THE ESSENTIALS WHAT #29 Michigan (2-0) vs #100 Pitt (1-1) WHERE Prentice 4M Center Brooklyn, NY WHEN 6 PM THE LINE Kenpom: M -8 Torvik: M -7 TELEVISION ESPNU THE OVERVIEW Pitt is probably in first place in the College Basketball Ozymandias standings. They used to be somebody, you see. Under Jamie Dixon they went to the tournament 11 times in 13 years, locking down one seeds in 2009 and 2011. Dixon did fall off a bit late in his tenure, with two bidless years and no seed better than an eight in his last five, but when Pitt decided to move on they chose… poorly. Vandy coach Kevin Stallings once, terrifyingly, a prominent name in Michigan's post-Amaker job search was the pick and lasted all of two years, getting deep-sixed after an 0-18 conference season in 2018. Then Pitt decided to sprinkle some Duke on it, hiring K assistant Jeff Capel. Capel's been remarkably consistent, but not in a good way: three of his four season his teams have won 6 ACC games, and in three of his
After Michigan did not reciprocate Emoni Bates' interest in the program, and Bates selected Eastern Michigan as his destination, and the two teams drew each other on the upcoming schedule, you knew Bates would come ready to play. The ole chip on your shoulder, revenge game sort of thing. Bates came ready to play and in the process, helped propel his Eastern Michigan Eagles to a near-upset of the Wolverines at neutral Little Caesars Arena in Detroit tonight, falling just short by a score of 88-83. Michigan's at-times lackadaisical defense, poor showing at the free throw line, and all-around less-than-stellar effort helped make it a rollercoaster, but a win is a win. Eastern Michigan showed they were ready to play right from the jump. They started 5/6 from the field to lead 11-9 at the first TO. Bates was making shots from all over the court and his sidekick for the evening, guard Noah Farrakhan, was electric off the dribble from the opening tip-off. Michigan had difficulty