THE ESSENTIALS WHAT #41 Michigan (5-5, 1-1 B10) vs #305 EMU (5-4, 0-0 MAC) WHERE Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI WHEN Saturday, 2:30 PM THE LINE Kenpom: M -20 Torvik: M-20 TELEVISION BTN (link) THE OVERVIEW The bowling alley is gone. Its sign is gone. The MGoShirt based on it is no longer in our store because nobody wanted it. But the legend lives on from the phallus on down in a now-annual Washtenaw rivalry we call the Ypsi-Arbor Bowl, when Michigan and EMU grads come together in their Michigan gear and hope the teacher's college down the way doesn't upset the season too badly. Last year we did this in Detroit's LCA, whose atmosphere was honestly better than I've seen it for any Red Wings or Pistons game I've been to since it was built. EMU brought Emoni Bates and Noah Farrakhan and made it a game. Attendees hoping this meant something good for either program (or Bates) were to be sorely disappointed. EMU finished the season 317th in Kenpom and dead last
As a general rule in college basketball, it's never a good sign when reporters are tweeting about what the worst defensive performance in the KenPom era from your team is, with the implication that the game unfolding has a chance to statistically set the new record. That's what happened today for Michigan Men's Basketball in State College against Penn State, as a barrage of Nittany Lion three pointers had UMHoops' Dylan Burkhardt reminding us that Michigan's defensive results were currently worse than the previous record for the KenPom era, a 1.59 PPP against defeat at UCLA years ago. It was that sort of game. Despite being close for ~16 minutes, Penn State unleashed a nuclear arsenal of perimeter shooting to blow Michigan right out of the water over a ~10 minute stretch from the late first half to the early second. The lead stretched above 30 and it was never close again. Despite the disastrous final score, the game didn't start terribly for the Maize &
The Low Places
1/6/2021 – Michigan 82, Minnesota 57 – 10-0, 5-0 Big Ten
Lopsided basketball games, like most other uncompetitive sporting events, have a desultory ending period where players go through the motions but aren t giving maximum effort. You get turnovers and runouts on both ends as passing gets lackadaisical. Not much about the last ten minutes of Michigan s blowout of Minnesota was unfamiliar.
One thing was: Chaundee Brown going from vaguely on-screen to full-on Tasmanian Devil. There were two separate incidents. On the first (as Ace detailed), Minnesota tossed the ball into the back court for an over-and-back that both Mike Smith and Marcus Carr couldn t catch up to. Brown came from seemingly nowhere to grab it and shot upcourt for a dunk. This one was precisely calibrated to not quite cross the chin-up-tech line.