Where Trey Burke Happens

I've heard several people say that Michigan's win over Kansas Friday night was the best college basketball game in recent memory. I'm inclined to agree. Down 10 with 2 minutes to go, my wife was consoling me and I was resigning myself to rooting for MSU to represent the Big Ten in the Elite Eight.

Then Trey Burke Happened.

Michigan surprisingly walked through their first 2 games, beating S Dakota State and VCU easily. I knew Kansas would be a rough match-up, and they certainly were. Michigan has had problems with teams that play good half-court D all year. Indiana, OSU, MSU and Wisconsin, to name 4. Kansas has all that plus better offensive stars in McLemore and Withey. 

Adding McGary to the starting lineup has diversified Michigan's offense, and has given them offensive rebounds & points in the paint. Brett Kouremenos broke down the Burke/McGary dynamic that enabled the upset over Kansas. Basically, Burke & McGary started running a 2-man game, Withey didn't count on Burke shooting from 25-30 ft out, and Burke made his shots (I completely blew up when he hit that 3 to tie with 4 seconds left). McGary & GR3 converting tough layups off of offensive rebounds helped seal the deal.

I thought Florida would be an easier match up than Kansas, but not THAT much easier. In the NCAA Tournament, much of a team's success depends on match-ups. S Dakota State and VCU were good match-ups for Michigan. I thought FGCU would've been a tough match-up with their length & athleticism, but fortunately Florida knocked them off.

That said, Syracuse looks to be the toughest match-up yet. They play SUPERB half-court D, Michigan's Achilles Heel all season (btw, Brian Cox is SO over the top there, love it), and they basically out-Indiana'd Indiana. The good news is Michigan has been a different team with McGary out there, and the way to find holes in Syracuse's D is by setting ball-screens and with stellar point guard play, both of which Michigan does.

Happy Opening Day! The highlight so far for me has been the National Anthem at the Yankees-Red Sox game. I'll try to find a clip tomorrow, but it reminded me of Kim Wayans singing in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. It helped that the dude who sang it looked like Nick Swisher with Andie MacDowell's hair.

The Tigers are squaring off against the Twins this afternoon, and the first JV no-hitter watch of the season begins. Verlander just got his extension, and for some players that would be a concern for maybe a drop-off in production. Not Verlander. He JUST missed out on another Cy Young last year, the Tigers got handled in the World Series, and HE had a particularly disappointing outing. I think he's out for blood.