MGoPodcast 14.8: The Basketball Preview

2 hours and 13 minutes

The Sponsors

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Venue by 4M where we recorded this, TicketIQ! and The Nose Bleeds, which is the Sklars Bros’ reboot of Cheap Seats on UFC Fight Pass.

1. The Backcourt

starts at 1:00

Hoping Jaelin Llewellyn's length solves some of the guard defense because there's been a high floor for opponent possessions with the shorties. Don't know if he can translate into a point guard since he's always been more of an SG but makes good decisions and shares the ball for a #2 scorer on a good team. Won't have to be that here. Dug is a pest on defense, too small to hold up as a true freshman, but supposed to be quite the passer and can shoot. Kobe Bufkin is young and just gained a lot of poundage, is Caris-like but NOT Caris. Can shoot. At the three is Jett, and he can shoot too—defense might be a work in progress this year. Joey Baker can give you 15 minutes a game as a JAS. If Isaiah Barnes can play now he will play now.

[The rest of the writeup and the player after THE JUMP]

2. The Frontcourt

starts at 31:08

The four is going to be Terrance Williams II and we all trip over ourselves to be the first to hint, then say he was outplaying Caleb Houstan last year. Like him at the four where his agility is not as big of a deal and he adds to the spacing. Backup is murky—will Youssef Khayat be big enough to assist here as a Franz-alike by later in the year? How about Jace Howard? Go small? Tschetter's defensive liabilities for his offensive prowess? With all these shooters Hunter Dickinson gets to feast. Won't have to stretch as much this year, will get more assists just because the guys he's passing to will make the shots. Best player in the league, better at drop coverage. Tarris Reed has treetrunk legs, gets to develop behind Hunter for a year.

3. How it Fits and Around the League

starts at 58:02

Who is Juwan Howard's favorite son? The Big Ten is down as we cast about for contenders. Not buying Indiana's case of Xavier Johnson and TJD because what kind of case is that, except probably the best one in the B10 right now. Not State—they don't have a center save Mady Sissoko. Illinois? They lost as much as they brought in (lots). Purdue? No point, Brandon Newman and Zach Edey and Eric Hunter and Mason Gillis will certainly get them in the playoffs but scoring will be an issue even if Caleb Furst blows up like we think he will. Ohio State lost a ton, added transfers and freshmen—all slice and dicers save the JAS from WVU—to Zed Key and Justice Sueing. Iowa will be Iowa, replacing Keegan Murray with his literal clone Kris. Seth tries to sell us all on Rutgers because of continuity, but Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr. are gone. Wisconsin…errrr….they'll probably have someone—not Tyler Wahl—emerge. Maryland takes a step back, will play small with Donta Scott at C as Kevin Willard takes a Year Zero. Penn State has a 6x transfer. Minnesota…isn't Nebraska. Pete Nance is gone from NWern—GO CHASE AUDIGE GO!

4. Hot Takes and Around the Big Ten With Jamie Mac

starts at 1:27:45

Takes hotter than a four year old that just discovered a piece of carrot in her ramen. Despite Ohio State winning 54-10 against Iowa, there is a lot to unpack. CJ Stroud had a typical day but Ohio State's rushing offense struggled. Iowa turned the ball over six time. Ohio State only scored one touchdown in their first ten drives. Iowa was desperate enough to bring in Padilla and it was also a disaster. Are we actually seeing the unraveling of the Ferentz era (or will it still take three years for Iowa to finally let him go?). Iowa's offensive EPA was -51 points... NEGATIVE FIFTY ONE. Michigan might actually have a reasonable enough chance to slow down Ohio State's offense enough to... win. Penn State bounces back and holds Mo Ibrahim to only 102 yards (3.4 avg). Sean Clifford played a great game. Tanner Morgan was out with a concussion and backup Athan Kaliakmanis did not look as good. Jamie has discovered an interesting stat about Minnesota coaching regimes. No Taulia Tagovailoa for Maryland against Northwestern, Northwestern's quarterback is Some Guy. This is just a totally differeny Maryland team right now. Maryland's 330 lbs center got flagged for doing a cartwheel - worth it. Need Penn State and Maryland to keep winning to help Michigan's chances of making the CFP just in case Michigan loses to Ohio State and goes 11-1 - imagine if Michigan missed the CFP because they cancelled the UCLA game. Wisconsin scores 21 points against Purdue in the first quarter and then glide paths to the finish line. This was Wisconsin's 16th straight win against Purdue. Rutgers vs Indiana - confirmed, both teams are bad. 

MUSIC:

• "Soul Flower"—Pharcyde
• "Leave It In My Dreams"—The Voidz
• "I Can't Explain"—David Bowie
• “Across 110th Street”