GAME THREAD: MBB vs #1 Purdue
Surprised not to see one here so what the heck….
Tipoff at 9:00pm Eastern or thereabouts. FOX Sports 1.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:18 PM ^
Is this an attempt at a tweet?
January 26th, 2023 at 11:17 PM ^
When did coaches start wearing suits again instead of athleisure?
January 26th, 2023 at 11:17 PM ^
Closer than I would've thought.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:52 PM ^
Especially without Jett.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:17 PM ^
We could be really good next year, but are currently strongly on the bubble… the NIT bubble
January 26th, 2023 at 11:39 PM ^
If we get a bunch of good transfers sure. We have a solid back court and maybe Hunter along with Reed but nothing at the 3/4, plus poor depth once again. We rely so much on 1st year players, and that's an issue.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:17 PM ^
Oh well.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:18 PM ^
Nice short handed effort. Hopefully they build on that for the rest of the season.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:18 PM ^
Too little too late.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:18 PM ^
Another close Q1 loss, this team just doesn't have it. Oh well, but they had some good moments.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:18 PM ^
We've had like 10 games this year just like this one. Came close but you knew it wasn't going to happen.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:18 PM ^
Another moral victory for a team that is barely over .500
January 26th, 2023 at 11:20 PM ^
Painter is putting on a coaching/development clinic this year. Not just the 2 Freshman guards, but his 2nd unit too. Love the effort from Michigan though.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:21 PM ^
Do they still have that tournament that you can still get in with a losing record?
January 26th, 2023 at 11:27 PM ^
Y-ball in AA. they'd be a 3-seed, but that just means they have to play 'joe's towing service' as the 2-seed. they're pretty good. one guy played at ypsi community college.
January 27th, 2023 at 12:06 AM ^
Only Izzo's teams get that kind of consideration
January 26th, 2023 at 11:25 PM ^
This is my take at this point. Barring some miracle, the rest of the season is about learning and improvement for several of the ones who will return next year.
IF, and it’s a big if, Hunter and Jett come back AND we add another decent piece from the portal(someone has to transfer out), this team could be much improved next year. Imagine even Terrance Shannon on this team, for example
It’s going take a deep hard look at things by the staff and the players. I think there needs to be some staff turnover, a defensive coach for sure and I think someone really needs to concentrate on teaching basic fundamentals.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:28 PM ^
Can Hunter come back?
January 26th, 2023 at 11:30 PM ^
Yes. He’s a junior. He could actually come back twice more with the Covid year.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:34 PM ^
Yep. He and T Will are both true juniors this year. Someone else has to transfer out though to get a portal addition. Only ones not getting minutes are YoYo(rather him stay) and Glenn(not sure what he will be yet). Barnes is getting minutes but shouldn’t be due to injuries
January 26th, 2023 at 11:38 PM ^
Man, I have no confidence in Juwan Howard. He started off his first season 7-0, and then went 12-12 the rest of the season. He had a good 2nd year with a veteran team in an abnormal year. Then last year was a 17-14 regular season, and this year the team is 11-9. I think he may just be a very mediocre coach. He built this team. He built this coaching staff. They run what he wants - offensively and defensively. This is his mess.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:44 PM ^
He is mediocre unfortunately. Going from multiple 30 win seasons to not making the tournament is humbling for sure.
Next year, I'm just happy they'll have the same starting guards and Jaelin can come off the bench if he comes back.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:49 PM ^
Why should we assume starters not named Howard won’t transfer out
January 27th, 2023 at 12:00 AM ^
It’ll depend on the locker room and team culture. Likely to miss the tournament should not set well with Hunter and T Will since they’ve been to the sweet 16 two years in a row. I’d like to see a focused, angry Hunter next year and less podcasts. Love to see Jett add a consistent drive and some defense to his game. Kobe continue to work on that intermediate game and strength. Dug should be shooting and learning alternate types of shots in the lane. Reed is foul shooting, hands and body control. T Will is what he is at this point. Cheddar work on foot work, strength and some different offensive moves. YoYo, all around game. No idea on Glenn’s potential. Need a portal addition on top of all of these players. Someone has to transfer out for that to happen.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:49 PM ^
Jaelin can’t come back without attrition. Either Hunter goes overseas, Jett goes to the NBA or someone transfers, the roster is full.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:44 PM ^
That’s why I contend that there has to be some staff changes also. There are some glaring issues that aren’t all on Howard. To an extent they are, because he brought them in but not entirely. I’m not sold on Martelli or Eisley to be honest. Roster wise, Howard has created some serious issues for himself and he’s going to need a little help to get out of it. That help would be Hunter staying and playing like a damn senior does and Jett staying for his Soph year. As said above, need to add another portal player as well.
January 27th, 2023 at 6:43 AM ^
The most glaring is sub patterns. Juwan himself comes up with those. Guy played 9 guys last night and with Jett healthy should play about 7! He played his own son who has no business on the court. That will send negative ripples in the locker room
January 26th, 2023 at 11:45 PM ^
It’s for competitors only. But winning is better than competing.
January 26th, 2023 at 11:58 PM ^
Effort was there tonight. Just couldn't get over the hump.
We might not of had alot of turnovers but we had alot of bad possessions that are similar to a turnover. We took a lot of contested 3 point shots tonight. Also Bufkins and Dug drove to the hoop as Edey is just standing there waiting for them, easy swats. Defensively we gave up a couple coast to coast layups after we scored. Really can't do all that and expect to win. Don't need to play perfect but can't play sloppy.
January 27th, 2023 at 6:44 AM ^
When we have to point out effort it’s not a good team
January 27th, 2023 at 12:22 AM ^
Building block type of year, there are pieces there, hopefully you can keep Jett one more year. If he stays , add another PG, wing defender, and could be a pretty good team. (But I think Jett is gone if he is a legit lottery guy)
ugh fine, 2024 it is. But holy shit it’s going to stingggggg come tourney time.
ahhhh this was such a needed win
January 27th, 2023 at 8:11 AM ^
Jett isn't staying - he would be foolish to do so. Especially after his ankle injury. He has potential earnings of $100,000,000 in the NBA that he would be putting at risk by returning for another year.
M will be adding another point guard in next year's recruiting class.
Hunter likely will stay as he is not an NBA player.
Expect to see further attrition - Barnes, Glenn, TWill. At least one of them will see greener pastures elsewhere.
But that opens slots for the transfer portal.
Welcome to college basketball ...
January 27th, 2023 at 8:19 AM ^
We played hard, just don't have the horses. But I do think we match up better with Purdue than most teams as Hunter can hold his own vs the giant. Dug also gets overwhelmed by bigger and more physical PGs, Smith is good, but he's as small as Dug and that really helps Dug run our offense better. Bufkin physically was too much for Loyer to guard. Kind of a ho hum game, not a lot of excitement.
I think the offense ran a little better without Jett, but Jett's shooting is needed. Tschetter can be a really good player here, I think his defense needs work, but he can be a good role player. Most of my concerns all season have been at the defensive end.
Sunday's game at Penn State is huge, they generally hit a million 3s at home. A loss there and we're really running out of chances for the wins we need to make the tourney.
January 27th, 2023 at 8:53 AM ^
After watching the second half this morn, it appears JuwAn still isn't a very good coach...def room for improvement coming out of timeouts, like massive, non-stupid, amounts of room for improvement that would justify his position as a B1G basketball coach.