done a good job at not being terrible at post defense but Bagley is much more polished than Jaren Jackson Jr.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:16 AM ^
Plus: Fuk Duke.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:24 AM ^
The only real answer there that I could think of would be to play Mo and Teske at the same time at the 4 and 5. I don't think we've ever done this? and I'm not sure that it makes good basketball sense (because I am certainly no basketball expert). That would give you size on size with Bagley. That being said, it could also open us up to serious foul trouble with our two bigs on the court at the same time.
Otherwise, Bagley is having his way with us if we keep Livers and Duncan on him. Really hope it's Kansas.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:33 AM ^
We’ve done it for like a total of 5 minutes this year. I don’t think it’s a real possibility. I don’t think Moe could handle Bagley either. Teske would be better, but again, it’s foul trouble waiting to happen. And Davis seeing any minutes in a national title game is probably a recipe for disaster.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
The Moe Teske pairing would never be an option against any team really. If the other have two bigs like TAMU we want to bring them to the perimeter to neutralize that.
If it's Duke with a guy like Bagley, I think you stick with the same plan as now. Throw Livers at him, athletic enough that he might stand a chance. Throw DRob at him, maybe he surprises us with his D there, but in reality hope he just survives on D and can exploit/tire Bagley out on O by running him through screens and hitting his 3's.
Duke starts 3 guards who are 6'6, 6'5 and 6'3 so I think the curveball option is put Matthews on him at the 4 and go with Z, MAAR and Poole 1-3. Matthews would probably get bullied size wise by Bagley down low but he's the best wing defender so you hope he can use his quickness to neutralize him before he gets the ball down low. Trent and Allen, especially Allen, are basically 3 point shooters exclusively on O, granted Allen does get a good amount of assists, so try to hide Poole on one of them.
I don't think any of them are great options. It's why Bagley's so good.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
Just like Jaren Jackson did?
March 25th, 2018 at 12:12 PM ^
Bagley is better than Jackson and K actually plays him unlike Izzo
March 25th, 2018 at 12:36 PM ^
This. I am no basketball guru...but I can tell you that Bagley is better than JJJ, and good players need to be on the court to hurt you.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:46 PM ^
Jaren Jackson is raw as hell at everything aside from shooting. Bagley is as close to a finished project as you can get for a freshman. Two completely different players
March 25th, 2018 at 11:45 AM ^
Mix in some zone would probably be my answer. That's usually what you do when you know you don't have the personnel to matchup.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
Texas Tech over Villanova is a no-brainer.
As for Kansas-Duke, for me it comes down to facing Bill Self instead of Coach K.
Texas Tech and Kansas would be the slightly easier teams to beat.
We could beat Texas Tech in an ugly game like last nights even if we shoot poorly. We'd be favored over them by a point or two.
Kansas is good, but I'm not that scared of Bill Self. They'd be a challenge but certainly beatable. This is probably about a pick 'em game. Maybe KU favored by a point or two.
Duke is the most talented team. We'd almost certainly have to shoot well from three to beat them. The good thing is I think we'd get open threes against their zone. Even though Bagley would get his, I'm less scared of Duke than I am Nova. We'd probably be about 4 point dogs against Duke.
Nova is really good. We almost certainly have to make our threes at a decent clip (near 40) to beat them. I do like Z on Brunson, though. Would be a fun game. We'd probably be about 5 point dogs against Nova.
March 25th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
TTU and KU. Dream title game opponent (should we make it) is Texas Tech.
March 25th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
which means it will be Duke - Villanove lol
March 25th, 2018 at 11:14 AM ^
I predicted a Duke-Michigan final in my bracket. You don't want to know who I predicted to win, because I have correctly picked the championship game for multiple years in a row.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:18 AM ^
Because you're due for a miss LOL
March 25th, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^
I did, and I certainly hope this is the year my streak ends.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:37 AM ^
Are you in a pool?
Got to think you would be winning. I’ve been making (make believe) money off my brother-in-law because I pick Michigan and he always rides with Staee, it’s awesome!
March 25th, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
I am and I am winning, but others have Michigan winning it all, so I won't hold on if that happens. Of course, I would be happy to lose if those were the circumstances.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:01 PM ^
I have Michigan Vs Kansas and Michigan winning it all. Hope it happens.
I had Michigan vs. Arkansas...
March 25th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^
Why the hell would you pick Michigan to advance that far and not pick them to win it all?
March 25th, 2018 at 12:38 PM ^
Because I am a competitor above all else and want to win. I can't help that I have the gift and I can't help what it tells me, but 4 correct national championship games in a row is no mistake. If I got the matchup right and the outcome wrong that would be the sweetest L I ever took.
Above you mention that you “are no basketball guru” but have correctly picked the last four winners of the tournament. Just think what you can do if you really knew basketball!
Probably be worse tbh
March 25th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
I am legitimately frightened by Loyola. They play fast and score a lot. If Michigan gets past them, then I’ll worry about the next opponent. Bracket-wise, I need it to be Kansas. If Michigan plays and beats Kansas in the final, I win $200.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
Loyola has scored more than 70 points once this month...
I think they're a good team, but we shouldn't be afraid of their offense. It's the defense we need to break down
March 25th, 2018 at 12:14 PM ^
Total score is deceptive. Loyola plays slow which keeps their total down but they are like the third best shooting team in the country, all of their guys can shoot. Probably the most balanced offense we have faced since purdue and can hit tough outside shots A&M and FSU couldn't.
They are a really good team.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
we have faced in the tournament, so far.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
Play fast? They're 315th in tempo. Unless you mean their players are quick etc, which relative to the quickness you can typically expect in a final four game isn't really the case.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:47 AM ^
Loyola is 60th in offensive efficiency on KenPom, so not at all terrible, but not quite elite either. I do believe a lot of their offensive advantages they've had over other teams, most of which play traditional lineups and don't have much experience guarding that 4-out style, disappear against Michigan. A single-elimination tournament is always susceptible to random events, but if Michigan loses, it's almost certainly going to be due to another poor shooting outing than being lit up by Loyola's offense.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^
Loyola is almost a mirror image of Michigan, as far as style of play. They don't have a big that can stretch it as well as Moe, but their big is probably a little better around the blocks. Michigan obviously has more talent, but neither team has a guy scoring 15+ a game. They're all about spreading the ball around, hitting threes, limiting turnovers, staying out of foul trouble, playing assignment defense, etc etc. Even the stat leaders are similar. Leading Scorers: Moe 14.4, Custer 14.2 ... Rebounds: Moe 7.2, Krutwig 6.5 ... Assists: Simpson 3.6, Custer 4.2 ... Blocks: Moe 0.6, Krutwig 0.6 ... Steals: Custer 1.7, Simpson 1.2
March 25th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^
if Michigan plays their game, they beat them by 15. or more
UM should win, but don't expect a huge margin. I believe the KenPom predictor says UM by 6.
March 25th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
Because it gives me a shot to win my pool if Michigan wins it all.