Jimmyisgod

January 11th, 2016 at 3:08 PM ^

No idea the exact nature of his injury, but if there is even a remote chance of it recurring, please rest him the appropriate amount of time.  We need him back for February.

Joined: 01/24/2012

MGoPoints: 10342

ijohnb

January 11th, 2016 at 3:25 PM ^

I won't go that far yet, things are getting ugly.  There is just no cohesion with or without Levert.  Sad to say, it really does not matter if he can go in my opinion.  All of last season they spent trying to play without him, the beginning of this season was spent trying to integrate him and the pieces around him, now they are adjusting their roles back to last season and when he returns the adjustment will begin again.  Sheesh.  The best laid plans, right?

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 69986

AlwaysBlue

January 11th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^

the offense had come together nicely in the few games before the injury. They had the rotation/roles down. What is really hurting this group, besides his absence and over-talked about big men, is their PG play.

Joined: 11/23/2008

MGoPoints: 7854

UMichStudent2019

January 11th, 2016 at 3:34 PM ^

We're 12-4, with losses to 4 good teams.  We have a very talented squad. I think there has been evident growth sine the season started. Even bruised up like we are now, we hung with a very good Purdue team at a very itnimaditing Mackey Arena (where Purdue has an incredibly high win percentage) for most of the game. Let's wait to see how the first few weeks of Big Ten games play out before we lose all hope.

Joined: 11/29/2015

MGoPoints: 655

ijohnb

January 11th, 2016 at 3:58 PM ^

on man.  They have played 4 good teams and lost every game by a minimum of 18 points.  Like I said, I am not writing the season off by any means but there is no way to sugercoat what we have seen.  Like, we might be a tourney team, OK, fine, that is all well and good.  However, that is a hell of a long way from what most thought of this team and what their Top 25 preseason ranking would indicate.

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 69986

ijohnb

January 11th, 2016 at 4:19 PM ^

what?  Did we lose one of the games by 17?  Is Texas "good?"  Were we ranked 26 to begin the year? Are we decidedly not a tourney team?  What part do you believe is wrong?

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 69986

BigBlue02

January 11th, 2016 at 6:22 PM ^

You sound like someone who hasn't actually watched any games this year, just checked the box score and made your conclusions about the team from that.

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: -1003

B-Nut-GoBlue

January 11th, 2016 at 6:42 PM ^

Actually no, he's right.  Do YOU have an eye for basketball, maybe is a better question.  I've watched most of the games and it just isn't there to compete with good teams.  Poor not great pG play, utter terrible post-presence, no offensive flow once the game is in the flow of things and we've exhausted our early decent play.  Like ijohnb says, maybe we're a tourney team.  But, maybe.  We cannot compete with the likes of Purdue, Sparty, Iowa, Maryland, and I'm pretty sure Indiana scares the hell out of me right now as well.

 

Prove me wrong boys...please do.

Joined: 09/30/2011

MGoPoints: 43753

BigBlue02

January 11th, 2016 at 7:20 PM ^

He said we lost to every good team by 17 points, as if he just looked at a box score and said "see, we got blown out. We can't compete." Last game against Purdue, on the road, was a 5 or 6 point game with 5 minutes to go. We couldn't close that game without our lottery pick 1st rounder on the road in a hostile crowd, true, but that game was far from uncompetitive.

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: -1003

ijohnb

January 12th, 2016 at 6:50 AM ^

close man. Look, take it as hating if you must, but we are not a competitive team with other legit tourney team right now. There is still time but the turnaround has to be quick and rather drastic. And I have watched every minute if every game.(And Levert is not a lottery pick).

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 69986

Quailman

January 11th, 2016 at 4:48 PM ^

UM is 12-4, with all four losses to teams who are/were/or will end the season ranked in the Top-20.

Is UM a threat to win the whole damn thing? No. Have they eliminated themselves from tourney contention on January 11th? Hardly.

If this is the sky is falling for you, remind me to never stand next to you. 

Joined: 08/30/2013

MGoPoints: 19833

Rick Grimes

January 11th, 2016 at 3:29 PM ^

I think Michigan had a chance to spring the upset tomorrow with a combination of playing at home and having Levert back. Without Levert, I think it's highly unlikely now.

Joined: 03/29/2014

MGoPoints: 1066

BlueUPer

January 11th, 2016 at 3:29 PM ^

Obvious sarcasm.  

I feel awful for Caris!  Not sure if this team makes the tourney this year or next, for that matter!

How will we match up vs. the best teams next season?  We have great coaches, but I fear mediocrity for some time to come.   Some of these guys simply are not consistent.  

Joined: 10/03/2010

MGoPoints: 6450

Wolvie3758

January 11th, 2016 at 3:56 PM ^

Ervin and Walton do something like SCORE....there is no chance to beat Maryl,and..Ive never been so pessimistic with a 12-4 record than I am with this team...Somethings missing,...no spark...no Spike enthusiams...defense is shoddy...no matter how you slice it things dont look good...Its been a dissapointing season so far ..

Joined: 12/12/2010

MGoPoints: 6338

MaizeNBlueTexan

January 11th, 2016 at 4:14 PM ^

The future is bright boys. Caris has been a consensus 1st round pick for awhile. I think there's an above 50/50 chance we beat Purdue with him. However, we stayed in the game with a lot of very young guys. Yes it sucks that we lost a ton to the NBA early. But we don't have the reputation of Kentucky to recruit 2 or 3+ NBA caliber players ever very year yet. I think we have a good coaching staff and talented players. BUT, our current staff needs to recognize our significant loss at center. If Belien can just recruit NBA style centers I think his system would dominate in the NCAA.

Joined: 09/13/2011

MGoPoints: 2801

Richard75

January 11th, 2016 at 7:39 PM ^

The statute of limitations has just about expired on the NBA early entry excuse. No one could've reasonably expected to get a 4th year from Stauskas, McGary or Robinson after the freshman years they had. Granted, in the past we obviously have been hit pretty hard by the draft (especially compared with MSU), but as far as this season is concerned, we're actually fortunate to be getting a 4th year from LeVert.



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Joined: 09/23/2008

MGoPoints: 5329

Duke of Zhou

January 11th, 2016 at 4:56 PM ^

Most people on this blog seem to be all doom and gloom regarding the basketball team. While I had higher hopes and expectations, I still see them finishing at .500 in the conference, making the tourney, and winning a game or two in the big dance. They aren't that bad. They lost some games to good teams. The margins were regrettable, but a loss is a loss. I wish they had a stronger physical presence from the 5s, but by March they will play most teams tough. Hopefully the team will improve in subsequent seasons. We would all like a better season, but making the tourney is an acceptable outcome, especially after all of our years in the wilderness.

Joined: 12/03/2014

MGoPoints: 9855

Spontaneous Co…

January 11th, 2016 at 5:18 PM ^

In all of our wins we have shot over 50% except one 48.3% and one 48.4%.  In our 4 loses we shot 40.4%, 32.1%, 35% and 37.7%.  In the past, under Beilein, when we have not been great, I have still felt like we could beat almost anyone if we shot well.  And this is one of the worst years, in terms of my excitement for each game, because our poor shooting nights have not been random, they are imposed on us by our opponents, which means I feel like I know what is likely to happen before tip off, based solely on who we are playing.  I get the random off night and can deal with that as long as there are random hot nights where we get some unexpected wins.  E.g. I would gladly exchange our win versus Elon for a win versus Purdue because it would show that our success or failure is more dependent on what we do than on what our opposition is doing to us.  I hate the feeling that every team with a pulse, defensively, can impose their will on us and take away our strengths, and we have no ability to do the same thing to them.  The bottom line is that this team has only shown the ability to out play bad, or questionable (Texas and NC State) outfits.  That makes for a very boring season, and a dissapointing one when you start with the (so far incorrect) thought that we were only clearly inferior to a few teams on the schedule.  It sucks when you turn on a game against the number 20 team in the country (not Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, etc.)  and after 5 minutes you realize what seems inevitable, so you fast forward through the game just to get the confirmation that you were right. 

Now this is the part where I pray that I am wrong about this team going forward, and that it all turns around tomorrow.  Go Blue!

Joined: 01/04/2011

MGoPoints: 927