MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL- '23 -'24 Season.

[Mike]

Not sure if it has been mentioned yet but fuck Ohio State.

[Hannibal]

4 and 1 down the stretch would be really nice. Obviously, 5-0 would be better, but 4-1 sews up a 1 seed for sure. Beat IU, MSU twice, and one of Illinois or Iowa and we're good.

[hack]

Amazing game. Livers went 0-2 from the line and Wagner missed the front end of a one-and-one in that second half, and you don't win too often when you piss away 4 points in a game that tight on the road against the #4 team, but this team is damn good, and Dickinson dictated to the defense all day. Got the three-point party started passing out of double teams and had multiple recorded assists for the first time in conference play, plus the hockey assists. In the second half OSU stopped doubling so aggressively so he kept the ball and ended up with his highest point total since the first game against Minny. Today felt like he was a freshman starting to adjust to conference's upper tier and gain comfort with the higher degree of difficulty.

Agreed that 4-1 does it, and you really do have to assume they can't blast through the conference schedule with just one loss, even if it's a shortened schedule of 17 games. Smart money still says they drop at least one before conference play ends, but still end up with the outright title.

[Hannibal]

Only remaining question is whether Howard can make deep runs in the post season. Is he a Frieder or a Beilien?

[Cody_Russell]

Don’t think Indiana and MSU are cakewalk games. Can’t sleepwalk your way through any B10 conference game this year ... excluding Nebraska. Otherwise, you lose by double digits to Minnesota.
Funny how Penn State is rated #34 according to Kenpom right now. That’s how great the conference is.

I watched the Sparty vs Indiana game on Saturday. Appears like Izzo found out something with his team late in the 1st half.
Feel bad for Indiana too because Trayce Jackson-Davis is such a stud. Held back by poor shooting Rob Phinisee + meh Al Durham. It’s like how painful it was to watch Derrick Walton Jr. before he suddenly flipped his career.

Really excited for Iowa next.
Iowa arguably has the best offense in college basketball. Luka Garza vs Dickinson. Garza went off against M 4 years ago I believe... now he is playing like the player of the year.

[lineygoblue]

State traditionally is a Feb/March team, although the losing streak they just came thru was completely uncharacteristic. Izzo can still coach, and he's got some guys that can ball. If nothing else, he will have Sparty playing a spoiler role while trying to salvage a NCAA berth along the way. If spectators were allowed, I'd say that Michigan would be in trouble at Breslin.

The remaining schedule is no cakewalk. Illinois, Iowa and Indiana all are capable of beating Michigan. In fact, I'd say Illinois presents more problems for Michigan than OSU did. And you never know what to expect from MSU. I just hope that Michigan can hang on and get a bye in the tournament.

[hack]

I was an MSU skeptic because you don't replace your irreplaceable leader on offense in the same season you replace your irreplaceable leader on defense and expect that to go smoothly. Especially when you don't really have an able PG on the roster and plan to use a short shooting guard with an iffy shot. Serious roster-construction issues. But I didn't think this would happen (and oh wow am I ever enjoying it!). I figured they weren't going to be conference contenders but would still be a very tough out. Instead, it's likely that Izzo's tournament streak ends, and that means Sparty has one thing left to play for, and that's beating us. It's not going to be easy to beat them. They will play their two best games of the year.

Michigan is probably going to drop one more game. Could be Iowa -- they are finding their footing again now that CJ Frederick is back in the lineup. Could be Indiana, if our team comes out flat that day. Illinois is of course really damn good and Dickinson will not be able to feast against short power forwards.

[Whitley]

Bubble Watch (as of 22 hours ago) Big Ten:


Big Ten


Locks: Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin
Should be in


Purdue Boilermakers

In a season in which headlines in the Big Ten have been dominated by the likes of Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois and Iowa, the Boilermakers have quietly put themselves in position to earn a very good spot in the bracket in their own right. Matt Painter's men have games remaining at Penn State and at home against Wisconsin and Indiana. If, for the sake of discussion, Purdue won out, you would be looking at a team that is 18-8 and 13-6 in the historically strong Big Ten. While the Boilermakers are currently seen as a likely No. 6 seed, a few more wins could change that number.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

In the big picture, Rutgers is about to make its first NCAA tournament appearance in 30 years. (Though, of course, the Scarlet Knights would in all probability have received a bid had there been a tournament last year.) That's why Steve Pikiell was hired, and he is delivering. He is also, however, wondering how to pump some life into an offense that has appeared rather listless in losses to Michigan and Maryland. In the course of those two defeats, Rutgers shot 24% on its 3s and scored just 123 points in 132 possessions. The Scarlet Knights are projected as a No. 7 seed, and if Pikiell finds the answers on offense, this group is capable of giving a No. 2 seed a game.
Work to do


Indiana Hoosiers

Who says blue-chip programs are struggling in 2021? Michigan State looked like a regular Gonzaga in its 52-point second-half eruption at Indiana. The 78-71 loss suffered by the Hoosiers is not, by itself, fatal for the tournament hopes of a team previously projected as a No. 11 seed. The defeat does, however, represent a costly blown opportunity. Instead of one more win, Archie Miller's team now has a second Quad 3 loss on its profile (the other being the win Northwestern posted in Bloomington). IU will wrap up its season with road games at Rutgers, MSU and Purdue and a home date against Michigan. As it stands now, the Hoosiers badly need a win in at least one of those games.

Maryland Terrapins

When the Terrapins were 10-10 and 4-9 in the Big Ten, we here at Bubble Watch HQ had to preface any remarks about the team with an explanation for why Mark Turgeon's group was still here in the first place. No need for disclaimers anymore. Maryland has won four straight, including wins over Minnesota and on the road at Rutgers. Now you're looking at a 14-10 and 8-9 team with a top-35 NET ranking and an embarrassment of riches in the "good win" column (at Illinois, at Wisconsin, at Rutgers, at home against Purdue and the season sweep of the Golden Gophers). Purveyors of mock brackets have taken note, and the Terps are commonly shown as one of the last teams in the field.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota's position has grown more precarious. Joe Lunardi, an official Friend of Bubble Watch, dropped the team all the way down to the last spot in the field in the wake of the Golden Gophers' 94-63 loss at home to Illinois. Richard Pitino's team is still yet to win a game this season on an opponent's home floor. For a time, this fact was balanced by the stellar roster of opponents who have lost at Williams Arena: Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Purdue and Saint Louis, among others. But the Gophers are 13-10, 6-10 in the Big Ten and carrying a NET ranking that could drop into the 60s. It all feels precarious, but Minnesota can turn things around with a sufficient number of wins against Northwestern and Rutgers at home and against Nebraska and Penn State on the road.

[Cody_Russell]

Damn. What a beat down of Iowa.
Franz went off in this game. Spectacular performance all around. Dickinson held his own... or perhaps WON ... the matchup vs the player of the year candidate Garza.
It’s too bad Iowa suffered those two injuries. Game fell apart for them after McCaffrey left the game. If their backup C is out for the season, I think that hurts Iowa’s Final 4 odds. Keeping that in mind for bracket season...

Indiana next.
Dickinson will have another fun matchup vs Trace Jackson-Davis.

[hack]

If Dickinson DOES end up leaving this year, which still does seem unlikely, but if he does, it's this game that will have really put him on track to that. Freshman stopping the supposed best player in college ball and definitely its best scorer. HD goes for 14/8 on 6/13, Garza goes for 16/4 on 6/18. Just, wow. Really excited to see the matchup against Kofi and what that will be like.

[Mike]

Yeah, Big Dickinson punked Garza. If he didn’t get into foul trouble and played his usual minutes, it would have been MUCH worse than a 22 point beatdown.

[WM Wolverine]

You really expect Dickinson back? I don't

[Hannibal]

We seem to have this habit lately of breaking wining streaks.

[Whitley]

You really expect Dickinson back? I don't

Actually I do. There are still things he can work on (defending on the outside is one). And I don't think he is a first rounder. Give him another year with Howard though and he might be a top 15 pick.

[lineygoblue]

If he waits a year, and continues to make the progress he made this year, he'll be a lottery pick in 2022.