Marquette up big at Georgia…
Thornwell suspended at South Carolina.
If Michigan splits the games this week it should enter the Conference season just on the correct side of the projected NCAA Tourney bubble — likely a 10 or 11 seed projection. Win both and UM could enter conference play ranked. Drop both and UM enters conference play looking like a NIT team.
Sounds about right to me.
I think an 8 seed is closer to the truth (which is where Lunardi has us right now, although I think he’s projecting future outcomes too). Two neutral court wins over top 100 teams (perhaps higher), no bad losses. The bummer is that without the VA Tech loss, we’re a top 20 team in the polls and probably a five or six seed.
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Random question for the board. Who is the little old lady that the team hugs before the game when they run past the maize rage?
Well, on the bright side I don’t think there’s a chance we would ever win a game last year when Walton and Irvin combined for just 10 points on 4 of 17 shooting.
UCLA is gonna score 80+ this weekend I just don’t think we have the firepower to keep up. But hey maybe we’re due for a classic 50% shooting night from deep. Loved Wagner and Wilson tonight. Apparently JB is content to make the freshmen complete non-factors…X won’t get minutes in a close game down the stretch.
Need more from MAAR. We basically got nothing from our starting backcourt tonight and still won the game…anyone wondering why we don’t run in transition more should find the answer from watching Walton on the break tonight, just no awareness whatsoever. But a win’s a win. Some magic this weekend would have me feeling real good again
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Walton is so frustrating to me. I’ve never been a fan of his style. His motor never seems like it’s going at full speed. He gets lazy on defense - yeah, he’s pesky and can rebound but he gives up. He can hit 3’s but (like Irvin) can take bad shots.
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No offense to them as they’ve done a lot for the program over the years but I honestly can’t wait for the Walton and Irvin era to be over. WAY too limited on offense to be focal points. I can’t remember a Beilein offense ever looking as ugly as it has in the 3 years we’ve relied on them.
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Yep. We really don’t have a point guard. Maybe X will figure it out?
Walton and Irvin bring some nice things to the team but the idea that they are or should be our primary players needs to be abandoned and their roles need to be clearly defined by JB. If Irvin shoots more this game we lose.
I don’t know if it’s a lack of motor with Walton but he can’t really create in the half court. He’s not a penetrating PG and he can’t hit two pt shots. That really only leaves shooting 3’s which he’s pretty good at. Not sure what the deal is with Rahkman. He was invisible tonight. He needs to look to drive more. That’s his best asset.
We just look too stagnant in the halfcourt. You won’t be hard to guard if 4 guys just stand and watch and nobody makes hard cuts. We play very slow and deliberate too. It’s good to see us defend much better but the offense looks pretty poor so far this season.
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Pretty sure Dwalt is our best on-ball defender, outside of maybe DJ. That’s a relative statement, but still. Dwalt is just an undersized 2 playing the role of a 1. Have to wonder what injuries have done to his body/confidence; he was plenty good at taking his guy off the dribble as a frosh.
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X seems like a better on the ball defender to me.
Maybe, but X is playing with fresh legs whenever he is out there. And watch the highlights from VT, X get’s lost off the ball and on switches. X sure looks like he has the potential to be the best backcourt defender we’ve had in a while, though.
True.
I just hope Walton and Irvin can figure stuff out and soon.
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Pretty excited to see the Dwalt/Zak to Poole/Matthews transition; there’s plenty of potential for that to be a huge upgrade in play-making/athleticism. And with Zak shooting so poorly, Matthews might not even be much of a drop-off in that department.
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I feel the same way. It’s a shame cuz I think in an alternate universe, Walton is the perfect PG to pair next to an elite creator wing a la Levert had he stayed healthy the past two years or a Tyus Battle/Eron Harris/Josh Langford type with the ball in their hands that we kept missing out on.
I feel that both him and Irvin are quality players who are simply asked to do much more than they are capable of out of necessity for this team. For those that wish they weren’t the offensive focal points, who should be on this team? Wagner is the only one I can make a case for but it’s his first career game without foul trouble tonight. We better hope Matthews, Poole and X are ready to have the ball in their hands next year from day one
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Agree that Walton is good pg to pair with a wing who can create shots but you listed three guys who so far have shown to be less adept at shot creating than Irvin
The frustrating part is give JB Battle/Harris/Langford to mold and just watch what they would become. Zak came to Michigan with zero facilitating background and limited athleticism. Those 3 are exponentially more athletic and have a tighter handle. JB turned Nik and Caris into elite wing facilitators, both were also more athletic than Zak.
I’m excited to see what JB can make of Poole’s facilitating and Matthews’ athleticism, in the high PNR. As for this season, I guess keep coaching up Zak and hope he get’s the proverbial lightbulb. And I’d love to see high PNR with motion to set up the high-low post with DJ and Mo.
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