Welp. Wouldn't bank on a Livers return:

Isaiah Livers on WTKA this morning: “If I do (return), that’s miraculous.” (Screenshot via @247Wolverine) pic.twitter.com/DE9FstSOII

— Ethan Sears (@ethan_sears) March 15, 2021

I'm trying to remember the last time Michigan went into the postseason with a significant injury. A meaningful one: not having Devin Gardner for the Oh God Tyler Lockett Bowl doesn't count. I guess Jabrill Peppers versus Florida State. Mitch McGary in 2014 sort of counts but he'd been out for a long time and Michigan was still really good.

Anyway, having the chair pulled out like this sucks.

Who do you think Indiana should hire to be its next Head Coach? pic.twitter.com/iotkdbgRde

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 15, 2021

this tweet: lol lol lol lolllllllllll

Stay away from basketball dad. The Minnesota and Indiana jobs just opened and I swear they're really going to chase me into the ocean this time if this dread prophecy is fulfilled:

when undead John Beilein is roaming Indiana's bench next year with an amulet made of Kevin Love's desiccated head, please remember i am also sad about it https://t.co/ViiLh3oGPP

— mgoblog (@mgoblog) January 9, 2020

Thankfully, early vibes don't seem to be pointing in this direction. Beilein did draw mention on Seth Davis's candidate list—was in fact his pick for the job—but it sounds like he's just guessing. Beilein was omitted from David Cobb's, and it doesn't seem like the fanbase is overly enthusiastic about a guy who would necessarily be a stopgap since he's 68.

On the other hand, some of these Indiana names are downright preposterous. Davis listed Scott Drew and Nate Oats, as did Inside The Hall. Oats already shot that idea down. Drew has spent 18 years at Baylor, which stuck with him through a 12-52 conference record in his first four years, and has finally turned the Bears into an outright power with what would have been back-to-back one seeds if last year's tournament happened. ITH did not list a singe mid-major head coach, instead focusing on two guys above and further extreme longshots (Eric Mussleman two years in at Arkansas, Oregon's Dana Altman)… mostly.

The exception? MSU assistant Dane Fife. This would be amazing. MSU fans want to run Fife out of town on a rail because they blame him for having Thomas Kithier and Foster Loyer on the roster instead of large, athletic persons. Fife is a former Indiana player, FWIW, but man there's no in-between here. Porter Moser now seems like a solid idea! Try that!

[After THE JUMP: even more Michigan connections to Big Ten coaching searches]

Minnesota has far less grandiose aspirations. SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher, a longtime Steve Fisher assistant, is a prominent name because his father coached Minnesota for over a decade. Dutcher has an unusual carve-out in his contract where his otherwise steep buyout is just 1 million if he takes the Minnesota job, so there's clearly interest on his end.

Dutcher took over at SDSU for Fisher after a 9-9 MWC season saw them miss the tournament for a second consecutive year after a six-year run of bids and has done well for himself. After an 11 seed in year one and an off-year in year two he had SDSU ranked sixth on Kenpom and headed for a two seed last year; this year they're 20th and a six-seed. The only hangup there might be Dutcher's age—he's 61—but it's unlikely they're going to get a more proven guy.

Other names at Minnesota are Porter Moser, Utah State's Craig Smith, and Colorado State's Niko Medved. Medved is also a Minnesota alum.

Other coaching carousel bits. BC hired Not Howard Eisley, going with Charleston's Earl Grant.

Penn State hired former Purdue and Celtics assistant Micah Shrewsberry in a move that looks a bit like an attempt to replicate Juwan Howard. Matt Norlander:

Micah Shrewsberry has a background in the Big Ten (two stints with Purdue) and the NBA (six seasons on Brad Stevens' staff in Boston) that put him on the path to getting this job. Penn State notes, "Shrewsberry played a key role in the development of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who were the No. 3 picks in the 2016 and 2017 NBA Drafts, respectively." The Nittany Lions get a fresh start with a coach who has been buzzed about for a couple of years now. He nailed the interview process, and now gets to work at one of the toughest jobs in that league.

We'll see if his connections to NBA guys gives him an unusual amount of recruiting juice for PSU.

Richard Pitino immediately landed the New Mexico job. That strikes me as odd since Pitino's performance at Minnesota was more or less identical to everyone else who's had the job since Clem Haskins got them put on probation, but one thing a recently-fired high-major head coach has going for them: they're cheap. No buyout, and you can skimp on their salary since you're just offsetting a portion of the buyout.

Maybe don't pick Michigan in your bracket. Seems like everyone is:

How have Championship Picks Changed?

Here is movement in @ESPN's Tourney Challenge by Champ

Houston & Baylor have corrected up, Zags have corrected down

Illini corrected down? So they've increased value

Michigan... just went even higher pic.twitter.com/GrqD32NpXw

— Fifth Factor Plots (@5th_Factor) March 16, 2021

This is deeply weird because Michigan's lost three of five and is down a hugely important player. I'd think recency bias alone would cause the public to fade Michigan. I know we are legion but I don't think a horde of Michigan fans is enough to swamp something as big as an ESPN bracket challenge.

Penn State is going to need a new Penn State. Penn State basketball has entered the portal. Shrewsberry's going to need a long leash:

Solid starting five from Penn St. in the portal. https://t.co/kmrF1cedam pic.twitter.com/H2MIoAdQLL

— Bart Trvik (@totally_t_bomb) March 16, 2021

Harrar, Wheeler, and Buttrick are seniors going for a bonus COVID year so maybe those don't count as much since PSU was probably preparing to lose them on some level. Jones hurts. Michigan might want to kick the tires there if they're not getting any of their seniors back—Jones shot 40% from three this year with a top 50 TO rate and you'd have to imagine that Michigan can get him better shots inside the arc (where he was at 39%) than Penn State did.

Another name in the portal. Indiana's Al Durham has decided to light out for greener pastures. Durham's another guy like Jones: a proven shooter who might look like an entirely different player when put in a less depressing context. Unlike Jones, Durham doesn't have a lot of involuntary usage to scrape off his hull. But I've always liked him as a player and that might be another set of tires to kick.

Revamp? Interesting ESPN+ article on three pointers reaching such dominance in NBA strategy circles that people are muttering about changing things:

THERE'S LITTLE DESIRE across the league to return to Patrick Ewing vs. Alonzo Mourning, but there's also a sense that the game is losing diversity of identity, at least offensively. This school of thought maintains that a stylistic conformity has overtaken the game. One of the more appealing characteristics of basketball is the number of ways a player can score, but a 3-pointer every 30 to 45 seconds introduces a repetition that isn't so appealing.

"With all sports or competitive endeavors, you want there to be a strategic dynamic where there are multiple paths to victory," said Daryl Morey, Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations. "You want measures and countermeasures that are pretty well-balanced, so that you can go down any one of those paths and get a victory if the path is chosen well and executed well. But the NBA right now appears to be somewhat unbalanced, in large part because the reward given for the 3 being worth 50% more than a 2 is out of balance."

The whole league is Nate Oats's Alabama, and that can make for some monotony. Unfortunately, I don't know if many of the solutions offered are reasonable. A "longtime league power broker" has suggested that the number of threes should be capped at 20 until the last six minutes, which sounds ridiculous but no less ridiculous than getting rid of corner threes.

Draft intel on Paye and Mayfield. Via Bruce Feldman, the take on Paye:

“He is super explosive and has a high motor. He has the ability to be a speed guy or a power guy, where he can really bull-rush you. He can really turn the corner, but he is not a long dude. He could have trouble against a polished 6-foot-7 guy.”

Feldman has Paye 23rd overall, which is a bit lower than I've seen him elsewhere. On Mayfield:

“He is a first-round talent. He plays fast; has good change of direction; is very physical and plays with tenacity; He dominated Minnesota’s guys (in the Wolverines’ opener) like they were kids. He should be able to play four positions in the NFL, but probably will not be seen as a long-term solution at left tackle because his arm length isn’t what most NFL teams want.”

He's 25th. Mayfield hasn't featured on a ton of first rounds so far.

Etc.: Everything you wanted to know about cocaine bear. Big news for the cast of Heathers. Player-voted B10 awards go about how you'd think. Kevin Warren talks B10 hockey, doesn't say very much. Colleges suck at adhering to FOIA.