Michigan has shown that they can play with some of the best teams in the country this year on any given day (and yes against Duke and UCLA was one of those days)! As Beilein said himself this is not a series, it is one game.
Now is where the hard work really begins for this basketball program. EXPECTATIONS just went up big-time especially after beating Duke. This is where this team NEEDS to win the games it is supposed to (Eastern Michigan, Oakland, Florida Gulf Coast, North Carolina Central, and Indiana). They also need to battle the middle of the road teams (such as Minnesota, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, and Penn State). Finally they need to split some of the bigger games in the Big Ten (with the likes of Purdue, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State).
Beating UCLA and Duke, does this program no good if they go out and lay an egg against those teams I mentioned above. In addition, Michigan needs to be at least .500 in the Big Ten if not better to get to the promised land this year. That is why at the beginning of the year you want the Big Ten teams to do well so when tournament time comes around the committee has to decide on if the Big Ten conference will get four, five or possibly even six teams into the dance.
This is where we really find out about this team with how they handle winning and expectations being a lot higher. One thing to look out for now is teams will not take this Michigan team lightly now especially after you beat a team like Duke. You are going to see every team's best game now.
On a side note: Great atmosphere and great crowd against Duke. It's nice to see the crowd really support good basketball. IT HAS BEEN AWHILE SINCE I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SAY THAT …. GOOD BASKETBALL!
Written by ErocWolverine
No comments:
Post a Comment