Wolverine247 Board

I think we need a 3rd player to become a consistent contributor (i.e. 12+ points per game). It could be Glen Robinson IIi or Nick Stauskas.

I remember reading once that a team which has at least 3-4 double digit scorers has a much better chance of reaching the Final Four because defenses cannot key in on just 1 or 2 players.

Moreover, we can't expect Burke and Hardaway to both score 25+ points in a game. If we can get 60+ points from 4 player (so an average of 15+ points from per player) per game, then we become lethal.

Also, we are guard-heavy right now. I would like to see Morgan consistently averaging 8 and 8. If McGary also gives 5 and 5, then we should be golden.

The key is to make sure that the the team can compensate for a bad shooting night from one or two players.

UM up to #2 in the AP ...

1. Duke (62)
2. Michigan (3)
3. Syracuse
4. Arizona
5. Louisville
6. Indiana
7. Ohio State
8. Florida
9. Kansas
10. Illinois
11. Cincinnati
12. Missouri
13. Minnesota
14. Missouri
15. Georgetown
16. New Mexico
17. Creighton
18. San Diego State
19. Butler
20. Michigan State
21. UNLV
22. Notre Dame
23. North Carolina
24. Oklahoma State
25. North Carolina State

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings

Idk.

We also need to key in on defense. We have scored around 80 points per game, and just an average defense will make us very hard to beat.

New to the site so I'm chiming in after a good sample of games obviously. Love this team! Think Beifeldt may get some run now that Horford went down, atleast against some teams with size. When Horford comes back I think we will settle in with a nine man rotation for bigten play. Bench is obviously Horford, Levert, Spike and McGary. Spike has exceeded my expectations so far and if Nik hits a wall, hopefully Matt can use his senior leadership to help the team as well. Tough stretch in February but this team can handle it. Sky is the limit for this team. Key in on our defense as season goes on and we will be tough to beat in March and April IMO.

The offense has seemed kind of stagnant for stretches at a time but then again that was pretty much what the offense was all game long last season. Luckily like last year we'll always have instant offense because Burke can basically get to the rim at will and he's gotten so much better from last season.

I hope Stauskas remains within himself and doesn't try to force things like he was in the WVU game. He had such a great start (and frankly is still having it despite the one bad game) because he just played his game and hit the open threes. I don't mind the tech from the other night as its good for him to have a little swagger but when things start falling apart and you're not having a good game, you've gotta have composure and not try to force things. Just something that comes with experience and maturity, just see Tim Hardaway Jr for example.

Hopefully we can use these next few games to fine tune some things and be at another level for when B1G play starts. You can never predict the NCAA tournament, but I do think the sky is the limit for this squad. All the elements are there.

Felt like Arkansas had some decent defense and WVU was getting away with over aggressive play. I am looking forward to Ohio as well. I don't think they will have the horses to keep up with us IMO. Bigten race is gonna be tight. Love being competitive and the analysts talking our conference up all the time. It's a pleasant change of pace from football where all you hear is SEC talk.

Hey guys, I don't really pay attention to high school basketball but I'll be watching some games here: http://www.iolaniclassic.hawaiihoops.com/ the next week or so and there are some good teams. Dunno if there are any Michigan targets or anything. It's an annual thing and guys like Rondo, Durant, Cousins, and others have come before.

How the hell did Sparty beat Kansas?

Blows my mind bucknuts thought/think Craft was better then Burke

OSU really has one player in Thomas and seems like Craft really regressed since last year.

To Ohio's credit, both out of conference losses have been to top-10 teams from storied programs.

- Duke is deservedly the #1 team in the nation and plays very good (bordering on great) defense. The Blue Devils are led by 3 seniors (including NPoY frontrunner Mason Plumlee) and two talented underclassmen.

- Kansas is currently ranked #9 and will be ranked as high as #6 starting next week. This Kansas team had to replace PG Tyshawn Taylor and PG Thomas Robinson from last year's runner-up team but they have 4 seniors in the starting 5. Their offense is a work in progress but they play great defense.

Hence, it's no surprise that Ohio shot 23-68 (33%) at Duke and shot 20-65 (30%) at home against Kansas.

However, Michigan will have to improve its perimeter ball pressure considerably if we're going to force Ohio to shoot below 35%. On the flip side, we cannot allow Craft/Scott/Thompson/Smith to bother our guards and chase them off the perimeter.