Random thoughts on today's game (read: average MichMike ramblings)

[1] Iowa does have some players (e.g., sharpshooter Bohannon, big man Garza)...and it IS sometimes hard to beat a team THREE TIMES.
(1992 NCAA Elite Eight vs. OSU, anyone?)

[2] Hayden Fry celebrated his 89th B'Day yesterday. Wonder how many shades of PINK the frosting was???

[3] Fran McCaffery sometimes makes me wonder if Tom Izzo really IS the biggest ACTOR amongst B1G coaches???

[4] Andrew Kahn (in today's MLive) ruminates on our chances of repeating as tourney champs. Whatever our chances are, I'd say they're
one helluva lot better than anyone ELSE's chances (of repeating)...

[5] Last night's Iowa-Illinois game showed some fierce ball-hawking and defense at times, at others, none at all. The way we've been
playing defense AND offense lately, I like our chances of a double-digit margin of victory.

[6] Tomorrow (predicated of course on our win today), Nebraska will find it very hard to beat a [certain] team TWO TIMES.
(OK, OK, "twice").

[7] YOUR SERVE----

[8]  The crowd was so small at the Garden last night that I swear I saw a guy laying across three seats.

[9]  My upset pick of the tourney is Wisc over MSU, assuming they beat Maryland today.

10. Michigan has the deepest bench in the league and the deepest I can remember. I've been watching since Rickey Green and Steve Grote.

11. Jon Teske

12. Assist/TO ratio is fabulous especially MAAR and Z the 2 guys that handle the ball the most.

11a.  YES indeed, Jon Teske. The guy has been giving us really quality minutes off the bench, resting Mighty Moe (as well as protecting MW's foul total).  And it's a comfort knowing that if the WORSE happens (Moe fouls out) or the WORST (Moe goes down with an injury), we do have a Big-Man alternative inside.

It looks like the coaching staff told him, Look, when you get your hands on the ball DUNK IT! He's been very aggressive to the rim.

13. As goes Duncan, so goes the team.

joe wrote:

TESKE!

A---MEN, Joe: you called it (No.11 above) yesterday!!!

But add WAGNER (the cheerleader, not the all-conference Center): It was incredibly uplifting to hear the commentator's words about what happened in the huddle just as overtime was beginning:

"Wagner interrupted coach Beilein and addressed the huddle: 'Look at you guys!  All your heads are DOWN!
Lift them UP! And put a smile on them!'."

What a guy, on and off the court (as in, the 94-foot court...though he's a gem in the proverbial "off-the-court" as well).

With him in there, I like our chances: today, tomorrow and whenever...

I also got a kick out of the one commentator's allusion to Wagner's homeland, when Matthews and Simpson
drew a crowd away, and Moe slashed to the hoop for a slam: "Wagner watched the BRANDENBURG GATE swing open..." LOL!

fishgoblue22 wrote:

[8]  The crowd was so small at the Garden last night that I swear I saw a guy laying across three seats.

[9]  My upset pick of the tourney is Wisc over MSU, assuming they beat Maryland today.

so close

joe wrote:

10. Michigan has the deepest bench in the league and the deepest I can remember. I've been watching since Rickey Green and Steve Grote.

11. Jon Teske

12. Assist/TO ratio is fabulous especially MAAR and Z the 2 guys that handle the ball the most.

I have been watching since Bill Buntin as a soph (a year before Cazzie played varsity). and this is our deepest bench over that time period.