Overheard
In the New FINN Pavillion:
“What
the Hell WAS THAT?”
Yep. That was the
question. The answer: Simple, really.
REVENGE! IT IS SWEET!!!
The MMPG normally doesn’t round into form until about
January when things start heating up in B1G play. Yes, I’ve been known to pen a post or two in
December after a holiday tourney IF the Wolverines do well. Which always hasn’t been the case. We all have learned that Beilein teams get
into form and start playing better as team near the mid-season.
However, what the Wolverines did to Villanova Wednesday night,
in their newly remodeled Finn arena no less, was not only impressive,
it announced the arrival of a new era of Michigan Hoops. They’re ready to conquer the world RIGHT NOW!
DEFENSIVELY!
And before I get all Slap-Slap-SLLLLLaaaaappy, Coach
B put a frame around this that I need to take a long look at: “It’s
a November win. Just like a November
loss. That’s all it is. We need to grow from this.”
Good advice, however…Let’s talk about how amazing it was a
little, shall we?
Did anyone else notice?
Michigan wasn’t bombing threes from everywhere. They were driving and dishing. Matthews was hitting fade aways. Brazdeikis was a friggin’ ANIMAL
inside and around the boards. In the
first half, Michigan shot 60% from the field for the game (70% in the first
half) and 30% from the 3-point line. Free
throws were a major issue, not that it mattered at all.
I think everyone knows that I like Beilein Ball. The old version. Lots of 3-point offense and some key defense. But the “Yaklich Effect” is definitely taking
hold. I’ve never seen such
stifling defense out of a Michigan team.
Or I should say: I’ve
seen stifling defense from Michigan, but not this early in the season with this
much intensity.
Villanova
cannot be that bad. Jay Wright is a
great recruiter and a master of developing talent. If that in fact is the best the BEAST has to
offer this season than the Beast is in BIG TROUBLE (Villanova was the pre-season favorite
to be the BEAST Conference Champion).
Villanova hadn’t lost a game this badly since 2012. And Michigan set a record by handing Nova
their worst loss at home since the Finn Arena opened in 1986.
And any other team and coach in the B1G that was watching the
Wolverines all just collectively crapped their pants.
I haven’t seen anyone play as well this season with the
exception of Duke (who literally CRUSHED a dazed and confused Kentucky team). And Duke is looking like Duke this
season. Duke, in my estimation, could go
undefeated in what’s shaping up to be a weak ACC conference. And if you ask THIS prognosticator, it could
all come down to Duke and Michigan in Minneapolis come March…
And that’s a short drive, relatively!
But again, we’re getting way ahead of ourselves here,
as coach B stated. It’s a November
win. That’s it. Let’s see what Michigan does in Connecticut
this weekend and against UNC in the ACC Challenge before I get all high and
mighty.
But this non-conference W will make the non-conference
discussion good come March!!
And
REVENGE is sweet!
Meet
The Man That Freed The Most Important Piece Of Michigan’s Offense in 2018?
Tom
Mars, better known as “That ASSHOLE!!!” in Ole Miss circles,
could be considered the most important piece of a convoluted puzzle that put Michigan’s
Offense back on the playing field.
It’s a good read.
Mars, as you may recall, was the guy that took on Ole Miss in defending
Houston Nutt and later would free several players from Ole Miss when the NCAA
sanctions came crashing down and the Hugh Freeze scandal broke. Needless to say, he’s not loved in Grove, but
Miss State fans want to build a statue to the guy.
We’ll
All Be Sorry When The Pirate Hangs Up His Whistle!!!
Seeing as how this has been sort of a slow news week for
football and this weekends slate of games are a little less than Earth
Shattering, here’s a link to some of the best quotes to come out of the Pirate’s
mouth:
I know I’ve been accused of being a little too fond of the
Pirate Coach Mike Leach, but he is a funny guy and the link takes you to a
collection of some of his best run on quotes and stories about nothing. A couple of good ones:
Running Up The Score When It's 70-10
Football is the only
sport where [you’re supposed to] quit playing when you get the lead. In golf,
you keep trying to improve your score every hole. In basketball, you don't stop
shooting when you're ahead. In boxing, you don't quit punching when you're
ahead.
It's a
little like breakfast; you eat ham and eggs.
As coaches and players,
we're like the ham. You see, the chicken's involved, but the pig's committed.
We're like the pig. [Officials] are like the chicken. They're involved, but
everything we have rides on this.
I think candy corn’s
awful. You know, it’s like fruitcake. There’s a reason they only serve
fruitcake once a year, because it’s awful. There’s a reason they only serve
mint julep’s once a year, because they’re awful. Now, that does beg the
question, ‘why they serve it at all?’ But anyway, that’s my opinion. You eat it
by the handfuls, because that’s all that’s left, and you get sick.
THE
FMQ
Last week was another “Damn, I was THIS CLOSE to having
some success!” I thought my parlay was a
lock but Clemson and Michigan both really let me down. That rutger TD ended up being the
difference.
Sometimes down, but never out! Let’s see if I can’t turn this thing around
heading into Rivalry week by taking some of the SEC blowouts and a few other
knowledgeable picks.
On to This
Week’s Games
THE STU @
Maryland (+15.5): If this game wasn’t before
the Game, I would probably be all over THE STU (That sounds gross, doesn’t
it?) But due to the fact that THE STU
looked anemic in East Lansing and Maryland will be playing for pride, I have to
take the points here. I’ll probably
regret it in the 1st quarter.
Take Maryland
and the 15.5 for $20
Northwestern
@ The Gophers (-3.5): This spread is baffling
in that Northwestern won the B1G West last week. However, they won it as one of the
statistically WORST TEAMS ever to win a division or a conference. On paper, Minnesota should win this game. I like the Flecker at home but I don’t know
why I should as the Gophers are all over the board when it comes to consistency. Still, as I mentioned before, the Purple
Kitties could lose the next 2 games because they simply don’t care and only
want to win the B1G Championship in Indy.
Take The
Gophers and lay the 3.5 for $20
LNU @
Nebraska (+1.5): HMMMMMMM… This spread is a little tricky due to the
fact that we have no idea who will start at QB for LNU. If Lewerke, The Huskers win easy. If Rocky, it gets a little trickier, but not
much. LNU looked anemic against a
substandard THE STU Defense last week and the Huskers are playing better on D.
And starting with Northwestern, they’ve been averaging around 500 yards of
offense per game.
Take Nebraska
and the 1.5 for $20
The Citadel
@ Bama (-50.5): SEC Buy week
Strategy. Just lay the points. 2nd stringers are going to get a
chance to flex their muscles against Our Ladies Of the Poor...
Take Satan’s
Warriors and lay the 50.5 for $35
Idaho @
Florida (-39): See the Citadel @ Bama for
SEC Buy Week Explanation…
Take Florida
and lay the 39 for for $35
Syracuse vs.
the domers (-10.5): This is probably the
toughest game that the domers have left on the schedule. Syracuse always surprises someone. And this would introduce a little CHAOS into
the CFP. Maybe the domers in Yankee
Stadium meet their doom? We’ll see.
Take Syracuse
and the 10.5 for $20
Mizzou @
Tennessee (+7.5): I know Mizzou is playing
better, but guess who else is playing pretty decent football right now? Yep, the Cremesicles. I’ll take the TD and the Cremesicles at home.
Take the Cremesicles
and the 7.5 for $20.
Wiscy @
Purdue (-4): What happened to Wiscy this season? They haven’t looked good since Michigan and
they didn’t look great before Michigan.
Purdue’s inexplicable blow-out by the Gophers is still a mystery to
me. This is kind of a coin flip, but I
will lean towards the home team. Still,
4 seems like a lot.
Take Purdue
and lay the 4 for $20
Iowa State @
Texas (-3): Okay – this is a head scratcher. Iowa State is playing better football, is
statistically better than Texas and is on a roll. I gotta take the points in this one.
Take ISU and
the 3 for $20
Cincinnati @
UCF (-7.5): Defense Travels and Luke Fickell (look for
that name in every coaching search during The Carousel Season) has the Bearcats
playing great defense heading into the end of the season. Less than 300 yards a game allowed. UCF hasn’t faced a really great defense
yet. I’ll take the points in this one.
Take Cincinnati
and the 7.5 for $20
Boston
College @ FSU (+1): FSU has screwed me EVERY
SINGLE GAME THIS SEASON! EVERY SINGLE
GAME!. So, I’m breaking trend and
picking against them for once.
Take Boston
College and the 1 for $35
Indiana @
Michigan (-27.5): Again, if this wasn’t
the game before The Game, I’d be inclined to lay a LOT OF STEAM on Michigan in
this game. But after what Michigan did
last week, I expect more of the same with Michigan not revealing what they’re
getting ready for next week. Still,
Indiana hasn’t looked good late in games.
This could be a nail biter with a late cover by the Wolverines.
Take
Michigan and lay the 27.5 for $20
PARLAY!
3 Team Parlay pays 6-1
Nebraska –
Boston College - Bama for $50
Bama - Florida
– Michigan for $50
Total
Bet: $385
Bank: $70 (If we have to re-load, we'll reload!)
No comments:
Post a Comment