MICHIGAN'S MEN'S BASKETBALL: 2015-2016

[*JD*]

BTW- He isn't playing much but Aubrey Dawkins has some serious springs.

[The Oracle]

I've seen Villanove twice this year and a lot over the past few years. Jay Wright is one of my favorite coaches. I'm expecting a loss, but if they don't shoot it well we can win it. They are similar in style, but Pinkston(McDonald's AA) I really like. 6-7 stretch 4 that can do damage about anywhere. If we can limit what Danilel Ochehfu does on the offensive boards, that will be good too, but I don't see that happening. He's tall, long and pretty athletic. Other than those 2, they are similar on the perimeter to us, expect more experienced.

They got hot in the 2nd half against VCU because VCU plays stupid scrambling defense and Nova had a field day driving and kicking. They really are smart they way they share the ball, another similarity with us.

I'm expecting a hard fought game, but about a 7-8 point loss.

[hack]

It does sound like a really nice team.

[hack]

No spoilers please. Streams just aren't working tonight. In general my usual haunts -- b0ssc@st, 1st row, v1pb0x, and watchespn when it's not paywalled (which seems random) -- are all really choppy so far this year. Anyone else suffering this problem? I have a feeling this year I may have to depend more on tape-delay on youtube.

[The Oracle]

WTF. How does watchespn not work?

[The Oracle]

Man rough last couple minutes. Max shouldn't see the floor against decent teams. Terrible. Lucky to still be in the game.

[*JD*]

SPOILER AHEAD:


The one thing that Beilein does that I don't like is putting a FT-shooter on the line without any teammates there. I think it can rattle the shooter, especially if it's Freshman.

[The Oracle]

Fuck spoiler. Fuck Bielfeldt. Every positive thing that happened in the 2nd half he was on the bench, every extremely crucial thing that happened negative he was a key part of. He's my new whipping boy, fuck him, he should never see the floor again.

[Kstat]

beilfeldt is going to finish the season as a reserve. that said, hes just got to gain some experience. he isnt terrible.

[The Oracle]

He's a senior and a 6-6 center with no athleticism. He isn't a contributor against anything more than MAC, MEAC, MAAC, Sun Belt etc. If he isn't hitting 3s because opponents are playing 8 feet off him because he sucks, he's useless.

[Da Geezer]

I guess I saw the game differently. What I saw was an overmatched UM team get drilled in the second half to the point where, when LeVert had the ball stripped, he didn't even bother to chase down the player who went for an uncontested layup. Down 13. The 3 time outs in about 20 seconds because they couldn't get the ball in-bounds (Thad Matta is taking notes), made it seem over.

And then, they fought back like a championship team should. No panic, no terrible shots. If Donnel hits the front end of a 1-1, UM probably wins the game. I like this team a lot. Losing Horford really hurt them, but the youngsters are OK. Chatman needs to shoot better. Spike is the perfect PG for this group at the end of games, and Bielien's offense is beautiful to watch. I think UM has the best coach in the B10 and maybe the country.

[The Oracle]

Yeah, all things aside, Donnal hits the front end or Irvin/Levert hit 1 of those shots towards the end they win. Just frustrating. That's a win that stays with the team the whole year cause Nova is going to be ranked at least that high all year. Big opportunity lost.

[Hannibal]

If we win one out of SMU&Syracuse and sweep the rest of the OOC games (other than Arizona) we'll be fine.

[The Oracle]

SMU or Syracuse aren't that good, so we'd better win those. At least SMU for sure.

[hack]

Just finished watching, on delay. That certainly was a resume loss, and stings in the moment. You don't expect the call but Walton did draw that charge on the decisive basket. Thoughts:

1. Doyle's definitely the starter by conference play. The game is simple for him.

2. Walton played a great, great game. I love his all-around contributions and I love how he picks his spots.

3. I bet that wasn't their A game or even close. Michigan feasted in that second-half run on a few smart plays by Michigan and a few boner moments by Nova. Michigan's end-of-first-half drought was ridiculously long by its standards and Nova capitalized, but that drought ends faster later this year when the team is more comfortable with itself.

4. Still, great to go toe to toe with our kids so young. If we meet in the tournament I could easily see us controlling the game and winning.

5. It doesn't hang on Chatman. I love the Walton/Spike backcourt.

Overall, bummer of a finish but this is gonna be another good team. Expectations are the Sweet 16 and go from there.

Finally, LOL @ Dakich. Always amusing when his broadcast-booth partner is astounded by what a Dakich he is.