3/24/2022 – Michigan 55, Villanova 63 – 19-15, 11-9 Big Ten, Season Over This is not going to be a romantic post about the end of a season. Last year, yes, romance abounds. This year it's time to say good job making the best out of a bad situation and start speculating about the future. Because, well, sometimes the bear eats you: Tonight was Michigan's worst 2-point field-goal percentage (34.9 percent) since Feb. 4, 2020 in a loss to Ohio State. Michigan played 70 games between the two performances. Zach Shaw (@ ZachShaw) March 25, 2022 The other stat floating around out there was Michigan going 12/29 on dunks and layups. This kind of thing has happened before, but for it to happen against a team with no real shotblocking (and to a team that was 28th in shooting at the rim nationally) is boggling. Much like the early going of the Colorado State game, it felt like every weighted coin flip came out the wrong way. Michigan would put up a shot that rolled around on the rim
3/30/2021 – Michigan 49, UCLA 51 – 23-5, 14-3 B10, Season Over This is absolutely projecting my feelings onto a sporting event determined by a lot of coinflips that went the wrong way, but in the end it felt like the weight got to them. A year of empty arenas and COVID tests. A perpetual uncertainty about what games would even be played. A three-week break in the middle of the season where they couldn't even practice together. A captain lost on the eve of the tournament. Juwan Howard losing his mentor to COVID. A fanbase that just needs something to remind them why they're a fanbase at all. pic.twitter.com/GR1t4msjeZ MichiganCFBRisk (@cfb risk) March 30, 2021 All college basketball teams played under a weight this year, of course, but Michigan's was amongst the heaviest. They soldiered through it better than anyone not named Gonzaga. They demolished the Big Ten, until things started to come undone. The thing about carrying a weight is that you can do it without loo
1/3/2021 – Michigan 85, Northwestern 66 – 9-0, 4-0 Big Ten The Book™ is one of the most durable sports clichés because it has the dual advantages of being accurate and exciting. Very good players with exploitable flaws exist. Coaches who can see just as clearly as anyone else that the regular stuff isn't working can tinker up weird stuff to go after those flaws. When it works, the very good player gets blown up. You can see why, even as a schmoe watching from home. Expectations get upset. Question marks about the future abound. The player has been Booked, and all opponents going forward will throw The Book™ at him until he finds a way around it. If he finds a way around it. The canonical Booking also results in a paradigm-shifting upset. I probably do not have to tell you, the Michigan fan, this. The football program is currently in its throes of misery largely because they got hit with an all-time Booking in the 2018 Ohio State game. Michigan entered with the #1 defense
THE ESSENTIALS
WHAT
#26 Michigan (13-9, 7-5 Big Ten) vs #21 Ohio State (14-6, 7-4 Big Ten)
[Bryan Fuller]
WHERE
Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI
WHEN
6 PM Saturday
THE LINE
Kenpom: M -2 Torvik: M -4
TELEVISION
ESPN
THE OVERVIEW
Michigan looks to sustain momentum after a massive home win against Purdue that sees them shoot up to a 7 seed in Bart Torvik's projected field. That is based on the assumption that Michigan is approximately a top 25 team, though, and Michigan has to continue playing like that if they want that projection to actually become reality.
They'll get another home game against a good opponent to test out the new optimism. Ohio State is solidly in the field, and like both Purdue and Michigan is a team with a top-20 offense and defense nearing triple digits. If we were to Scooby Doo mask reveal every coach in the league, would they all be Fran McCaffrey? Who's to say, but I call dibs on ripping off Izzo's jowls.
Uh… anyway. OSU h