GBMWolverine: Michigan Basketball — Big Ten — Should be Big — The Mid Pack — Preview

Posted at 6:00am — 12/30/2011

GBMWolverine: Michigan Basketball — Big Ten — Should be Big — The Mid Pack — Preview

GBMWolverine in the last two installments has listed four teams Iowa, Penn State, Nebraska, and Northwestern as teams that will have trouble making the NCAA tournament. Take note and heed, all four of these teams are good enough to defeat any team in the Big Ten on a good night, and will almost certainly register wins over conference mid pack teams.

So, now on to the mid pack teams and let us start by providing an operational definition of mid pack. By number and actuality of situation the mid pack of the conference this year ranges from five to eight in the conference standings. This article will explore the teams that are hereby predicted to finish eighth and seventh, Minnesota and Indiana.

Before a summary of each team is presented, a built-in disclaimer is provided. The mid pack teams are incredibly close in talent, coaching, and play level. One could take the entire group and treat the teams as cards, shuffle the cards and put them in order. In other words five could easily end up eight and eight could end up five.

Perhaps a good way to describe the mid pack is hungry pigs feeding full-snout at the trough of wins. There are only so many wins and each pig knows that nine wins will almost certainly insure a tournament spot. Eight conference wins will result in sweating on the couch come selection day. Most of the teams in the mid pack have lost only two games and the schedules have been similar, so, the conference record will almost exclusively separate the mid pack. But, it is plausible that every team in the mid pack makes the tournament with eight or nine conference wins.

The first team to be discussed in the mid pack feeding frenzy is Minnesota. Like the teams discussed in the first two articles, the Gophers are a good team, and in this case probably a little better than the four previously discussed teams. Tubby Smith, a very accomplished coach has settled down in the northlands and the Minnesota followers have far more appreciation of his coaching efforts than at his previous employment site. He has seen it all and so it comes down to talent with the Gophers.

Coach Smith has a big rotation, with ten players averaging over ten minutes of play. The scoring is balanced and is led by Trevor Mbakwe a 6’ 8” senior forward. He can score, rebound, and block shots. Every team in the conference will need to game plan for Trevor’s skills. Senior Ralph Sampson III averages almost ten points a game and about five rebounds a game. The guard spots are well manned by junior Julian Welch and sophomore Andre Hollins. Both are averaging near ten points a game, as is junior forward Rodney Williams. As mentioned the bench is deep with eleven Gophers averaging three points or more a game.

The Gophers outrebounded the preseason opposition by about five boards a game, about typical for the conference teams. The shooting has been very good with the team averaging nearly 50 percent, but 33 percent on three pointers. Turnovers have been on the high side, over 14 a game. Foul shooting has been about average at around 70 percent.

The next and last team in this installment is Indiana, coached by Tom Crean. Indiana is on a roll having taken down mighty Kentucky in a marvelous effort. The Hoosier administration has rightfully adapted the reality that continuity must come back to the program and so plenty of patience has been awarded to Coach Crean in his rebuilding effort. The patience is starting to pay off as Indiana’s once proud name still attracts talent. After several years the talent level is starting to ascend. Still, it is far fetched to believe the Hoosiers can ascent to the very top of the league in this year of Big Ten strength.

Big man Cody Zeller, a 6’ 11” freshman forward, has made a huge difference, he is simply a big talent and the future is bright for young Cody. He is averaging over 14 points and nearly 7 rebounds a game. He also has 20 blocks and 26 steals. These numbers are very impressive for a freshman.

The Hoosiers enjoy further height with 6’ 9’ junior Christian Watford, he is second on the team with about 13 points and six rebounds a game. Will Sheehey is the other forward and he is averaging in double digits as well. The guards, sophomore Victor Oadipo and junior Jordan Hulls, both average near 12 points a game.

The Hoosiers play system basketball, can get physical on defense, and play hard. The rebounding is about a plus four and the shooting has been outstanding from both combined and three-point range. The turnovers are about at the normal 12 a game rate, the foul shooting is near 74 percent, a good clip, and the team is averaging over 83 points a game.

Tom Pritchard is a sub and is playing about ten minutes a game. A total of eight Hoosiers are playing over ten minutes per game.

The future is bright and the Hoosiers will be in many close games this year. Like any of the teams at the Big Ten trough in the mid pack, the games will be tough and the margin of victory or defeat will probably be slim. So, the Hoosiers and everyone else will go full tilt to make the magic number nine in conference wins. If the Hoosiers make the nine win mark the team should safely be in the tournament fold.

Please comment on our GBMWolverine Message Board about this article and read what others comment.

You can contact us at our e-mail address: GBMWolverine

Written by GBMWolverine Staff

Go Blue — Wear Maize!