Michigan Sports Stuff

First, the bad news: Michigan's hoops season is over after their loss to Wisconsin. Shred of hope: Beilein runs a complicated system, and he needs smarter players than Amaker recruited in order to run it well. Smarter players coming? Check. Also, there are just so many young guys. Once they have the basics down better, they can work more on conditioning and really improve this off-season.

Also, Michigan State somehow managed to beat Northern Michigan, 5-1, in the CCHA quarterfinals last night.

Now, the good news: Michigan scored on three different goalies and Chad Kolarik got a hat trick in his first appearance since the LSSU series a few weeks ago; they defeated Nebraska-Omaha 10-1 (no typo...really, that was the score) at Yost last night in the CCHA quarterfinals.

Also, Michigan State saw a 12-point lead slip away and approximately eighteen big men foul out as Wisconsin came back to win their Big Ten basketball semifinal game today. Bo Ryan is now a glorious 11-3 against Tom Izzo. That oughta shut 'em up.

Michigan vs Wisconsin -- Big Ten Tournament Liveblog

(As usual, earlier posts are at the bottom, so if you want to read about the game's progress without having the ending spoiled, don't read any further...use your scroll buttons!)

FINAL SCORE: 51-34 Badgers. That's as close to a high school game as you'll see a Big Ten game come; no wonder no one respects the Big Ten conference. Michigan must've shot less than 20% on the game for field goals, and...really, there's no way to describe that game other than by that stat. Wisconsin played badly and still scored 50% more points than we did. I don't know what words to use to talk about how Michigan plays; it isn't that they don't have the talent to win these kinds of games--they do--and it isn't that Beilein is a bad coach--he isn't. I'm not sure if it's that they aren't confident. But they do little dumb things. They pass to two teammates who are next to each other and neither one tries to grab it. They pass up good shots and take dumb ones. They play hard on defense and then leave somebody uncovered for an easy basket. I think that once Beilein gets smarter players things will be better. The only thing I can think of is that Amaker recruited about the dumbest guys in the world. Let's not knock the offers to Stu, Cronin, and Novak; they might just introduce the kind of intelligence you need to win in the Big Ten.

1:51 -- Now Bo Ryan brings out the former team manager whom Lavin describes as a "pepper pot deluxe" after Gibson throws up the air-ball three.

1:50 -- Nice way to finish the season: Bo Ryan sends in his freshmen back-up types with a minute and a half to go. I've never seen a Michigan game this bad.

1:44 -- Wisconsin gets two offensive rebounds and a possession lasting nearly (edit: MORE than) a minute, and ends up on the line. Michigan falling apart.

1:41 -- Grady passes up a wide-open lay-up that he skillfully created and passes to Harris, who clangs the three.

1:40 -- The hole gets deeper as Michigan continues its remarkably cold shooting and Wisconsin chips away. 46-32.

1:34 -- Anthony Wright continues to be our only real scorer, horrifically. Three-ball, cuts the lead to 10.

1:31 -- Ron Coleman's contribution: committing a foul on what should have been an easy rebound, then helpfully complaining to the ref. NOT gonna miss him next year. Thank you again, Tommy Amaker.

1:28 -- Gibson is apparently becoming a monster. A good inlet pass leads to an ALMOST Zach Gibson 3-point play, but he barely misses the shot. He hits 1 of 2. Nine-point lead, 38-29.

1:27 -- Gibson gets the great block!

1:18 -- Some foul trouble starting to emerge for Wisconsin. Merritt draws the foul on a good drive and shoots 2, drains 2. 37-28, Badgers.

1:16 -- GEEZ Wright is a good shooter. Another deep three-ball.

1:13 -- Out of control, Lee throws up a bad lay-up and Wisconsin returns for the pretty transition pass and monster jam. Score: 35-23 Badgers, with Wisconsin on a 9-0 run after Michigan's opening 5-0 run. Beilein calls timeout.

1:09 -- Commercial break. DeShawn Sims goes soft to the basket and gets the ball rejected right to a fast-breaking Wisconsin player, but M slows them up. Ant Wright deflects a cross-court pass out of bounds. I think that guy is going to be good for us going into the future.

1:07 -- The inevitable answer, and the lead is back to 8. Michigan needs to tighten up their D now. Harris's offensive struggles continue...he just missed his eighth shot straight.

1:04 -- OHH, WRIGHT! A trey from LONG distance lessens the lead to three.

1:03 -- LUCK! Ekpe Udoh drains 2 FTs! Six-point game.

FINAL THOUGHTS BEFORE SECOND HALF: Really no thoughts, just horror. Michigan shot 21%, according to Steve Lavin. Uhhhhh....

FIRST HALF THOUGHTS: Michigan's best assets: the refs and, evidently, the basketball gods, to an extent. Bo Ryan gets a totally unjustified technical, and nearly all questionable calls went Michigan's way, as well as some unquestionable calls that shouldn't have gone our way. Wisconsin's shooting, luckily, has been relatively poor. Blue's rebounding and defense has also been decent. The bad parts: turnovers and shooting. TOs aren't reaching Purdue Game Level yet, but they've been pretty bone-headed, and Manny Harris is again the worst offender. He, by the way, has only 4 points. It seems that a sort of Jordan Rules system works well against Michigan, since the rest of the team's offensive function is to pass around aimlessly until Harris takes a three or drives the lane. As for the shooting, Michigan has scored three treys...two by Gibson, known for his nearly statue-like coordination. I think our shooting is still below 30%...*shudder*. No Udoh blocks of any kind, but he did basically jump on top of someone, so that was cool.

SCORE AT HALF: Wisconsin 26, Michigan 18

12:44 -- LUCK! Sharpshooter Bohannon only hits one FT out of two.

12:42 -- Good work by Sims to grab his own rebound and draw the shooting foul in the last minute of the half. Makes one...two FTs. 25-18.

12:41 -- Gibson hits the three and has half of Michigan's points. Where am I?

12:40 -- Evidence against my "paying the refs" theory that I forgot: Zach Gibson is punched in the back and the foul is called, but Ekpe Udoh didn't get the same consideration when he got punched in the face. Racism!

12:38 -- Michigan commits the smart foul against the three point shooter. Great work. Trevon Hughes hits 3 to extend the lead to 25-13.

12:37 -- Paying the refs pays off again. Out of bounds "off Wisconsin."

12:34 -- Michigan timeout. Our shooting is, not to put too fine a point on it, about 5th Grade Girls' Team level right now. However, with a few exceptions, our defense and rebounding have been as good as one could reasonably expect. The problem with that is that we also needed to have as good an offensive performance as one could reasonably expect...and that hasn't happened. Still, it could be worse. And we do have SOME fans there, anyway...

12:33 -- Wisconsin extends the lead to 9, 22-13. BUT...we got a "Defense" chant going for Michigan. WHAT!?!?

12:32 -- Oh my. The refs umm...we might've paid them. Traveling called on Wisconsin.

12:30 -- Speaking of luck, Wisconsin commits their seventeen thousandth turnover.

12:29 -- AHHH!! Zach Gibson hits the three to signal the apocalypse!

12:28 -- Oohh...clarification. The fire was actually aimed at Butch, but the refs misjudged it and gave him a T anyway. Luck is on our side so far!

12:24 -- Fire from Bo Ryan's eyes engulfs a referee and he gets a technical foul as Michigan defends well and David Merritt (he's back!!!) gets a tough rebound. Impressed with Michigan's defending and rebounding, but their offense is just horrific so far. Eight turnovers, on pace for around 25 for the game. The scoring has picked up, however: 15-9.

12:18 -- NICE job by Lee to gain control and dish to Sims for the lay-in. 13-7.

12:17 -- GEEZ this game is ugly. Michigan gets the first points for ANYone in about 4 minutes. 10-5 bad guys. Oops, too soon...13-5.

12:11 -- Merciful commercial break. Did I say low-scoring game? Wisconsin's pace will put them at 80 points, Michigan's will put them at 24. I have to assume that's going to change, just hopefully not because Wisconsin's third string will be out in the first half. 10-3 Badgers.

12:10 -- Harris hits a three for Michigan's first points...after 4.5 minutes of play.

12:09 -- Yet ANOTHER turnover by Michigan right at the beginning of the possession, and 10 points for Wisconsin, all lay-ups.

12:07 -- Wow. Michigan offense gets worse. Wisconsin's 6 points are all lay-ups.

12:05 -- Amazing lay-up in transition for Wisconsin. Bad turnovers for Michigan, but good defense. Low scoring game so far probably helps Michigan as much as anything...4-0 Wisconsin.

12:02 -- Wisconsin wins the tip. Here we go!

PRE-GAME: It's time for another edition of Michigan basketball liveblogs here at TW2! Well, the Blue managed to win their 8-9 game against Iowa in Indianapolis yesterday, destroying Iowa in the first half. Both teams decided to call a cease-fire in the second half, a move one observer described as "Zzzzz," and another as, "death-defyingly boring." Today Michigan has a chance to prove that their 3-point loss at Wisconsin wasn't a fluke, but will most likely prove that they're still a team in progress. But hope springs eternal here at TW2, which is why I'm still talking about Michigan basketball and not (currently) crying. And with that!...

U-M B-ball Liveblog -- Illinois

Another Michigan basketball liveblog! I know I'm excited. As usual, posts will read downwards in reverse chronological order.

GAME SUMMARY: Well, the last game I live-blogged, Michigan lost an awful game to Minnesota at home. The team has come a shockingly long way since then, but still has a VERY long way to go, and not just in talent level. Manny Harris is a talented offensive player but needs to improve his decision-making--however, he IS a freshman, so these things are somewhat to be expected. Somewhat. Michigan's gotten a lot better at just about everything except shooting, and it's paid off as they've won 4 of their last 5 after losing 9 of their first 10. People are starting to show up at the games--and yes, not just the seemingly unavoidable opposing student section--and I think Michigan's generating at least a small amount of optimism for the future. Beilein has to be happy with the contributions from C. J. Lee, who started this year as Michigan's 18th string guard, and Ekpe Udoh got more blocks than I think I've seen anyone get in a game. Grady was also clutch down the stretch, and that's a happy development. All in all, a tough game to watch most of the way, and incredibly angering toward the end. (I love ya, #3, but...wow.) And in the very end, another solid win.

6:00 -- Great block by Udoh, Michigan grabs the ball, and C. J. Lee makes the wise decision not to go for the fast-break and just slow down. The clock runs down.....

5:59 -- Okay, no harm done, I guess. Michigan gets a 6-point lead back as Udoh hits 1 of 2 FTs.

5:57 -- Grady, who has been great today and has 12 points, hits two clutch FTs to restore Michigan to a 5-point lead. Whew.

5:55 -- Manny Harris gets the outlet pass, then notices there's a three-on-two and tries to go coast-to-coast. Two misses, Illinois gets it back, then hits a three plus a foul. Terrible, terrible decisions. I'm incredibly bitter about that. And Brock mercifully misses the FT. 46-43, U-M.

5:54 -- Illinois puts Manny Harris on the line, which pays off...he only hits one, uncharacteristically. 46-40 Blue.

5:52 -- Sims not having a good game, but he gets his 6th and 7th points on free throws to give Michigan a 7-point lead.

5:50 -- Meacham takes a shot while Illinois gets called for the foul in a scrum. "He thinks he's in East Lansing." Why, because it's such a painful place to be? I get it.

5:49 -- Illinois commits the offensive foul away from the ball. The announcer mentions that Illinois has scored 3 points in the last 11 minutes--all free throws. Incredible.

5:48 -- Now after a missed Meacham free throw--definitely a gift--Harris drives and draws the foul. That was key. He makes both to put Michigan up by 5, 43-38.

5:47 -- Harris makes another spectacular move to score, 41-37.

5:43 -- Clutch jumper by Grady to break the deadlock. 39-37.

5:41 -- Michigan continues to play good defense in the post, but Manny Harris continues to make poor decisions.

5:39 -- One of the announcers mentions that Michigan has 11 offensive rebounds. Craziness.

5:38 -- Manny Harris hits a ridiculous runner to give M the 2-point lead!

5:35 -- Sims wastes the possession with a crazy shot right off the inbounds pass.

5:34 -- Anthony Wright, great hustle play to get another possession somehow!

5:31 -- Another turnover by Harris. *sigh*

5:30 -- Lee draws ANOTHER offensive foul. He's stepping up on defense.

5:29 -- Good dish from Harris to Sims on the fast break for the first points since I last posted...seriously. Tie game at 35!

5:20 -- Illinois's defense has really stepped up in the second half, but so has Michigan's. Both are now creating turnovers rather than lucking into them through bad offense. 35-33 Illinois.

5:19 -- GIBSON! A spectacular rebound and putback...Illinois leads by 2.

5:16 -- Grady hits a J to stop a small Illinois push, after a good defensive play by M. Illini by 2.

5:13 -- Jalen Rose has been fighting to get the Fab Five back to Michigan; good for him! He's here on behalf of the Jalen Rose Foundation, by the way, and does a lot of charity work.

5:10 -- Harris nails the three to tie!

5:09 -- Good ball movement and Ekpe Udoh...hits a three? Nope, a long two. Wow. Illini by 3.

5:07 -- Michigan loses another perimeter shooter and they capitalize. Illini by 3.

5:06 -- Harris draws the foul and hits Michigan's first two free throws of the game. Wow.

5:05 -- Very good defense by Michigan starting out, with a turnover and a severely harried shot.

HALFTIME UPDATE: I'm reconsidering my earlier statement. Illinois's defense has been good, but nothing special. Michigan isn't hitting shots and is committing bad turnovers, especially Manny Harris. That's starting to worry me. Michigan's defense, except for the holes I mentioned earlier, has been good; Udoh's gotten an absurd number of blocks--it's no fluke that he leads the Big Ten--and we've apparently, according to the halftime guys, held Illinois to about 2/3 of their average points at the half. Huh.

HALFTIME: Well, Michigan started very strong, on the whole. They were running the offense and passing and rebounding well. They then reverted to their old ways, committing turnovers and taking bad shots. Their defense seems extremely vulnerable to dribble penetration and three-point shots, probably because of their lack of perimeter athleticism and numbers; not much can be done about that. The Blue will have to continue to rebound well, because Illinois's defense is much better than Michigan's. Ugly first half by the way; neither team shot better than 40%. "Not exactly a scoring explosion," says the BTN halftime guy. They're on pace to score 92. Combined.

4:48 -- Dang. Illinois responds with a drive-and-kick for a wide-open three. We'll go to the half with Illinois up 2, 24-22.

4:47 -- OHHH!!! DeShawn Sims hits the three at the shot-clock buzzer!

4:44 -- Meacham makes an amazing shot, then Wright puts another three in and out. Illinois's up by 2.

4:40 -- C. J. Lee draws the offensive foul! He's playing well today.

4:39 -- FOURTH block of the day for Udoh; he's producing so many blocks that pretty soon the Democrats will have to tax him.

4:38 -- It was a good thought, but Harris's pass turns into a turnover. Tie game at 19.

4:35 -- Oh MY goodness! Jevohn Shepherd with the ridiculous rebound put-back and one. But he missed the free throw: 19-17.

4:31 -- Turnover by Illinois, but before that Frasier hit a long, long three and Meacham hit a fast-break 1-on-2 lay-up. It's tied at 17.

4:29 -- GREAT hustle play, then great pass from Harris to Udoh for the assist! 17-12 Michigan.

4:28 -- Wright nails the three to take the lead!

4:27 -- Coast to coast for Manny Harris! That was fantastic! 12-12.

4:25 -- Great defense...until allowing a bad, easy lay-up for Tisdale. Then a turnover by Mich. 12-10 bad guys.

4:21 -- Michigan succumbs to a bad inbounds pass allowed, but Illinois misses the and-one. Tie game. Uuugly.

4:18 -- "Move over and let the BIG dog eat!" That's NEVER going to get less annoying.

4:14 -- ANOTHER THREE FROM GRADY! And a nice pass to him from Sims. A bad start on both ends turns around...on both ends! Michigan, 10-6.

4:13 -- DEEP three from Grady! And a beautiful block by Udoh before that. *contentment* 7-6 good guys.

4:11 -- Beautiful shot by Udoh after another Illinois three. 6-4.

4:10 -- CLANG. Bad-looking three from Sims. 3-2 Illini.

4:09 -- Harris botches a three badly, then gets a beautiful feed from Wright. Illinois responds with a three--typical.

4:08 -- Illinois wins the tip. Illinois misses a contested lay-up, then out of bounds to Michigan.

4:06 -- Another large-ish crowd, by the way, because Jalen Rose is in attendance. Some students are wearing "Jalen" T-shirts. I like this.

4:03 -- Michigan starts Wright at the 4 rather than DeShawn. Interesting. Otherwise, Grady at 1, Coleman at 2 (he hasn't been playing well lately), Harris at 3, and Udoh at 5.

Some pre-game notes: We've been playing relatively well lately, just didn't shoot well at Minnesota. Manny needs to work on this whole trying-to-drive-against-the-whole-other-team thing, because he had a bunch of turnovers against the Gophers, and C. J. Lee is going to have to step up, as Michigan is basically down to three guards. Illinois's Brian Randle is out, so that might give Michigan an advantage. Winnable game for us, so, geez...we'd better win. Because those only come around so often...

David Merritt: Thank You

David Merritt, a senior walk-on guard with the University of Michigan men's basketball squad, put up seven points against a fierce Ohio State defense in the first half. A packed house cheered him on as he kept us in the game, an unexpected hero, an underdog on a team of underdogs who kept fighting.

He was never meant to really play; he was just there in case something happened to all the people in front of him. Then K'Len Morris left. Then Jerret Smith left. Michigan went from a bad team with a large rotation to a bad team with a small rotation. Merritt was pressed into heavy service, and as the team began a historic slide, one foolish blogger noted that Michigan wasn't going to win anything playing guys like David Merritt.

Then Ohio State came to town. The house was packed, because the new football coach was speaking at halftime. OSU formed its own visitors' student section. But when Michigan, which has struggled at home this year more than on the road, began to falter, it wasn't Manny Harris that sparked us. It wasn't DeShawn Sims. It was senior walk-on David Merritt, who sunk a three-pointer with seconds to go on the shot clock and who scored on a killer drive through the Buckeyes' big men. He continued to play well in the second half and contributed in a big way to Michigan's biggest win of the year against a major rival; the fans who rushed the court hoisted him onto their shoulders and sang The Victors at the top of their lungs. At least, that's how it should have happened.

In reality, Merritt was injured and had to spend much of the second half in the locker room. Now, the Free Press is reporting that our unexpected hero's season, and his career, is done, as he has torn the medial meniscus in his left knee and requires surgery.

Thank you, David Merritt, for what you gave Michigan. In a forgettable season, true Michigan fans will always remember how much you did for the team.

Manny Harris Grabs Weekly Big Ten Honor

(Via UMHoops Blog)

The Big Ten has named Michigan freshman Manny Harris the Big Ten Player of the Week:

Harris was a key contributor to U-M's first three-game win streak of the season. For the week, Harris averaged 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 94.7 percent from the free-throw line and 57.1 percent from long range. The Detroit native posted his 21st and 22nd double-digit scoring performances of the season with 15 points at Iowa and a career-best 27 points against Ohio State. At Iowa, after the Wolverines scored just 16 points in the first half, Harris was an integral part of a second-half Wolverine run. He scored all 15 of his points in the second stanza, helping Michigan post an 18-point turnaround in a 60-52 win. Harris' eight-of-eight free-throw performance down the stretch helped seal the come-from-behind victory for Michigan. He also added three assists and three steals against the Hawkeyes. Versus Ohio State, Harris closed the game with a career-best 27 points. He was seven-of-19 from the field with three long-range baskets, adding a 10-of-11 free throw performance, including seven-of-eight in the final 2:41. He also added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in the win. This is the first career weekly accolade for Harris.

This is a great end to one of the more exciting weeks in Michigan basketball in recent years. M needed some buzz and some excitement, and hopefully this will be just one more springboard for a growing program. And while everyone contributed nicely to this little streak and the huge upset over OSU, Number 3 deserves this award for his clutch play in his first year in D-I at a struggling program. Way to go, Manny, and hopefully this will be only the first of many such awards.

The Day They Laid Thad Matta Away...

Bob Wojnowski reminds me today of why I like the Detroit News sports reporting better than the Freep:

The Buckeyes just wouldn't shut up. There was Michigan's new football coach, Rich Rodriguez, trying to address the crowd at halftime Sunday, and a horde of Ohio State fans way up in the rafters kept interrupting with chants and jeers.

It was rude, in a distinctly Buckeye way. But it also was helpful, a needed primer for Michigan's new basketball and football coaches, who must turn up their own noise, while turning around the rivalry.

The Michigan fans responded with "Beat the Buckeyes!" and Rodriguez said, "Amen, I hear you, I appreciate that." And then the strangest thing happened.

The Wolverines actually went out and beat the Buckeyes.

This weekend really was perfect, in a number of ways. The hockey squad beat LSSU firmly into the ice with double 4-2 wins to solidify their national rankings, Pairwise, and CCHA leads while our number one competitor, Miami-Ohio, got swept by Ferris State. New head football coach Rich Rodriguez had a big get-together for all the alumni of Michigan teams past and connected well; his speech at halftime was a big success. And as for the Ohio State hecklers? Well, they weren't shut up by Coach Rod. They were shut up by, of all people, the Michigan basketball team, who outscored the Buckeyes 42-32 in the second half to end a seven-game skid against those fat idiots from south of the border. (Whew, geez, excuse me. I think the correct term is "proportionally-challenged graduates of THE Ohio State University".) That was the most fun I've had watching Michigan basketball since the glory days when we won an NIT title. (*sigh* I'm starting to ruin it for myself...)

Seriously, though, there's no way these events could have played out better. Coach Rod addresses the Michigan faithful as their head football coach for the first time, filling Crisler Arena with the promise of his appearance. The Michigan basketball team shows up, gives us the most exciting game of the year, and shows toughness and poise--despite playing their lone senior for only 15 unproductive minutes. This game was truly satisfying, because this whole year we've been reminding ourselves that this year is really about next year, that even though we're losing games we're learning and improving and building. And this game WAS about learning, improving, building; but, for the first time, it was also about right now.

YES!

The Wolverines of Michigan just defeated THE Ohio State University, 80-70, in Ann Arbor.

The boys were inspired today. Everyone played well; Sims, Harris, Udoh, Grady, Merritt...it was amazing. Whenever we needed a bucket, someone had it. The threes were falling; the defense was energetic and created turnovers, especially a clutch stolen pass by Kelvin Grady.

Their confidence is growing. Another few years or so with Beilein, add in Cronin, Lucas-Perry, and Douglass, and we've got a decent team.

*satisfaction*

Unexpected Good News on the Athletics Front

I know I'm bad about posting on weekends...but seriously. I have homework.

Anyway, just a weekend sports update. Michigan has a winning streak in the Big Ten in basketball for the first time since last year: the Wolverines beat Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye, 68-60. They scored 44 in the second half to Iowa's 25, which is phenomenal against Iowa's stingy defense. The boys play Ohio State at home tomorrow at 1 PM on CBS, and Coach Rod will be speaking at halftime.

In hockey, Michigan beat Lake Superior State 4-2, with senior Chad Kolarik scoring all four goals (!); meanwhile, Ferris State upset No. 2 Miami-Ohio (YESSSS!) to give Michigan a lead of 3 points in the CCHA. Spartina recovered from last weekend's hilarious and satisfying rout at the hands of lowly Northern Michigan (outscored 6-1 in a weekend series, anyone?) to defeat Western, the worst team in the CCHA, 3-0 at the Library (i.e., Munn Ice Arena); the Aggies remain five points below Big Brother.

"Champion Factories"

So, I wonder which, according to Forbes, is the best university for producing professional athletes?

That would be...the University of Michigan, with 68. The Ohio State "University" has produced, by contrast, 62 professional athletes, second-most among American universities.

Here's the top ten:

1. University of Michigan
2. The Ohio State "University"
3. University of Miami
4. University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
5. (tie) Florida State "University"
5. (tie) University of Notre Dame
7. (tie) University of North Carolina
7. (tie) Louisiana State "University"
7. (tie) University of Florida
10. University of Tennessee

Michigan is also the number one school for producing NHL players, notably Dallas Stars and Canadian Olympic team goaltender Marty Turco.

Homework Calling, Part 2

Yeah, okay, so I'm busy!

Just an update: A good weekend for Michigan sports! Michigan's b-ball team beat Penn State at home, 68-63. The Wolverine icers skated into No. 1 ranked Miami, Ohio, and came away with a win and a tie for 3 points, taking the CCHA lead by a point. And Coach Rod just nabbed another prospect: Rivals 3-star WR Martavious Odoms. Still one more spot left...

See y'all tomorrow.

Slow Posting Day...

Sorry for the no-show in posting today. Homework calls, and I must answer.

I will leave you with this, the Incredulity of the Day: Minnesota basketball has its own show on the Big Ten Network? Really? I can think of another struggling program with a highly touted new coach who has more potential fans...okay, I know you're right. We're currently losing to Penn State by 3 at home...PSU has won one in their last eight. We haven't won more than one in our last twelve. *sigh*

Harsh!

Brian at MGoBlog rips the Michigan basketball team limb from limb. Now, he certainly has some justification for doing so, but this?

• Even the two four-star guys on the roster are kinda crappy: Sims is a horrendous defender and rebounder and Harris is a turnover machine. Ten Minnesota points were a direct result of Harris getting the ball slapped out of his hands.
• They're going to be bad again next year. Lucas-Perry won't be eligible until midseason and the current recruits, while undoubtedly better than Jerrett Smith at all things, are not exactly instant impact types.

It's a fair cop on Sims, although our rebounding would be atrocious without him. But Harris's turnovers aren't really just his fault. Who could blame someone for over-dribbling when there's no one to pass to? Who else is going to make a play from the perimeter? David Merritt? C. J. Lee? Kelvin Grady? This guy's playing offense by himself, and that leads to turnovers. Not to excuse his play, but that's got to be a factor. Losing Smith and Morris left Michigan with almost no D-I level athleticism in the backcourt. Lucas-Perry and Douglass should help rectify that situation.

I agree with what Brian says about Amaker's recruiting. Through his attitude and his recruiting, he instilled an aura of laziness into the program. We're still dealing with that, especially on defense. As Beilein gets his type of players and more time to train and condition the players he has, we'll see improvement. And don't underestimate the influence of having seven-footer Ben Cronin available to clog the paint!

I do think that the best we have to look forward to next year is mediocrity. But mediocrity with Beilein is progress to something greater; mediocrity with Amaker wasn't progress, it was a pattern.

U-M B-ball Liveblog

(Go to the bottom to read from the beginning.) (Listen to the game live here.)

SUMMARY: Yeah. ....well, I don't know. I have faith in Beilein's ability to train players, I just think he needs more time. It's tough to learn in the thick of the season. It also certainly doesn't help that Kendric Price, K'Len Morris, and Jerret Smith left, either. That just leaves us with Merritt and Lee who, bless their Maize and Blue hearts...well, we've been over this. I can only say that, on the bright side, next year we're getting some real D-I players who can play Beilein's system. Hope I didn't come across as too cynical...after all, I love M hoops. I mean, I just sat through a 2-hour game and wrote about it, too! But it's hard to see your boys playing like that.

Well, there's still a Block M flag on the moon, suckers! Ha!

9:00 -- Your final score: 77-65, cut down by a Zack Gibson undefended jumper and an undefended Kelvin Grady jumper at the buzzer. At least we have our dignity. If we ever get a close game, we'll be able to hit that winning shot at the buzzer. We've gotten a shot at the buzzer in each of the last three games, after it was already hopeless.

8:57 -- Nothing really remarkable...except there are about 29 seconds left, and Minnesota just hit the front end of a 1-and-1. 75-61.

8:54 -- 17 turnovers for Minnesota. Now, 17 turnovers for Michigan. Lead to 10, but time's running out.

8:51 -- W2 looks away from his screen for a moment, and Michigan somehow gets the ball back and they aren't going to replay it! Never a dull moment!

8:50 -- Lee's giving it his all: He hustles to try for the steal, knocks it out of bounds, but gets called for a foul. 69-57.

8:49 -- C. J. Lee steals and scores all by himself!

8:48 -- The Michigan three cuts the lead to 14.

8:45 -- I was wondering the other day while watching the Master's of Curling (I live an exciting life), why does the CBC sports coverage look like all the American sports coverage from a decade ago? I just realized that that's the Big Ten Network's problem, too. One of them, anyway. Do I have to keep reporting the score, or can I just complain about how I won't be able to watch up to three Michigan football games next fall? Does BTN realize that "Only on the Big Ten Network" makes people bitter? Okay, back to the game.

8:42 -- "It's been a tough night for Harris." That's the kind of crucial analysis you should have automatically worked into your cable package. Only on the Big Ten Network!

8:42 -- Harris, beautiful steal, finishes with a dunk. Slowly making up for the ones he's given up today. 67-48.

8:40 -- Zack Gibson pump-fakes the three. It's reassuring to have that threat. Michigan opts to execute the popular "Turnover" play instead. 65-45.

8:36 -- I've never seen anyone who looked and sounded more like Georgette from the Mary Tyler Moore Show than the former gymnast from the U-Minnesota commercial. Only on the Big Ten Network!

8:35 -- Two positives: Harris has SUCH a quick release. Also, Gibson blocks the fast-breaking guard just by looking at him. Minnesota scores anyway on the out-of-bounds pass. 63-43.

8:33 -- Another miracle...Gibson nails the three!

8:32 -- Manny Harris's turnovers are shocking. Minnesota scores four straight: 61-40.

8:30 -- Miraculously, the full-court pressure creates a turnover and Harris makes a three. And now a foul at the other end. Minnesota makes two FTs...57-39.

8:28 -- Look Cazzie...a bobblehead of you! We're so happy to be employed! Minnesota, 55-34.

8:25 -- "Great homecourt advantage atmosphere," says Cazzie Russell. Awww. Looks like "and zero," by the way, as Coleman missed the FT.

8:23 -- Holy cow...who knew Ron Coleman could do that? And it all started with a lucky desperation pass. We need more of that. And one!

8:21 -- Ever notice that when Sims and Harris shoot, there's absolutely no backspin? They're our leading scorers--that could be a problem. Things are going from Indiana to Ohio...that is, bad to worse. 52-32.

8:15 -- OH my gosh. Well, nothing you can do about that three right there. 45-30.

8:13 -- Michigan gets its first point; Sims makes one of two free throws. Too bad Minnesota scored 8 points first. 42-27.

8:10 -- Is it also a problem that commercial breaks consist of about 3 ads? This is disturbing to me. It's like the track at IM East here at MSU where nine laps equals one mile. It's just...troubling.

8:07 -- Larrivee and McCormick: "Two-thirds of Minnesota's points were in the paint. That's a telling statistic"--fantastic observation--"and it leads you to wonder why they shot such a great percentage down there." Better not talk about it though. More turnovers for U-M, more points for Minnesota. The score: 40-26.

8:05 -- With a turnover.

8:05 -- Michigan starts off the second half.

IMPORTANT HALFTIME UPDATE: The BTN halftime guys say exactly the same things about the game I did, while not looking as good doing it. Those guys have a show, and I don't? McCormick and Larrivee suggest that Michigan play Cazzie Russel, then add these pearls: "The other Coleman is Dan Coleman" and "Ron Coleman is Michigan's only deep threat." (False.) Their major strength? The Cazzie Russell bobblehead doll. Now I understand. Also, the helpful BTN Network puts Beilein on the screen to tell us that we're watching Minnesota at Michigan.

HALFTIME -- Michigan is very lucky to be within single digits. Minnesota played an incredibly sloppy first half, and without that it would be a blowout already. What did Michigan do well? Almost nothing on the offensive side with ten ugly turnovers. Izzo taught other teams that if you just make sure Manny Harris is covered, Michigan has almost no offense. Bright spots: DeShawn Sims is a great rebounder. Ekpe Udoh plays decently, getting one fantastic block. Black spots: Minnesota's big men are very athletic. The announcer was musing over Minnesota's paint scoring despite the presence of Big Ten-leading blocker Ekpe Udoh...but Minnesota's front court is bigger and quicker, and they're passing extremely well in the paint, which has been deadly so far. Manny Harris is over-dribbling, but on the other hand, who can he pass to when Michigan's players aren't athletic enough to get good cuts? To make up for the athleticism deficit, Michigan's going to have to deny the entry pass, set great picks, and make crisp cuts.

7:48 -- Great play by Harris to cut the lead to eight at halftime!! Drive and a floater off the backboard. Minnesota leads at the break, 34-26.

7:48 -- Great block by Udoh!

7:46 -- Minnesota just now figured out to put on the full-court press against David Merritt, whose recorded height is 3'7" and who does not own a scholarship? (Bless his Maize and Blue heart...sorry.) Turnover number 10, and the score is 34-22.

7:42 -- Also, I mean, aren't they kind of preaching to the choir here? I mean, Big Ten Network viewers, presumably, kind of like the Big Ten. Because right now, they have to pay extra money to get it. This is bothering me. I just watched my 178th commercial for the Big Ten, for the day.

7:39 -- Manny Harris delivers Michigan's 9th turnover so far...dunk for the Gophers on the fast break. Want a recipe for losing? Combine bad offense and bad defense with a serious lack of elite athleticism. Minnesota, 30-20.

7:34 -- Monster putback jam by Damien Johnson of Minnesota. I'm not sure Merritt and Grady in at the same time is a great lineup for Michigan. Minnesota, 26-19.

7:32 -- Is it a bad sign that about 84% of the Big Ten Network's ads seem to be from the Big Ten and Big Ten schools? Why do those guys advertise, anyway? I mean, Coke I can see. They need to get their message out. But I'm not going to go to the store and enroll at Minnesota on an impulse. Not even after giving it some thought, probably. Oh yeah, and Ron Coleman is playing pretty well right now.

7:28 -- Coleman hits two threes! Minnesota, 21-17.

7:25 -- Good hustle for the rebound by Gibson, then he throws the ball away. Beilein shakes his head. Then Manny steals again and gets fouled on the fast-break! Hits...both. Minnesota, 19-11.

7:21 -- MANNY HARRIS! Excellent steal and ball-handling, dunk on the other end! Minnesota, 17-9.

7:20 -- GOOD drive and pass by David Merritt!! Foul called on Minnesota, Gibson goes to the line...hits one...misses the second. 17-7.

7:18 -- Good shot by Sims, then Tollackson fouled. (Won't that guy ever graduate?) Excellent passing in the paint by Minnesota. Tollackson makes both. Minnesota, 15-6.

7:17 -- Good pass! But Michigan is lucky to be down by 7 right now. Bad turnovers, bad defense. Minnesota, 11-4.

7:11 -- Stunningly bad offense right now by Michigan as John Beilein takes a time-out. Poor passing, poor shot selection (particularly the 3-pointer Shepherd had swatted from him). DeShawn Sims has had two balls taken right out of his hands. 9-2 Minnesota.

7:00 -- Tip off!

Ouch...

Well, maybe next year. :S Michigan showed flashes and led 19-14 at one point, but it was all downhill from there as the Maize and Blue lost to the Aggies, 62-77, at the Breslin. Defensive breakdowns and wild shots again haunted the Wolverines, who played well in the first half. To some extent, Michigan just needs some more athletic players; C.J. Lee and David Merritt, bless their Maize and Blue hearts, are just not going to get it done on the perimeter, clearly, against Travis Walton, Kalin Lucas, and Drew Neitzel. Cronin, Douglass, and Lucas-Perry look like they will be much-needed relief for this team next year; a lot could change with a legitimate D-I point guard and a seven-footer occupying the paint, not to mention sorely-needed depth.

Michigan Basketball Shows Improvement

In less political news, I managed to catch the last seven minutes of Michigan's game at Wisconsin tonight. Michigan lost by three after sinking a last-second three-pointer, and there's no excuse for a loss--it's just a loss. The Wolverines did, however, show serious improvement in coming back from a 10-point deficit on the road--not to mention one of the most difficult venues in the nation--to tie the game with only a few minutes left. Freshman star Manny Harris scored 26, and sophomores Ekpe Udoh and DeShawn Sims came up with big plays at crucial times.

Things are very shaky right now, but this young squad is starting to show serious promise. I think John Beilein has this team going in the right direction. We'll be adding a three-point specialist and a passing seven-footer in next year's recruiting class, in addition to picking up Laval Lucas-Perry--a three-star transfer guard in with freshman eligibility in time for next year's Big Ten season. That should alleviate some of the shortage issues and add aggressive, smart players whom Beilein can work with.