I’m 708 miles from the sounds of squeaking sneakers, St. Elmo’s steaks, and Big Ten mascots and I’m bummed. But with my massage chair and plentiful supply of seltzer water at the ready, I did watch some Big Ten Basketball today.
Minnesota - Michigan. Northwestern Alumnus Brent Musburger reported this afternoon that he was assured by Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin that Tommy Amaker’s job is safe even if the Maize and Blue play in the NIT. Martin even said that he’d be gone before Amaker. Just wondering what Tommy Amaker has done to engender such blind courage. It’s possible Martin has missed the utter collapses by Amaker’s teams the past two seasons. It’s also possible he missed this afternoon’s game against Minnesota. The Golden Gophers couldn’t have played worse in the first half. But rather than playing like a team actually playing for the right to play deep in March, Michigan couldn’t muster the fortitude to play hard, smart, disciplined basketball for 40 minutes. Bad offensive sets, sloopy with the ball, quick shots. Sound familiar? When is enough enough for Michigan? Let’s see what Nate Fenno has to say in tomorrow’s Ann Arbor News.
Matt Painter had his team as ready as they could have been to play Michigan State. They played hard, they hung tough, they didn’t quit, they earned respect. Neitzel played well and thus, so did Michigan State. The Spartans looked in rhythm today and that means tomorrow night’s game against the Illini will be fun.
Looking forward to Day Two.
