Big Ten Tournament bracket set, Michigan to face Indiana on Thursday

Whats the age old adage that its hard to be a team 3 times in the same season?

Lets hope that holds true although first lets take care of business against IU and can then just take the game against Illinois for what its worth knowing that we will land somewhere on the 10-11 line with or without that result.

gotta love T Will finding his stroke in time for the tournament. Get Hunter back, hopefully Houstan can figure it out and contribute like he was for a couple games and this team is no easy out.

3 Likes

It’s not ideal for an “easy” path, and those who are experts in NET, etc., can correct me, but isn’t it better for us to face Indiana versus Maryland because the win will have more heft and slam dunk U-M’s NCAA berth? Beyond that game, Illinois would be an opportunity to exorcise a lot of past annoyances and add resolve that they can beat anyone. Also, I personally wasn’t looking forward to the media circus that would be a Wisconsin/U-M rematch in the middle of a tournament run. If it’s against Wisconsin for a championship, then U-M already far exceeded personal expectations.

I’m tired now: I just blew an entire month’s worth of optimism in one post.

5 Likes

Yes, Indiana is a better game (probably holds on as a Q1) than Maryland.

image

Patiently waiting for the moving screen and/or the pindown at my desk this morning.

13 Likes

I’ve got a long commute ahead of me in the snow that I’m stalling on because I want the plows to have a chance with the roads…and because I’m waiting for some sort of podcast to listen to. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

We need to come out ready to play - Indiana is fighting for their spot - with the narrative being that we (most likely) are in, we can’t come out flat or take the game for granted.

9 Likes

Also, home state advantage for IU, so lots of Hoosier fans in the arena.

3 Likes

FYI, over the past 10 seasons (data not including this one), the team who won the first two games went on to win the third 71% of the time.

4 Likes

I have been wondering about that. Ever since Michigan beat Illinois in the tourney in '89 I have always picked the team that got swept in any potential meeting in the tournament. But the 2019 series against Sparty shook me, and I think I had noticed a few more examples of 3-0.

Prepare yourself for January, February, Izzo headlines. MSU draws the woeful terps and then a potential Davis-less Wisconsin (already the weakest of the top 3 in my opinion).

1 Like

I hate the fact that this is an 11:30 tip. Literally the only game I can’t attend in person Thursday, and probably Friday too.

1 Like

I’m most concerned about playing a desperate Indiana team. But if they win that I think they’ll win it all. Illinois is fat and happy after wining the regular season title and beating Michigan twice. Iowa is content after recently beating Michigan and no way they replicate those 3-pt % numbers or Michigan commits so many dumb turnovers. As for a possible title game against Wisconsin, UM’s emotion and intensity will be off the charts.

1 Like

We wouldn’t play Wisconsin, we’d play Purdue. And if what you said about Iowa is right, then maybe that’s Rutgers.

1 Like

Lol a run would require Michigan playing more than one good game in a row, which is something we basically haven’t seen all year

4 Likes

Well, we need to break that trend for Thursday’s game, though I would imagine adding Juwan back plus transitioning from regular season to tournament season would be meaningful enough to switch up the status quo.

2 Likes

That Sean Higgins shot to beat Illinois in '89 (we were 0-2 to that point) is forever emblazoned in my memory, but I’m also old enough to remember having our shot to do that against in the Championship game in '76 against Indiana.

Surprised that it isn’t as hard as the conventional “wisdom” suggests, but I am surprised at how often it happens - I guess conference tourneys are why, but I wonder how often it happened in the Big Ten prior to our having a conference tourney.

5 Likes

With the BTT set now is a good time to share my favorite Michigan sports hype video of all time

that team was just FOUL. absolutely gross. late-era Beilein was a bad man

12 Likes

That’s good to know certainly, but wouldn’t you expect a team that wins two games against a single opponent to be better than that opponent generally including in a potential third matchup? I understand how obnoxious this is, but to illustrate those teams won 100 percent of their games against that opponent in the first two contests. Really, what you want to see is how different that third matchup goes relative to expectations (or controlling for the quality of the two teams).