Basketball - It's Time.....

If you haven't been paying attention, and I know some of you have and some of you haven't, it's getting down to the nitty-gritty with respect to the basketball season. I don't normally start following college hoops until after the final second of the Super Bowl has ticked off the clock. My athletic allegiances and what I watch as the year cycles goes something like this, with the start of an athletic year in August:

1. College Football Pre-season garbage can of stuff to read.
2. College Football Kick-Off. This becomes the all consuming sport. ESPN should have a channel dedicated to College Football or football in general (yeah, you can throw the NFL in there, too).
3. Sort of half-assed pay attention to what's happening in the World Series. If a team I'm quasi-interested in is playing, I will make it a point to watch a couple of games.
4. NBA and NHL start at some point in here...But who cares?
5. College football ends. Start watching NFL play-offs.
6. NFL ends. Start watching College Hoops. Get Excited that Pitchers and Catchers report and that opening day is 6 weeks away!
7. College Hoops ends with the Big Dance. Start watching Golf (Masters is usually the following weekend). Catch Opening Day.
8. Start looking at the NHL Standings. But NHL means nothing till the play-offs start.
9. Who's in the NBA play-offs?
10. Watch Stanley Cup if Red Wings are in it. Otherwise, start enjoying Summer.
11. Ditto for the NBA finals and the Pistons.
12. Start the process all over again.

So, we are now deep into the College Basketball analysis process. Michigan is a young team, but if they are hitting the three, look out. They can beat anyone on the hardwood, to a point. the most frustrating thing is that they will look awesome for 10-15 minute stretches and then have a 5-10 minute stretch where they look like sun-baked cat poop covered in kitty litter...Yes, they can look that bad...

But the up coming stretch of the next 3 games, culminating with the home rivalry game against Sparty could be the stretch that either gets us into the field of 64 or sends us to the NIT. And I'm guessing it all comes down to who wins in Ann Arbor on March 5th. Three games, three times you need to tune in and root on Michigan!

Wisconsin: Wednesday - 6:30 PM in Ann Arbor
Minnesota: Saturday - 3:30 PM in Minnesota
SPARTY: Saturday, March 5th, 2:00 PM in Ann Arbor

Even though the odds are stacked against us, three wins against these teams and I don't really see how you can ignore the Wolverines for the field of 64.