Just a warning, tonight's post will not be as detailed as past posts since internet connection is pretty spotty here in Gobles.
Well, it was a successful trip to Hawaii for the men's basketball team, returning home 2-1 after playing 3 pretty good games in 3 days, which they wont have to do until the B1G tourney.
Tonight's game was a pretty underwhelming 16 point win. UCLA looked very bad at times tonight, and we should have beat them by close to 30. It was probably a good thing that we played them on the 3rd night though, since they are not very good.
The things that Michigan needs to work on: boxing out on the defensive end of the foor. While Michigan still won the rebounding battle overall, they gave up way to many 2nd chance opportunities, leading to 25 2nd chance points for UCLA! 25 points! They still only scored 63 points! Even though Tim had 20 points againt tonight, I feel like Michigan loses him at times. I don't know if Hardaway needs to becom more aggressive and go and get the ball, or if there needs to be more plays called for him when we need a bucket. Our bigs did not play their best game tonight, Morgan seemed to be on the floor for about 3 minutes tonight because of foul trouble, Smot is a head case, and Horford plays too weak too much. It will be nice having another solid body down low next year with McGary.
The parts of the game that I was impressed with: Our overall defense seemed to be pretty good for the most part of the game. Like I said, we gave up 25 points on 2nd chances which means our regular defense gave up only 38 points! Novak was very aggressive tonight on the offensive end of the floor, and when he contributes we are very tough to beat. Hardaway looks un-guardable for long stretches of time. He scored 20 points while making it look easy. He got to the hoop at will, whether it was off back screens, ball screen and dribble drives, or transition lay ups. While I love it when he knocks down a three, it will be very important for this team if he can continue to get easy lay-ups to get him going. Trey Burke just looks like the complete floor general for this team, tonight was his 6 career college game. It will be a ton of fun to watch him grow and get better throughout this year. Horford scoring his career high in points (12 all in the first half) was big for momentum, but I would like to see his hands get stronger and for him to play with more aggression.
What does this mean moving forward? Well I will admit that I was pretty nervous of going 1-2 down in Hawaii, with a win vs Chaminade, and for it to feel like a repeat of 2 years ago. I am happy to say that I was wrong. This team looks hungry for something more than just a tournament appearance. These two wins will go a long way for us to be solidly in the NCAA tourney and not on the bubble. With Beilein's teams historically getting better over the course of a season, I have a feeling we are in for something special this year. I fully believe that this team is a legit top 12 team right now, so improving on that would be impressive. The big men need to keep working on their foul problems, Hardaway needs to continue to use his athleticism and strength to get to the hoop for easy shots, the bench needs to continue to provide key minutes, Burke needs to continue to grow as a leader and catalyst for the team, and the 1-3-1 zone needs to keep improving.
I would not be surprised to see our ranking stay around 15 or even go up a few spots after this week in Hawaii. Tuesday's game at Virginia will be a big test for this team not to come out flat and have a let down against a very beatable team. It will be our first true road game, and road wins are always important. With Beilein at the helm, I would be surprised to see it happen.
Good win for Michigan, only 62 hours left until Ohio!
Go Blue today and always!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Turkey Day Tradition Preview
Tomorrow is the big day, Detroit (7-3) vs Green Bay (10-0) at Ford Field startng at 12:30pm. The Packers are looking like a lock to be the NFC #1 seed, while Detroit is still fighting for a playoff spot. The last time the Pack played in Detroit, the Fearsome Foursome up front knocked this year's MVP out with a concussion and Detroit won 7-3. I think tomorrow will be a little higher scoring.
Green Bay's offense has been on the same page for almost 16 straight games. Rodgers has thrown 31 TDs in 10 games compared to just 4 interceptions. Hopefully Stafford doesn't match that total in the first quarter. One of the weaknesses of this team though is being able to protect the QB. They are breaking in 2 new linemen, and Rodgers has been sacked more through 10 games than he has in any other season. This weakness plays into the Lions biggest strength. Green Bay has a group of very athletic receivers that will challenge the Lion secondary more than any other team has this year.
Green Bay's defense has been getting better throughout the year, but one thing they have been good at for 2 seasons is creating turnovers. Their secondary plays very aggressively, which will result in some big plays but also some forced fumbles or jumped routes/ interceptions. Stafford will need to use his check downs a lot tomorrow to get consistent pick ups on 1st and 2nd down. Green Bay's Linebacking unit is one of the best in the NFL, they are very athletic, sure tacklers, and intense blitzers. Our offensive line will struggle a lot with all of Dom Caper's different blitz packages. Their defensive line is their "weakest" link of their defensive unit, but it is still above average. BJ Raji will have to be double teamed by our interior line almost every play.
If the Lions are going to move the ball against Green Bay, Kevin Smith is going to have to have another big game running and catching passes out of the backfield. It will also be exciting to see how the Pack try to cover Megatron. Last year they put Charles Woodson on him, and he did a great job at times, but Calvin was able to get open a few times down the field. I know Calvin Johnson didn't get into the endzone last weekend, and the Lions still won the game. I don't think this will happen again. I think Calvin will score 2 td's. Also, during the Monday night game Ford Field was rocking, causing 9 false start penalties by the Bears. How will the Pack handle the noise? I think the Lions play their best complete game of the season tomorrow, but I don't know if that is good enough to beat the reigning Super Bowl champions. I want the Lions to win tomorrow, but it has been a while since I have seen the Lions win on Thanksgiving Day. My prediction is GB 31 - DET 27
Go Blue (70 hours and counting)
Green Bay's offense has been on the same page for almost 16 straight games. Rodgers has thrown 31 TDs in 10 games compared to just 4 interceptions. Hopefully Stafford doesn't match that total in the first quarter. One of the weaknesses of this team though is being able to protect the QB. They are breaking in 2 new linemen, and Rodgers has been sacked more through 10 games than he has in any other season. This weakness plays into the Lions biggest strength. Green Bay has a group of very athletic receivers that will challenge the Lion secondary more than any other team has this year.
Green Bay's defense has been getting better throughout the year, but one thing they have been good at for 2 seasons is creating turnovers. Their secondary plays very aggressively, which will result in some big plays but also some forced fumbles or jumped routes/ interceptions. Stafford will need to use his check downs a lot tomorrow to get consistent pick ups on 1st and 2nd down. Green Bay's Linebacking unit is one of the best in the NFL, they are very athletic, sure tacklers, and intense blitzers. Our offensive line will struggle a lot with all of Dom Caper's different blitz packages. Their defensive line is their "weakest" link of their defensive unit, but it is still above average. BJ Raji will have to be double teamed by our interior line almost every play.
If the Lions are going to move the ball against Green Bay, Kevin Smith is going to have to have another big game running and catching passes out of the backfield. It will also be exciting to see how the Pack try to cover Megatron. Last year they put Charles Woodson on him, and he did a great job at times, but Calvin was able to get open a few times down the field. I know Calvin Johnson didn't get into the endzone last weekend, and the Lions still won the game. I don't think this will happen again. I think Calvin will score 2 td's. Also, during the Monday night game Ford Field was rocking, causing 9 false start penalties by the Bears. How will the Pack handle the noise? I think the Lions play their best complete game of the season tomorrow, but I don't know if that is good enough to beat the reigning Super Bowl champions. I want the Lions to win tomorrow, but it has been a while since I have seen the Lions win on Thanksgiving Day. My prediction is GB 31 - DET 27
Go Blue (70 hours and counting)
Game 6 preview: UCLA
After 2 hard fought games for the Big Blue basketball team, they are left with a third game that will determine the success of the Maui trip for the squad. It comes tonight against UCLA. The name is more intimidating than anything with the Bruins. They are currently 1-3, with the only win coming against Chaminade (the Division II host school of the Maui). So far they have lost at home to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee by 20, then in the Maui against Kansas. This is the type of game that Michigan needs to win if they don't want to be on the bubble come next March.
UCLA is led on offense by senior guard Jerime Anderson who averages almost 14 points a game, which is what Trey Burke has been putting up. They also have their very own Derrick Nix in a truck named Josh Smith (he is listed at 6'10" 305 lbs... this is about the same as when Shaq was listed at 310 lbs... hah.) He actually has some decent footwork and can rebound well, but he can only play about 15-20 mintes a game with either foul troubles or because he is 6'10" 400 lbs. They do not have as much offensive firepower as Memphis or Duke, but it does not mean we can let up on defense. They have a few players who can shoot the 3 ball pretty well, and like we saw last night... if a team shoots 60% from the big boy line they will always be tough to beat.
On defense UCLA under Ben Howland usually likes to play a pressure man to man defense. But they are not as athletic as previous teams, so it is possible that they drop into a 2-3 zone at times to protect Josh Smith or to not get burned by our quick guards. UCLA has been known to throw some full court press as well, but Memphis tried on Monday and it did not work for them, so I am not expecting that to work tonight either.
Key matchup: Tyler Lamb vs Tim Hardaway. As we saw last night, when Tim goes this team goes. So in the first half when he chose to take a nap, our offense looked pretty anemic. Then the second half came and we scored 53 points (19 from Tim). When he is being aggressive on the offensive end of the floor this team plays with a lot more confidence and is very difficult to defend and beat. Tyler Lamb will have to play defense each time down the floor, which can take away from his offensive energy. Also, Tim will have to make sure that Lamb does not get a lot of open shots to get into a rhythm.
It is hard for me to pick against Michigan in this game becase UCLA has under performed all season this far. But this game has a sort of trap feel to it. We have played 2 highly rated teams in 2 days, these are easy to get hyped up for even if you are a little physically tired. How will our young team respond to playing 3 nights in a row against a team that they should beat? I have a fear that we might come out a little flat (whether that is for 5 minutes or the first half), but I trust Beilein to get his team motivated and turned around before it gets out of hand. Michigan 65 UCLA 58.
UCLA is led on offense by senior guard Jerime Anderson who averages almost 14 points a game, which is what Trey Burke has been putting up. They also have their very own Derrick Nix in a truck named Josh Smith (he is listed at 6'10" 305 lbs... this is about the same as when Shaq was listed at 310 lbs... hah.) He actually has some decent footwork and can rebound well, but he can only play about 15-20 mintes a game with either foul troubles or because he is 6'10" 400 lbs. They do not have as much offensive firepower as Memphis or Duke, but it does not mean we can let up on defense. They have a few players who can shoot the 3 ball pretty well, and like we saw last night... if a team shoots 60% from the big boy line they will always be tough to beat.
On defense UCLA under Ben Howland usually likes to play a pressure man to man defense. But they are not as athletic as previous teams, so it is possible that they drop into a 2-3 zone at times to protect Josh Smith or to not get burned by our quick guards. UCLA has been known to throw some full court press as well, but Memphis tried on Monday and it did not work for them, so I am not expecting that to work tonight either.
Key matchup: Tyler Lamb vs Tim Hardaway. As we saw last night, when Tim goes this team goes. So in the first half when he chose to take a nap, our offense looked pretty anemic. Then the second half came and we scored 53 points (19 from Tim). When he is being aggressive on the offensive end of the floor this team plays with a lot more confidence and is very difficult to defend and beat. Tyler Lamb will have to play defense each time down the floor, which can take away from his offensive energy. Also, Tim will have to make sure that Lamb does not get a lot of open shots to get into a rhythm.
It is hard for me to pick against Michigan in this game becase UCLA has under performed all season this far. But this game has a sort of trap feel to it. We have played 2 highly rated teams in 2 days, these are easy to get hyped up for even if you are a little physically tired. How will our young team respond to playing 3 nights in a row against a team that they should beat? I have a fear that we might come out a little flat (whether that is for 5 minutes or the first half), but I trust Beilein to get his team motivated and turned around before it gets out of hand. Michigan 65 UCLA 58.
76 hours and counting....
We are right in the middle of Ohio week here and I am getting more and more excited for The Game on Saturday at Noon. This year we are lucky to have some great lead in entertainment to the Ohio v Michigan game: 3 games on national tv for our basketball program (it will be a very successful trip if they can find enough energy to beat a down UCLA team - preview to come), two Lions games during the week, and a top 3 matchup on Friday afternoon to basically determine the SEC West.
Luke "I am the definition of lame duck" Fickell made some comments yesterday about The Game not being about talent, but about passion. Wait, huh? I am pretty sure Ohio did not take us out back the past 3 years because we lacked passion. We didn't lose the 1 v 2 game of the century because that team didnt have passion. The comments sound like a coach wanting to say something to pump his team up because he even thinks they have less talent than the Michigan team for the first time in maybe 6 years. But last time I checked Ohio is still pretty talented, and maybe even more so on the defensive side of the ball. I cannot see an Ohio team coming into the Big House and not playing with passion (Fickell might be bad, but he isn't John Cooper).
It is a shame that The Game has lost some of its national importance, but I have a hard time thinking that Ohio will be down for too long, no matter who they hire. And Michigan is honestly a pretty average team playing in a pretty weak conference this year, but with the importance Coach Hoke puts on The Game it can only become more relevant to the entire nation (not just to the worst state ever and the mitten).
Switching gears a little, since I am going home to Gobles soon and internet is beyond slow, I probably won't be able to blog much in the few days coming. Lets look at important college football games of the weekend.
B1G: Penn St v Wisconsin. The winner gets to go to Indy to take on Sparty. Personally I want Wisconsin to dump truck the criminals in the 2nd time around, so I want Wisconsin to win this game and go to the Rose Bowl. I can't accept MSU in Pasadena in my lifetime. Please. Neither affect our chance for an at large BCS game.
Golden Domers v the Stanford fighting Lucks: So while I hate ND, an ND win would all but eliminate a 2 loss Stanford (losers of 2 of 3) from an at large BCS game and all but guarantees us (assuming we win). Also, the ND win makes our win over them look better and I think it will help our BCS rankings.
LSU - Arkansas: Well we will not jump the loser in the standings, so that doesnt help us. Also I believe that LSU is the best team in the nation, so with the current crappy bowl system I hope they dont have an off day and not get a chance to play for a title. If LSU loses, the BCS becomes an absolute joke.
Oklahoma v Iowa St: Well Iowa St just beat Ok St and probably ruined their title chances, we can be rooting for them again because any Oklahoma loss will eliminate them from the BCS picture. Worry if they beat Ok St next weekend to finish with 2 losses, they might get picked ahead of us... maybe.
SCar v Clemson: This game doesnt really matter to anyone or anything since SCar is eliminated in the SEC and Clemson is already in the ACC championship game. But SCar is still rated higher than Michigan in the BCS, so if they lose a 3rd game we can expect to jump them in the standings. The higher we get by the end of next weekend the better chance we have of making a BCS game.
Va Tech v Virginia: VaTech is rated number 5, so I dont know how far they will fall if they lose. But if they do lose, they will not be in the ACC championship game.. so a 2 loss Va Tech becomes in the running for an at large BCS game (I think we look more attractive at this pont, but still it is another team to compete against)
Until later....Go Blue!!!
Luke "I am the definition of lame duck" Fickell made some comments yesterday about The Game not being about talent, but about passion. Wait, huh? I am pretty sure Ohio did not take us out back the past 3 years because we lacked passion. We didn't lose the 1 v 2 game of the century because that team didnt have passion. The comments sound like a coach wanting to say something to pump his team up because he even thinks they have less talent than the Michigan team for the first time in maybe 6 years. But last time I checked Ohio is still pretty talented, and maybe even more so on the defensive side of the ball. I cannot see an Ohio team coming into the Big House and not playing with passion (Fickell might be bad, but he isn't John Cooper).
It is a shame that The Game has lost some of its national importance, but I have a hard time thinking that Ohio will be down for too long, no matter who they hire. And Michigan is honestly a pretty average team playing in a pretty weak conference this year, but with the importance Coach Hoke puts on The Game it can only become more relevant to the entire nation (not just to the worst state ever and the mitten).
Switching gears a little, since I am going home to Gobles soon and internet is beyond slow, I probably won't be able to blog much in the few days coming. Lets look at important college football games of the weekend.
B1G: Penn St v Wisconsin. The winner gets to go to Indy to take on Sparty. Personally I want Wisconsin to dump truck the criminals in the 2nd time around, so I want Wisconsin to win this game and go to the Rose Bowl. I can't accept MSU in Pasadena in my lifetime. Please. Neither affect our chance for an at large BCS game.
Golden Domers v the Stanford fighting Lucks: So while I hate ND, an ND win would all but eliminate a 2 loss Stanford (losers of 2 of 3) from an at large BCS game and all but guarantees us (assuming we win). Also, the ND win makes our win over them look better and I think it will help our BCS rankings.
LSU - Arkansas: Well we will not jump the loser in the standings, so that doesnt help us. Also I believe that LSU is the best team in the nation, so with the current crappy bowl system I hope they dont have an off day and not get a chance to play for a title. If LSU loses, the BCS becomes an absolute joke.
Oklahoma v Iowa St: Well Iowa St just beat Ok St and probably ruined their title chances, we can be rooting for them again because any Oklahoma loss will eliminate them from the BCS picture. Worry if they beat Ok St next weekend to finish with 2 losses, they might get picked ahead of us... maybe.
SCar v Clemson: This game doesnt really matter to anyone or anything since SCar is eliminated in the SEC and Clemson is already in the ACC championship game. But SCar is still rated higher than Michigan in the BCS, so if they lose a 3rd game we can expect to jump them in the standings. The higher we get by the end of next weekend the better chance we have of making a BCS game.
Va Tech v Virginia: VaTech is rated number 5, so I dont know how far they will fall if they lose. But if they do lose, they will not be in the ACC championship game.. so a 2 loss Va Tech becomes in the running for an at large BCS game (I think we look more attractive at this pont, but still it is another team to compete against)
Until later....Go Blue!!!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
4-1
Well if Duke is a legitimate top 5 or 6 teams in the nation, then Michigan is a legitimate top 10 team. I thought Duke could not have played any better tonight, and the game came down to a few possessions here or there. Coach K probably has not seen this team shoot better in most practices, and yet Michigan was close enough to make the game interesting.
Let's start with the positive... where did things go right? Well people we have found our point guard of the future. All I can say is wow! Trey Burke 17 points 9 assists 3 rebounds. How about we compare this to Sir Austin "my dad's famous so give me respect" Rivers 20 points 3 assists 4 rebounds. Rivers has one more rebound while being 5 inches taller than our new found star. Rivers also made 4 free throws at the end of the game to get to 20 points. I would argue that Burke's numbers meant more to his team than Rivers even. Did our point guard just out play the number 1 recruit in the nation? I say yes. Our big men are looking very good so far in the young season. Smot (when he can stay on the floor) looked very aggressive and more athletic than his counterpart Kelly. If we could have gotten a few more minutes out of him, the game could have been a lot different. Morgan has gotten back to the level of play as last year 12 points 6 rebounds. He is very active on both ends of the floor and I think equalized Mason Plumtree's activity (9 points 5 rebounds!!!) Hardaway's 2nd half was pretty incredible. You can tell when he flips the switch to want to take over the game, and he did for the most part but we fell into too big of a hole to come back. 19 points all in the 2nd half against an "incredible Duke defense." If they really are that good, then watch out B1G. Also the turnovers. We started with 5 turnovers in the first 4 minutes, and we ended with 8. 8 turnovers for an entire game is incredible, but how bout 3 in 36 minutes! Trey has fit in very nicely! Oh and, don't look now, but the team that couldnt rebound if they were playing 21 last year has now outrebounded 2 top ten teams in 2 days!
On to the negative... Where to start. I will start on the defensive end of the floor. While Vogrich played great defense yesterday against Memphis, he looked terrible in his limited role tonight. How does an unathletic kid think he can stop a drive into the paint when his ONLY assignment is to guard the 3 point line. He gave up 3 wide open long ball looks, and while luckily only 2 fell... I mean come on dude. Smot's foul trouble, he has not learned much from last year. The first foul was terrible along with his 4th. He cannot act out of frustration after giving up a turnover and commit a foul 80 feet from the hoop. It will drive a coach crazy. And how the heck do we let Duke's two set shooters beat us by making 7-12 threes. Even if we make them dribble the ball and they drive into the lane for an easy layup.. the eliminates 7 points. Also, we let Ryan Kelly beat us again just like last year in the NCAA tournament. He finished with 17! Yes that is right, a kid that is less athletic than Smot, slower than me, and you can see the steam coming out of his ears when he tries to think about his next move. He scored 17 points against us. The cat can do one thing. Shoot. He can shoot free throws (90% shooter) and set shots anywhere. How can he beat us again? Even though we won the rebounding battle tonight, we gave up 2 offensive rebounds off of missed free throws that resulted in 5 2nd chance points.... seriously? Beilein might have some less hair on that already shiny head for tomorrows game. Tim's first half was beyond frustrating. I am not sure if he expected to have Austin Rivers covering him or what, but he looked out of it during the first half. Rivers is not a prominent defender, and Hardaway has an easy 3 inches on him. I would have liked to see Tim establish himself on the low block to get some easy baskets.. kinda like he did late in the 2nd half to get an easy lay up. Tim was 0-6 in the half and only 2 of those shots were open looks that should have gone in. When you are in a slump shooting, you need to get somewhere on the floor to get some easy looks (drive to the hoop to draw some fouls and free throws, post up on the low block). I was disappointed with his intensity in the first half. Also, during the first half Michigan did not run its standard offense well or at all at times. They settled for random shots or long 3 pointers. When they got down 11-2, and then made their comeback they began running set plays and getting easy buckets. But basically Michigan's basketball team starts and ends with defense, when we can get some rebounds, turnovers, etc it sets up our offense perfectly to run some set plays or get easy transition baskets. And 82 points is not played good defense.
Tomorrow will be a big test for this team, how do you respond to a hard fought loss? How does this team play after 3 straight days of tough basketball? It would be a HUGE success to come back to AA 5-1. If this happens, I think we might have a pretty special team this year. One that is better than most expected.
Until tomorrow, Go Blue!!!
Let's start with the positive... where did things go right? Well people we have found our point guard of the future. All I can say is wow! Trey Burke 17 points 9 assists 3 rebounds. How about we compare this to Sir Austin "my dad's famous so give me respect" Rivers 20 points 3 assists 4 rebounds. Rivers has one more rebound while being 5 inches taller than our new found star. Rivers also made 4 free throws at the end of the game to get to 20 points. I would argue that Burke's numbers meant more to his team than Rivers even. Did our point guard just out play the number 1 recruit in the nation? I say yes. Our big men are looking very good so far in the young season. Smot (when he can stay on the floor) looked very aggressive and more athletic than his counterpart Kelly. If we could have gotten a few more minutes out of him, the game could have been a lot different. Morgan has gotten back to the level of play as last year 12 points 6 rebounds. He is very active on both ends of the floor and I think equalized Mason Plumtree's activity (9 points 5 rebounds!!!) Hardaway's 2nd half was pretty incredible. You can tell when he flips the switch to want to take over the game, and he did for the most part but we fell into too big of a hole to come back. 19 points all in the 2nd half against an "incredible Duke defense." If they really are that good, then watch out B1G. Also the turnovers. We started with 5 turnovers in the first 4 minutes, and we ended with 8. 8 turnovers for an entire game is incredible, but how bout 3 in 36 minutes! Trey has fit in very nicely! Oh and, don't look now, but the team that couldnt rebound if they were playing 21 last year has now outrebounded 2 top ten teams in 2 days!
On to the negative... Where to start. I will start on the defensive end of the floor. While Vogrich played great defense yesterday against Memphis, he looked terrible in his limited role tonight. How does an unathletic kid think he can stop a drive into the paint when his ONLY assignment is to guard the 3 point line. He gave up 3 wide open long ball looks, and while luckily only 2 fell... I mean come on dude. Smot's foul trouble, he has not learned much from last year. The first foul was terrible along with his 4th. He cannot act out of frustration after giving up a turnover and commit a foul 80 feet from the hoop. It will drive a coach crazy. And how the heck do we let Duke's two set shooters beat us by making 7-12 threes. Even if we make them dribble the ball and they drive into the lane for an easy layup.. the eliminates 7 points. Also, we let Ryan Kelly beat us again just like last year in the NCAA tournament. He finished with 17! Yes that is right, a kid that is less athletic than Smot, slower than me, and you can see the steam coming out of his ears when he tries to think about his next move. He scored 17 points against us. The cat can do one thing. Shoot. He can shoot free throws (90% shooter) and set shots anywhere. How can he beat us again? Even though we won the rebounding battle tonight, we gave up 2 offensive rebounds off of missed free throws that resulted in 5 2nd chance points.... seriously? Beilein might have some less hair on that already shiny head for tomorrows game. Tim's first half was beyond frustrating. I am not sure if he expected to have Austin Rivers covering him or what, but he looked out of it during the first half. Rivers is not a prominent defender, and Hardaway has an easy 3 inches on him. I would have liked to see Tim establish himself on the low block to get some easy baskets.. kinda like he did late in the 2nd half to get an easy lay up. Tim was 0-6 in the half and only 2 of those shots were open looks that should have gone in. When you are in a slump shooting, you need to get somewhere on the floor to get some easy looks (drive to the hoop to draw some fouls and free throws, post up on the low block). I was disappointed with his intensity in the first half. Also, during the first half Michigan did not run its standard offense well or at all at times. They settled for random shots or long 3 pointers. When they got down 11-2, and then made their comeback they began running set plays and getting easy buckets. But basically Michigan's basketball team starts and ends with defense, when we can get some rebounds, turnovers, etc it sets up our offense perfectly to run some set plays or get easy transition baskets. And 82 points is not played good defense.
Tomorrow will be a big test for this team, how do you respond to a hard fought loss? How does this team play after 3 straight days of tough basketball? It would be a HUGE success to come back to AA 5-1. If this happens, I think we might have a pretty special team this year. One that is better than most expected.
Until tomorrow, Go Blue!!!
Urban Meyer to OSU?!?
Apparently it is all but official that Urban Meyer will be headed to Columbus next year to coach Ohio. Maybe Kirk Herbstreit will make an official announcement, and the deal will breakdown... I know Luke Fickell has not done a good job this year with a pretty talented Ohio team, but I feel like he deserves a little better treatment. I guess the bottom line is that college football is a business and universities will do whatever they can to better the program without regards to individuals.
Even though Urban Meyer said that he would not be coaching next year because of health problems and enjoying working for the 4 letter network, still here he is becoming the new head Bucknut.
I am not sure how I feel about his hire, it is easily the obvious choice for Ohio (like Jim Harbaugh or Les Miles), and most Ohio fans think it is guaranteed to get them back to national prominence. But I remember after hired Rich Rod, and many fans thought the innovative offense would make us a top tier program again. Look forward 3 years and most would agree that they would like to forget those 3 years of Michigan football. It is hard to judge a coach before he even coaches his players in his first game.
I can't imagine the NCAA to give up on these sanctions against Ohio, so it will be interesting to see what Meyer can do with stricter rules, limits, and a more watchful eye from the university, the few good boosters, and the NCAA. If NCAA follows through in implementing some harsh punishment, it would be impressive if Meyer can get to 8 or 9 wins a year.
Meyer is known for his recruiting ability, and with the hot bed in Florida he made a dynasty of great athletes. I am curious to see who he will get to be his defensive coordinator, since our very own Mattison helped make the Florida defenses as scary as the current LSUs or Alabamas. Also, how many current Michigan recruits will switch to Ohio? Will Brionte Dunn stay committed there or after his good trip to AA this past weekend, will he come here? How about Se'Von Pittman who committed to MSU, will OSU offer him now?
I know for one thing that hiring Urban Meyer does not affect this weekend's game, and we still need to take care of business on Saturday. But I am excited to watch the Hoke - Meyer rivalry play out in years to come.
Until next time... Go Blue!!
Even though Urban Meyer said that he would not be coaching next year because of health problems and enjoying working for the 4 letter network, still here he is becoming the new head Bucknut.
I am not sure how I feel about his hire, it is easily the obvious choice for Ohio (like Jim Harbaugh or Les Miles), and most Ohio fans think it is guaranteed to get them back to national prominence. But I remember after hired Rich Rod, and many fans thought the innovative offense would make us a top tier program again. Look forward 3 years and most would agree that they would like to forget those 3 years of Michigan football. It is hard to judge a coach before he even coaches his players in his first game.
I can't imagine the NCAA to give up on these sanctions against Ohio, so it will be interesting to see what Meyer can do with stricter rules, limits, and a more watchful eye from the university, the few good boosters, and the NCAA. If NCAA follows through in implementing some harsh punishment, it would be impressive if Meyer can get to 8 or 9 wins a year.
Meyer is known for his recruiting ability, and with the hot bed in Florida he made a dynasty of great athletes. I am curious to see who he will get to be his defensive coordinator, since our very own Mattison helped make the Florida defenses as scary as the current LSUs or Alabamas. Also, how many current Michigan recruits will switch to Ohio? Will Brionte Dunn stay committed there or after his good trip to AA this past weekend, will he come here? How about Se'Von Pittman who committed to MSU, will OSU offer him now?
I know for one thing that hiring Urban Meyer does not affect this weekend's game, and we still need to take care of business on Saturday. But I am excited to watch the Hoke - Meyer rivalry play out in years to come.
Until next time... Go Blue!!
Things I like more than Ohio....
I saw this posted on a friends facebook status this morning, and I thought I would it was a funny idea.
Things I like more than Ohio....
1. Papercuts
2. Infections
3. Stuffy noses
4. Chrysler (if you know me... you know this is pretty incredible).
What about you?
Things I like more than Ohio....
1. Papercuts
2. Infections
3. Stuffy noses
4. Chrysler (if you know me... you know this is pretty incredible).
What about you?
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