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Well it had to happen.
I had to eventually get on here and give my thoughts on both in state cagers as we head towards the meat of the big Ten slate. Problem is, neither of them inspire me to write much.
Newsflash, they both stink...at least right now.
Now before and of you pleather clad blue bellies or delusional Kool Aid drinking Spartans go bonkers, take a breathe and read on.
When I say they stink, I simply mean they are middle of the road teams that may or may not make the Big Dance and pose NO THREAT in the conference race.
When looking at Michigan it;s just more of the same. Where is the identity? Where is the improvement? Where are the signature wins? The answer? You guessed it.
Honestly, Michigan has done nothing to impress me. The wins are over mostly mediocre foes and the losses have been blowouts. Losing to UCLA is one thing but by 40? You lose all cred.
The seniors have not stepped up and whether they will or not is a question more suited for Mrs. Cleo.
Guys like Harris and Sims looked to have peaked, while a guy like Lester is the enigma of the conference.
Could I see Michigan making the tourney? Yes. However, I could also see them losing all their games versus quality foes and being a bubblicious special on Selection Sunday as well.
As for the Spartans it's just as sorted. While MSU has beaten some solid teams, they have also laid a few eggs to nullify the fun.
Yes Spartans fans, losing by a million at Indiana is that bad. did I mention Iowa?
Clearly we could get into revisionist history and talk about "what if's" in regard to injury but I don't play that game. Even in full health this team isn't that good.
Neitzel has been good...against lousy teams that is. Sure the Texas game was nice but it will stand as sheer abberation until he makes a habit of doing it against the big boys. Where was he at Iowa? How about Indiana? You get the point.
The lack of depth is what will kill MSU in the end. While they have a bevy of bigs in numbers, they truly have few who can actually ball right now.
I feel better about MSU going dancing than Michigan...but not by much. It still comes back to getting signature wins. The clock is ticking since the last "Izzo" win and frankly I don't know if they will reach up and grab one this year. Go win at OSU and impress me. How about beating Wisky...anywhere?
In the end I don't see MSU as any threat to the conference crown either. Wisky and OSU are simply too good.
Final thoughts as I sit here in mid January? Michigan makes the tourney as one of the last five in and gets hammered in the dance. MSU makes it in as a low end at large, wins one and gets bounced.
The debate will rage for Wolverine fans, especially if they don't notch a big whale this week. Remember this, conferences like the Pac-10, MVC, and certainly the SEC are back and bid hunting. The Big Ten stinks and it will hurt them come selection time. Forget the record and look at the resume. If you haven;t beaten anyone you should be nervous...very nervous. Yes Tommy I'm talking to you.
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