Michigan Monday: Sloppy

I've told this story before but I feel its relevant again.  My son for many years played Travel Baseball here in Florida.  The tournaments start Saturday and you play two games.  Those games are for seeding the bracket on Sunday.  If you went 0-2 or 1-1 on Saturday, to make the Championship game on Sunday, you could play 5 games on Sunday.   By 8:00 or 9:00PM on Sunday when the Championship game starts, neither team has any pitching and every kids looks completely tired and not interested in playing another baseball game.  The parents feel the same.   If you win, you get this 4 foot $18 dollar trophy. 

The Big Ten Tournament started on Tuesday and ended on Sunday late afternoon.  Purdue had to play 4 games in 4 days and Michigan had to play 3 games in 3 days.  Is that the level of effort we want to see in a championship game?  Two teams completely gassed?  Hat tip to Purdue who found something late in the season and played like the pre-season #1 in Chicago.  They beat Michigan soundly on Sunday.   

Michigan on the other had played about as worse as they could during their long weekend in Chicago.  They sneak by Ohio State, beat Wisconsin on a last second jumper by Yax (after giving up a 13 point lead), and looked like zombie basketball against Purdue.  Their focus and mind set this past weekend was not winning the Big Ten Tournament. 

My thoughts:

• Yax looked like he was still at the hotel for the first 1 1/2 games 

• I'm not sure Rez made the trip from A2, never seen him play so bad defensively against Wisconsin and Purdue. 

• Michigan is lost offensively without Cadeau and Yax on the floor. 

• Memo to Gayle, no more 3 point shots or layups.  Only those mid range pop shots close to the hoop. 

• Way to many stupid turnovers, protect the ball.

• Michigan's advantage is down low, why does Michigan settle for the 3 ball so often. 

• I was told there would be no math, but I'm pretty sure 3 is more then 2.  Michigan collapsing on the driving Wisconsin point guards, just so they can hit an unconscious shooter (who is wide open) has to be the worst defense set possible. 

Michigan is the #1 seed in Buffalo and Dusty and staff have their work cut out for them to get this team rested and refocused for a tournament run. 

Big Ten Tourney Update: Survive and Advance

Thoughts on the Win over OSU:

• Everything is going to be hard from here on out.  These teams have played Michigan now once or twice already. 

• Gayle struggles against his former team, need better effort from here on out. 

• Yax with 6 is very strange, maybe too many press clipping this week? Refocus big man and also wear some performance basketball sneakers, not heavy retros.

• McKenney needs more time on the floor 

• Johnson had the first 6 points and finished with 11 

• Mara played well 

• Need the seniors to step up: Burnett, Gayle and Tschetter. 

• Will play either Illinois or Wisconsin 

Michigan Friday: It's The Buckeyes for the 3rd Time

Michigan tips off their 2026 Big Ten Tournament campaign in just at few hours at 12:00 EST or 11 Central.  The Wolverines should be well rested as they haven't played since Sunday and Ohio State beat Iowa just Thursday afternoon.  Michigan beat the Buckeyes in A2 on 1/23 74-62 (the Trey Burke game) then in CBus on Super Bowl Sunday 82-61.  Since then OSU has gone 6-3 with loses to Virginia, MSU, and Iowa, with a highlight win over #8 Purdue at the time.  

• The Big 10 sent a letter to the NCAA to say the Tampering Investigations are silly, stop them and change the entire process.  Their right, but who sends letters anymore?  :-)

• I know the Partridge lawsuit will be settled quietly, but I would really love it to go to court so we could see what the Big 10 bull sh$t investigation looked like.  Remember when the other teams were scared for the safety of their players?  Jim got suspended while on a plane to play Penn State.  That was an unbelievable time and another clear example of very poor leadership from the Big Ten and Michigan Athletics Department for letting any of it happen.  You think that would've ever happened to Saban and the SEC?

Michigan Thursday: News and Notes

The Michigan Basketball team is now in Chicago and will await their next opponent.  They will face either Ohio State or Iowa during the noon game on Friday.  

• Oregon State has picked off one of Dusty's top assistants and has hired Justin Joyner as their next head coach. 

• Josh Uche has signed a FA deal with the Dolphins 

• Kyler Murray is expected to sign with Minnesota to compete with JJ.   Makes sense, JJ looked good, bad, and injured last season.   After being injured his entire rookie season.  

• Will Johnson will wear #2 for the Cardinals now, he had been #0. 

• Crisler had 13 consecutive sell outs this year! 

• Former LB coach Chris Partridge is suing U of M.  In a long list of Warde F-Up's this one has to be in the top 10.  

• Yax is a Sporting News 1st Team All-America 

• The Players Championship starts today.  I've played the other Dye course there but not the $1200 per round "Stadium".  Its a great complex and about a mile from the PGA Tour headquarters.   This is for sure the 5th major.