This team has the chance to be the next 2014 UCONN
March 13th, 2017 at 12:48 AM ^
March 13th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
has a pickle up their ass about biscuits for some reason. Who doesn't like a biscuit?
March 13th, 2017 at 12:57 AM ^
I was thinking the same thing. The teams are very similar
I hate to bring out my Equivocating Eeyore role, but this team also has a chance to flame out in the tourney like the 1998 Michigan team did. We've got a tough draw.
Of course we had a tough draw in the B1G bracket and look what happened there.
Great PGs can make serious noise. Michigan has a chance.
If any, it's favorable for Michigan. Oklahoma State can score but can't stop worth a lick and Michigan defense has figured out how to slow down offense. Michigan can keep up with them offensively.
Louisville is a great defensive team but struggles to shoot the ball. Michigan might be the worst matchup for them because they take care of the ball, can shoot the ball and play defense.
Oregon is without a significant contributor and they have to travel to Kansas City for it.
Ok St is ok guys. I have watched them a few times, and I will say that yes, they can score with anyone, but their competition was sub par, way worse than the big ten in terms of going up against solid to good defenses. I really like our chances here. It was always going to be tough, but if we can somehow get out of this weekend, we can do this. There are really no out and out favorites. A lot of 2 seeds are less than stellar.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^
You're wrong. KenPom has OSU as having played the 6th hardest defensive schedule and the toughest overall schedule. I don't know where you come up with the BigTen having better defenses than the Big 12. That team shoots the three well and they rebound on the offensive end. They are going to be a load for anyone.
March 13th, 2017 at 11:09 AM ^
Is being randomly balooned up to be this amazing team for some reason.
They finished 9-9 in a conference that doesn't value defense and have a few good wins. They are very beatable.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:14 PM ^
Walton definitely has the ability to help carry this team deep into the tournament. They don't call it March Madness for nothing, though. I don't even know how to explain the way Walton is playing right now. You can't look at a stat sheet to see the confidence he's playing with. You watch him start to dribble in an iso situation, you know he's going to pull up from 3 as soon as he makes a little room, and you just know it's going in. It's infectious, and you can see a similar confidence in the rest of the team. They know if they keep grinding they can play with anybody.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:52 AM ^
Even greater to watch Irvin join him. They both have such confidance in attacking the rim off the dribble, and then taking shots as well. This is such a fun team to watch offensively, as 5 different guys have the ability to drive to the hoop or shoot from outside. They all show great patience paired with confidence. Not forcing bad shots, with kickouts if they don't see it, or taking an extra dribble, but confidant to let lose if it's there.
I'm glad this is the team I'm rooting for.
Everyone has a tough draw. Which 2 seed is not athletic and fast?
Seriously. I think Louisville is the most beatable of the 2 seeds. Kentucky, Duke, and Arizona are playing really well right now.
23rd offense
6th defense
Oklahoma State is:
1st offense (yeesh!)
133rd defense
Michigan is:
6th offense
69th defense
And Michigan's defensive ranking has been soaring upward.
Remember, to shut down Michigan's offense you have to be both athletic AND disciplined.
March 13th, 2017 at 11:30 AM ^
Also that 69th ranking is lowered by the abysmal performances earlier in the season. Michigan is a much improved defensive team. They allowed .97 points per possession in the Big Ten Tournament. Even if we allow something like 1.03 points per possession that could very well be good enough to beat most teams coupled with the offense.
At the end of the day this is single elimination so anything can happen. Michigan is certainly playing it's best game right now so that's good. Oklahoma State can win but they don't want to be playing this team.
In 2013 we had to beat 3 teams that were seeded as high or higher than we were (1 Kansas, 3 Florida, 4 Syracuse) in order to get to the finals, plus 5 VCU who was one seed lower than us with a good coach and frustrating defense. That Kansas team had some dudes in McLemore and Withey and Releford, etc.
I'm not saying that we will beat Louisville, but you should at least believe in the possibility of a hot team that is getting inspired guard play beating a team that they are inferior to on paper. We've been here before. We could lose in the first round, but you don't have a great reason to be so pessimistic about our chances of getting to the Sweet 16. Perk up and enjoy the madness, we only get Walton for so much longer.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:19 AM ^
Not that I expect it, but Jacksonville state has some sneaky potential. They are top 50ish in rebounding in the country (Good enough to hang with Louisville) and can shoot it from the outside. No one ever seems to expect the 2-15 upset but there have been 4 of them in the last 5 years.
Louisville isn't that athetic and their bigs aren't over powering. They are just a bunch of inner city meat heads with quick feet and scholarships who finally got good coaching in Pitino. Not that great of basketball players IMHO. Wilson and Wagner can handle and score on their bigs all over the court.
March 13th, 2017 at 10:57 AM ^
I'm guessing there are some opponents that are saying the same thing about their Michigan draw. Michigan has 5 guys that can attack the rim and shoot from outside. Their offense is complex and hard to prepare for in two days. There is a god chance Michigan will get bounced in the first weekend, but I also see a good chance of making a deep run to the Elite 8.
Has M ever been this deep with solidly LEGIT 3pt shooters?
Starters:
Walton? LEGIT.
MAAR? LEGIT.
Irvin? NOW LEGIT.
Wagner? LEGIT.
Wilson? LEGIT.
6th man:
Robinson? LEGIT.
And now that this team pairs their offensive prowess with cohesive and tenacious defense it is REALLY fun to watch!
March 13th, 2017 at 10:09 AM ^
Donnal (that's the proper spelling, folks, sheesh, I've seen his name misspelled so many different ways) has the highest three point percentage on the team at .0471. He just doesn't shoot that many. I don't cringe when he does shoot one, so to me, he's a LEGIT 3pt shooter.
That said, I think Beilein shortens the bench in the tourney and he sees limited minutes unless there is serious foul trouble with the bigs. We got through 4 games in 4 days with him playing 2-4 minutes per game. With the day of rest between games and extended TV timeouts, I can see Beilein going with the core 6 plus X for a few minutes to rest Walton for a minute or two per half.
March 13th, 2017 at 12:57 PM ^
and I did think about adding him to the LEGIT list, but I did not because his sample size is so small. But yes, it can be argued that he is yet another 3pt weapon. Just a remarkably good shooting team.
I loved our big men in years past, but many of them were a solid NO WAY from beyond the arc.
And I agree with Beilein that our bigs still MUST have a solid and respectable ability to score inside the paint to keep defenses honest.
Dakich has us in his final four bracket.
I remember him saying that the basketball team had a greater chance of making the Final Four than the football team. It seemed like a laughable statement at the time, but this once crazy prediciton may actually have some merit now...
Sports are weird
Is your avatar Brady or Woodson?
2014 UConn lost the AAC tournament final in Louisville's last-ever AAC game. They were #25 in KenPom pre-tournament -- so they were properly seeded, if barely -- and benefitted from a much better draw than the committee gave Michigan this year.
OSU is a worse matchup for Michigan than Louisville. UL's strengths are blocking shots, steals, and "going up against bad 3-point shooting teams." They're average at preventing 3s, which, per KenPom, is the stat that defenses can reasonably control; they're good at having their opponents miss them, which, again per KenPom, isn't under the defense's control. Michigan just showed vs. Minnesota what it can do to a shot-blocking team; Michigan neutralizes the shot block by opening up the floor to the point where they get a lot of open looks. And, of course, Michigan doesn't turn the ball over much. UL's offense is good, but not as good as Michigan's; they're average shooting team with good offensive rebounding.
OSU, on the other hand, has great offensive rebounding numbers and can shoot. Their biggest defensive weakness is fouling too much, which isn't something Michigan is well-suited to use to their advantage. They do give up a high percentage of 2s, though; Michigan will need to take advantage of that.
KenPom has Michigan as the 23rd most-likely team to win the tournament, with a 1.0% chance. 2014 UConn was the 22nd most-likely team to win, with a 0.7% chance. Cue Dumb & Dumber. :-)
I'm not going to make any predictions, but its certainly possible. UConn showed us how much momentum and "getting hot at the right time" means in the tournament. Michigan is getting hot at the right time. The offense is clicking on all cylinders, the defense continues to improve day by day, and Walton is playing outside his mind.
Expect close games against everyone we play in the tourney, but if this team keeps playing the way it's been playing, there is no one in the field that it can't beat.
Im worried about something I saw an awful lot of yesterday. Four guys watching Walton dribble the air out of the ball then Walton taking a tough shot, which he usually made. You can become too reliant on a great player at times and theres no doubt Walton has become a great player this season. But basketball is a team game and Michigan is at its best when its moving the ball around and getting defenders out of position. We need all five guys contributing offensively to make a run in the tourney.
OTOH, defensively Michigan was awesome.
I remember when people said Phil Jackson was an offensive genius because he won championships with Michael Jordan and then with Shaq and Kobe...
Turns out having a superstar can go a long way - and I hope it's obvious that I'm not comparing Walton to Jordan or Kobe, but the point is that you can in fact get by with one or two guys carrying the load.
I think a Sweet 16 appearance could be considered a success. I think a more balanced version of Minnesota could knock them out.
WHY WOULD YOU JINX US LIKE THIS.
I am now compelled to do every anti-jinx I can think of.