Monday, January 13, 2014

The Victors | Project OSPREY

Saturday, 14 December 2013
(№ 1) Arizona 72-70 Michigan
6-4, Big Ten 0-0

The good news is that we lost to Arizona by a much smaller margin than that by which we lost to Duke (№ 10 at the time). The bad news is that we still lost. The valiant Wolverines had a genuine shot to best the epithetless Wildcats, holding the lead for most of the game, but Arizona was clutch in its free-throw shooting down the stretch. Curses!

Saturday, 21 December 2013
Michigan 68-65 Stanford
7-4, Big Ten 0-0

For the second consecutive Saturday, the valiant Wolverines faced off against an opponent from the Pac-12, the ancient enemy of the Big Ten, though this time not within the friendly confines of the Crisler Center but at a neutral site in Brooklyn, New York. The epithetless Cardinal were a stout test for the valiant Wolverines—strong in areas the Maize & Blue are not, experienced, & wily. Happily, Nik Stauskas (sophomore, guard) had a brilliant shooting day, followed closely in points by a surging Glenn Robinson III (sophomore, forward).

Saturday, 28 December 2013
Michigan 88-66 Holy Cross
8-4, Big Ten 0-0

A Christmas present to ourselves, an easy win against lesser opposition before the New Year & the brutal grind of conference play.

Thursday, 2 January 2014
Michigan 63-60 Minnesota
9-4, Big Ten 1-0

"The Barn" (Williams Arena) is one of my favorite Big Ten venues, & a tough place for the valiant Wolverines to begin their campaign for the conference title. The luckless Golden Gophers, now helmed by young Rich Pitino instead of venerable old Tubby Smith, played with tremendous energy, but could not account for Zak Irvin's (freshman, guard) fifteen points, all from behind the three-point arc. This author does not look forward to the Big Ten schedule minus the boundless enthusiasm of Mitch McGary (sophomore, forward/center), out indefinitely for back surgery, but in his stead stand the two most experienced players on Michigan's roster, fifth-year senior Jordan Morgan (forward/center) & red shirt junior Jon Horford (forward/center). (Michigan coach John Beilein's scheme doesn't call for a true center, though the exigencies of basketball compel the larger forwards to play the five spot.)

Sunday, 5 January 2014
Michigan 74-51 Northwestern
10-4, Big Ten 2-0

There are no easy wins in the Big Ten, though hosting the plucky Wildcats comes the closest to being so; they are scrappy & persistent, but offensively challenged. I nearly had a heart attack when Robinson hurt his ankle against Minnesota & was as pleased as punch to see him moving around without injury against Northwestern. Michigan's top three scorers from last season's tournament run were Trey Burke (sophomore, guard), Tim Hardaway Jr. (junior, guard), & McGary; the first two were lost to the N.B.A draft & McGary to injury; if we'd also last Robinson, we'd have been in a heap of trouble.

Thursday, 9 January 2014
Michigan 71-70 Nebraska
11-4, Big Ten 3-0

This was one of the least satisfying basketball games I'd ever watched. Neither club played defense worth a tinker's damn, but the score was not astronomical. The unwelcome Cornhuskers were outmatched by the valiant Wolverines, but scraped & hustled & refused to go away. When Nebraska's last second shots refused to fall, I felt little of the elation of victory; instead, I longed to be in Nebraska's shiny new, sponsor-named arena, because turning my back on that building after such a win seemed the only action from which any satisfaction could be derived. I do not look forward to the unwelcome Cornhuskers' visit to the Crisler center in February; they're an annoying club & play annoying basketball.

So, what have I learned about the valiant Wolverines over the last month? I am concerned about Stauskas's (for him) poor shooting, but tickled pink by how much more well-rounded his game has become: the Canuck sniper is a feed-pass machine, generously distributing the ball to his teammates. Morgan & Horford are doing yeomen's work standing in for McGary, hardly surprising given that Morgan started most of last year, when McGary was a raw true freshman; it's long been said that Horford would be a mighty impressive player if only he could stay healthy & shake the injury bug, & so far this year he's living up to that billing. Irvin is an impressive long range shooter, but still inconsistent. I've been pleased with the continuing development of Derrick Walton Jr. (freshman, guard), who has the unenviable task of replacing the sensational Burke; Walton looks ever more confident in his role within the offense, & is committing fewer maddening turnovers. I am allowing myself the dangerous hope that Glenn Robinson III is finally beginning to fulfill his prodigious potential; if this is so, woe to those who stand against the Maize & Blue. Overall, the valiant Wolverines have yet to face the cream of the conference crop, but they remain undefeated in league play, no small feat given that two of those three games were on the road.

Next: Penn State at home, before a murderers' row—at (№ 3) Wisconsin, (№ 14) Iowa at home, & at (№ 4) Michigan State. No one ever said winning the Big Ten would be easy, nor would it then be worth winning.

Go Blue!

Project MERCATOR
I should have gone out on Saturday night, but I didn't, for no good reason in complete contravention of the strictures of MERCATOR. Confound it, Mike, you put those rules in place to help yourself, to fight your worst tendencies. I must devise an enforcement mechanism, beyond self-reproach.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Sufjan Stevens, "Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)" from Michigan (T.L.A.M.)

No comments: