2019-20 rutgers #3
Sponsor note. Postseason basketball coverage is sponsored by Simplified Homes, and if that logo aesthetic seems familiar, well it should: Simpiflied Homes is a real estate company run by Matt Demorest, owner of HomeSure Lending and long-time supporter/reader/sponsor. Matt wants every part of the home buying process to be simple and fair, not just mortgages. He has been selling homes for two years now and ranks in the Top 1% in Michigan last year. If you're looking for a home in Ann Arbor, Detroit, or environs, get in touch with Matt.
THE ESSENTIALS
| WHAT | #15 Michigan (19-2, 10-10 Big Ten) vs #27 Rutgers (20-11, 11-9 Big Ten) |
|
|---|---|---|
| WHERE | Ann Arbor Elder Law Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
|
| WHEN | Noon Thursday | |
| THE LINE | Michigan –2, Michigan W 56% (KenPom) Michigan –2, Michigan W 58% (Torvik) |
|
| TELEVISION | BTN |
THE US
Seth's graphic:
click for big
Michigan reaches the sanctuary of a neutral court, where they're 4-0 this season and 31-5 the past four years. Is that a largely fake stat? Yes! Does it make you feel a bit better? Probably! Also in stats of low utility, Michigan hasn't lost its opener at the Big Ten tournament since 2006.
Note that for now the Big Ten intends to allow fans at the tournament. What the environment will be like is anyone's guess.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the preview.]
This podcast is brought to you by the law offices of E. Jason Blankenship, who’s got a shiny new site to show off.
SEGMENT ONE: ALL-B1G EVERYTHING
With the Big Ten yearly awards out, we go over the selections and make our own picks. After starting out in lockstep with the media, we quickly diverge, and we took different approaches to assembling our second and third teams. Poor Daniel Oturu deserves better than second-team but good lord the big men in the conference this year are ridiculous.
SEGMENT TWO: BTT PREVIEW
Rutgers looks like a good matchup, particularly since Michigan has, y’know, already beaten them twice away from Crisler this year. In general, this is a good draw for a nine-seed, particularly if Michigan can make the requisite adjustments should they get to Wisconsin—they figured out too late that Brandon Johns needs to be the backup center in that game. Both of us get a little weird with our title game predictions.
SEGMENT THREE: MBB MAILBAG
Can Michigan win the Big Ten tournament? What about the whole damn thing? Also:
- Describing Juwan Howard’s offensive philosophy
- What the return of Austin Davis means for next year’s roster
- John Beilein, Michigan assistant? (No.)
- Why floor slapping is bad and people who do it should feel bad.
Alex brought up this wonderful Jae’Sean Tate moment and it’s worth treasuring:
SONGS:
- “I Need Somebody” — Iggy & The Stooges
- “Shiny New Model” — Bodega
DOWNLOAD:
The origin of this is Duke and that’s why everybody hates it.
5