- No Longer Slowest? The Oddly Normal Big Ten
Gasaway observes the Big Ten playing at a faster, more normal, pace. I don’t care what pace they play at, the conference needs to start winning some games. - ESPN’s big push alters early-season hoops landscape
Luke Winn with a fascinating piece on how ESPN dominates the preseason tournament market - Big Ten-ACC Challenge: A Back- of-the- Envelope Mathematical Preview
Big Ten optimism about the challenge has obviously taken a hit, KJ ran the numbers and he agrees with ACC favorites in 8 of 11 games. - Michigan Backdoor Lob Out of Open Post Motion
The X’s and O’s of Basketball break down a nice backdoor play from the Creighton game - How did the Big Ten do this weekend? Um… how about those Northwestern Wildcats?
The Geeks break down the painful weekend in the Big Ten - Krop edges Palmetto in boys’ basketball clash
It’s time to start recruiting roundups again but Tim Hardaway Jr. poured in 48 points in a 80-79 loss. - Michigan basketball team must plug holes after being exposed at Old Spice Classic
Rothstein on the aftermath of the Old Spice Classic - Creighton vs Michigan 720p mkv
Torrent - Josh Bartelstein: ‘I came here to play’
Bartelstein fluff (HT: mgoblog)
Monthly Archive for November, 2009
While it wasn’t quite the worst case scenario, Michigan’s performance in Orlando was disappointing at best. After winning their opener over Creighton, they finished 1-2 after painful losses to Marquette and Alabama.
Michigan needs to take a long look in the mirror and find themselves quickly. Ranked 15th a week to start the year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Michigan drop out of the polls all together. At this point, it’s probably for the best because it’s clear they don’t deserve the ranking.
Michigan needs to regroup and someone in the locker room needs to step up and become a leader. Wednesday’s game versus Boston College has gone from a afterthought to a pivotal early season match-up. Michigan needs to prove, mostly to themselves, that they are who they thought they were. They need to play basketball like they know how and pick up the win versus a struggling Boston College team.
I didn’t see the game and only caught the second half on the radio so I’m not going to go that in depth. I won’t comment on various coaching decisions, missed dunks, shot selection, or whatever else. However, there were five problems that plagued Michigan consistently this weekend.
Continue reading ‘Game 5: Michigan vs. Alabama Post Game’
BasicsWho: Michigan (3-1) vs. Alabama (3-2) |
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No real preview because I’m traveling and haven’t caught any of the Alabama games.
Michigan needs a win over the Crimson Tide to escape Orlando with an acceptable 2-1 record. Alabama picked up a pretty nice win over Baylor but they are still far from a complete team. Anthony Grant has been on the job for only a couple months and his program is very much in a transitional state.
I haven’t seen them play this year, but from what I understand, Alabama is a similar team to Creighton and Marquette in terms of style of play but they lack Marquette’s skill and Creighton’s experience and discipline.
Michigan has to worry about the inside outside duo of JaMychal Green and Mikhail Torrance. Green is the man inside, averaging 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks. Torrance is the outside threat, shooting 40% from three point range and averaging 16.8 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game.
A way too early look at the Tide’s statistical profile shows that they have been able to score the ball extremely efficiently but haven’t been able to stop anyone. On offense they hold onto the ball, get to the line, and crash the glass. But on defense they have had loads of trouble defending the three point shot (38.6%) and have allowed opponents to rebound 40% of their misses.
This is a game that Michigan simply has to have. Predictions and in game discussion belongs below in the comments.
This moment was bound to come. The one where everyone says “What the hell? This isn’t a top 15 team!” Pre-season rankings are an extremely inexact science, they are based largely on last year’s results and a quick look over what players are returning. At this point, they probably aren’t a top 15 team but that shouldn’t change your outlook on the season one way or another.
Luckily this isn’t football. You don’t have to run the table and losses not only happen, they are prevalent. A college basketball season is a constantly evolving being with hundreds of variables changing by the second. November games are fun but barring disaster, they have little consequences.
Last November Anthony Wright was starting for Michigan at the power forward. In December, it was Jevohn Shepherd. In conference play, Zack Novak led the team in minutes, playing the same power forward position, while Wright and Shepherd sat on the bench.
The bottom line is, the team we saw today will look nothing like the team that we see by March. They will continue to gel, the freshmen will improve, and everyone will become more accustomed to their roles.
If Michigan can take care of Alabama on Sunday (5 PM, ESPNU), this weekend should still be considered a success. 2-1 was the most realistic result to begin with and a serving of humble pie should certainly do this team good going forward.
Continue reading ‘Game 4: Michigan vs. Marquette Post Game’
BasicsWho: Michigan (3-0) vs. Marquette (5-0) |
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There is no time for Michigan to hang around because they will be back on the court at noon tomorrow taking on Marquette.
The Golden Eagles lost their dynamic backcourt of Jerel McNeal, Dominic James, and Wesley Matthews but they are no slouch. Marquette rolled to four easy wins over the likes of Centenary, Maryland Eastern Shore, Grambling, and South Dakota. Marquette got a very nice win over a Xavier program in a very similar rebuilding position. (Box score with tempo free stats)
I didn’t catch the whole game but from what I saw, Marquette is small but very fast. They pushed the ball against Xavier in a 72 possession game and they won the game by forcing turnovers (28% TO rate for Xavier) and getting to the line (52.9% free throw rate). They managed to win despite getting dominated on the glass, rebounding only 18% of their misses and letting Xavier rebound almost half (45%) of their misses.
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