Author: Drew Montag

Drew Montag, Basketball Editor
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Nothing But ‘Net – Week #02 – 11/07/2011 – Not Much Of An Exhibition

The University of Michigan men’s basketball team played their one and only exhibition game of the 2011-2012 season on Friday (11/04/2011) vs. Wayne State, and they won 47-39.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that they didn’t look very good.  It’s not unusual for a team to look a little raw or ragged or rusty during an exhibition game, but this was worse than usual.  Michigan never really got into any “flow” offensively, although they did play pretty well defensively.  There were a few good plays on offense, and some good individual performances, but nothing very exciting.

The game was dreary, and the stats are dreary.  Neither team shot well: UM shot 37.3% (19-for-51) overall, and WSU shot 32.7% (17-for-52).  3-point shooting was even worse: UM shot 20.8% (5-for-24), and WSU shot 12.5% (2-for-16).  Even free-throw shooting was bad, at least for Michigan: they shot 4-for-12 (33.3%).  It was ugly.

As bad as the shooting stats were, the non-shooting stats were worse.  UM got out-rebounded (40-31) by a much smaller team, and they had more turnovers (14) than assists (11).

Individually, only two UM players hit double figures: Tim Hardaway Jr. had 20 points, and Zack Novak had 14.  Hardaway had to take 17 shots (7-for-17) to get his 20 points.  Only two other UM players even scored: Jon Horford had 6 points, and Trey Burke had 7.  That adds up to 47 points.

Coach Beilein started a slightly unusual lineup: Hardaway, Novak, and Evan Smotrycz were expected, but Horford started ahead of Jordan Morgan, and Stu Douglass started ahead of Burke.  Since I already mentioned the four UM players who scored, that means that two of the starters (Smotrycz and Douglass) went scoreless (0-for-5 and 0-for-4, respectively), and so did Morgan (0-for-1).  Two other players (Matt Vogrich and Carlton Brundidge) also played, and also went scoreless (0-for-2 and 0-for-0, respectively).  Blake McLimans and Colton Christian never even got in the game.

Looking at the stats, it’s obvious that no one had a great game, but some of the players had good games.  Novak hustled all over the floor, as usual, and Hardaway played hard (no pun intended), just not always smart.  Burke looked pretty smooth out there, and Horford looked improved over last season.

So, the one-game exhibition season is over.  On to the real games.  First up is Ferris State at 7:00 p.m. this Friday (11/11/2011) in Crisler Arena.  Come on down to the new, improved Crisler Arena and see if the real Wolverines show up.

Go Blue!

 

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Nothing But ‘Net – Week #01 – 10/31/2011 – Season Preview

Hey, welcome back for another season of Nothing But ‘Net.  Let’s start things right off with a few questions/answers:

 

Q: What is this “Nothing But ‘Net” thing, and how is it different from the other 5000 University of Michigan men’s basketball sites?

 

A: Good question!  “Nothing But ‘Net” (NBN) is the longest running (since 1999) UM basketball site on the Web, with a special angle you won’t find anywhere else: the view from the cheap seats, specifically sections 209/210.  The motto for UMGoBlue.com is “By Fans … For Fans”, and NBN is a great example of that.  I’ve been a UM basketball fan since 1974, and I’ve been to almost every home game since then, win or lose, good or bad.  During the season, I write once a week (by noon Monday) about the games from the previous week, but I also look at season-long trends, all from the viewpoint of a fan.  Sure, there are plenty of other UM basketball sites out there, and I read several of them myself (MGoBlue.com, AnnArbor.com, UMHoops.com, and MGoBlog.com), but the viewpoint at those sites is “journalist”, with media access.  I write about what I see during the game, as a spectator, a fan, and an usher.  Yeah, I’m working as an usher again, for sections 209 and 210.  If you go to a game, drop by and say “hi”.

Continue reading “Nothing But ‘Net – Week #01 – 10/31/2011 – Season Preview”

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2011 University of Michigan Football Season Predictions

Yeah, it’s me, the “basketball guy”, back for more.  It’s time for my annual attempt to predict how the University of Michigan’s football season is going to go.

I’ve been quite good at it for the last 3 seasons, during the ill-fated Rodriguez Era.  I correctly predicted 11 of the 12 results last season, all except the opening UConn win.  Many people haven’t liked my predictions, but they’re just predictions, not what I want to happen.  I would love for UM to go 13-0 every season, but that’s not the way it looks, yet.  I’m expecting the offense to be slightly less productive than last season, and the defense to be significantly less embarrassing.  Special teams?  Who knows…

Here are my predictions for the 2011 season:

 

DateOpponentW/LRecordComments
09/03Western MichiganWin1-0Other than that unfortunate Toledo game in 2008, Michigan has always beaten MAC teams.  This WMU team is nothing special.  A nice first win for Hoke.
09/10Notre DameWin2-0This is the first home night game in Michiganhistory, and the team will deliver a big win in a close game.
09/17Eastern MichiganWin3-0Eastern isn’t even as good as WMU.  No contest.
09/24San Diego StateWin4-0An intriguing matchup, since Hoke coached SDSU last year.  It could be a tough game, but UM should prevail.
10/01MinnesotaWin5-0 (1-0)Minnesota will be better than they were last season, but not good enough to beat Michiganin the Big House.
10/08at NorthwesternWin6-0 (2-0)After 5 home games in a row, UM hits the road. This will be a tough, hard-fought win.
10/16at Michigan StateLoss6-1 (2-1)Yikes! It’s going to be tough to lose to MSU for the 4th year in a row.  It’s hard to win on the road in the Big Ten.
10/22ByeThe bye week comes at a good time, after 2 tough road games in a row.
10/29PurdueWin7-1 (3-1)Purdue has been slipping the last couple seasons. UM beat them at their place last season, and they should beat them inAnn Arbor this season.
11/05IowaLoss7-2 (3-2)Back to earth for UM. With a 7-1 record and a decent ranking in the polls, people will be talking about a Big Ten Divisional (Legends) Championship before this game.  I’m afraid thatIowa is just too tough.
11/12at IllinoisWin8-2 (4-2)This will be an emotional game, after last season’s triple-overtime thriller. Illinois wants this one bad, but UM wants it even more.
11/19NebraskaLoss8-3 (4-3)Sure, Michigan has playedNebraska before, but this is their first Big Ten meeting.  It’s a huge game, but Nebraska is just too good.  Nebraskawill probably win this game, the Legends division, and maybe the Big Ten title game.
11/26Ohio StateWin9-3 (5-3)Finally, after losing to the (cheating) Buckeyes way too many times recently,Michigan has the team and the attitude to win. It won’t be easy.

 

That should be good enough for 3rd place in the Legends division of the Big Ten, and a good New Year’s Day bowl game.

It’s possible that UM might beat MSU or Iowa, but I doubt it.

It’s also possible that UM could lose to Ohio State, but I think we’re due.  They could also lose the Notre Dame game, but that seems less likely.

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Big Ten Report – Week #03 (01/17/2011)

Big Ten Report ? Week #03 (01/17/2011)


 


Standings


Here are the current Big Ten standings, after Week #3 of league play:


 




































































 


Team


Big Ten


Overall


Wins


Losses


Percent


Wins


Losses


Percent


Ohio State


5


0


1.000


18


0


1.000


Purdue


4


1


0.800


15


3


0.833


Michigan State


4


1


0.800


12


5


0.706


Wisconsin


3


2


0.600


13


4


0.765


Illinois


3


2


0.600


13


5


0.722


Penn State


3


3


0.500


10


7


0.588


Minnesota


3


3