Figured it would make sense to start a thread about teams that Michigan will play in the no-conference… Marquette, SMU/Pitt, Texas, South Carolina, UCLA, Virginia Tech, etc.
Feel free to add to the mix.
Here’s a Texas preview to start us off.
And Virginia Tech for good measure
SBN high on both teams’ athleticism.
According to those CBS rankings, here is how the cupcakes stack up:
197 Kennesaw
220 Furman
227 Howard
228 IUPUI
229 Mt St Marys
322 MD-Eastern Shore
348 C. Ark.
UCLA and Texas really appear to be the 2 marquee games before Christmas. A win vs one of those will be important come selection Sunday.
Why the hell are we playing 300+ ranked teams. I don’t understand.
Don’t think you’ll find many high-major teams that don’t play a few. Just the economics of making a schedule.
For example, MSU playing 340. Mississippi Valley State, 337. Oral Roberts, 282. Tennessee Tech.
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You’re right. It’s just annoying to me. I don’t feel it helps the team a whole lot.
I agree. It’s one of the aspects of Beilein’s tenure I do not understand.
I know some of it is intentional, to have game experiences that more closely resemble a controlled practice session. Or to play teams that run systems similar to what Michigan will face later in the season.
And some of it can be luck; for a low major team a few injuries or a few close games could be the difference between an RPI in the 250range vs an RPI in the 300range.
But there are ways to reduce the odds of multiple 250+ and 300+ RPI teams on the schedule and there are ways to better “game” the Strength of Schedule component of computer rankings, but Beilein doesn’t seem interested in doing that.
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