NOTE: obviously this game is tomorrow but  generally previews for weekday games go up day of so just a reminder that the NCAA basketball tournament starts on Thursday, like it always has. You are not having a stroke.

THE ESSENTIALS

THE OVERVIEW

Michigan earned a one seed in the tournament and their reward is a game against Howard, which beat UMBC 86-83 last night. At #205 in Kenpom, this is the second-lowest ranked team Michigan has played this year (La Salle, which went 9-23, is #233); Kenpom gives the Bison an 0.4% chance of advancing.

Howard won the MEAC, going 11-3 in a conference that's down to eight teams, but had a series of losses to teams ranked around 300th in the nonconference. They also have a couple common opponents: Howard lost at Northwestern by 20 and to Duke by 37. Fun fact: Michigan beat Gonzaga by 40 this year.

Howard beat the team that famously ran Virginia out of the gym a few years back in the first-ever 16 over 1 upset, so does Howard have the same juice? Well… probably not. All due respect, but the starting center is 6'7", 210" and the only other guy on the roster over 6'5" has been playing about eight minutes a game for the last couple months. Michigan's shooting percentage from two is going to be around 70% and Howard will get four shots at the rim.

[After THE JUMP: slashers]

The Wolverines were a bit lackluster offensively in the conference tournament, with Michigan having three of their five lowest point totals of the year in Chicago and ultimately falling short to Purdue in the title game. On Monday we focused on the offense against OSU, so we'll dive into the Wisconsin game today, with more emphasis on the defense.

Overhelping

The defensive performance felt much worse watching live than it did after thorough film review. Much of the Badgers' success came via Michigan's bigs overhelping. In the first half Mara rotated to the rim unnecessarily on two occasions - both of which saw Yaxel and Morez use the baseline as an extra defender against Blackwell dribble-drives to the extent a layup attempt would've likely been blocked. In the second half it was Lendeborg and Johnson with the unnecessary help on Blackwell dribble-drives where he was largely bottled up by McKenney/Yax and had no realistic chance at a clean look.

I understand the inclination from Michigan's bigs, as defending the rim is the DNA of this team. But I think Aday/Yaxel/Morez have to be a bit more selective about that approach when facing opponents with stretch bigs and/or jumper-centric teams. Overhelping puts the team in rotation and ultimately provided 12 free points for Wisconsin. 

[After THE JUMP: Shot Variance and Wedge]

After a bye week to refresh, Michigan Hockey returned to action last week with two games of Big Ten Tournament play. On Wednesday they played in the quarterfinals against Notre Dame in the 2/7 matchup. The Notre Dame game was feisty but Michigan was the better team, using extensive power play time to pour in goals and defeat the Irish 6-1. On Saturday Michigan brought Penn State to town and played a stellar and composed game, overcoming a power play disadvantage in this one to win 5-2. 

Those wins, combined with some chaos nationally, have made Michigan's March path much more favorable. Ohio State's defeat of Michigan State means that the Big Ten Championship Game will take place at Yost Ice Arena on Saturday night for the first time ever and the losses of Western Michigan and North Dakota means that Michigan's NCAA Tournament seeding picture is now crystal clear. Today we'll go through some news and notes from last week, talk about the wide open Hobey Baker race, break down the rapidly congealing NCAA bracket picture, and preview Ohio State:  

Notes from the Quarters and Semis

- I have no time for Notre Dame. Much was said on the interwebs on Wednesday night about Notre Dame and another physical encounter with the Irishmen, even as the game was an anticlimactic 6-1 Michigan beatdown. ND racked up 36 PIM thanks to two 5+game penalties, one of which involved more contact with Jack Ivankovic, that Kason Muscutt addressed with extreme prejudice in defense of his goaltender. We can sit here and debate how it was refereed or what this game and the injuries of the past suggest about Notre Dame as a program but I will suggest something else: we don't do that. 

Notre Dame is not a relevant program worth spilling ink on, especially after the Ivankovic and Mews incidents earlier in the year. However you felt about ND then is how you feel about them now and spending more of our time on them is giving them far more than they deserve. The Irish are 9-23-5 and finished the season with a -48 goal differential. They finished in last place in the conference by 11 points. They are currently 51st in NPI. They are, factually, a loser team. They won as many B1G games in regulation as there were Michigan players who sustained major injuries on hits doled out by Notre Dame. They suck and giving them the attention they evidently crave through physicality, which cannot be generated by their ability to score goals, prevent goals, or win hockey games, is beneath us. Moving on. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: more relevant points]