Arizona Scheduled in Bball
Don't have a link but am hearing Arizona has been scheduled in basketball for a home and home starting in 2013-14.
I can only assume that this is the precursor to scheduling Arizona in football as well, per Rich Rod's wishes, especially considering the recently announced Pac 12-Big 10 partnership.
we catch Arizona in football any time soon. I imagine the Pac/B1G offices want M/PSU/UNL/Ohio playing USC/Washington/Oregon/Stanford to kick off the first few years of the matchup.
I'd bet Arizona plays a Purdue or Iowa type team in the first few years while this tradition gets started.
I just hope its not Oregon. Too many bad memories.
since NW already has that home-home scheduled.
I think we'll pull either UW or USC.
I'd agree with you. But these would not be normal circumstances. Rich Rod vs. the school that fired him after the most tumultuous 3 seasons in its history would get major attention and, let's face it, that's the name of the game in college football today.
Plus, Michigan vs. USC, Washington, UCLA has happened multiple times, both in the regular season and the Rose Bowl. Just my opinion, but I think the conference partnership will be looking for something new.
If we were to draw USC, I have to assume the storylines would be bigger. We haven't played them in a non-Rose bowl for a very, very long time, and it's been since January 2007 since we've seen them at all (which is probably one of the longer periods of not meeting, or so it seems).
To a lesser extent, I also see that being true for Washington, Oregon and Stanford. If we're where we want to be, two top-ten teams will bring bigger stories than M playing their former head coach for the first time since 1925 (George Little at Wisconsin).
either way. I'm just happy to know there will be one less MAC team on our schedule!
Here's to that. It could be Oregon State (hell they could even throw the new guys our way) and it will be ten times as exciting as writing EMU a check to come and lose by forty.
Let me have my three to four years of ignorant bliss. No reason to bring logic or facts into the discussion.
Too soon.
I disagree. Michigan vs RichRods Arizona would be a bigger storyline.
A primetime Michigan-USC game will draw much higher ratings on TV because USC has a much larger rabid fan base than Arizona. That's what people are looking for when they want to schedule major games like that. Two schools with (probably) the largest fan bases out there. Oregon would probably be another great Pac school to play for that same reason. Their fan base is insane and they're another school that gets quite a bit of national attention. That's what networks like and if networks like it, Dave Brandon likes it. Dave Brandon likes money to the athletic department and he likes bringing national attention onto Michigan. Easily acheivable with USC or Oregon. And then he can schedule all the random MAC schools he wants to get people into the Big House (don't discount EMU though, Ron English isn't joking around there).
The Arizona-Michigan game would be interesting to a significantly smaller group. Maybe RR will be able to rev up the fan base there in the next 3 years, maybe not. But that's a much smaller group and on a national scale, they're not there yet. It's a hard selling point for networks even with the RR connection - and who knows if that will still matter 3-4 years from now. Aside from RR fans/haters/RR himself I think most of the world would have moved on (if they haven't already).
I'd love to see it! I hope RR keeps stealing Danny Hope's commits too!
They have a Monster recruiting class coming in this year with something like 4 in the top 75 joining, including Nik Stauskas' current prep school teammate Kaleb Tarczewski. As for RichRod, we will be in full MANBALL form by the time we play him and will be opening up a can of whoop-butt regardless of where we play them.
Right, because Michigan has historically done well with Manball versus the spread. I'm not trying to start any kind of RR debate, but your statement is dripping with homerism and doesn't seem to consider at all how we've done in the past against spread offenses.
says Rich would bring Arizona into Michigan Stadium and put up 60.
I would bet damn near anything that no team will put up 60 on a Greg Mattison led Michigan defense.
the Murphy's Law reference.
I REEK of homerism. I will admit that. To that point, I think the defense is overcoming deficiencies in talent and coaching that have existed in the past several years. I also think that as a team we will be better than Arizona for the foreseeable future. That's all I was saying. That and the basketball stuff that no one seems to want to talk about anyway. Yes, I know the blog is primarly football-based.
If you can't be a homer on MGoBlog, where can you be a homer?
This thread shall deteriorate in 5 ... 4 .... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...
I did mention the four letter word Rich.
Calling Section 1......Calling Section 1......the perimeter defenses have detected an unprovoked RR attack in the "Arizona BBall schedule" quadrant. It appears to have originated from a previously unknown source called "Markovits is Great" which has only recently been spotted in the Blogosphere.
I am a confuse. My post focused on the basketball game as mentioned by OP. I then, based on recent on-field and recruiting success, went on to predict victory for the football team in hypothetical future matchups with Rich Rodriguez-coached Arizona football teams.
You haven't been around here that often have you?
Just not for a great amount of time.
I was talking about knowing Section 1's schtick that Mgro was referring to
I pray that we dont have a home and home with Arizona. Rich Rod aside, that campus is a stinking P.O.S. The stadium is old and oddly designed (really tall and feels far from the field). The students could give two craps about the football team and the game day atmosphere is WEAK.
The Home and Home is for BBall, not football. Just clearing that up if you didn't realize
Here's a link: UA basketball: Cats beef up future sked, add Michigan
Ryan Reynolds, the Wildcats’ director of men’s basketball operations, said Arizona completed a contract with Michigan to begin a two-year home-and-home series in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 2013-14. It will conclude at McKale Center in 2014-15.
They should be pretty good by then given the recruiting class they have coming in. Should be good for the RPI.
are a little slow on the draw here, huh?
Those are gonna be two great basketball games.
How does that have anything to do with RR?
Should be a good game. Barring early attrition (which is definitely possible for both sides), the two teams will be very talented and experienced. Looking forward to it.
In the event Arizona wins this possible basketball game, can we still make fun of Rich Rod and his crappy attitude and coaching acumen? And can we still call OSU, Ohio?
Two actually scheduled basketball games. Your questions are legitimate though.
I would love to get a shot at USC in the Big House when Sugar Shane and Hopefully Ty Isaac are two years in the system. It would be about time that we see them in the Big House, especially for a night game.
Even better would be a game in November or late October.
(EDIT: to make them play in some not so perfect weather, not because i actually want to interrupt the Big 10 schedule.)
Arizona was very un-Arizona like in basketball this year. Hopefully they'll be back to top form when we play them. And hopefully we're better too.
March 20th, 2012 at 10:33 PM ^
in Brooklyn next December. I think I'll go.