U of M MEN'S BASKETBALL: 2018-2019

[Kstat]

Welcome back, Iggy.

[Kstat]

Teske back to back threes. Not necessarily needed, but a hugely encouraging sign given his recent slump.

[hack]

If Castleton's nickname ISN'T McFly, we don't deserve to win a ring.

[Detroit Dan]

MIchigan basketball firing on all cylinders. Game was never in doubt after first couple of minutes. With Teske now a 3-point threat, the sky's the limit. Also good to see Castleton and DeJulius working their ways to some meaningful minutes.

[WM Wolverine]

Not anywhere as close as the score suggests.

[hack]

Make your 3s = increased comfort.

What a fucking winner Z is. You can see he's working so hard on his shooting form. A lot harder than Poole, who needs to go up square but is just barely good enough to fool himself about that. He's gotta be driving Beilein absolutely nuts with his refusal to mind the little details.

[hack]

Need to work really hard to get DeJulius more minutes. Seems he's going to be OK on D, and looks born to score. Could be the true late bloomer this team needs.

[Hannibal]

Really good game last night. I'd feel better though if we can at least split the upcoming MSU/Maryland road games. It goes without saying that we need to hold serve at home too.

[Cody_Russell]

[Hannibal]

If we don't lose more than one game between the regular season and the BTT, then I think that we have a very strong case for a 1 seed. But I'm guessing that we might have to win out for that.

[WM Wolverine]

Best of the B1G will likely get a 2nd seed, Sparty could've, should've if healthy and isn't out of it... Purdue is playing the best basketball...

As we've said all season, M needs another Livers on the bench or at least two guys who can take what the defense gives them and not be a liability on defense. It's been a great regular season but this is far from one of JBs better teams imo.

[hack]

A #1 seed is the kind of team that sweeps it's ranked rival and gets another road win over a ranked team. I care more that they go out and do it than I do about whether the seeding committee recognizes the achievement. In a sense, actually, I welcome the insult of being a #2 seed in, say, Gonzaga's or Virginia's region. Maybe TN too. I don't know much about what they do, but FFS it's just a Rick Barnes SEC team. The only true screwing would be putting Michigan in Duke's region.

If we win out, that's what a #1 seed does. It would be perfect timing, too. In a way it's rough to have such a backloaded schedule, but this is a team that usually plays its best in big tames, and these will at the very least be good tuneups.

[hack]

I like the MSU matchup quite a bit, especially with them down two starters. Even if those were their inefficient starters, and Izzo's teams need to play very efficiently against M, they just aren't left with very much offense. Not only does Michigan have perhaps the best on-ball PG defender in Simpson, they'll be prepared to stick Matthews on him as well. And both of those guys are better athletes in better condition. Winston is going to be the most gassed guy on the court for the last five minutes of the game.

IMO for Michigan these are games in which patience will be crucial. I bet Izzo comes out ramming the ball in to Tillman in the post to try and put fouls on Teske. Let them keep doing it; just don't foul. Michigan knows how to let post players expend a ton of energy going 6-10 on 15 possessions. No early fouls for Teske; have him out there with 5 to go when he's most need. Expect to win the game by forcing a dead-tired Winston to shoot long 2s in crunchtime.

[hack]

Best of the B1G will likely get a 2nd seed, Sparty could've, should've if healthy and isn't out of it... Purdue is playing the best basketball...

As we've said all season, M needs another Livers on the bench or at least two guys who can take what the defense gives them and not be a liability on defense. It's been a great regular season but this is far from one of JBs better teams imo.

Which Beilein teams do you think were better? My ranking would be:

17/18
12/13
13/14
16/17

When the season finishes I expect to put 18/19 on top of that list, but we'll see how things go. This offense generates open 3s like it's nobody's business, makes them at an astonishingly poor rate, controls games from start to finish, and has woodshedded three current top-25 teams, on of them on its own floor. The one thing missing on the resume so far is a high-quality road win, and there are now two opportunities. Win both and they'll be at 3-2 against ranked opponents on the road.

This is a really fucking great team. It's telling that they rarely look like they are playing their version of a complete game, and yet still control games from start to finish. It's only the second time Michigan is going to go into the postseason with enough mojo to consider itself a real contender, and to consider a loss in the FF as an actual disappointment. I'm excited to see what those moments do to Simpson.

[hack]

Another point about MSU is what happens in the week before Round 2 in Breslin. Michigan has five days to prepare for that game, whereas MSU will have two. Beilein has more options and is already better at figuring out how to attack a team, and the schedule gives him more time to think about that. MSU this year is a formidable group and I'm sure they'll be as tough an out as possible on that day, but the opportunity is there for Michigan. It's been more than two years since Michigan lost to Michigan State, and we'll be going for 3 in a row in Breslin.