According to Kenpom, Michigan has the Best Adjusted Defense of Teams Remaining in the Tournament
The offense comes and goes, but that defense is something to behold (link).
Wasn't that already true before last night?
Wonder what the line will be against free-shoe-u or is it now free-shellfish-u???
to sleep more... or did you not go to bed???!?!?!?
I've got a 7 month old and other kids that I have to wake up and get ready for daycare and school.
But it was hard to sleep last night because of all the kick ass games.
Look here Harold, sleep is for staee fans to do at this time of the year!!!
that is funny..... +1
According to ESPN the line is Michigan -4.5
What was funny about last night is that I was surprised A&M's final score ended up as high as it did after the first half.
March 23rd, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
I read elsewhere that Michigan''s defensive strategy changed a bit in the second half. They focused on not giving up 3s or letting A&M get FTs to prevent them from getting back into the game. It was a bit of a bend but don't break strategy because the clock was their biggest ally when up 20+.
I thought Gonzaga was pretty close to us. But there can't be many teams above you when you're Top 5 Nationally (!!!!!).
March 23rd, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
Double Post oops
We didn’t even pressure the ball in second half ! Maybe by design to save energy ?
Maybe this really is Beilein's best team ever.
They have the versatility that no team has had before. They can win on Defense. They can win driving the lane for two's. They can win draining threes.
And they can pick and choose which one of those to lean on if the other two aren't working.
That's never happend before.
They can win when all the planets don't align, which is going to happen over 6 games at 3 different sites in the course of 3 weeks.
And when all the planets do align . . . Woah Nellie.
and shot the ball well in second half. Michigan stood up to their challenge exceptionally well, particularly after playing such a stunning first half.
Especially in the second half, for as improved as Texas A&M's shooting seemed to get, Michigan stepped up team defense that much more and prevented the game from getting interesting in the sense of getting uncomfortably close, and that started with a great defensive performance in the first half too. Indeed, I was truly impressed that it only took a couple minutes for Michigan to make it virtually impossible for the Aggies to run their offense well enough to even sniff a win.
Which was nice since we had almost a 30 point lead at the half. Lol
Their ability to not let teams run up and down the court has been key.
And defense wins championships.
March 23rd, 2018 at 11:17 AM ^
....and look where Virginia’s got them. This game of college basketball is a crapshoot, unfortunately—it’s why they have 7-figure prizes for perfect brackets. That said, I’ll have my finger hovering over the “buy” button on a flight to San Antonio on Saturday so I sure do hope you’re right. Go Blue!
March 23rd, 2018 at 11:45 AM ^
It leads you to this statement..”offense also required”. Tony Bennett at UVA should consider hiring an offensive coordinator. I hear there is a Beilein that may be on the market although - like his father - he might not have interest in being an assistant coach.