The NCAA Tournament is here and Michigan and Michigan State are in the field. Dylan and Brendan discuss Michigan’s path forward without Isaiah Livers, the primary threats in the East bracket, Michigan State’s matchup with UCLA and then dive into the Big Ten coaching news of the week with Archie Miller and Richard Pitino getting fired.
Listen to “An NCAA Tournament Take-a-thon on Michigan and Michigan State” on Spreaker.
NCAA Sale! 50% Off!
Timestamps:
(6:51): Michigan’s path without Isaiah Livers
(36:42) Michigan State vs. UCLA
(1:00:28) Big Ten Coaching Moves
Notable Replies
Discuss the Article
16 more replies
BleedBlue
Late night pod!!!
ReegsShannon
I don’t get the Leonard Hamilton hype tbh. Obviously FSU should be happy with him given that they’re a solid competitive team… but like what is so special about him as a coach that people feel confident he’s going to overperform and make a F4 at some point? Seems like a guy who wins with dudes. How often do “wins with dudes” guys make deep tourney runs (unless you’re a modern Coach K or Cal)?
EDIT: This is his 33rd year as a head coach, all at high-major programs. He has one Elite 8 and 3 additional sweet 16s. Feels like a pretty average performance overall. This is not a dude who is knocking on the door of a Final Four all the time. “I just have a feeling this guy is going to make a Final Four before he retires” is something you say about Mark Few in 2015 or whatever, not Leonard Hamilton now.
quickdarshan
He recruits well and generally has athletic defensive teams. I think FSU will always be good enough that if they get the right draw they’ll probably make it eventually.
kturnup
The thing with Hamilton is that he seems to be getting better. The last 5 years have been pretty fantastic, and were looking at a 2 seed last year. And has the #2 recruiting class in the country this year.
bacon141
He’s coming off of an Elite 8 and Sweet 16 run. They were a top 5 team in the country last year and probably get to the second weekend last season. After only two seasons with 25+ wins in his previous 28 years of coaching, he now has 3 in his last 5. And around half of FSU’s total tourney appearances and conference titles. Miami’s basketball program didn’t even exist between 1971-1985 and he was only the second coach after the hiatus, so what he did there was pretty impressive.