Bubble On, Bubble Off....Repeat

I’d like to say that I’ve calmed down from last night’s aberration. 

I’d “like” to say that.

I’d be lying, so I won’t say it. 

A feeling of dread overwhelmed me when I heard we had Valentine and his crew officiating this game.  Valentine’s crew should not be allowed to referee any game where anything is at stake.  Meaning never…. 

I will say something that I’ve said in the past and TO THIS DAY do not understand how (and I use this term loosely) Mr. Valentine is still a B1G referee and how any of his crew can still be at it as well. 

I cannot STAND Teddy Valentine.  I hate everything about him.  When he dies, a small part of me will be very glad.  (Kind of like when Drew Sharp died.)  Yes, I’ll feel sorry for their families and relatives, but the world I live in will be a much, MUCH Better place as a result.

I’ve always felt that blaming referees for the outcome of a game is stupid.  And all the pundits are correct:  Michigan had plenty of chances to win the game.  Only going a very non-characteristic 9-18 from the charity stripe is an easy one to point to.  Michigan was also called for a record number of fouls this season, 27 to be exact.  27 Fouls  from a team that AVERAGES less than 10 a game…Which brings me back to Valentine.

I’ve searched the airwaves for the sequence of events that has me as pissed off as John Beilein appeared to be after the phantom foul was called on (I think) Wagner and then Michigan Assistant coach Saddi Washington apparently “Hopped Up” on the raised floor at the Williams center (which I guess is two coaches on the floor?) to better address the team.  And Valentine dished out the Technical.

For an assistant standing up when play was stopped. 

Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot.  ARE YOU F@$#%ING KIDDING ME????

I know, I know.  Michigan led after that point and the atrocity had been overcome.  The Gophers stormed ahead to what appeared to be an insurmountable 8 point lead with 1:30 left in regulation, but then they became very “Gopherish”.  Turning the ball over twice resulting in easy scores for Michigan brought it down to a 4 point game.  A Three, a Gopher score and then Wilson’s game tier made if fell as if the Wolverines had momentum heading into the extra session.

But alas, the Gophers and the home crowd were simply too much in the end.  Walton’s 3-pointer to tie was off by that much and the result was the same as it’s been all season for the Wolverines on the road…..

But I go back to that foul and subsequent Technical.  Take those out of the equation and Michigan might win in regulation. 

Hell, take 1/3 of the fouls on Michigan (which, by my count, that’s an underestimate of what fouls really occurred) and Michigan wins by a bunch. 

The B1G seriously needs to review refereeing for integrity, accuracy of calls, and most importantly, letting the game play out on its own merit and the officiating not being “part of the game.”

Teddy isn’t happy unless were talking about him the next day. 

And he we are, making Teddy Happy.

As giddy as I’m sure the Gopher fans are reading about my laments….Minnesota is NOT a basketball rivalry.  Michigan has owned that team.  Pitino had not beat Michigan in his entire tenure as the Gophers head coach. 

Michigan’s biggest Rival:  Right here

 

 

The Michigan Resume

Record:        17-10

BPI:              23  24

Kenpom:      28   27

RPI:              52   52

Opponent     Location       Date   Day and Time          Result

Indiana          Home             1-26    Thursday, 9:15        90-60 Blow-Out

Sparty             Away              1-29    Sunday, 1:00            70-62 Loss

Suckeyes     Home             2-4      Saturday, 6:00         70-66 Loss

Sparty            Home             2-7      Tuesday, 9:00         86-57 BLOW-OUT

Indiana          Away              2-12    Sunday, 1:00             75-63 SWEEP OF IU!!!!

Wiscy             Home             2-16    Thursday, 7:00        64-58 Win

Minnesota     Away              2-19    Sunday, 7:00               83-78  LOSE

Rutgers          Away              2-22    Wednesday, 6:30    

Purdue          Home             2-25    Saturday, 4:00

Northwestern Away             3-1      Wednesday, 7:00

Nebraska       Away              3-5      Sunday, 8:00

 Lunardi updated this AM and here’s the bracket with Michigan in solidly as a 9-Seed.

 

Michigan is still 7^th overall in the B1G Standings with what should be a winnable road game against Rutgers on Wednesday, even though Rutgers gave Northwestern everything they could handle in Evanston on Saturday.  I wish Rutgers hoops would be more like their football team and just lay down, for pete’s sake....

Then Michigan gets the Purdue Juggernaut at home.  I’m nervous about that game.  Purdue truly looked, to me anyway, like a Final Four team with the trouncing of Sparty on Saturday.  I know, Sparty didn’t look good, but Purdue took advantage of that and looked freaking awesome.  Beating Purdue Saturday will definitely help Michigan’s overall chances.

Sparty lost so much more than a game on Saturday.   Eron Harris, senior, went up for a lay-up and came down on his right foot awkwardly.  If you watched the game, you heard him scream through the announcers microphones.  Even Dakich knew it was bad…It’s sad to see anyone’s season end like that and hopefully, that wasn’t career ending.

However, I will say this:  Sparty Fans, I wouldn’t normally take such delight in your failures, but the memories of 2008 and 2009, not to mention all the other years of your recent “State Domination” in the big sports, football and basketball.  (Michigan’s Final Four and NCAA Championship Appearance in 2013 notwithstanding)

I remembered having to endure comments and statements along the lines of “Michigan athletics is dead.  Michigan will never be good again. Michigan will be rivals to Northwestern and Illinois as the balance of power has shifted.”

Yeah…’Bout that.  KARMA’S A BITCH!!!

4-8 football record.  Hoops team hanging onto to NCAA hopes by a thread and will more than likely need to win out to have any shot of making the tourney. 

Yep, what comes around goes around.  Sparty, that light you see coming around is on the front of a Michigan Freight Train.  And if history holds, the athletic dip you’re about to go into should last somewhere between 30-40 years. 

So there’s that, which is nice!

THAT'S How You Play Michigan Basketball!!!

IF you didn’t get a chance to see it, you missed a great one in Ann Arbor!  Crisler was rockin’ and the mood was electric.  I have said that the hate for Bucky the Badger (in hoops) by Michigan fans is real and it might rival that of Sparty (naw) and the suckeyes (close). 

Those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it or something like that….Wiscy has thrown more deadly daggers in the hearts of Michigan fans than I care to remember, but last night, no demon named Brust would arise and toss in a half courter... (I can post this now as it's history and I feel good enough to do so after last night's victory!!!) 

I LOVED seeing Zak Irvin find his game last night and for a minute I thought he had hit a season high in scoring until I looked it up this AM.  Irvin actually scored 20…Against Wiscy in the Kohl Center about a month ago!  So maybe it’s a cheesehead thing, but let’s hope he’s turned a corner of some sort and is back on permanent track.

Love #2:  Wagner is becoming the inside guy I thought he could be.  While his defense is at times unwatchable, on the other end of the court he’s doing things inside and outside that will give other coaches fits as this season continues. 

And Walton is the steady rock right now guiding this team…

I recall someone once saying that high scoring teams with great PG play that also shoot free throws well are a team to watch out for come March.  Let’s see,

High Scoring – Check!

Point Guard Play – Check!

Team Free Throws    - Check!

Add to that but Michigan actually is forcing turnovers on defense!!!

Some will say that Wiscy wasn’t at full strength….well, it’s late February and there’s a lot of teams that are gassing or fighting injury.  It’s how you manage it right now, boys and girls.  March Madness is right around the corner and the time for excuses is GONE!

 

The Michigan Resume

Record:        17-9

BPI:              23

Kenpom:      28  

RPI:              52

Opponent     Location       Date   Day and Time          Result

Indiana          Home             1-26    Thursday, 9:15        90-60 Blow-Out

Sparty             Away              1-29    Sunday, 1:00                        70-62 Loss

Suckeyes     Home             2-4      Saturday, 6:00         70-66 Loss

Sparty            Home             2-7      Tuesday, 9:00         86-57 BLOW-OUT

Indiana          Away              2-12    Sunday, 1:00                        75-63 SWEEP OF IU!!!!

Wiscy             Home             2-16    Thursday, 7:00        64-58 Win

Minnesota     Away              2-19    Sunday, 7:00           

Rutgers          Away              2-22    Wednesday, 6:30    

Purdue          Home             2-25    Saturday, 4:00

Northwestern Away             3-1      Wednesday, 7:00

Nebraska       Away              3-5      Sunday, 8:00

 

Michigan is 7^th overall in the B1G Standings and has a unique opportunity to take over 6^th place with a win at Minnesota in Williams Arena on Sunday night.  (that’s an EST 7:00 start  - 6:00 Local).

That game will probably be a toss –up or have the Gophers slightly favored.  Minnesota, by most projections, is solidly in the field of 64 (68 – whatever) but don’t think they don’t want to win this game.  Should be a good one….

Some of you texted or e-mailed regarding my take on RPI, BPI and Kenpom stating that the committee has to look at RPI and in particular, Sparty LOSING those big games is what will get Sparty into the field of 64 regardless of their BPI/Kenpom rank.  I hear what you’re saying but respectfully disagree. There are at least 5 AT LARGE teams that Lunardi has IN the Bracket with RPI’s worse than Michigan’s…

The Worst:  Lunardi has Marquette in as an at large 12 Seed with an RPI of 81. 

Marquette Kenpom:  41   Sparty:  50

BPI:  40      Sparty:  54

Here are the lowest RPI teams that were DISSED over the years that didn’t make the field of 64!!!!  (From one of my favorite little websites):

http://www.collegerpi.com/subs/rpitrivia.html

The highest rated team left out: #21 Missouri St, #30 Hofstra (2006), #30 Air Force (2007)... among the big six: #40 Cincinnati (2006).

 

Therefore, Dismissing Sparty as a 41 RPI is not inconceivable….But then there’s this:

Most losses to get an ALB: 14 (Arizona - 2008, five teams in 2011).

Worst record to get an ALB: 18-14 .563 (Arizona - 2008, Michigan St - 2011)

Number of times a team with at least 20 wins has been left out: 215 ... among the big six: 37

 

So as a Sparty, you can keep saying that the other indices DON’T MATTER, but be careful…They have to make at large slots available somehow and teams with respectable RPI’s with crappy records sometimes get hosed…If Sparty wins out, I believe they’re in.  Lose a couple, it’ll be Izzo’s charm and Mark Hollis being the 2017 Director of the Selection Committee that will prevail and nothing else.

Of course, someone MAY bring up last season’s 2-15 MTSU Upset victory and ruin Sparty’s day!!!

 Lunardi won’t update today, but with the Wiscy win, I would think things would be better for Michigan regarding his forecast.  Obviously better than losing that game…Michigan’s RPI is SLOWLY Creeping down as it plays better teams.  

RPI, BPI, Kenpom....What's It All Mean???

Great game between WVU and Kansas last night.  WVU had them, let them back in and finally lost in OT in Allen Field House in Kansas…Too bad for Huggins as that would have been a possible seed changing victory!!!

I was looking at Michigan’s Kenpom rank on Monday (Which is here)

 

And Stumbled upon this (This is AWESOME!!!):

 

So, if last year’s 15-Seeded MTSU and 2-Seeded Sparty were to play again, Sparty is a DOG!!! 

HAHAHAHAHEEEHEEEEEEE!!!!    

Which got me to thinking about and doing a little research on Kenpom, BPI and RPI in an attempt to clear up some of the confusion surrounding all of these statistical measuring systems. 

Michigan’s RPI sits at 61 as of this post.  But Michigan is RANKED somewhere in the 30’s per the coaches poll.    Michigan’s BPI (ESPN’s answer to RPI that was created in part by Duke Alum and ESPN commentator Jay Bilas) is 24, the spread being 37.  And their Kenpom at 31 is in line with their BPI and coaches ranking….

So why the discrepancy?  For one thing, RPI is really old and outdated having been introduced in 1981.  It doesn’t use any predictive analysis, scoring percentage or coach’s opinion and focuses on what’s occurred up to this point in time.  It more or less just looks at wins and losses.  It doesn’t adjust for points scored in garbage minutes, scoring average per possession, or points scored against better defenses and other things that can be done very quickly today with a simple Excel spreadsheet. 

Which begs the question, “Why in the hell does the Selection Committee use the RPI instead of the BPI or Kenpom?”  

Well, Kenpom and BPI are more predictive in nature and RPI is, and (I use this term VERY loosely), “a solid look at what has happened.”  Your RPI can move as you beat better teams, but until you do, that’s where you’re stuck.  Michigan has a 37 point discrepancy.  Colorado is the worst with a discrepancy of around 60 points…  When you see discrepancies like that, it usually means an SOS or some other oddity is holding a low BPI/Kenpom ranked team back at a higher rank in the RPI (lower being better).  So they may be playing a large part of their SOS late in the season (Michigan is).  In fact, Wiscy, Purdue and Northwestern (barely) rank ahead of Michigan in Kenpom with Minnesota, Rutgers and Nebraska below.  Meaning that Michigan should, in Vegas terms, go 3-3 in the next 6 games.  Therefore, beating Wiscy would be a huge upset Thursday night.  I really wish Wiscy hadn’t lost to Northwestern Sunday...However, 4 out of the 6 teams are ahead of Michigan in RPI, so beating 2 of the lower RPI teams should do wonders…

Again, why doesn’t the committee use the other statistically more accurate systems?  They do, but they’re just not allowed to “talk about using them.”  Often, when a team that looks deserving via RPI is left out of the tourney, check their Kenpom or BPI metric.  If the Kenpom/BPI are the same or higher than RPI, chances are the team isn’t getting in no matter what they’ve accomplished (assuming they’re a bubble team to begin with).

But when a high RPI sneaks into the tourney, check their Kenpom or their BPI.  Chances are there’s a large “positive” discrepancy for that particular team that “Defied the odds.” 

Where it gets really interesting is, for example, if the committee had to seed a 4^th and final SEC team with identical 14-11 records (as of today).   Georgia has an RPI that is 10 points better than Tennessee’s.  But Tennessee’s Kenpom position/predictor is 10 notches higher than Georgia’s!  So who would get in?  Tennessee lost the only H-T-H matchup this season 76-75 on their home court…

That’s why we have a committee to look at big wins, etc….

Ain’t March Madness Great!!!

 

Opponent     Location       Date   Day and Time          Result

Indiana          Home             1-26    Thursday, 9:15        90-60 Blow-Out

Sparty             Away              1-29    Sunday, 1:00           70-62 Loss

Suckeyes     Home             2-4      Saturday, 6:00         70-66 Loss

Sparty            Home             2-7      Tuesday, 9:00         86-57 BLOW-OUT

Indiana          Away              2-12    Sunday, 1:00             75-63 SWEEP OF IU!!!!

Wiscy             Home             2-16    Thursday, 7:00

Minnesota     Away              2-19    Sunday, 7:00           

Rutgers          Away              2-22    Wednesday, 6:30    

Purdue          Home             2-25    Saturday, 4:00

Northwestern Away             3-1      Wednesday, 7:00

Nebraska       Away              3-5      Sunday, 8:00

If I would have waited about 10 minutes before hitting send on Monday’s e-mail, I would have had Lunardi’s updated “Bracket Watch” that has Michigan in as an 11-Seed.  USA Today has Michigan in as a solid 10.  That’s a HUGE jump from the 2^nd 4 Out (Michigan is the one of the two new teams to the field of 64 as of 2-13), but a blow-out win against Sparty and a Road Victory at Indiana can help a lot.

(Joe Lunardi either has someone on the inside or has an incredible feel for the committee’s tendencies year over year.  I trust his “4 byes, last 4 in, first 4 out and next 4 out analysis”….)

Sparty is still in as a 10-Seed and on the list of 4 byes, but I think that’s on shaky ground, based on the analysis I just gave above.  Sparty has a great RPI at 41 (even after getting blown out by Michigan) but a BPI and Kenpom that are 10 to 20 points WORSE than their RPI.  The only thing holding Sparty up is the Non-con SOS (Where all 4 of Sparty’s Big NON-CON Losses actually create a BETTER RPI RANK than Michigan’s 4 wins over lower ranked teams (Again, IMHO, RPI is DEEPLY FLAWED in this respect).  But they lost all those games which the Committee will certainly make a mental note of…Which takes me back to Michigan Hoops Non-Con scheduling and the need to fill the roster with some beatable mid major 50-100 RPI teams vs. teams over 150 in the RPI.  And also playing another 1 or 2 South Carolina or UCLA’s (RPI top 50) or somebody to have that “quality loss” thing going for you. 

A Valentine Gift tonight with Sparty and OSU squaring off.  Somebody I hate is going to lose…and that’s almost a toss-up regarding Kenpom.  If sparty can’t defend home court….it could be over…

Annnnnd… Sparty then has to go to Purdue and Maryland and knock off Wiscy at home.  Not to mention the always pesky Illini and Cornsuckers are in the mix.  Not a lot of cakewalks there….

That’s not a good look.  Sparty is riding the bubble. 

That Sound You Just Heard....

...was a majority of Indiana Hoosier-ans stomping their collective foot down screaming, “Screw Tom Crean!  This sucks!  We NEVER lose to Michigan at HOME!  FIRE CREAN!!!”

And Wagner doesn’t even bother to give Crean a hand when he bowls him over immediately after draining a 3 right in front of him in the 1^st half!!!

In all fairness to Crean and Wagner:  Wagner hit him out of bounds and the area the coaches have to “work” the floor is notoriously small at Assembly Hall.  Still…Priceless.  Should get 2 extra points for that in a game.  4 if you knock down Izzo….But I digress….

Indiana is not good right now and Michigan can play decent (not great) basketball and still win a game.  And this was a big game….Road win in Assembly has only happened about 3 times in 20 seasons.  

Michigan has shown dramatic improvement over a week ago.  In fact, Michigan tried to gift the game away in the late 1^st half/early 2^nd half when they went nearly 10 minutes without scoring a point…Didn’t matter.  IU couldn’t play its way out of a wet paper bag right now and is a shell of the team that somehow beat Kansas by hanging 100 on them and also beat North Carolina.  (That was this season, right?)  Michigan’s D held IU to 25 first half points…..

I know Indiana has been hit with the injury bug.  It happens to everybody.  Crean has not found a good way to get his young players up to the B1G Level of play that you need if you want to survive in this league.

Which, in a way, it was kind of insulting (but who cares, right?) that the “early look” at the top 16 teams in the bracket didn’t include a B1G Team anywhere.  None to be seen.  Wiscy and Purdue don’t matter, nationally… But Butler is a 4-seed?  REALLY???

Actually, it’s perfect.  Whoever from the B1G gets in will have chips on their shoulders and will be scratching and clawin’ to prove everyone on the committee wrong. 

So, let’s get down to the brass tacks: 

Opponent     Location       Date   Day and Time          Result

Indiana          Home             1-26    Thursday, 9:15        90-60 Blow-Out

Sparty             Away              1-29    Sunday, 1:00            70-62 Loss

Suckeyes     Home             2-4      Saturday, 6:00         70-66 Loss

Sparty            Home             2-7      Tuesday, 9:00         86-57 BLOW-OUT

Indiana          Away              2-12    Sunday, 1:00              75-63 SWEEP OF IU!!!!

Wiscy             Home             2-16    Thursday, 7:00

Minnesota     Away              2-19    Sunday, 7:00           

Rutgers          Away              2-22    Wednesday, 6:30    

Purdue          Home             2-25    Saturday, 4:00

Northwestern Away             3-1      Wednesday, 7:00

Nebraska       Away              3-5      Sunday, 8:00

So, whatever.  Lunardi has 7 B1G teams in.  Wiscy was a 3-Seed and Purdue a 5-Seed, but that may change with Purdue’s win over IU. And last week, Michigan was in the “Next 4 Out”.  I suspect Indiana and MSU fall out this week and Michigan moves up to “First 4 Out” or even gets in as a 12-seed play-in game (which is where Lunardi had IU until its two losses to Purdue and Michigan).  I’m not sure Sparty’s win over Iowa keeps them in the last 4 in…but it might. 

Michigan has a shot at 4 teams that are currently above them in the B1G rankings that are considered “tournament teams” and a 3-1 or even a 2-2 record against those 4 with victories in the other 2 games would look pretty good on the resume.  Really Good.  But they can’t go 1-3 against Wiscy, Purdue, Minnesota and Northwestern.  (I know – you read that right – Northwestern is looking like a lock for the NCAA at this point.)

Thursday is a “Big Game” in Ann Arbor! 

SCARY Idle College Football Thought

As you may (or may not) have heard, Steve Sarkisian, the former Washington-USC-Drinking Champion/Head Coach was working on the Alabama coaching staff as an advisor for the 2016 season.  And was also the O-coordinator for the NC Game against Clemson.  (Great trivia question:  Who was the only O-coordinator to have a losing record in NC games at Bama?)  I believed Sarkisian’s hiring was due to the fact that Kiffin and the Troll had finally gotten on each other’s last nerve and Satan was firing Kiffin at the end of the season unless he got a job elsewhere, anyway, and he wanted Sarkisian in there to see how the process at Bama worked and to see if he was a fit….

Of course, the 49er’s had already hired the Offensive Coordinator from the Superbowl loser, Atlanta’s Kyle (Let’s Pass the ball when 3 points wins the game) Shanahan, after unceremoniously firing Chip Kelly after 1 season.    And because the Falcons current head coach (Quinn) had worked with Sarkisian in a prior life, it made sense for Sarkisian to not have to be part of the Satan shit-show.   Which can sometimes be the O-coordinator/Satan situation on the sideline…

Of course, of course…Dismissed 49er’s head Coach Chip Kelly is receiving paychecks to the tune of about $5M annually from the Eagles and 49er’s and would probably be pretty easy to get.  Assuming Chip would work with Satan, which like, NO WAY….AmIRite?

Only problem with that logic:  Turns out Nick and Chip are buddies and Chip was actually at a couple of practices last year before the NC Game giving some pointers and advice on offense….

The scariest thought I could have would be a Satan-Kelly combination on the same sideline.  I’m not saying it’d be forever, but for a single season….Jeeez….

And people wonder why I don’t sleep at night…

Additional NOTE:   Shannahan must be some special kind of stupid….I get you strike when the iron is hot in the NFL.  But the 49er’s (Jed York) have to be setting a record for dysfunctionality with the firing of Harbaugh, Tumsola, and Kelly, (two of those firings arguably being the 2 of the most prolific coaches in football, actively coaching).  I thought Kelly made a bad decision going there with a GM that was being shown the door, but the Eagles didn’t leave him many options.   I’m not sure what happened that was so bad that York figured he had to throw the baby out with the bathwater…And now the 49ers have hired a former player with ABSOLUTELY NO GM Experience, John Lynch…

Yeah…watching the 49ers ought to be fun for the next several seasons….

The Next 7 Games are CRUCIAL!!!

The Next 6 7 Games Are Crucial…UPDATE

If I had updated this post after each of the last 4 games, the Titles to those posts probably would have looked something like this:

MICHIGAN DESTROYS IU AND CANNOT BE STOPPED!

Michigan really sucks and Beilein needs to be fired.

Michigan REALLY, REALLY SUCKS and Beilein needs to be fired….

MICHIGAN DESTROYS AND HUMILIATES SPARTY AND CAN BEAT ANYONE IN THE COUNTRY!!!!

Opponent     Location       Date   Day and Time          Result

Indiana          Home             1-26    Thursday, 9:15        90-60 Blow-Out

Sparty             Away              1-29    Sunday, 1:00            70-62 Loss

Suckeyes     Home             2-4      Saturday, 6:00         70-66 Loss

Sparty            Home             2-7      Tuesday, 9:00         86-57 BLOW-OUT

Indiana          Away              2-12    Sunday, 1:00

Wiscy             Home             2-16    Thursday, 7:00

Minnesota     Away              2-19    Sunday, 7:00           

Rutgers          Away              2-22    Wednesday, 6:30    

Purdue          Home             2-25    Saturday, 4:00

Northwestern Away             3-1      Wednesday, 7:00

Nebraska       Away              3-5      Sunday, 8:00

Michigan dodged a HUGE bullet last night and humiliated the Spartans in the process.  While no pundits will come right out and state it, The MMPG will:  Sparty more than likely just lost any chance it had of getting into the NCAA field of 64.*  That takes a lot of guts to say with an Izzo coached team…But I’m saying it.  Only 7 (seven) teams have made the field with 14 losses as an at large in the last 24 years…and they had big wins on their resume.  That loss took Sparty to the dreaded double digit number (10) on the season (7 games before the season’s over) and that hurts your chances…a lot.  Not to mention that Michigan was out of the Kenpom 50 last night when they played.  The team that Sparty put on the floor last night can’t win out, which is exactly what they would need to do to make the field.  This Sparty team is, frankly, an abomination by Sparty standards when you look at the lack of fight, number of turnovers… the entire enchilada.  Sparty just doesn’t have the things you need to have to be successful at college hoops right now.  I could go into a long narrative about how bad sparty is this season, but I digress….Izzo has his hands full if he wants to preserve the NCAA streak…

*(short of winning the B1G Tourney…and this year, who knows?)

(Side note:  This “tripping” thing in the NCAA has to stop.  I don’t think a flagrant technical is enough.  Throw trippers out of the game!  It’s that simple.  That’s my one rant.  ICYMI:  In the first half, Wagner pissed off Ward and Ward tripped Wagner.  Officials reviewed and dished out the “T”.  There’s been a general media outrage with Duke’s Grayson Allen tripping…well…everybody and other players tripping players.)

On a great note:  I finally heard what sounds like a “leader” on this team say something leader-ish…

“As a leader, I think I need to push guys a lot more,” Walton said. “Because when you see stuff like this — I know as reporters, you’re like, where is this team consistently? It’s just as frustrating being within it, knowing we can still do something special. And we have nights where we just don’t bring it. It makes you scratch your head at times.”

So, um, yeah. 


Where in theeee HELL do you guys GO in some of these games? 

WE’d all like to know….

And, unfortunately, Michigan is in the boat right behind Sparty and needs to win at least 5 if not 6 of its last 7 to get to 21-22 wins on the season.  While it’s not impossible (especially if the team that played last night shows up), 5 of those games are on the road.  Yikes…

And Michigan is a Jekyll and Hyde team when they are playing in the safe confines of Crisler Arena vs. when they play on the road…With the exception of that sukeyes loss at home that I’m still trying to figure out.  Where did Irvin go in that game?

I’m cringing thinking about what Michigan did to Indiana and how that humiliation is plenty fresh in the mind of Coach Crean and his Hoosier players and how revenge is a dish that’s better served cold…Beilein reportedly texted a Doberman with it’s teeth bared on Sunday during the Superbowl saying they need to play like junkyard dogs. 

Advice to Beilein – Text that photo early and often.

So why can’t Michigan do on the road what they seem to do so well at home?  OR maybe the better question is:  What gets into these guys when they’re hitting on all cylinders vs. the games where they can’t seem to get their shoes on the right feet?

So what is it?

I don’t have any answers.  I’m sure Beilein would love to know as well as it has to drive him batty with this group….They need at least 5 wins.

And 5 games on the road….so they had better figure it out sooner rather than later.