I'm done worrying about bracketology
The B1G Tourney winner gets an automatic bid, so we're in.
Lord knows we're due for a Reverse Dong Punch.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:28 PM ^
Great observation. Been trying to follow the bracketology and it's given me a colossal headache trying to reconcile this team's RPI/SOS with the lack of quality wins.
We win the BTT, this point becomes moot and we can contemplate seeding as opposed to inclusion.
This team still has a shot at an at-large, but it would be far more pleasing to just win the friggin conference.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:27 PM ^
BKFinest it?
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:27 PM ^
No more bracketology for me, or complaining about college basketball analysts. After tonight, I'm completely burnt out.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:27 PM ^
Nice take on it.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:31 PM ^
The team played like an NCAA tournament team today, but we all know that's not necessarily enough.
February 23rd, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
Disagree, while we played a highly efficient game, we gave up way too many offensive rebounds and missed too many important free throws.
February 23rd, 2011 at 10:16 PM ^
We defended very well. Wisconsin led the entire country in points per possession and we held them well below their average. As for missing too many important FTs, we actually only attempted one in the last 10 minutes of the game (though it was a killer miss). We just didn't finish.
February 24th, 2011 at 12:08 AM ^
1.19 point per possession for the season which is an amazing stat. Michigan held them to .98 point per possession which is good for 3rd worst offensive output by Wisconsin(Manhattan was the lowest at .90 point per possession[!!!!]). Michigan played great defense in that game, but missing key FTs, missing key shots, the lucky 3 point shot doomed Michigan.
February 24th, 2011 at 12:35 AM ^
we gave up way too many offensive rebounds
That's Beilein ball. It's why it is going to take a lot for me to ever warm to him as a coach. His system actually concedes a rebounding edge, which seems to go against the very principles of the game.
February 24th, 2011 at 1:36 AM ^
You are 100% wrong on this. Michigan rebounds 70.9% of its opponents misses which is above average nationally and that's with an undersized four in Novak. Now if you are saying that UM doesn't go after offensive rebounds, that's fine. But to act like you need to get a bunch of offenive rebounds to win is flat out wrong(especially if your team happens to be a little slow in foot speed like ours and would likely get exposed in transition)
February 24th, 2011 at 9:23 AM ^
More than 1 team in the NCAA tournament will lose because of a failure to rebound and by missing too many important free throws.
This team is good enough to compete with any team that will be in the tournament. It is just not good enough to beat many of those teams.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:32 PM ^
You're right, it ain't over, just yet. Reverse dong punch.... i like it.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:36 PM ^
I think it's time for us to dong punch the Angry Michigan Hating God
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:37 PM ^
We are playing really well right now (to a degree anyway), and this field is going to be filled with a bunch of teams less deserving than us. I thought Jim Jackson's comment that we could surprise some people if we got in was right on the money. I don't think that bracketologists should discount the early B1G schedule but we are not the same team we were a couple of months ago.
February 23rd, 2011 at 9:41 PM ^
Win out, make a nice run in the B1G tournament, and then let's see what happens. I really do think that if UM beats Minny and MSU, then win 2 games in the conference tournament, they'll be able to make a case. Either way, this team will be playing in the postseason, and that is far better than most expected at the beginning of the season.
February 23rd, 2011 at 10:02 PM ^
Maybe John Beilein could have his NCAA "Ethics" committee pay off the NCAA Tournament committee to get us a spot. If we sweep MSU this year, I'm happy. There I said it.
February 23rd, 2011 at 10:06 PM ^
Problem with depending on the Big Ten tournament is you HAVE to get a top 5 seed in it to have a shot and this hurts us for that too.
You gotta start on Friday, not Thursday. No team is going to play four straight days and win the last one on spaghetti legs.
February 23rd, 2011 at 10:11 PM ^
I'm pretty sure that we're in if we make it to Sunday. That would require beating OSU, Purdue, or Wisconsin, at least.
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:11 PM ^
as we'd be 4-0 vs those two. And if it were a four-way tie including Illinois, we'd move up to the fourth seed at 4-1 in tie-breaker play vs the Illini's 3-2. (We lose all other tie-breaker scenarios to Illinois.)
NW is a long-shot to make it to 9-9, but they'd be only 3-5 against us, Illinois, MSU, & PSU, so I'm pretty sure we'd come out higher than the Wildcats, also.
http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/100606aae.html
February 23rd, 2011 at 10:18 PM ^
I am convinced that if there is a team i follow and root for God hates them. I have season tickets to the Browns and Cavs and grew up in Michigan following the Lions, Tigers, Pistons (pre 1988) and Red Wings (also pre 1988).
If there is a painful way to experience defeat I've felt it. If there is a one in a million zillion chance of something happening to defeat my team it will happen. I stand amazed at the new and inovative ways teams i love are defeated.....always some new way to tear my heart out.
February 24th, 2011 at 9:56 PM ^
should stop being a M fan. (just kidding)
February 23rd, 2011 at 10:37 PM ^
If Michigan wins the B1G tourney they are a lock. BkFinest It!
February 24th, 2011 at 10:26 AM ^
I think we've covered the spread in almost all of our games this season.
February 24th, 2011 at 5:01 PM ^
I rather be in a tournament that Michigan HAS a chance to win. Not the one that looks the prettiest.
February 24th, 2011 at 9:46 PM ^
We can win any game we (might) play in the NCAA Tourney. Yeah, stringing together six is a long, longshot. But expecting five-in-a-row in the NIT is going against the odds, also.