It seems like everyone likes Michigan because of their speed on beating the zone before it sets up. Honestly, that is all we heard from Indiana and that they were going to run, run, and beat us down the court. Trey Burke is a remarkable athlete and one of the top 3 players in college basketball this year with Doug McDermott and Otto Porter, but Michigan's speed is not unworldly. Louisville is faster than Michigan and Siva and Smith didn't kill us in transition. Everyone I am reading Myron Medcalf, Gary Parrish, Jeff Goodman are all making the speed of Michigan and Trey Burke as the difference. The key for Michigan will be Nick Stauskas hitting corner 3 pt shots and Glenn Robinson III or Tim Hardaway Jr.guarding Michael Carter Williams.
I keep hearing about Michigan's speed and how that is the difference
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OttoinGrotto
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If their guards don't hang back to rebound we'll own the offensive boards.
Robinson III will have to play CJ there isn't anyone else and he is giving away height. If they put Hardaway on MCW to even out the height, Burke at 6'0 will be on BT. Stauskas on James could be a big mismatch and I expect Dirty to have a big game if that happens. They may not be able to keep Stauskas in the game if James takes advantage of his size and quickness advantage.
rstone7727
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Their speed could hurt us at times but we get back pretty well most of the time. I would not be at all surprised to see Beilein use the 1-3-1 against us. That would encourage us to shoot from outside, which we don't generally do very well, and prevent MCW from penetrating. Key to that would be what MCW does with the ball once two of the Mich "3" guys come out to guard him. Don't think Beilein is too frightened that Keita or Christmas will hurt him much.
Col. Bleep
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One thing we generally do well is get back on D.
If we didn't, we wouldn't be in the Final Four.
The issue, as with most teams we play, is can they hit outside shots and open up the zone.
So far our defense has been so good, opponents can't even get off outside shots, let alone connect.
If we keep playing defense like this,, no one will beat us.
NO ONE!
If we didn't, we wouldn't be in the Final Four.
The issue, as with most teams we play, is can they hit outside shots and open up the zone.
So far our defense has been so good, opponents can't even get off outside shots, let alone connect.
If we keep playing defense like this,, no one will beat us.
NO ONE!
sufandu
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I'm not worried about transition, I'm worried about Burke splitting the top of the zone and kicking to open guys. Our D is playing much better, but we also haven't seen guards as good as theirs since Louisville. Anyone that thinks they know exactly how the game is going to play out or is certain one team will dominate the other is fooling themselves. I expect a punch-counterpunch game with runs made by both teams.
jdubs30
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UM and Ville is a bad comparison. Siva has struggled against us, Smith hasn't. The luxury Ville has is Siva can handle the point, allowing Smith to move off the ball and try to find the open spots in the defense. Burke will handle the ball exclusively when he's in, so I don't expect him to have a big game like Smith has had a few times this season. Look at UConn even, they had Napier and Boatright in together, so they had one guard handling the ball and the other roaming the defense. It's much easier that way.
sufandu
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That's all fine, and I hope we give them fits. It's just that so many people on here sound as if it's a foregone conclusion that we're going to absolutely shut them down and blow them out. I don't think we're giving them enough credit. I think it'll be a tight game, and if we get into one of the offensive funks we've been prone to, we could even struggle. The last time I checked, they beat a 1 seed and made to the final four too.
Quazzum69
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Why even listen to "experts?" Some of them predicted a second, even first round loss for us. Thus far, we have allowed the least amount of points in the tournament...ever. We have held teams to their season-low scoring twice and completely shut down one of the best offensive teams in the nation. If you're an expert, how do you ignore that? The scary thing is, our offense hasn't even been that great and we're still destroying teams because they simply cannot score on the zone.
JarHeadJim
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I
I agree and they are a young team that has never seen a Zone like ours. I think we win by double figures!
StopCoolio
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If they think they're going to beat us by beating the zone down the floor a bunch of times, then we should start reviewing the Louisville tape now. See: Hoosiers, Indiana. Not only does it not work, it will be a miserable failure. That was Indiana's gameplan and I don't think they came close to doing it once. I would set the over/under at 2.5 points generated from UM beating us down floor, not including live ball turnovers.
This game, to me, comes down to their turnovers. They are very good at not turning it over. We, specifically in this tourney, have been very good at generating turnovers which fuel our offense. So we'll see what gives first. Personally, in my biased opinion, I think they think they know what they're getting with the zone and at about the under 12 timeout they are all going to be asking themselves what the f-ck they are playing against. Again, see: Hoosiers, Indiana.
This game, to me, comes down to their turnovers. They are very good at not turning it over. We, specifically in this tourney, have been very good at generating turnovers which fuel our offense. So we'll see what gives first. Personally, in my biased opinion, I think they think they know what they're getting with the zone and at about the under 12 timeout they are all going to be asking themselves what the f-ck they are playing against. Again, see: Hoosiers, Indiana.
HoustonCuse
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As great as our defense has been, the fact is all the teams we've played have gotten some open shots and they have missed many open shots. I'm not saying we're not causing many misses but they've helped us with some misses too. If Michigan converts the couple wide open threes they get and we don't play well on O, they'll win. If we play great D, they don't convert BS hard looks with great frequency, OR if we have a nice offensive burst, we'll win.
I feel we are due for a team to make some contested shots on us and I also feel we are due for a great night shooting from JS and/or BT.
I feel we are due for a team to make some contested shots on us and I also feel we are due for a great night shooting from JS and/or BT.
orangefan13
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I wonder if we will step out on Burke from the tip.
CuseFaninVT
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I expect them to put Burke on MCW as MCW has had a hard time with small quick guards all year.
HarrisonJBounel
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My guess is that we will extend the zone from the get-go. They have multiple guys who are good from three, and we cannot afford to not come out on them and hope they miss. We don't want to fall behind double digits to a quality team in the Final Four. You have a little more latitude to do that during the regular season, but not at this stage.
wvlax
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SU's zone defense will force Michigan to play a "half court game" thus negating any speed edge. Once in the half court Michigan's guards will struggle mightily against SU's zone due to their lack of overall experience (no senior guards) and due to the fact they haven't faced many teams that play the zone. Michigan will try to speed up the tempo but SU will get back on defense and maintain a slower tempo. The zone will have to extend outward more than usual to stop the three, but I feel good that our big men will more than hold their own against McGary similar to what they did against Zeller. We should be able to score fairly easily on offense, defense is not Michigan's calling card.
TheCusian
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Look at what we did to Zeller. His middle name is practically "NBA stock dropping" ... I think Burke may get the same treatment. In addition to the speed of Michigan - they have the "best player left in the tournament." I keep reading about how he'll be in the lane all day, finding shooters. I wonder if the zone plus our height and length end up being too much? When scouts see him against taller guards? Could be a long way to fall...
jdubs30
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I think that's the mental part, especially if we get out early on their shooters and they miss their first few looks. Especially with a team as young as the Wolverines.
jncuse
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Too much of the focus in on their offence against our defence. Its the strengths of both teams, which I suppose why it is getting much talk and is an intriguing matchup to discuss.
However, while our offence is questionable for a final 4 team (#21 in Ken Pom)... Michigan's defence is an even more questionable #35. Michigan's defence can make our offence look better than it has. I expect more easy baskets than prior games.
However, while our offence is questionable for a final 4 team (#21 in Ken Pom)... Michigan's defence is an even more questionable #35. Michigan's defence can make our offence look better than it has. I expect more easy baskets than prior games.
sufandu
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It's not all about speed. It's about quickness. If they can screen the top of the zone effectively, Burke can certainly do some things driving and kicking with his quickness and their shooters. I'm not saying we can't make adjustments or that he'll have a field day, but we're being arrogant if we think we're going to completely shut them down. They haven't seen our zone, but we haven't played a team in the tournament with their guard talent either. The times that we've played a backcourt with comparable talent this year, we've had some problems (UConn, Louisville). Since the BET we also haven't played a team with a quick on the ball defender on MCW. He's looked less than comfortable against those types of guys this year.
Capt. Tuttle
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I think you let Burke penetrate to the foul line where he has to shoot or pass to the wings and cover all the passes. For a guard, even a great one like Burke, that's a difficult shot time after time after time because it's not a shot that you naturally get in the flow of games. If they beat us on two point shots, more power to them.
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We put a stranglehold on the East Region the likes of which the tournament has not seen in the 29 year history of a 64+ team field. But defense is boring, and fast offense is not.
Honestly, what's more likely to continue? A team hitting a high amount of 3 pt shots, or a team consistently stifling it's opponents?
I'm clearly biased, but it just seems so obvious to me that we should be the favorite in this game. We're going to shock the world on Saturday by doing the exact same thing that we have been doing for the last 3 weeks.
Honestly, what's more likely to continue? A team hitting a high amount of 3 pt shots, or a team consistently stifling it's opponents?
I'm clearly biased, but it just seems so obvious to me that we should be the favorite in this game. We're going to shock the world on Saturday by doing the exact same thing that we have been doing for the last 3 weeks.
Sgt Cuse
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True, I think the quickness of Burke will present a different set of problems for our defense. But JB does have this week to tweak the D and prepare for this problem.
As for the MCW problem, that has already been started to be addressed towards the end of the season. JB has had BT become much more involved when pressure starts. Having two good handles out of our guards can really hinder one good on ball defender - see Indiana. So MI can try and use Burke to pressure but some problems arise for them. First, we have a pretty easy answer that we have now used in BT. And secondly, there is an energy expenditure expense placed on Burke. Third, they may need to factor in foul considerations, it would be a huge blunder for them if they have to sit Burke because of fouls. Fourth, is if they have Burke on MCW, after we get the ball down and into half court, there is a huge size mismatch for MCW. I don't see full court pressure coming. Would kind of like to see it, means they're panicing.
