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Nothing But ‘Net – Week #19 – 03/05/2012 – Big Ten (Co) Champions!

The (#13) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played their final two games of the regular season on the road last week, and they won both of them.  On Thursday (03/01/2012) they beat Illinois 72-61, then on Sunday (03/04/2012) they beat Penn State 71-65.  The wins raise Michigan’s final regular season record to 23-8 (13-5 in the Big Ten).  More importantly, the wins, combined with two Michigan State losses this week, allowed UM to tie for the Big Ten title with Michigan State and Ohio State!  This is a really big deal, and completely unexpected.  At the beginning of the season, most experts expected Michigan to finish near the top of the Big Ten, but few expected Michigan to win it.  As recently as last week, when UM lost their last home game of the season to Purdue, it looked highly improbable, though mathematically possible.  No way would MSU lose both games, even though they were against contenders.  Well, they did, and Michigan won a share of the title, their first since 1986. Continue reading “Nothing But ‘Net – Week #19 – 03/05/2012 – Big Ten (Co) Champions!”

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Big Ten Report – Week #10 (03/05/2012)

Standings

Here are the final Big Ten standings:

Team

Big Ten

Overall

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent
#10 Ohio State

13

5

0.722

25

6

0.806
#5 Michigan State

13

5

0.722

24

7

0.774
#13 Michigan

13

5

0.722

23

8

0.742
#14 Wisconsin

12

6

0.667

23

8

0.742
#18 Indiana

11

7

0.611

24

7

0.774
Purdue

10

8

0.556

20

11

0.645
Northwestern

8

10

0.444

18

12

0.600
Iowa

8

10

0.444

16

15

0.516
Illinois

6

12

0.333

17

14

0.548
Minnesota

6

12

0.333

18

13

0.581
Nebraska

4

14

0.222

12

17

0.414
Penn State

4

14

0.222

12

19

0.387

 

There was a 3-way tie for the Big Ten regular season title, between Michigan State, Ohio State, and Michigan.

Continue reading “Big Ten Report – Week #10 (03/05/2012)”

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Nothing But ‘Net – Week #18 – 02/27/2012 – It Was Fun While It Lasted

The (#11) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games last week, and they won one and lost one.  On Tuesday (02/21/2012) they beat Northwestern 67-55 (overtime) in Evanston, then on Saturday (02/25/2012) they lost to Purdue 75-61 in Crisler Arena.  The win and loss leave Michigan with a record of 21-8 (11-5 in the Big Ten).  The loss to Purdue ruined Michigan’s perfect season at home.  They finished their home schedule 15-1, which is still very good.  The loss also knocked Michigan out of contention for the Big Ten title.  Being in the title hunt in the next-to-last week of the season was fun, but it didn’t work out.  Maybe next year…

Continue reading “Nothing But ‘Net – Week #18 – 02/27/2012 – It Was Fun While It Lasted”

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Big Ten Report – Week #09 (02/27/2012)

Standings

Here are the current Big Ten standings:

Team

Big Ten

Overall

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent
#6 Michigan State

13

3

0.813

24

5

0.828
#8 Ohio State

11

5

0.688

23

6

0.793
#11 Michigan

11

5

0.688

21

8

0.724
#16 Wisconsin

10

6

0.625

21

8

0.724
#23 Indiana

9

7

0.563

22

7

0.759
Purdue

9

7

0.563

19

10

0.655
Northwestern

7

9

0.438

17

11

0.607
Iowa

7

9

0.438

15

14

0.517
Illinois

6

10

0.375

17

12

0.586
Minnesota

5

11

0.313

17

12

0.586
Nebraska

4

12

0.250

12

15

0.444
Penn State

4

12

0.250

12

17

0.414

Continue reading “Big Ten Report – Week #09 (02/27/2012)”

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Nothing But ‘Net – Week #17 – 02/20/2012 – A HUGE Win

The (#17) University of Michigan men’s basketball team only played one game last week, and they won it.  On Saturday (02/18/2012) they beat (#6) Ohio State 56-51 in Crisler Arena.  This raises Michigan’s record to 20-7 (10-4 in the Big Ten), and keeps them perfect (15-0) in Crisler Arena this season.  Michigan is now tied with Ohio State for 2nd place in the Big Ten, one game behind Michigan State.  For more complete details, see my weekly Big Ten Report.

This was a HUGE win.  Personally, I like beating Michigan State more than anything, but this win was even more impressive than Michigan’s win over MSU earlier this season.  For one thing, OSU was ranked higher than MSU was when Michigan beat them, but that’s not all.  This game had more hype than any home game in recent memory, it got Michigan to the all-important 20-win level, and it was important for both teams in the Big Ten title race.  The game was nationally televised on ESPN, and College Game Day broadcast from Crisler all day.  The crowd was big and loud, and the atmosphere was electric.  A situation like that can go one of two ways: either Michigan can come out inspired and play a great game, or they can get distracted by all the hype and the pressure and try too hard.  This was one of the inspired games.  OSU has bigger, better players across the board, and if Michigan didn’t “manage” the game by controlling the tempo, OSU would just grind them down for the victory.  That’s what happened earlier this season, when Michigan played in Columbus.  Not this time.  Michigan got ahead early (6-0 after 3 minutes), and never surrendered the lead.  The lead got down as low as 1 point (17-16 with 7 minutes left in the 1st half), and as high as 10 points (numerous times, the last time at 42-32 with 11:43 left), but UM never let OSU get the lead, which was crucial.  OSU brought a large contingent of fans, and they were just waiting for something to cheer about, but Michigan kept them quiet.  By the way, as an usher, I’ve got to say that the visiting fans have been very well behaved this season, with the exception of one rude, whiny, crybaby family from Indiana.  Even the normally thuggish MSU fans were decent this year.

Continue reading “Nothing But ‘Net – Week #17 – 02/20/2012 – A HUGE Win”