Maryland and Minnesota coming down to the wire at Williams Arena. Real good game so far.
Five losses in a row for Minnesota and they have 6 Big Ten Ls. Still five home games left but getting toward a tough spot there.
Also⌠Maryland is legit.
Maryland wonât lose anyone next year will they? Imagine theyâll be a beast with key pieces from Purdue/Wisconsin moving on
Maryland being legit changes the feeling of that home loss. Hurts because it was a missed good opportunity, but not as bad as it may have seemed.
Truthfully the only loss I was disappointed in is how they played at Illinois.
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Yeah. Look at all our games, who we lost to, how weâre playing now. . . we havenât been a bad squad. And weâre only just now starting to put it together. Heck, we may go and stink up the place for the rest of the season and make me regret my words, but for now Iâd say Michiganâs a team that could become pretty dangerous.
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Weâre almost to the midway point in the league⌠who do you think makes the NCAA tourney?
Itâs really hard to pick anyone after Wisconsin, Purdue, Maryland and Northwestern. Easy to make a ânoâ argument for just about everyone.
100% agree. The VaTech and Iowa losses were disappointing because an experienced team held late leads, but the losses itself arenât THAT bad.
I have to guess Michigan and Indiana IF Blackmon isnât out long. Minny still has some tough games left. I had MSU before the edit but that rest of schedule is tough. (But opportunities left for bigger wins)
Man, canât even say those two with any confidence ha. Although homerism aside, I do think Michigan makes it.
I think itâs those 4 and usâŚif Blackmons out any extended time theyâre done and MSU canât afford any more losses period. Minnesota could make a run at it but theyâre slumping and Iâm not sure they will
Dylan, any guesses on your end based on what youâve seen?
Still a lot of teams that could go either way. UM, MSU, and Indiana of course. Northwestern seems like a good bet but they have a lot of potential losses too, and their homeport advantage isnât big enough yet to be so confident of them there. Minny still has 8 RPI top 100 wins. Easy to say us now but a couple games can change everything. I think itâs hard to bet against MSU, even though they havenât looked great. Get the feeling theyâll get any benefit of the doubt, too. I think weâll be there. IU has those big wins but not a ton else right now. Going to be very interesting.
Minnesotaâs KenPom projected record is down to 8-10. They have a good RPI, etc. but have real work to do and are in a tough spot.
Michigan and Michigan State both have work to do⌠If Indiana doesnât have Blackmon for an extended period of time they are in real trouble.
OSU? PSU? NEB? Illinois? I donât see it. They are all capable of beating any of the âbubble teamsâ though, especially at home.
Next few weeks should be very interesting.
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I definitely canât see a current lower tier team making a push either.
I would think one or two of Michigan, MSU, Indiana (w/ Blackmon) and Minnesota separates itself enough. However, if they donât, what a crazy year if the B1G only gets four teams and Northwestern is one of them? Nuts.
Minnesotaâs lost 5 in a row but if they can win @ Illinois, @ Rutgers, and defend the Barn theyâd finish 22-9 (10-8) theyâd be in for sure. Even if they drop one at home, I think theyâd still make it in.
Michigan - 7 lossesâŚIf we can defend home court and win @ Rutgers, weâll finish 9-9 in the BT. 19-12 overall. Right on the Bubble, little work in the BTT and weâre in.
Indiana - no way. OG out, Blackmon out (even if just short term). 7 losses already and they have @NW, @ Wiscy, @ Minny, @ PurdueâŚ@ OSU wonât be easy, and home vs NW, Purdue, Penn St. Theyâre going to have 13+ losses.
Michigan State - no way. 9 losses with @ Mich, @ Purdue, @ Maryland, vs Wiscy, âŚvs Mich, @ Nebraska, @ Illinois wonât be easy either. Theyâre going to have 12+ losses.
Simply, a win tomorrow would be huge for Michigan. I think it would give us some separation from the rest of the bubble teams in the league with nearly a week of rest before OSU at home and a depleted Indiana team on the road after that.
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Not to mention itâd be a 2-game swing with another bubble team. And our first true road win. Just looking at selection committee logistics. For that road win to be a rivalry win, in a very hostile environment, is also a nice narrative, subjectively.
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I feel really good about this matchup. I was much more concerned about the Hoosiers coming into the week. Then again this group of players ( Walton, Irving, Donal) specifically have been the most inconsistent/ hard to read group Iâve seen at Michigan. If I knew theyâd start to play smart intelligent, consistent, high energy basketball id have little doubt we go on a run and finish in the top three or four in the conference. Itâs just impossible to tell with them which makes the group so average.
If we play our best game and they play their best game in a hypothetical scenario I think we win. Our overall talent is greater as of now imo with their youth and injuries versus our upperclassmen. I really hope Wagner gives ward fits like he did with Bryant. Ward canât be quick enough to guard him.
Aldo side note I had no idea happ was foreign. That makes way more sense with how he plays and how he just seemed to have an advanced skill set for his age.
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Yeah, sorry, Iâll take Swanigan pretty easily over Happ.
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Decided to look into the comparison, because I definitely thought it was at least close:
sports-reference hasnât updated the Happ numbers, since his ridiculous game against Rutgers, today, but Happ has Orating of 121.4 and Drating of 82; Swanigan is 118.3 and 89. But, by counting-statistics, Swanigan dominates in every facet of offense and greatly in defensive rebounds, tooâso much so that I just concede. Still think Happâs defense and efficiency doesnât make it an especially easy call, though 
Iâm 100% the sameâŚI had no clue Happ was a foreign player. Heâs so fundamentally advanced that it makes a ton of sense. I agree that if thereâs ever a time for our upper classmen to show up this is it. Iâm hoping today is their statement game for their careers at Michigan, sending Sparty on a path towards the NIT.
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