U of M MEN'S BASKETBALL 2016-2017

[The Oracle]

If we win, it'll be Purdue again.

[Hannibal]

The officials were worth a minimum of 8 points for Louisville. Probably more.

[hack]

Really Oracle? Purdue over Kansas?

Agreed though -- Oregon first.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I don't know a lot about B-Ball but I know a bit about being faithful, the collective power of team versus the power of the individual, leadership.

Maybe it's easy to get caught up in the hype of the moment when in reality the talent just isn't there but there is something special about this team and JB seems to have harnessed it.

I won't be upset if the M Basketball looses in the next round or the next but I would not be at all surprised if M wins it all out of the sheer power of we.

http://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/18952898

[Cody_Russell]

Kansas will beat Purdue. No doubt.

[hack]

After '89, Michigan fans would be very silly to discount the power of some sort of galvanizing episode. Might have been the plane crash, or maybe Maverick Morgan, or maybe something we don't know about after that terrible OSU game. Unclear. But, at some point this season, something happened.

[Whitley]

538 gives Michigan a 57% chance of beating Oregon next round.

[hack]

538 is run by a Sparty. Who lost today. Go Blue!

[WM Wolverine]

A 7-seed is favored vs a 3-seed?

[Niffla]

Yeah, when you evaluate a coaching position on a week to week basis, you're bound to look like a fucking idiot.

Well to be fair, and yes, I'm more than happy to admit my idiocy now -- but it wasn't just based off a week to week basis...since the elite 8 appearance in 13'-14', UM missed the tournament altogether in 14'-15', it took a miracle shot in the Big Ten tournament in 15'-16' to get into the First Four (with the season ending in an opening round tournament loss), then this season, after the Ohio State home loss, it appeared that this program would miss the tournament altogether for the 2nd time in 3 years -- sandwiched around a first round tournament exit.

Up until this incredible, improbable run that nobody could've seen coming after the Ohio State loss that dropped them completely off the bubble -- it had been quite a long, sustained, disappointing run that spanned 2 and a half seasons.

But believe me, nobody is happier than me to be completely dead wrong about Beilein and company in the end.

[hack]

Up until this incredible, improbable run that nobody except Kstat could've seen coming after the Ohio State loss that dropped them completely off the bubble -- it had been quite a long, sustained, disappointing run that spanned 2 and a half seasons.

FIFY.

[hack]

I think after that OSU game Beilein himself might have agreed with you, or me. I think if one was paying attention here in the thread, you can see it. I went in hoping for defensive progression, EFFORT, and, in the end, the Sweet 16. After that OSU game it looked as if the Maverick Morgan effect had worn off so fast that they didn't care that a main school rival was outworking them on their home floor in every phase of the game, and it looked like one woken-up senior leader wasn't enough to make a difference. Having set expectations before the season, based on what had happened in the previous seasons, there's your context for giving up on Beilein.

Great to be wrong, but it's not as if criticisms were completely out of left field. That stuff built over two years. Blame the injuries all you want; the team just wasn't going out there and giving its best. It wasn't clear Beilein knew how to fix it.

[Hannibal]

Anyone who thinks that the negative chatter about Beilein back in January was solely a short term reaction hasn't been watching the team for most of the past 10 years.

[hack]

Read me in February, 2013, for example.

[Hannibal]

If we can make it to another Final Four then that will significantly upgrade Beilein's legacy. So would another run to the Sweet Sixteen next year. It's a little early to speculate but right now that's what I think should be our goal if Wagner comes back.