The Victors: Project OSPREY
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
(№ 5) Michigan 77-47 Cleveland State
3-0, Big Ten 0-0

A thirty-point win? I'll take that. Yes, this was a care of a highly-ranked club beating up on lesser opposition, so an argument could be made that this win is nothing to celebrate. That, however, is a despicably patronizing argument. Cleveland State is a Division I program; they've been to the N.C.A.A. Tournament as recently as '09 & to the N.I.T. in two of the last three years. They are an opponent worthy of respect, not yokels just off the turnip truck from the sticks, cannon fodder against the mighty major conference school. The Cleveland State Vikings came to play against the Michigan Wolverines, fair & square; Cleveland States neither wants nor needs your pity. That the valiant Wolverines trounced them by thirty points, well, let's take that as something of a validation of Michigan's terrifyingly high pre-season ranking.

Wednesday, 21 November 2012
(№ 4) Michigan 67-62 Pitt
4-0, Big Ten 0-0

A tough win against the toughest opponent yet faced in a young season. The valiant Wolverines played far from their best game, & yet were able to emerge victorious against a brutal, unsportsmanlike Big East opponent. (I suppose it is redundant to label any Big East club as unsportsmanlike.) Previous valiant Wolverines squads, with a less diverse offense & less aggressive rebounding, might well have lost a game like this. Another encouraging sign that the '12-'13 valiant Wolverines might be worthy of their hype.

Friday, 23 November 2012
(№ 4) Michigan 71-57 Kansas State
5-0, Big Ten 0-0

The valiant Wolverines are N.I.T. Season Tip-off champs! This is the first time a valiant Wolverines squad has won an early-season tournament in… I can't say how long precisely, but quite a while. The game was tight throughout the first half, & the valiant Wolverines took only a four-point lead into the locker room at halftime, but assumed control in the second half on the way to the double-digit victory. These boys who represent the Maize & Blue have yet to best a ranked opponent, but they are playing & winning as a team, depending on no single superstar player to shoulder the burden (though there are at least two—Tim Hardaway Jr. & Trey Burke—& possibly three—Glenn Robinson III—who have the potential to blossom into superstars). They still rain in threes, but also play a better game inside the paint that any previous squad of John Beilein-coached valiant Wolverines. Holy smokes, the Top 5 ranking might be for real.

Tuesday, 27 November 2012
(№ 3) Michigan 79-72 North Carolina State (№ 18)
6-0, Big Ten 0-0

A two-fer: The valiant Wolverines made a useful contribution to the annual Big Ten/A.C.C. Challenge & defeated their first ranked opponent of the still-young season. Woo hoo! There are concerns about both offense (consistency) & defense (everything), but, by Jove, the valiant Wolverines might really be the № 3 club in the United States!

Next: At Bradley on Saturday, followed by a three-game home stand at the Crisler Center. ("Crisler Center" looks & sounds weird to me, as I still think of the "House that Cazzie Built" as Crisler Arena. Of course, I'm used to Yost as the Yost Ice Arena, a name that must look & sound weird to those who knew it as the Yost Fieldhouse. I'll get used to the Crisler Center name, it'll just take some time.)

Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Folksmen, "Blood on the Coals" from A Mighty Wind: The Album (T.L.A.M.)