Gonzaga looks good, I love Nembhard’s game
(edit: this game got really ugly after I said this)
Still a bit too early to get an accurate read on the bubble. The first NET rankings should come out in early December (last year the date was 12/4), so that’s around when I’m aiming to get my first projections published.
That said, we can still kind of approximate things. Michigan’s numbers look like this:
NET: ??
Results-based:
KPI: ??
SoR: 80
Predictive:
BPI: 46
KenPom: 36
Sagarin: 35
Results:
UNC Asheville: Q4 win
Youngstown: Q4 win
St. John’s: Q1B win or Q2A win (St. John’s feels right on the border of being top-75)
Beach: Q3 loss
Let’s say Michigan’s NET is in the mid-40s, give or take. One good win, one bad (but not terrible) loss. Solid efficiency numbers. I think I’d put the Wolverines right on the cutline, somewhere in the last 4 in / first 4 out.
But there’s upside. Getting a fully healthy bench with Howard, Howard, and Llewellyn should help smooth things out a bit. Memphis tomorrow is a really important game, both because it’s a Q1 opportunity in its own right, but also because Stanford and Arkansas, while still quality opponents, both look a little worse than we thought going into the year. A 2-1 showing at Atlantis would see Michigan solidly in again.
The concern for me at this point (other than, you know, losing to LBSU, the defense looking wobbly, etc.) is the lack of Q1 home opportunities on the schedule. Michigan only had 3 last year (UVa, Purdue, Indiana), and that really hurts your chances as a bubble team. In 2022, Michigan had 5, although they went 1-4 in those games, so, ¯_(ツ)_/¯.
Michigan did go 5-0 against Q2A home B1G games last year, but slide a couple of those up to Q1 and the resume looks that much better. But we’ll see. Maybe a slightly weaker middle of the Big Ten makes it a bit easier to steal some road games.
11 Likes
Kansas - Marquette tipping off at 11PM is a crime to all of us not taking PTO tomorrow 
2 Likes
Nick Timberlake gets my vote for biggest portal bust this off-season
Hunter starting some stuff. Color me shocked.
Shaka and Self going to a luau after the game?
I can’t help but root against Kansas and Hunter
5 Likes
Love this Marquette defense.
Sooooo, we beat this Marquette?
2 Likes
Ugly half for Hunter. 3-7 from the field for 7 points and 0-2 from the FT line, but 3 TOs as well. Also was being locked on all night defensively, and was in bad positioning/loose hands on a few different rebound opportunities.
I get they have talent, but Kansas has no depth or shooting, and it’s hard to build a good defense around Hunter. I’m selling them long term for sure
Hunter gonna duck Edey by losing! What a fraud!
6 Likes
This looks so much like a bad Michigan loss from the last two years
4 Likes
Timberlake is unplayable. Kansas has three quality players. This team is not going anywhere.
1 Like
lol if McCullar doesn’t keep playing like the #1 pick in the draft, Kansas may be cooked
We beat this Marquette team too! Michigan hoops is legit. LBSU was a fluke. Dug NPOY…. I’ve seen enough!
7 Likes
I’m trying to watch Memphis Mizzou and I can’t tell who anyone on Memphis is because there is no contrast between the numbers and the jersey
1 Like
Kansas should have used their budget on a player other than Timberlake
1 Like
Not sure it’s possible to run a simpler offense than Memphis does. The simplicity keeps their spacing good though
Waking up to the news of Kansas and Hunter getting owned. That’s a shame.
It’s awful.
1 Like