And usually here is where I would point out the games that UM got lucky and pulled out and how it evens out, but that’s really not the case. Maybe Ohio and EMU games were games that were coin flips down the stretch that we won but they were also inferior competition that we should have won handily.
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Life comes at Wisconsin fast
I for one greatly enjoy Wisconsin being really bad after Mr. Torvik lost his mind on Twitter following last year’s events. Did he say Howard was objectively the worst coach in the conference or country?
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Country, I believe.
OSU’s defense is remarkably bad. Our guys were less bothered by anything they did than they have been in a good while. OSU did very, very little to change that. Want to know how not to double Hunter Dickinson? They put on a clinic. What’s remarkable is that their bad defense isn’t reliant on bad habits, mental errors, sleeping on the job, or any other other things Michigan does when it’s at its worst. I didn’t get the sense they could just clean up a few things if they really truly wanted to. They’re just bad.
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This is a really nice way you framed this. We were not uncomfortable at all. I was really high on Holtmann but didn’t expect this.
Thought I heard on the broadcast that they have a top 10 class coming in, so maybe that buys him some more rope but his seat has to be getting quite warm.
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Holtmann is currently mired in the difficult to snap out of recruiting cycle of “bringing in really good but not automatically elite recruits that should be here 2-3 years but instead are going 1 and done”
Imagine Malaki Branham on this team. Gonna happen with Sensabaugh too.
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Who said that?
What site can I use to see plus/minus numbers?
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Never heard of it.
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Bart Torvik, founder of T-rank, lost his mind after the Wisconsin/Michigan game last year. I’m petty enough to hold that grudge
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That’s somewhat Michigan’s issue. This team is drastically different with Houstan or Moussa (both were rated much higher than the osu guys though so more of known flight risks at the time). And like the 2020 Michigan team after JP and Iggy left. Stuff like Branham and Sensabaugh being so good so young but still not not being great college basketball players is brutal and I try not to crush coaches that are victims of that too much. It’s why I’m not nearly as down on Holtmann as the OSU fanbase is right now
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It has proven to be a difficult challenge, there’s no doubt.
Hell, you can add MSU to this too. They’d be a lot better with a real wing and Christie probably would have been really good this year.
The teams that have put guys in the league are struggling to an extent in the Big Ten. Michigan, OSU and Indiana will probably have similar issues after this year.
1 year transfers and early entrants just put a steady increased pressure on the next guy you get.
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Met Bart a number of times, as he, like me, is an attorney and was in a multi-party case where he represented several parties and I represented another. Generally a very good guy, and extremely willing to talk hoops, but he’s admittedly a rabid Wisconsin fan, and went off after the Juwan/Gard/Krabenhoft dust-up.
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Yeah losing Christie was brutal. I was extremely happy when he left, but he’d be great for them this year and he’s basically exactly what they need right now.
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Consider last year maybe of the biggest reasons Branham flourished was due to Sueing missing all of the year. If Sueing was there all year their team is probably better and you’re dealing with empty minutes from Ahrens/Russell and Wheeler probably plays less. You may have Branham returning this year under that scenario.
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This is what makes this era so challenging from a roster building standpoint. Guys like Houstan, Diabate, Brahanam, Christie, etc are who you want to recruit…but they aren’t going to be great for one year.
Don’t let him off easy next time you see him
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If this is rescheduled, Michigan could get another Northwestern-style schedule break where ILL has to play three games in six days.
The only options to fit it in would be:
Thursday Feb 16 (but Minnesota plays Feb 15)
Tuesday Feb 21 (but Minnesota plays Feb 22)
Tuesday Feb 28 is the only spot both teams would have a day off on both sides of. And Michigan comes to Champaign Thursday March 2.
I’m theory that would be ILL’s third game in six days and 4th in nine 
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