Thanks Dylan, great recap.
I have been a proponent of DDJ getting more playing time, but Iām personally not convinced that he is ready to be a good distributor and consistently make good decisions. To me, his offensive success right now comes down to whether or not he is hot, but Iām hoping that he proves me wrong and shows off a very well rounded game. I do love his hustle on defense though.
To your point, Kenpom hasnāt fully adjusted for livers and/or the X suspension, but I just noticed that elsewhere Michigan is favored to win by 3-4 points, and that is current. Really surprised by that, as we have shown zero ability to win on the road and now weāre without our top 2 players and have a ridiculously thin bench.
It feels like it would be a major achievement to win this one.
Yeah, the Vegas spread is around 4 or 5 pointsā¦
Michigan, in its current form, is pretty low on talent, too.
this game is a toss up, first to 60 wins
Why do you think it will be low scoring?
With out Simpson I am not sure what the rhythm will be? Who facilitates and creates?
Two of the worst defenses in the conference, both teams play generally pretty fast, Michigan missing some of its key reliable defenders. Just seems like it will be an up and down sloppy game. Not sure who on Michiganās side will control it.
very true! Hopefully Eli has another great game and can hit shots!
It boggles my mind that Michigan is favored in this game. Nebraska has shown well lately despite their continued losses and that combined with Michiganās inability to win on the road (plus 0-2 at home of late) and missing their two best playersā¦
Were I a betting man Iād be all over Nebraska +4.5 or whatever it currently is.
Yeah this is going to be tough. The crowd was absolutely rabid last year when Nebraska killed Michigan. Different teams and all that, but it seemed like the fans there really hate Michigan.
Either way, really looking forward to seeing DDJ with a lot of ball screen opportunities. And count me among the people hoping for some PT for Cole.
Isaiah in sweats at walkthrough.
I will be surprised if the teams combine for less than 150 points. This would be a great time for Johns to have a break out game.
Youāre remembering the angry Husker fans in 2018, who were probably still smarting from the record-breaking 36 point Michigan win at the end of the 2017 season.
Good memory. It will be interesting if the fans have the same vitriol.
Dylan: how is Nebraskaās transition defense? Do you foresee opportunities for Michigan to push the pace and get some āeasyā buckets?
Will be interesting to see if Howard relies heavily on Davis/Teske combo tonight, especially with Nebraskaās lack of size upfront. My guess is yes since it seems he trusts Davis more than Castleton or Nunez at this point.
Canāt wait to watch thatā¦
I feel like Castleton does well when the talent level heās playing is low. (Same for BrooksāI expect him to hit 20 tonight).
That would be an interesting contrast in styles against a team that apparently likes to run.
Iām torn as to how I would approach this one. On the one hand, you assume the safest route to a win is to hope Teske can dominate, since he should be the best player on the floor, which would seem to argue for slowing the game down. On the other hand, a slow-down approach seems like it could be a recipe for disaster, since it cedes energy to Nebraska and an underrated crowd ā if we get down double digits, Iām afraid our already fragile confidence is going to get crushed, especially without Z. So that argues for solving our problems with aggression, letting DDJ, Wagner, Johns and Eli do some running and hoping weāre the ones that can get out to a good-sized lead.
I just donāt have a good feeling about this one. I hope Iām wrong - as a Bulls fan (or as much as one can be a āfanā of the current incarnation of the Bulls), Iām not ready for a loss to Fred Hoiberg.