Michigan Gets A 4, Will Play Ohio (Not That Ohio)
Michigan's third bid in four years is a Sweet Sixteen seed in the Midwest region and draws Brady Hoke's favorite team: Ohio. Not that Ohio, Actual Ohio. This Ohio:
Ohio won the MAC title and is #72 in Kenpom.
A second round matchup will be against either Temple (#37 Kenpom), Cal, or South Florida. According to Kenpom, Michigan got a better draw than Michigan State. Also Seth Davis hates the entire Big Ten.
Look for their good wins - they beat Marquette, and they beat ND by 18. Otherwise, they just didn't do much other than take Syracuse to OT...Oh well, Michigan can take Ohio and Temple. It's nice to worry about whether you're a three or a four, I suppose.
theyve been projected as a 3 almost universally for weeks/months
I just think that it's hard to justify. Michigan - and Indiana for that matter - has/have a lot more high-quality wins.
The seed number doesn't really matter. It's the draw that counts. We probably got an easier draw than Georgetown or Baylor for that matter.
and I think people may be understating how it was a break to not be playing in Columbus. Even if we are playing Belmont, I think we would be playing more of a road game there than people think.
Sparty plays in Colombus. Isn't it possible to imagine even the single-minded Ohio fans somehow come to the logical conclusion that the school that beat their team 3 out of 4 games combined in basketball and football should be treated as an enemy?
Sparty wont make it to the final four, theyre due for a big time upset in this tournament. Guard play (Appling) is too inconsistent.
I refuse to complain about playing Ohio instead of Belmont. Belmont is worlds better than the Bobcats, and that's not just a KenPom thing.
To take just one example: Georgetown is #12 in kenpom, Michigan is #25. The seeds of teams surrounding Michigan on the kenpom are 8, 14, 10, 10, 11, 12.
Not sure Michigan's at the top of the grievance list here.
March 12th, 2012 at 10:09 AM ^
They beat Louisville as well. Most of their good wins are close like our's.
Beat Ohio
clap, clap, clap clap clap!
Still gets ya fired up to type...BEAT OHIO
2 things:
1) Somebody had one hell of a sense of humor when they did this.
2) Fuck Seth Davis
YTO? NTO? Mindblow
Let's be clear. We will be playing Ohio (NTO). We recently lost to Ohio (YTO).
for us. We can make a run.
I always thought we are a 4 seed. This bracket is relativly good and should set up up for a sweet 16 trip
I love this bracket for UM. There is no team that scares me.
I'm kind of pissed we got a 4, but you cannot argue with our matchups. Beat Ohio and Temple/Cal/USF to get to Sweet 16? Done.
Then all we have to do is pray for UNC to stumble and we could be looking at an Elite 8 matchup with Kansas to go to the Final Four.
Not saying it will happen, but you just never know.
thats the first thing I thought too. Far from a sure thing, but I think they could do it.
Belmont, BYU/Iona, South Dakota State, and St. Bonaventure are the 14s. SDSU, UNLV, Cincinnati, and Murray State are the 6s.
I'll take Ohio/Temple over just about any of those potential draws.
Yeah I don't think M could have asked for better matchups. 2 very winnable games
I like this 4 Seed. I was annoyed at first but Seth Davis can take his Temple upset pick and shove it. Go Blue. I like this.
I have a buddy who was stationed near Nashville and is on Spring Break this upcoming week and would go with me to Nashville. And being in Iowa I can easily do St. Louis. I might be travelling these next couple weeks.
... lost to Harvard in the Bahamas.
... lost @ Sparty by 16 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge
... lost @ (RPI #151) Clemson by 20.
... lost @ (RPI #244) Boston College
... lost at home to Princeton (!) in triple overtime.
... lost @ Florida by 18
But, hey, they beat UNC twice and won at Duke, so they're obviously a good team.
After the last couple of seasons of sweating the bubble, it's still nice to get in, but our path to advance is definitely tougher than it ought to be.
Oh well. Beat Ohio. :-)
FYI - Our path as the 4 seed is easier than the FSU path as a 3... we actually got a nice draw.
I disagree -- Cincinnati is terrible (they lost to Presbyterian) and we know we can beat Ohio (YTO). I think Temple is better than Cincinnati and UNC is better than Ohio.
Still, it's a lot better to complain about seeding than to complain about being snubbed. :-)
I don't want anything to do with Cinci or Texas. I just have to assume Ohio and Temple are not as equiped as Cinci or Texas athlete-wise and we struggle with athletic teams.
Either way I'm just happy to be here.
Cinci lost to Presbyterian with what, half their team suspended after the Xavier brawl? Context is everything.
Cincinnati lost to Presbyterian three weeks before the X game. Before the suspensions they were 5-3 (they'd also lost to Marshall); during and after the suspensions they ran off seven straight and ten of eleven.
Part of the change was getting Jaquon Parker back (he missed their first seven games); part of it was Gates and others getting their heads straight; part of it is a change in offensive philosophy to a perimeter-oriented system which come to think of it is probably because of Parker being back.
Right you are. I was thinking of Xavier's embarassing streak of games after the brawl. (Oral Roberts, Presbyterian... same thing to me)
I def would't want to play Cincy right now. they are HOOOTT! I think we got a little easier path out of the two. I would also hate to play USF in the second round, they are extremely athletic.
March 12th, 2012 at 11:49 AM ^
Once Florida State beat NC our 3 seed was in jeopardy. We were a low 3 seed to start, and if you bring a new steam into the three seed (Florida State), we would be the first to get the boot.
...and performance against OSU in the tourney did not help.
St. Louis is going to give MSU a game in rd. 2. That's a tough draw.
Rick Majerus is coaching there. Definitely going to be a Tourney ready team. Sparty may overpower them but they'll be ready (assuming the get past Memphis in Rd. 1).
They are a much better team now than when Michigan played them earlier this year. They were pretty athletic but undisciplined and young when Michigan played them. They are better now (not predicting a Memphis win over St. Louis, but I think it's about 50/50)
actually said something nice. He thought Michigan could give NC problems in the Sweet Sixteen. Seth Davis on the other hand is a total tool who hates the B1G for some reason and has no business being on the show. He brings nothing to it.
What did he say? Whom did he trash? (I wasn't able to watch the show, so it's a serious question.)
Ohio is my alma mater. I've been following them all year, they are pretty good. They have a good point guard in D.J. Cooper and they are deep. Most of the players that were on the team that scored 98 points on Georgetown in the tournament a few years ago are on this team. My guess is that the line will be 5 points. Go Blue (i think ha).
I like the potential Temple draw in the 3rd round though.
Would either of you mind throwing up a diary with first thoughts on Ohio for out matchup Friday? Your scouting of them will probably a little more complete than what others can come up with just by watching highlights of the selected games that happen to have been on TV.
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