Basketball Schedule Has Been Rescheduled
The Big Ten just announced a suite of schedule changes which are likely final as long as no one has to shut down again. The upshot for Michigan: Iowa's moving up and they've rescheduled the Illinois and MSU games that were postponed. Michigan schedule down the stretch is now:
- Sunday, Feb 21: @ OSU
- Thursday, Feb 25: Iowa
- Saturday, Feb 27: @ Indiana
- Tuesday, March 2: Illinois
- Thursday, March 4: MSU
- Sunday, March 7: @ MSU
The PSU, Northwestern, and Indiana games that Michigan missed while on pause are in all likelihood not getting rescheduled.
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February 19th, 2021 at 7:50 PM ^
This is as favorable reschedule as you can get for Michigan. Moved up Iowa game to make room for the Illini game and have MSU game back to back to end the season. B1G gave them a break in the schedule because they are a national title contenders as opposed to Nebraska where they got the short end of the stick on the reschedule.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:00 PM ^
I know I shouldn't be, but us playing MSU back to back makes me nervous.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:52 PM ^
If we win out till then it won't matter. I think that's what we should aim for.
February 20th, 2021 at 5:18 PM ^
I don't think the conf title is the concern. It's the possibility of losing one to MSU which would be really annoying this season.
Also, yes it would be nice to win until then but pretty tough ask to get through OSU, Iowa and Illinois unscathed. That does become a lot more manageable if they win tomorrow though. Big one.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:34 PM ^
Yeah, it's a rivalry game. Any other team in the bottom third of the standings for a pair would seem like a breeze, but here it... isn't. They get two shots at us for their biggest win of the season.
All in all, it has to be this way, but this turns out to be a bruuuuuutal stretch of basketball. Coming out of it with fewer than two losses would be, frankly, astonishing.
We'll be hitting the postseason fully tested, though.
February 20th, 2021 at 8:57 AM ^
4-2 would give us a BT title, as long as we beat Illinois, right?
February 20th, 2021 at 5:24 PM ^
As long as it's win %, yes. But if they go by "games" (which would be absurd but can't count it out since it'd help OSU) then technically a 14-3 Michigan would be behind a 16-4 OSU by a half game. Michigan would desperately want to play those three easy games if "games" (+0.5 for a win and -0.5 for a loss) is the determinant.
February 20th, 2021 at 10:47 AM ^
If we have the title clinched after the Ann Arbor game vs. MSU, there's ample reason for Juwan to rest the starters in East Lansing and give the bench about 180 of the 200 minutes in the final game.
February 20th, 2021 at 11:02 AM ^
They're not porcelain dolls. Playing that game 72 hours after the first shouldn't be that big of an issue.
February 20th, 2021 at 12:02 PM ^
You're not wrong to be nervous. MSU could play their asses of bc rivalry/last chance at some success/hate. Or they could play like shit bc the season's an utter failure and they're just ready for it to end.
Most likely I believe they'll play their asses off but that emotion can wear off if Michigan plays at a high level. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of the 2 games is a Michigan blowout or if both games are super tight and competitive.
February 20th, 2021 at 4:16 PM ^
After scoring 50 points in the second half vs indiana, MSU is going to win out until they get to us, and then lose game 1. Game 2 is going to be for their tournament lives.
February 20th, 2021 at 5:05 PM ^
Msu's next two games are Illinois and OSU, so I'm gonna be skeptical on them winning out
Beating a bad Indiana team doesn't move the needle for me at all
February 19th, 2021 at 7:56 PM ^
4 games against some solid competition and then get to ease into the postseason with two filler games.
February 19th, 2021 at 7:58 PM ^
Let's say we drop a game or two against OSU/Iowa/Illinois. An extra filler game against MSU (assuming we win it) only helps our winning percentage. So that's a plus. Pretty much best case scenario here.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:00 PM ^
Glad we got the Crisler game with MSU back.
We actually played MSU twice in one week in the regular season before. It was the 1996-97 season. Izzo was in year two as head coach. Michigan won both games.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:51 PM ^
user name checks out. let's hope history repeats itself as well.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:52 PM ^
And if I remember correctly, one of those games did not count towards the conference schedule. That year was one of the first years where you didn’t play everyone in the conference twice. That year, it was originally scheduled that we’d play MSU once, but we agreed to add a game because we were rivals, but wouldn’t count towards the conference.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:50 PM ^
That’s right.
I remember the game at Breslin, the MSU students (there was no “Izzone” yet) kept taunting Robert Traylor saying “Faaaaat boy,” “Faaaaat boy,” every time he was shooting free throws.
It was a relatively close win. The win at Crisler was more lopsided.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:20 PM ^
Doesn't seem ideal to me. Feels like they restored a hard game (Illinois) but said screw the 3 easy games (PSU, NW, Indiana). Except for the MSU home game, of course.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:32 PM ^
They rescheduled the game with the team we wouldn't otherwise play, and our rival. Gave us breaks instead of playing the doormats we've already beaten.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:46 PM ^
Yup, only Illini game is a lock for a reschedule bc of B1G's condition to have everyone play each other at least once this season. Gave us Illini and MSU and didn't have to deal with back to back days of games or 1 day rest.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:52 PM ^
Plus travel time for both teams are pretty much as short as it gets.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:35 PM ^
That's tough, but it would be unfair to everyone if we didn't play Illinois. As it is we are on top of the standings partly because we haven't played some of these tough teams, and we started with a favorable schedule to begin with.
February 20th, 2021 at 12:06 PM ^
With the limited time due to cancelations these games serve no purpose other than giving bad teams the chance for a win and tiring our guys out.
February 20th, 2021 at 5:27 PM ^
But as it relates to the conference title, it robs us of several easy games that we might need. I agree that it's probably not worth the exertion to try to play them but Michigan's schedule definitely gets more difficult on average without those three games.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:43 PM ^
Why not play the first MSU game the 5th? Either way the team gets a game with 1 day off but at least that way the other team would be in the same boat.
Edit: MSU plays on the 2nd of March as well
Double Edit: a quick googling shows no make up games have been set for the Michigan Women's team. Maybe they are saving that date for a home game for the ladies?
February 19th, 2021 at 9:39 PM ^
Yeah, I don’t know why we need a two-day break in between the MSU games. But it could have been worse.
February 19th, 2021 at 8:49 PM ^
Got to get rid of the COVID break rust before we hit those next 4. Those last 2 ought to be a chance to get some solid minutes for the bench before we hit the tourney(s).
February 19th, 2021 at 9:00 PM ^
This is substantially better than I feared. Playing MSU after only 1 rest day would be bad but for the fact they're doing the same thing (they actually have it even worse that week... Feb 28th and March 2nd games before playing M on March 4th). Plus, they're bad at basketball.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:01 PM ^
None of the last 6 games will be easy for us. Michigan State has nothing to lose and will make both of those games their season. I’m not saying we won’t beat them but I’m gonna bet they won’t be blowouts either. We saw last night how bad Rutgers wanted that win and how hard they played. MSU will play the exact same way against us and they’ll hit shit they haven’t hit all season.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:44 PM ^
I believe what you say, but I've waited a very long time to take wins over them for granted and I'm damned well going to do it.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:56 PM ^
I’m probably scorned from football when this was one of the worst MSU teams ever and we got beat by them. They always say throw everything out the window in rivalry games. If we handle OSU tomorrow pretty well then I might change my tune.
February 20th, 2021 at 6:21 PM ^
Well the big difference here is unlike football UM doesn't also suck
February 19th, 2021 at 9:02 PM ^
The Illinois game was mandatory and the schedule was paired down to 17--We made out here.
The sweetest bonus we get to watch two beatdowns of Sparty at the hands of Juwan to end the regular season.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:28 PM ^
No reason we can’t win all of them. A 16-1 B1G record to win the conference leaves no room for others to whine. Let’s beat OSU and get this train rolling like it was prior to our shutdown. In Coach Howard we trust!?
February 20th, 2021 at 12:14 AM ^
Even at 16-1, there’s room for others to whine.
If U-M wins out and so does Illinois (save for losing to Michigan), U-M is 16-1 and Illinois is 16-4. Anyone who finishes with the most wins (or tied for the most) will likely argue that they at least deserve a share, since U-M could’ve lost all the games it didn’t play.
February 20th, 2021 at 9:39 AM ^
Sorry, 16-1 vs. 16-4 leaves very little argument. It would be like arguing Terry Bradshaw is the best QB ever and not Tom Brady.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:40 PM ^
About as ideal as you can get. One game against everyone and two against our in-state rival. Seventeen conference games -- one more than we were playing 10 years ago.
February 19th, 2021 at 9:53 PM ^
Disagree with everyone saying this is ideal. The problem with not playing the other three games, especially since they all three were likely wins, is that any loss in our last 6 will have a greater impact on our win percentage than it would for Ohio State or Illinois, who are both going to play 20 games. If we win it won’t matter but there are scenarios where we could lose the league title because we don’t get these three games in.
February 20th, 2021 at 8:32 PM ^
Playing games at that pace would make losing to the big three more likely due to player accumulated fatigue.
I'd rather have the 3 additional rest days than three more wins that don't help the team that much except in statistical-outlier cases.
February 19th, 2021 at 10:09 PM ^
Regular season title is nice but at the end of the day it’s all about the Tourney. I’d rather they play fewer games and potentially miss out on regular season title due to win percentage if it means that their legs are saved for the tourney. Let’s shoot for 4-2 or better would be a heck of a run with this remaining schedule.
February 19th, 2021 at 10:24 PM ^
As long as one of those 2 losses isn’t MSU (no explanation needed), Illinois (title purposes), or OSU (see above on MSU). So, basically we can lose to IU and Iowa lol.
February 20th, 2021 at 12:04 AM ^
Illinois has 3 losses in conference, OSU has 4.
So, with only 1 loss, 4-2 in our last six ought to do it, or even 3-3 if one of the wins is Illinois. If we beat both OSU and Illinois, it's over.
Would be stunned if Illinois wins out. They play at Minnesota tomorrow, also at Wisconsin, at OSU, at Michigan. Most likely outcome, 2-2? They recently needed overtime to beat IU and Nebraska, and were also fortunate to beat Northwestern.
OSU basically needs to win out...and if they do, that leaves them with 4 losses and Illinois with at least 4 losses. They have home games with us, Iowa, and Illinois, plus the gimme at MSU. Most likely outcome, 3-1?
No way we lose either game to MSU, so all the best team in the conference has to do for the conference championship is split with OSU, IU, Iowa, and Illinois. I like our chances! Most likely outcome, 4-2, maybe 5-1?
February 20th, 2021 at 12:08 AM ^
Regarding the photo caption for Dosunmu, is “ay yo” something people say? My wife is from Taiwan and I have many Chinese friends. Ay yo is a common expression among them. In fact, it’s so common, I use it on a daily basis. I only think of “ay yo” in that context.
This reminds me of last year when I found out that “ferda” is a thing people (mostly hockey players) say. My brother and I have used “ferda” as shorthand for “for the” for a couple decades as a way to denigrate white trash dialect. As in, “I seen it. He come over ferda party.”
February 20th, 2021 at 6:24 AM ^
Just need to know your hockey-speak, eh.
If you're not careful and say the wrong thing, a guy might give you summer teeth - you know, summer 'ere and summer d'ere.
February 20th, 2021 at 12:27 AM ^
The rescheduling is quite favorable for U-M. Reasonably spaced out and 9 total home games vs. 8 on the road.
That said, it’s going to be hard to finish with as many wins as two teams as good as Illinois and OSU while playing three fewer games. Kenpom has U-M going 14-3. That would leave room for either Illinois or OSU (or both) to get to 15 wins and claim at least a share.
February 20th, 2021 at 9:02 AM ^
They can claim whatever they want but if we have the best percentage then we would be the champs.
February 20th, 2021 at 9:04 AM ^
deleted.
February 20th, 2021 at 9:55 AM ^
Warde pulling the strings.
February 20th, 2021 at 9:59 AM ^
Re: Reschedule
Has Nebraska filed a lawsuit yet?
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