The Explorers Club
No. CCXVI - The splendor & scandal of the Blenheim Palace.







The Victors: Project OSPREY
(№ 3) Kansas 67-60 Michigan (O.T.)
11-5, Big Ten 1-2

Overtime time, lads & lasses, overtime time! Against the № 3 team in all the land,—a team that averages almost 86 points per game, & which had been winning games by an average margin of twenty-six points—coming back from deficits of fifteen points in the first half & thirteen at the nadir of the second to force overtime time was a genuine moral victory. And the valiant Wolverines held the Jayhawks to almost twenty points below their season average, even after affording them five extra minutes of play. That's dynamite! Of course, a loss is still a loss, & our baleful shooting percentage is worrisome, but it was nice to see us return to the defensive form that had been lacking since the beginning of conference play. (Yes, Kansas shot poorly, but not without help from the valiant Wolverines' tenacious D.) No one, yours truly included, thought Michigan had a chance in hell of beating Kansas; forcing overtime time was a far great reward than I'd dared imagine awaited us. Woot!

Wednesday, 5 January
Wisconsin 66-50 Michigan
11-4, Big Ten 1-2

Mind you, the pesky Badgers had been ranked (№ 24) in the previous week's Top 25 poll (the inferior coaches poll version*); so, they weren't your garden variety non-ranked conference opponent. Plus, Wisconsin's Kohl Center is one of the toughest venues in the Big Ten. All that said, though, our inability to muster much in the way of a challenge to the pesky Badgers, somewhat off their game compared to the last several seasons, was frustrating & demoralizing. If ever we are to enjoy any degree of success, we're going to need to learn how to win conference road games, even in Madison. Curses!

Sunday, 2 January
Michigan 76-69 Penn State
11-3, Big Ten 1-1

Though watching the first half was mightily vexing, I was well pleased with the valiant Wolverines' response in the second half, especially that of #0, the always scrappy Zack Novak. In a battle between two of the Big Ten's most ineffectual offenses, I was glad to see the winning final score relatively soar into the 70s. And, hey, given the disappointment of the '09-'10 campaign & the enormous questions mark hanging over the '10-'11 valiant Wolverines in the pre-season, any win they can walk away with is a good win.

Go Blue!

Elsewhere in Project OSPREY…

(№ 23) Illinois 69-61 Wisconsin

Not quite Purdue (№ 11) versus Ohio State (№ 2), but still a match between two Big Ten teams better than Michigan. Having watched the inexplicable juggernaut of the pesky Badgers over the last several seasons, I find their current struggles equally inexplicable. Illinois's prosperity under Bruce Weber is somehow less irksome than Wisconsin's under Bo Ryan; I've no full explanation, though of course I suspect bleed over from the schools' respective football teams. An interesting game, displaying many skills I hop the valiant Wolverines will hone over the next couple of seasons.

*All other rankings used in "Project OSPREY" comes from the superior A.P. Top 25 poll.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Alberto Lizzio & the London Symphony Orchestra, "A Night on the Bare Mountain" (by Modest Mussorgsky) from London Symphony Orchestra Plays Classical Favourites (T.L.A.M.)