Basics:
Who: UCLA vs. Michigan
Where: Madison Square Garden
When: 9:30PM EST
TV: ESPN2
Radio: WWJ-AM (950), WTKA-AM (1050), WCHB-AM (1200)
I’m traveling today so I have to stick to a short game post. Make sure to check out my 5 reasons why Michigan can and can’t beat UCLA for more analysis. This is a big game whether it is a measuring stick, statement game, or whatever else. On paper this is a game UCLA is supposed to win, but it’s against the one elite team that Beilein has consistently fared well against. There are a lot of factors that come into play when you play at a site like the Garden: UCLA is traveling across the country, NBA arenas and rims can lead to cold shooting, and Michigan will most likely be the crowd favorite.
It should be a fun one and I’ll give this Michigan team a fighting chance. The Arizona pre-season NIT game from a couple years back comes to mind — Michigan played with Arizona til the end losing 61-60 in overtime. I could see a similar path for this game where Michigan is in the game but UCLA just has too much in the end.
My biggest fear with this game is one of the UCLA freshman just going wild and having a huge night. I think Manny, Collison, and Shipp will get theirs. The question is who steps up. DeShawn Sims has had the tendency to disappear in some big games but Michigan will really need him tonight. Win or lose this game will tell us a lot about this team and how much work needs to be done this season.
What They Are Saying:
- Ups and downs — U-M basketball coach expects both
“It’s a measurement game for us to see where we are,” Beilein said. “We’ve had four competitions against outside universities and we’ve done OK. Now we’re playing one of the greatest traditions in all of college basketball. I think we’ll be able to measure where we are.” - Michigan’s Sims goes along with his new role
“I’m just going to do my part,” Sims said Tuesday. “It’s all about winning.” - Beilein, Bruins set for another battle
“(In 2006), we had a terrific team when we were able to go up to California,” Beilein said. “The next year, (senior guard Darren) Collison was hurt when they came to West Virginia. And then we just played them tough last year. I don’t know.” - UCLA vs. Michigan – Game Preview
A game preview from the other side of the blogosphere courtesy of the Bruin Basketball Report. - Beilein on WTKA: UCLA game should be closer this year
Let’s hear your predictions!
I haven’t been this excited for a game in a WHILE. GO BLUE!!!
Also — for you guys who thought the line was too big. It moved to 10 points so bettors are on your side I guess.
Michigan 71 – UCLA 68
Sims and Manny with a double-double.
Pipedream? So what!? I’m bias.
I’m going with UCLA 71 – Michigan 63. I think UCLA has enough fire power to handle U-M with a week of practice. I’ll be on the comments during the game so hopefully we can get some discussion going.
GO BLUE!! I can’t wait for the game! My head says UCLA 70 – Michigan 64, my heart says Michigan 68 – UCLA 65.. hope for the best!
I also have the same concerns as you. I just pray that the UCLA “diaper dandies” don’t explode for a huge game. If they don’t I think Michigan has a great shot.
I’m going to stick with Michigan 67 UCLA 62. I haven’t been this upbeat about a game since, well, UCLA in 2005 when we were flirting with the Top 25 before Tommy’s Turnover Party kicked in.
I’m going with UM 82 UCLA 77.
Zach and Stu combine for 24. Harris goes for 22 and Sims 18.
Hey guys, just arrived in NYC and sooo pumped for the game tonight. I’ll be posting live from the Garden, hopefully with celebratory thoughts. Go Blue!
Nice Giddings! Cheer extra hard for us.
Any chance you brought along a nice camera to get UMHoops some nice exclusive pics?
Nice Giddings. Hope you can bring us a good report
Also, I just noticed comment times weren’t updated for DST… This should be fixed now…
Being that I live in Vegas, and being that I’m working on Fremont Street this week, I had to saunter over to the Golden Nugget and put 50 down on our boys. I only got locked in at 10 pts, but I think that is enough to do it. I figured we will lose by 6 or 7, so at least my disappointment might be curtailed by a little extra cash in my pocket. We do have a chance of winning this thing though, and like many of you, I haven’t been this excited for a game in years. GO BLUE!!
82-68, Bruins. I fear that UCLA’s defense will rattle the back court and lead to a lot of easy opportunities in transition, negating the 1-3-1.
Really, really hope I’m wrong. Ultimately, if the boys can get out of MSG at 1-1 I think this tourney will have been a big success for the program.
1-1 would definitely be a success in my book.
Well, I could easily see us playing well until late in the second half again before we show we still don’t know how to close out a game and it slips away…but
Ideally, they put too much focus on Manny and the rest of the guys can step up. Manny hopefully still goes hard to the hole and gets fouled a bunch.
That and the 1-3-1 befuddles their freshman to the tune of 20 turnovers and we can keep the count around 12.
All that could add up to a 71-68 Meeeechigan victory.
MUST WATCH GAME. CANT WORK IN THESE CONDITIONS!
The team is sitting together in the stands watching the 2nd half of this Duke game. The young guys look pretty focused, older guys like Peedi and Ant are clowning around.
I’m sitting 4 rows behind Greg Anthony, btw. Also pretty close to Dan Shulman and Bobby Knight… Man his hair is white.
Here we go. Just checked in to my hotel and ready to watch this game.
Anyone hoping for the debut of the maize jerseys will be disappointed to hear that we’re wearing white tonight. Let’s do this!
Wish Knight was doing the color commentating.
Errrr. Not so smooth of a start.
Look scared on O. Letting UCLA get in the lane at ease. Giving the ball to Gibby in the block isn’t going anywhere and I don’t think we know which 3 point line is which.
Common guys move the ball. Lets make them work on D – Get Better Shots
There it is. Defense leads to offense… But we can’t get in the 1-3-1 without getting buckets on offense…
Stop shooting NBA threes!
Zach Gibson is just not good man. He’s so soft inside and uncoordinated. Ben Cronin needs to develop fast.
We can’t buy a bucket!
1-3-1 causing UCLA fits again, man-to-man stinks.
He is skilled offensively on the perimeter for a big man. But he’s not going to bang. (Nice take with the clock winding down there though)
Ok, Gibson, I like you again.
Gibson and stupid fouls… at least he’s trying to crash the boards I guess. AS Dickie V just pointed out Manny has gone off the radar.
What’s up with his shot selection? We have zero threes right? I guess we should be happy to only be 3 down.
You can see how well this team is coached….to me that is what is jumping off the TV. They still don’t have the talent to play man4man with a team like UCLA but this 1-3-1 will cause fits for teams throughout the year.
Who would’ve guessed we’d be keeping it close with cold shooting and cold a cold Manny? Oh wait, we did that last year.
If the shots start falling, we’re looking good.
yeah, disappointed in manny so far. first two games made me think he might be so good that he can carry the team…
7-0 run for UCLA. 29-19 1:51 in the first.
Anthony please. 5 foot jumper to bring it to 4 points at the half. He hasn’t hit anything tonight.
Some first half thoughts… Down 6 at the half.
Shooting 31% to UCLAs 50%. We are 1-12 on triples.
As Beilein said turn overs are keeping us in it.
Manny played well for a bit early then disappeared and sat the last minute or so.
Kelvin made some plays than contributed to the UCLA run late in the half quite a bit.
DeShawn is playing great, getting boards, making some shots.
Ant Wright just can’t hit anything… 0-4. Manny is only 2-9.
STOP SHOOTING NBA THREES!
We are only down 6 but we have given up two big runs. We cant keep UCLA out of the lane on man to man and Kelvin misses the rotation in the back of the 1-3-1. Will need to shoot much better in the 2nd half to stay in it.
ok this is manageable, we need manny in the 2nd half
Only down 6 at the half. Ended it pretty well there, but would’ve liked to have that last bucket. I see why Grady’s coming off the bench. He just doesn’t take care of the ball well enough right now, but I think he’s our only shot to stay with Collison when we’re in man to man.
We’re right in it. If Manny can get going in the second half, then we definitely have a shot. We’ve got to keep them off the glass in the second half and need a little bit better shot selection. If those three things happen, we can win this game.
UCLA is going to make a run to try and put us away, so we have to respond to that as well.
Well, I feel we were on the verge of getting blown out three times (9-1; 18-10; 29-19) and we’re still holding on only down six at half.
They haven’t looked good. But maybe if they can stop looking so scared on offense we’ll be ok.
The main cause of the penetration in the man to man is we keep switching on the screen up front when Collison has the ball. We have to fight through that screen instead of switching it. I like the way the guards are playing, but Merritt, Grady, or Lee has to be on Collison. Period.
Yea, Kelvin seemed to do that a lot. Ant or Peedi should never be guarding Collison. They didn’t even have reason to switch those screens to begin with.
Yeah, I’m all for stopping this automatic switch on screens.
man, i love kelvin best as everyone knows, but he’s so frustrating. he is clearly the only one who can hangg athletically at this level, and he creates opportunities…but cant cash in. good drive, bad kick. good drive, can’t finish. makes the only three of the half, doesn’t rotate.
mrmmhnmmppfff
Yep, hoosierine, I couldn’t agree more. Ant Wright must be a great shooter in practice because he rarely does much in games.
I think Sims has to start the half.
yeah agree on ant. i dont get him. it just shows the lack of depth of our team. a guy like him never sees the floor in a couple of years.
stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
STUUUUUUUUU
you owe me a beer, dylan
thats just manny bein manny
There it is. 33-31 Michigan. 16:39. MAnny with the triple on a great pass from Stu.
Lookin’ good so far. Gotta keep it up!
That Jevohn drive was unexpected to say the least
40-36 UM. 10:20 left.
Getting the crowd on our side! They love the underdog
Gotta finish in transition…
Manny’ll be back in after the TO. We’ve got to keep this up. HAVE TO FINISH THAT BREAK! Why didn’t Sims go up for it?
While we are at break….
if this is the BEST we can play…and during the year we play like this occasionally but for the most part worse than this …what is the season outcome???
Im not saying this is or isnt our BEST…but even if it is we are looking at a team that can finish in the top 6 of the b11 right?
WHY DO YOU ALWAYS POST RADIO STATIONS THAT DO NOT BROADCAST THE GAME I HATE YOU RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PEEEDI!!!!
What a shot by Sims! Manny hustling……Stu passin……lookin good!
I am stuck in a computer lab in which the mgoblue.com media player is not working, anyway i can listen to this game over the internet? I already tried the 3 radio stations that are listed on the blog and none of them are broadcasting the game, help!!!
Will – Not sure I took them from the Free Press…. Try ESPN360.com.
Cheap call on CJ there… NEED A STOP.
Gibson – Please find a way to contribute somehow! (3pt and 1 reb isn’t cutting it tonight)
The radio stations can’t broadcast the game online either so thats probably the issue if you are trying to stream them.
that makes sense, i guess im relegated to watching stat-tracker i hate my life
Stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
OMG douglass
STU DOUGLASSS!!!
do we look like we have a chance at pulling this out or are we falling apart down the stretch?
COME ON BOYS FINISH
51-48 UM. 2:20 to play. UCLA ball.
Will – We are looking good! The crowd is sensing an upset….and are on our side
M ball with 2 min to go and up 3!
AWESOME GO BLUE!!!!!!!!
1:30 up 3 points. This is where we gotta finish.
I think this shot clock call could go either way. I think he had it and Merritt ripped it.
Uh, Stu Douglass might be the truth. How my team can’t get a guy like this is beyond me. The Wolverines, they have some heart! This is a little bit of a coming out party; keep it up!
That ball changed possession. Should be a fresh 35.
Let’s go! Stay calm on offense, play solid defense, and REBOUND!
Who has posession after the TO?
Looks like it should be UCLA ball….Collison never really had possession…..
It’s undecided Will…
UCLA Ball. 1:31 left.
two stops is all we need
Rough foul call on Merritt on the rebound. Shipp to the line for 2. 56 secs
doesnt shipp shoot like 43% or something god awful like that
NICE!!!!!!!!!!! PEEDI with the dunk on the backdoor cut!
SMART
M ball with 14 wsec to go…..4 point lead!
MICHIGAN DUNK O NTHE BACK DOOR FOR PEEDI.
UM 53 UCLA 49 MICHIGAN BALL…. 20 something seconds,
ITS OURS BOYS
wow what a huge victory if they hold on
Peedi to the line 12.5 seconds.
As the “over-rated, over-rated” chant begins! So much for the Duke/UCLA matchup
Sims goes to the line with 12.5 to go
AWESOME why do you call Simms “peedi”
Peedi misses the front end. Drogovich hits the 3. 5 seconds UM up 1. Gotta get it in.
Manny to the line. 4.1 seconds left.
does UCLA have any TO’s left? why dont they just launch it downcourt
Makes the first
niiiiiiiiiiiice
MAKES THE SECOND . 3 pts 4.1 secs
NO time outs for UCLA, we are up 3 with 4.1 to go.
MICHIGAN WINS!!!!!g
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
HOLY CRAP! IT’S GREAT TO BE A MICHIGAN WOLVERINE!!!
GAME OVER!!!!!!!! Looked like Manny may have fouled Collison on the 3pt shot………HUGE WIN!
GO BLUE!
GO BLUE WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
We were outrebounded 33-21 and we only shot 5-19 from 3pt……..I’ll take it
“Stu Jackson”……nice Doris Burke!
Definitely not a foul Kevin. He never left his feet, and on that last replay, he hit all ball.
No, didn’t look like a foul on the last replay either….Collison never reacted either.
so do they play tomorrow against Duke? what time?
All this adrenaline pumping, and now I’m supposed to go to sleep? I have to be up at 6. LOL. Go Blue!
WOW!! Totally awesome!!!
Will – 7PM on ESPN2.
7pm v Duke tomorrow on ESPN2, consolation game prior at 5….so it will more likely tip around 7:30
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! Huge Win for the Program- feels fucking GOOd to taste victory
It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine.. BASKETBALL FAN!
Yeah Kevin i was thinking the same thing…Stu Jackson wtf?
This is a state of euphoria right now.
wow I cant believe i missed the biggest michigan upset since the illinois game when Horton went for 30 and I had tickets. Guess what i was doing then? Studying, did i say i hate my life?
That was ALL BALL!!!
Yeah, economy is in the take, UM hoops is on the rise! People are going to take notice of this win, even if it was against a somewhat overrated UCLA team
Is this considered regular season?
What a night this has been…can’t even describe how it feels…
I wonder what Udoh is thinking down South right now!?! HAHAHAH! GO BLUE BABY!
if they can pull it off tomorrow night, we have the start of a wonderful tournament resume, two big wins on a neutral court, anybody want to go dancin??!?!?!!?
hell yea go blue baby
Split with Duke and we’re in great position to go dancin’!!!!!!
Duke won’t have much time to prepare for the 1-3-1….so that should be to our advantage…..Beilein said they were tired though, so we will need all hands on deck tomorrow night.
alright goodnight everyone GO BLUE!!!!!
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves Will. It was a great win for sure. Beating Duke is going to be tough. The slaughtered SIU in the second half. I’m not saying we can’t do it, but even if we do pull of the upset of Duke, we’re only 4 games into the season. There is a LOT of basketball to be played.
We go 11 deep and they have nobody that can pressure the ball like UCLA did. Manny will have much more free reign tomorrow…….LET’S GET EM!!!!!!
We won. We won. We Won. WE WON!!!
Wow, I was chatting on GBW had no idea this place blew up!!!!
Hail Hail…..
Wow. I feel like a new man. We needed this.
Not too many teams are going to struggle that much against the 1-3-1, so I don’t know what this means for the rest of the season. But for now this feels damn good.
i know im getting ahead of myself, but, we beat duke tomorrow and we are a top 25 team for the first time in how many years?? 8?? unbelieveable win tonight
We’re back baby!!!!!!!!
No matter what happens against Duke (times 2) we know now we can play with anyone.
GO BLUE!!!!!
Stu Douglass for Naismath Award. Amazing game, almost worth the whole struggle last year. 1 game at a time Blue.
Great win tonight. Hit the 3′s, 1-3-1, beat duke tomorrow.
I’m just bouncing of the walls right now after watching that great win!!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Post game post coming… Hotel internet is messing up. And adrenaline is just too much
Great win tonight. UCLA clearly isn’t a very good offensive team but the Michigan defense made them look worse than they really are. They’ve got some great guards but Michigan did an excellent job of cutting guys off after initial dribble penetration and rotating to limit open shots.
On the other hand, I thought UCLA played really tough defense. They applied a lot of pressure and made it difficult for Michigan to get into their offense. I doubt Michigan will see many teams that are able to lock up the guards like that over the course of the season.
I’d be shocked if Michigan beats Duke tomorrow but I’m pretty shocked right now, so who knows. Michigan is playing with house money, which is a great position to be in. Go Blue!
At the game today UCLA fans were leaving early!!! BRING ON DUKE TOMORRROW. If you’re in NYC, go. All those UCLA fans are selling their tickets.
hoosierine, we have been ranked… Hortan’s senior year (05-06) we were ranked for 1 week. We lost that week to IU.
Never been happier to post such an off base prediction. Coach Beilein is the truth…this team has come a long way in one year.
Biggest win for the program in a decade!
i really believe we have a good chance of beating Duke.
especially if duke has off night shooting 3′s
plus wolves played better on 2nd day in a row against a good N’eastern in a2 last week.
GO BLUE
ps didn’t the fight song sound especially sweet after win
i’m still playing it in my head with a big grin here at work!
Wonderful