17-0! Program Record!
14 games to go. Michigan is perfect through
the half way point of the season.
The most amazing part about
this run is that Michigan hasn’t really struggled (Michigan opened the game last night
on a 10-0 scoring run). Yeah, there was
a close game up in Evanston against this same team they played last night about
a month ago, but even then, it wasn’t as much of a struggle as it was a
slog against a team that simply wouldn’t go away. Kind of like one of those annoying gnats that show up
and you can’t quite slap your hands together at the right time to kill the
little f@#$%cker.
Kind of like that…
This team doesn’t even make
you nervous. The last time they
trailed? 4 games ago against IU. And that wasn’t even an issue. The Heart Attack Kids I wrote about over the
last couple of seasons going back to 2013 would have their scoring droughts and
the opponent would come back and get to within single digits. This team is different. It just hammers their opponents into
submission on the defensive end while they keep going at them offensively.
Oh, you’re going to let Teske shoot
an unchallenged 3-pointer? Screw you.
Same with X? Just cause he couldn’t shoot last
season? Right in your face, BUD! And I'm going to write an entire post about that Sky-Hook!!!!
This team has an attitude and
an ability unlike anything I’ve ever seen in Ann Arbor. There were some players that could play
DEFENSE that have been through Ann Arbor in the past. Gary Grant immediately comes to mind. Zack Novak and Manny Harris were defensive
threats. Burke could shut guys
down. Those were individual
efforts. But when was the last time
Michigan had 5 guys on the floor that could literally shut down an entire
offense playing man to man?
Have they ever been able to do
that?
JB has always had offenses
that were better than advertised. 2013’s
roster had (has) 4 NBA players on it.
All Starters. They led the nation
nearly the entire season in Points Per Possession. Yet no one respected Michigan because they
could score on you at will, BUT THEY COULDN’T PLAY DEFENSE!!!
That has changed. Now, not only are they going to score on you,
but they’re going to make trying to run your offense a living hell. Granted, Northwestern was without their
number 1 player (Law) as he was out with an injury. But this game was practically over in the 1st
half. Michigan started out hot and only
got better as the half closed out. With
a little over 2 minutes left, Michigan scored 10 unanswered points. Teske, Teske, Matthews and Simpson. But how did they manage the unanswered run?
DEFENSE!
They say that in all sports,
but especially hoops, how you finish the last 5 minutes of the 1st
half and how you start the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half are the
most important 10 minutes of the game.
Michigan proved last night
that they aren’t just nodding to that stat.
They are TAKING IT AND MAKING A STATEMENT!
I know this team is going to
lose. It’s simply too hard to win them
all in Hoops. Yeah, UCLA in the 70’s and
Indiana in ‘76. And UNLV had a helluva’
run. But sooner or
later, someone is going to find a way. I
just don’t know who or HOW they’ll find a way.
Northwestern was the 2nd
easiest game left on the schedule.
Minnesota is the #1 easiest game left.
The rest of the 14 games remaining on the schedule looks like this:
Team Date
@Wiscy 1-19
Gophers 1-22
@ IU 1-25
THE STU 1-29
@ Iowa 2-1
@ Rutgers 2-5
Wiscy 2-9
@ PSU 2-12
Maryland 2-16
@ Gophers 2-21
The LNU 2-24
Nebraska 2-28
@ Maryland 3-3
@ The LNU 3-9
That’s 8 road games against 5 teams that
are going to have a shot not only at the B1G Title but will be looking for NCAA
Tourney Seeding improvement (LNU, Maryland, Wiscy, IU and Iowa). Assuming for a second that they split those 5
road games in some fashion and holds home court advantage, Michigan is looking
at 3-4 losses.
The end of February and beginning of
March are looking mighty important at this point. Michigan hasn’t won a B1G Title (regular
season) since they shared it in 2013. JB is due for a Title. Michigan is DUE for a B1G Title. B1G Tourney Championships are nice but this
team deserves a Regular Season Title.
The LNU is playing well also and they are getting better as they move
through their season. Turnovers are
still a problem, but the IZZO is going to have them fix that problem. Yep – the B1G Title is going through Ann Arbor
and East Lansing.
May the best Team Win!
The Mailbag
Dude – The game against the Illini was at Illinois! You said it was at Crisler? WTF?
My apologies. I thought I saw that the Illini was at
Crisler. Never the less, that was a good
game and a good road test.
What about this OC hire? Is that
a good move?
This all seemed very weird
that 3 hours before Michigan announced him as their new OC, he was hired
as the Maryland Head Coach. I’m
not sure how all this went down and I’ve been watching the boards and Sam Webb’s
Twitter for additional details as to what transpired.
But to answer the
question: Is Josh Gattis a good
hire? At this point, the best answer I
have is I think so? He was with Moorehead at PSU
and then led the most productive receiving corps EVER for Alabama last season. So, with the plethora of receivers Michigan
has in their stable, I’m going to assume Harbaugh targeted this
guy for a reason. Similar to the Don
Brown hire when Michigan had a ton of guys on Defense that needed to be broken
down and built back up.
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