IU, The Gophers and THE STU Preview

Indiana Highlights!

I should say MICHIGAN HIGHLIGHTS AT INDIANA!

Michigan wins 69-46.  And it wasn’t that close!!!

So, this Text exchange went down on Friday:

SuperFan:  “I have assured our victory by the placing of two wagers via 5Dimes!  I’m even wearing the ring of death (which I will remove at the half if necessary!  GO BLUE!!!”

MMQ:  Should be easy tonight.  Everybody out at Indiana.

SF:  “what?”

MMQ:  Everyone is either suspended or hurt.  Their starting a 6^th man bench player.

SF:  “Since when?  I am reading game previews from just hours ago with no such commentary.  Including Maize and Brew.

MMQ:  (When the score was 17-0)  So.  Are we gonna start listening soon?

SF:  “IU is absolutely horrible!  And we’re only up 15!”

MMQ:  I can’t handle the whining when Michigan is winning!!! (And literally DESTROYING IU in every aspect of the game)!!!

I get text exchanges like this every once in a while from Michigan fans during games that bitch when they’re team is doing good.  It can be any sport.

If Michigan is crushing someone in football, people want to know why they’re not passing more often.  Or why is the starter still in the game?  I watched Friday night as Brazdeikis took the first shot of the night (it was a solid 3 that ripped the net) and I had a flashback to 2013-14 when EVERYONE KNEW that Nik Stauskas would be taking the first shot of the game from the 3-point line.  IF Beilein is bringing THAT Tradition back, I’m all for it!  Whenever Stauskas hit that initial bucket, I felt really bad for whoever Michigan was playing. 

That being said, Michigan needed this game.  They needed, as AP would say, “A good Ole Fashion Ass-Kicking!”  And that’s just what Michigan handed IU.  Yeah, the Loosiers made an expected run, but Michigan’s D quashed that nicely.  And when they got back up 20, I think everyone knew it was over.

Michigan had never won at Assembly Hall by that large of a margin.  EVER.  That’s saying something about Michigan Basketball at this point in time and its also a statement about how bad IU is right now.  IS this the end for Miller?  Crean was run out with a better record.  I’m not sure why the fans like Miller more or maybe they’ve reached the point that I think every fan of every sport begins to realize when things aren’t going your way:  Sometimes, you’ve just got bad luck.  Bad Ju-Ju.  Bad Karma.  Call it whatever you want, but right now, “It’s your day in the bucket.”

I had started to write up the Gopher game but didn’t get a chance to post.  So we can segue into that:

Gopher HIGHLIGHTS!!!

So that’s what winning a tight game feels like!

And I have a feeling we’re going to see more tight games as this season progresses.  Teams have figure out what Michigan is doing on both ends of the floor and are better able to beat the defense and also mess up Michigan’s offensive rotations.  The Gophers did that pretty well.  They also challenged Simpson to beat them with the 3 which will always be a roller coaster.

I watched a little more closely and the Gophers more or less did the same thing Wiscy did to our defense and Michigan didn’t do themselves any favors on offense, shooting miserably from the 3-point line (3-22) and also from the foul line. 

Get those two percentages back up to the season average and the game is a easy 12-15 point blow-out.

Anyway, I read somewhere that the last few practices have focused on shooting and technique.  I have a theory that all the shooting in practice is making a lot of the longer threes during the games come up short due to short term fatigue as the muscles are being trained.  I have a hunch that after a short rest, the muscle memory will be “Right there” and the 3-pointers will start dropping again.  One good game and the confidence will be back.  Heading into February’s stretch run and into March.  

Unfortunately, going down to Bloomington this Friday may not provide the EXACT environment that Michigan needs for that to happen. 

The PREDICTIVE STATS!

Team                          Date               Day                 Torvik Prediction    Result

@Wiscy                     1-19                Sunday         W  64-60                    L  64-54

Gophers                    1-22                Tuesday        W  75-60                    W  59-57

@ IU                           1-25                Friday            W  70-63                    W  69-46

THE STU                   1-29                Tuesday        W  69-58

@ Iowa                      2-1                  Friday            W  73-68

@ Rutgers                2-5                  Tuesday        W 69-57

Wiscy                         2-9                  Saturday       W 67-57        

@ PSU                       2-12                Tuesday        W 67-58

Maryland                   2-16                Saturday       W 73-62

@ Gophers               2-21                Thursday      W 71-63

The LNU                   2-24                Sunday         W 72-68

Nebraska                  2-28                Thursday      W  71-63

@ Maryland              3-3                  Sunday         W  69-66

@ The LNU              3-9                  Saturday       L  72-68

THE STU is in town tonight for the only meeting that Michigan and THE STU have on the hardwood this season, pending a match-up in the B1G Tourney.  I updated the prediction above that didn’t have the margin of victory changing, but it did have Michigan and THE STU dropping by a point each.

This is THE STU team that went on the road to Rutgers and lost.  I have a feeling Michigan is going to bring back some really good Ju-Ju from Indiana and their might be another good ole fashion ass-kicking happening on the hardwood. 

THE STU had lost 5 straight right up until their last “Desperation Game!” at Lincoln and there they managed to post a 10 point victory over Mile's Huskers.  How they managed that I’ll never know as they have looked like crap since their loss to LNU way back in early January.  I don’t think they can put together two games in a row and their PPP is not very good. 

I’m not expecting THE STU to pull a rabbit out of the hat and the Crisler Fans will be rocking the house. 

Have fun with that!

Speaking of LNU:

This happened on Sunday:   Purdue defeats LNU!!!  At one point in time, Purdue was ahead of LNU by 22 points.  It was kind of over at that point even though the LNU courageously fought back to get to within 4.  But they just plain ole ran out of gas.  3 games in 6 days with 2 on the road and the last one at West Lafayette is called, “Bad Scheduling!” 

I’d like to thank the LNU AD for that.

That puts Michigan back into the B1G Title regular season race.  The game on the 24^th is looming larger in the distance. 

Can The GOAT Do It One More Time?

I’ve been listening to a lot of the same people that claimed that the Patriots would never beat Mahomes and the Chiefs now claim that there’s no way they can beat the Rams. 

Where do these people get their information?  It cracks me up to watch and listen to people justify their position and I listen intently and let them finish.  Then I ask if they’d like to make a wager and I’ll take the Patriots.  They just curl up into the fetal position and suck their collective thumbs. 

Tom Brady and his success has such a polarizing effect on people that it really is fascinating.  And I’m glad I’m NOT a hater as I can see so much more clearly how their emotions get in the way of logical thinking.

I believe Sunday’s game is a proverbial toss-up.  And I’m always ready to bet a 50-50 game if I have a guy or a team playing that I like.  Yet so many people will just bitch and state how Brady and the Pats shouldn’t win but are afraid to put up some dough.  To all of you out there (if this fits you):

Keep it to yourself unless you want to put some scratch on it. 

Gopher Pre-View and The Mailbag...

Saturday Was SOOOO BAD….

How Bad Was It?

From Maize and Brew:

https://www.maizenbrew.com/basketball/2019/1/22/18190584/stat-watch-games-like-wisconsin-happen-even-with-beileins-best-offenses-michigan-basketball

The statistical carnage from Saturday in Wisconsin is admittedly startling.

The offense scuffled mightily in Michigan’s 64-54 road loss to the Badgers. In particular:

• The Wolverines scored .82 points per possession, which is .32 lower than their season average.
• They shot 47.2 percent on twos (nearly six percentage points lower than their average) and 27.8 percent on threes (nearly nine percentage points lower).
• 16 turnovers, which occurred on 24.2 percent of possessions. This is nearly 10(!) percentage points higher than normal.

If you click the link, Dodge pulls out additional games over the past seasons where Michigan turned in a clunker of a game, against some very unworthy competition.  And then they would come out the following game and destroy their next opponent…

These guys aren’t pros (even though I’ve seen pro teams do the EXACT SAME THING!)

They’re 18-22 young adults that again, had an off day.  And now Beilein gets a couple of days to coach them up. 

So, again, I’m not terribly worried.  The Beilein System has produced a dud like this JUST ABOUT EACH AND EVERY Season. Frustrating, absolutely.  Am I glad it happened on the road at the Troll Center?  You betch- well, no.  I’m not GLAD about it but I can LIVE with it.  And finally, what is the prognostication for tonight for the Gophers?

PAIN!

I pity the fools!

MAILBAG

SuperFan complained that I didn’t address his main issues.  So, here goes:

WE DID NOT NEED TO LOSE THIS GAME. 

Agreed – but Michigan did.  And they’ll learn from it.  Right now, all I care about are 6 games at the end of March and the beginning of April…

For the first time this season we played STUPID; and I mean from the coaches down to the players.  We passed up MANY open 3s early in the clock while attempting many reluctant and challenged ones.  We gave up MANY open 3 looks (many which were missed, but not enough) due the compulsion to double team, and committed several stupid fouls, 2 feet from the basket. 

See the 18-22 year old comment above.  Also, I do believe the early start was some of what you saw on the floor at the Troll Center.  And that place is the screwiest place on Earth when it comes to getting calls, etc. 

Simpson just went into super-stupid mode at the end of the game, getting fed the ball by wisky when he had Poole ALL ALONE for a 3 when we really needed a 3.

ALSO, is Matthews really traveling, or is he just so fast they think he is?  If he really is traveling, can't we get that fixed!!!  If not, he needs more bench time.  He is not having a great year thus far, and he seems to be getting worse as the season goes on.

Matthews and Simpson have had games like that before.  I wouldn’t sweat it yet, but I will say this:  Michigan is in DESPERATE NEED of an offensive “Take Charge” guy right now.  Last year it seemed like MAAR was the “Guy” and could take you home.  Poole, Matthews or Simpson need to figure out how to win a game on their own. 

AND WHAT IS WITH EVERYBODY, and I mean everybody, missing short......consistently.  Nearly every bad miss is short, almost never long.  When everybody is missing short over many games this must be some sort of coaching problem???  Free throws too

I’m guessing that will be corrected.  Michigan always improves on offense going through the season.  I haven’t seen anything to indicate that is changing this year. 

From Special K:

Is Brady the GOAT of all GOATS?  As a Michigan Fan I say YES.  However, I think strong consideration would be another Boston athlete – Bill Russell.  In my book, he may slightly win the competition.  In 13 seasons:

Russell and the Celtics won 11 NBA Championships.

He was also the Coach/Player after Auerbach retired when he won his 10^th and 11^th Championship with the Celtics

He went to 12 All-Star Games. 

He was also named MVP of the league 5 times. 

He had countless awards for top rebounder, top defender and made several Second Team All-NBA.

On top of that he won 2 NCAA Titles.

It’s always fun to compare, and impossible to win the argument 

Bill Russell and the Celtics have ALWAYS been part of the dynasty teams I bring up during this discussion.  The argument is certainly understandable, but the longevity of Brady’s accomplishments puts him ever so slightly ahead of Russell in my book.  Let’s call them 1 A & B. 

Wiscy Loss - Mailbag - The GOAT

It Was Going To Be Hard To Win Them All

Michigan was one of 6 ranked teams that went down over the weekend to unranked (LOUSY) opponents.  Welcome to the grind of conference play in College Hoops.

But when you have 1^st half trouble with arguably you’re two best big men (Teske – Brazdeikis) and Mattheews can’t hit a shot to save their life, well…bad things are going to happen.  I can’t remember the last time Michigan was held to 54 points in a Hoops game. 

It’s an anomaly.  A complete Anomaly…

A fluke that happens on occasion in every season if you watch enough basketball.  How did a 5-12 Illini team hang 95 points on Minnesota?

There’s going to be off nights…and off mornings. 

The Wiscy game started at 11:00 AM Local time. 

And I really think Michigan is more of a late afternoon or night team.  I like to think of this loss as the “much needed” loss that will wake Michigan up to the fact that they are not in-vulnerable and they need to focus on every game. 

But it’s not a reason to panic!!!  However, some of you did. 

From SuperFan:

I’M FURIOS AND DEPRESSED!

I remain so and I will explain.

We WILL lose a game because two or more guys on the opposing team have career nights, where they make one ridiculous shot after another.

We WILL lose a game when our well chosen, high quality shots just won't fall.

WE DID NOT NEED TO LOSE THIS GAME, as neither of those things happened.  For the first time this season we played STUPID; and I mean from the coaches down to the players.  We passed up MANY open 3s early in the clock while attempting many reluctant and challenged ones.  We gave up MANY open 3 looks (many which were missed, but not enough) due the compulsion to double team, and committed several stupid fouls, 2 feet from the basket. 

Simpson just went into super-stupid mode at the end of the game, getting fed the ball by wisky when he had Poole ALL ALONE for a 3 when we really needed a 3.

ALSO, is Matthews really traveling, or is he just so fast they think he is?  If he really is traveling, can't we get that fixed!!!  If not, he needs more bench time.  He is not having a great year thus far, and he seems to be getting worse as the season goes on.

AND WHAT IS WITH EVERYBODY, and I mean everybody, missing short......consistently.  Nearly every bad miss is short, almost never long.  When everybody is missing short over many games this must be some sort of coaching problem???  Free throws too

Again, Michigan still has 17 wins on the season and will win again. 

Tap the brakes…Tap the Brakes…

The PREDICTIVE STATS!

And every time I get a bright idea it seems to work out that it was a bad idea.  Anyway, I’ll keep this going until I think it’s somehow screwing things up…

Team                          Date               Day                 Torvik Prediction    Result

@Wiscy                     1-19                Sunday         W  64-60                    L 64-54

Gophers                    1-22                Tuesday        W  75-60

@ IU                           1-25                Friday            W  70-63

THE STU                   1-29                Tuesday        W  70-59

@ Iowa                      2-1                  Friday            W  73-68

@ Rutgers                2-5                  Tuesday        W 69-57

Wiscy                         2-9                  Saturday       W 67-57        

@ PSU                       2-12                Tuesday        W 67-58

Maryland                   2-16                Saturday       W 73-62

@ Gophers               2-21                Thursday      W 71-63

The LNU                   2-24                Sunday         W 72-68

Nebraska                  2-28                Thursday      W  71-63

@ Maryland              3-3                  Sunday         W  69-66

@ The LNU              3-9                  Saturday       L  72-68

The GOAT – UNF^&*CKING BELIEVABLE BRO!!!

You know what?  When you’re going to your record 9^th Superbowl, I’ll forgive you for dropping an F-bomb on National TV after completing three 3rd and 10 passes and winning in OT.  Everyone that’s losing their minds over that F-Bomb Drop – Get over yourselves. 

I’ve written about Touchdown Tommy’s accomplishments on many occasions and I’m tired of arguing with anyone who claims he’s not the “Greatest”.  And I’m not even talking NFL.  I’m talking all professional sports combined.  Better than Tiger, James, Jordan or whatever other name you want to throw out there. 

There’s just NO ONE that’s done it with as much success or as long at TB12 has done it. 

To put this in perspective:  Do you know how many people are still around from TB12’s his first Superbowl (36) 18 years ago against the Rams?  Meaning, how many people have been there for the entire time at either organization?

Three. 

Brady and Belichick, of course.  And The Football Research Director for the Pats:  Ernie Adams.

That’s it. 

In fact, Brady and Belichick have been to twice as many Superbowls than any other QB/Coach combination.  TWICE AS MANY.  The Rams don’t have ANYONE in their organization that was there for SB 36.  In fact, the Rams have been through a 20 Head Coaches and QB’s combined.

If you’re a New England hater, or worse, a TB12 hater (And I know you’re out there), you’re really missing out on one of the most fun times in the history of the NFL.  I really don’t think there will be anyone else ever in any sport that will accomplish what Belechick and Brady have managed to do.

Even baseball players don’t go 18 years anymore.  Basketball is too hard on the knees.  Tennis and Golf may see a legend in the future, but for now, it’s Brady. 

Hands Down.  Some Numbers:

9 Superbowls

5 Superbowl Championships

9 AFC Championships

14 Pro Bowls

70,000 passing yards

97.6% QB Rating – lifetime (98% Superbowl QB Rating)

THE GREATEST EVER COMEBACK IN SUPER BOWL HISTORY!!!

(sorry Atlanta fans)

I could go on but I think you get it…

Nope, I won’t be listening if you want to have the debate.  In fact, I’ll knock you down several rungs in the intelligence department if you even want to begin the debate. 

TB12 is the GOAT. 

That is all…

And I really hope New England wins so Brady can start with rings on the other hand!