Michigan Basketball

WinOneThisCentury

Well-Known Member
I watched the Maryland game last night. Michigan can play. What I was really impressed with was that they played defense and shared the ball. There is no one on one stuff going on. They are good. They do something that Iowa has had a lot of trouble with...penetration and dish...and they do it well with two different guard players, plus Wagner. They are going to be a handful for Iowa on the defensive end.

Now, if they have a weakness, their center is a freshman, but he had 28 or so last night and made some nice post moves. Maryland has no one in the middle that can contend with a good big...so it should be tempered with that. Garza will be a nightmare for this kid...and they can't leave this kid to guard Garza...so they will be doubling similar to NW.

The Big Ten is just flat out deep with good teams.
 
Very good team. The center may be a freshman, but he's fundamentally sound. As outstanding as Luka is - keeping it real - he's average at best with his post defense. His best strategy will be to get the frosh in foul trouble.

Wagner is a bit under the radar, but he's genuinely one of the best all-around players in the country and will be in the NBA for a long time. He's a bit of a punk, but, boy, is he talented. I also think Howard is a hell of a coach.
 
I did not watch the Maryland game but have watched MI. I don’t think they can score with us. And they have played no one.

Maryland was their toughest game (41 Kenpom) and they got them at the perfect time coming off the big upset at WI. They beat PSU by 4 and NE by 11 before the MD win...underwhelming. Sunday they host NW. We should know more after that game.

But PC is right about their schedule. They were ahead of their time buying the Fab 5. Lots of teams are doing that now. It appears they have now started buying a favorable schedule. The top 5 preseason teams IMO were IA, IL, WI, RUT and MSU. This schedule is ridiculous.

Home only - IA, IL and RUT
Home & Away - WI and MSU

So out of the 10 potentially toughest games they play 7...with 5 out of 7 at home.
 
Juwan Howard

I was wrong about him. He is a good coach. The ex-NBA guy that goes back to his alma mater is usually a fail, but it looks like he figured out the secret sauce.

They have a top ten recruiting class coming in and kids seem to like really playing for him.

Forgot what game it was but him and Livers were barking at each other and it wasn’t a big deal. Which means everyone knows where the line is at.

Don’t be surprised if Michigan becomes the big dog in this conference.
 
I did not watch the Maryland game but have watched MI. I don’t think they can score with us. And they have played no one.

Maryland was their toughest game (41 Kenpom) and they got them at the perfect time coming off the big upset at WI. They beat PSU by 4 and NE by 11 before the MD win...underwhelming. Sunday they host NW. We should know more after that game.

But PC is right about their schedule. They were ahead of their time buying the Fab 5. Lots of teams are doing that now. It appears they have now started buying a favorable schedule. The top 5 preseason teams IMO were IA, IL, WI, RUT and MSU. This schedule is ridiculous.

Home only - IA, IL and RUT
Home & Away - WI and MSU

So out of the 10 potentially toughest games they play 7...with 5 out of 7 at home.
Don’t fall for that easy schedule stuff. They can play and barring injuries, they will be in contention for the Big Ten title along with 6 or 7 other teams. Remember 14 or 15 wins will likely win the conference title.
 
Don’t fall for that easy schedule stuff. They can play and barring injuries, they will be in contention for the Big Ten title along with 6 or 7 other teams. Remember 14 or 15 wins will likely win the conference title.
I’m not “falling for” the easy schedule. It’s just a fact. You don’t agree they have as easy of a schedule as a team could get?

I don’t disagree they might win the conference. With that schedule and a good team they should...because 14 or 15 likely does win it.

But they haven’t impressed me. I think Ohio State, NW, MD and IN are comparable. Beat NW Sunday and it’s another decent win but just their 2nd of the season.
 
Last edited:
One of their 2021 recruits is from right here in Stewartville, MN. Will Tschetter...30 ppg can work inside and out. And is their LOWEST ranked recruit.
 
One of their 2021 recruits is from right here in Stewartville, MN. Will Tschetter...30 ppg can work inside and out. And is their LOWEST ranked recruit.
Went to Wartburg with a Beach from Stewartville. All I remember is you had an Amercinn back in the day! Lol
 
The problem with the Big Ten regular season is the fact that there is not a true round robin. Wildly uneven schedules.

the Big Ten tournament and obviously the Big Dance carry much more weight in my opinion because they are fairer competitions. The regular season is for seeding for the two tournaments to come. We must get at least a 4 seed in the BTen tourney and at least a 5 seed in the Dance....
 
Michigan very impressive against NW.
I watched this game. NW couldn't even run their offense against the pressure Michigan's guards bring. Michigan, at pretty much all times...has four great athletes on the floor...so they play defense and they get to every loose ball. NW's players looked like they were a step slow to everything.
NW got completely hammered in this game...and it wasn't like Michigan was making a ton of threes...sure they made 11 or 12, but Michigan just killed them on the glass. They were getting a ton of offensive rebounds. Nance struggled...but looked like an All American against us.
 
Yeah, the lack of a round-robin schedule in the BTen is unfortunate and makes a joke of 14-team conferences, not just the BTen. Michigan's schedule this year is ridiculously easy the way it plays out. Due to the schedule, it's very possible the best team in the conference won't actually win the conference regular season.
 
So far...no one has been able to exploit Michigan's weakness, which I believe is with a physical big who can play down low. They play a freshman center and he's not played against someone like Garza before. Howard allowed Teske to try to handle Garza by himself and Garza got 44 or something like that. I don't think he tries that again. Iowa will challenge the hypothesis of where Michigan is vulnerable.
 
Yeah, the lack of a round-robin schedule in the BTen is unfortunate and makes a joke of 14-team conferences, not just the BTen. Michigan's schedule this year is ridiculously easy the way it plays out. Due to the schedule, it's very possible the best team in the conference won't actually win the conference regular season.
That's what happened to Wisconsin last year.
 
Very good team. The center may be a freshman, but he's fundamentally sound. As outstanding as Luka is - keeping it real - he's average at best with his post defense. His best strategy will be to get the frosh in foul trouble.

Wagner is a bit under the radar, but he's genuinely one of the best all-around players in the country and will be in the NBA for a long time. He's a bit of a punk, but, boy, is he talented. I also think Howard is a hell of a coach.


Plus Wagner's Mom is a Doll

Watched her in the stands when his brother played in the NCAA Tournament, Made it to the Championship game against Villanova


Damn
 
Plus Wagner's Mom is a Doll

Watched her in the stands when his brother played in the NCAA Tournament, Made it to the Championship game against Villanova


Damn
Well, golly, she can just Beate me off anytime she wants to
 
The thing that makes Michigan dangerous is the ability to defend. You will have off shooting nights, but you can stay in games if you play solid defense. I've watched parts of 3 Michigan games this year and they have guys who can defend. Maybe get the big freshmen on Michigan in early foul trouble and that's a path to a win.
 
Top