Mgoblog: The Mgopodcast

1 Hour and 21 Minutes With David Nasternak and Alex Drain This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games. Segment 1 Do you gamble? Being a sports fan is just betting with emotion. As it turns out, Vegas offers a lot more than actual gambling. And it has THE SPHERE. We'd revisit despite initial skepticism. It's tough to continue emotionally gambling on a team that never wins the Frozen Four. Somehow Michigan keeps coming up against elite goaltending. Despite the disappointment, the team was resilient throughout the season. But still, sigh. Denver got frustratingly few penalties in this game, and some were objectively bad no-calls.    Segment 2 Dave talks about the game until Alex tells him to stop. Denver controlled the opening minutes and scored off a Michigan turnover. Michigan scored twice in a minute. Michigan was taking control of the game while holding a lead

Things Discussed: Seth shares his story in the hotel lobby: Thank you to Champions Circle!!! How this team was built: Michigan cared about fit and personality. If you're trying to copy this and you spend more in the portal you're doing it wrong. Would any of these guys be as good if they stayed at their old schools? Will Izzo hate this team more, or when Flint product Trey McKenney leads them to a repeat? Dusty May future: perfect for this era where you pick whom you play for. Portal: Can they get John Blackwell through admissions? If he can graduate from Wisconsin. Portal: Juke Harris? Craig said he's a four; Seth says he is not a four because he's 200 pounds, and Wake was wrong. Hockey preview: It's random, but the story is USNDTP won hockey this year. Best goalie, best route, best seed, get the nice locker room for both games. NCAA took CHL players and it turns out NCAA hockey is stronger. Denver's goalie is super hot, their goalie is the Hurley of college hockey. Who's favored? Nobody. 1/4ths.

2 hours and 9 minutes The Sponsors Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com. Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers. 1. Just Won a Natty/Indianapolis Vibes Starts at 0:51 No crying this time, but we do think we can have nice things now. You get out of it what you put into it; the UMHoops guys are probably experiencing the highest of highs. The 2023 football championship was a thing no other fanbase has experienc

1 Hour and 18 Minutes With David Nasternak and Alex Drain This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games. Segment 1 Between college hockey and the NHL playoff race the past few weeks have been exhausting, but worth it. The Eastern Conference is an extremely tight race, the Western Conference is the Avalanche, the Stars, and then everyone else competing for third place. The Red Wings have a weak rebuild and a lack of young star power like a lot of other rising teams. Previewing a red-hot Denver team with exception goaltending. Both Michigan and Denver have similar metrics. At one point this season the Denver goalie gave up 17 goals in 15 games. Is this sustainable against Michigan? Michigan should prioritize shot quality over quantity. Denver has an experienced defense but not as explosive of an offense as Michigan. If Michigan can exploit Denver's goalie early the

2 hours and 3 minutes The Sponsors Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com. Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers. 1. Final Four vs Arizona Starts at 0:51 Dave has a new nickname. Was this game... a let down? You could have maybe predicted that Arizona would struggle to score based on their over-reliance on twos. You probably could not have predicted that Michigan would put up over 90 points without Yaxel. Ari

Things Discussed: Has Michigan found that November stride? More that Tennessee and Alabama didn't have the size; difference was Bama's PG went off. It's a two-point game now. There's never been more than two teams that shot 60%+ from two; this year there are eight.    Looking at how size matters (I recap yesterday's Jimmystats). The perfect guy to defend Arizona is Moussa Diabate. Note that Zona's main weakness seems to be extremely athletic rim defenders who can make them less efficient at the rim. Utah State, Cincy had those guys. Matchups: Should they put Mara against Krivas? Not sure that will be efficient, but Mara in the 15 mins that Krivas sits should be a MAJOR advantage because Peat is a freshman super-wing and Awaka is a Tennessee big. Zona will play drop coverage, M should have some offense planned to get lops off that. Peat: you can push him from the basket; he's taken 165 shots at the rim and 130 pullup Js and there's a MASSIVE difference in efficiency. Kharchenkov another outstanding freshman w

1 Hour and 50 Minutes With David Nasternak and Alex Drain This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games. Segment 1 Alex is a consistent sleeper who naps easily unless exhausted. Early start times negatively effect students. Who else has slept in an airport rather than get a hotel? Anyways, hockey trip time, the gang meets a Bentley grad. Michigan beats Bentley in what you'd want to see in a #1 vs #16 matchup while also being able to bench injuries and rest starters. Bentley traveled really well, the loudest moment of the game was their one goal.    Segment 2 Penn State vs Minnesota Duluth was one of the best games of the opening round. Which team would you have preferred? Gavin McKenna hype was overblown. Duluth was always dangerous and capable of a big run. A 3-0 lead was nice but felt dangerous. We like when Michigan scores short-handed goals. Despite holding a

1 hour and 56 minutes The Sponsors Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com. Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers. 1. Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight Review Starts at 0:51 Almost a stress-free weekend. Michigan overwhelms a pair of top SEC teams that couldn't be any more different from each other. Brian credited March Roddy a little, Alabama preview a lot, as they got worn out. Labaran Philon was a hero: 39 minu

Things Discussed: Wisconsin out, Texas in: Brian still wants the entire university excised from the Tournament. St Louis didn't have a second big, didn't have the guards to do what Wisconsin did. Good news for Sweet 16: ISU (minus Jefferson) and Alabama (minus Holloway) don't match up. Beautiful basketball: Dusty to Craig, no way to guarantee it's that pretty. Yax be a star time. A yard never looks that good unless there are major basketball feelings going on. Threes are random, five-out shooting teams (Wisconsin, Alabama) have random results, but you need a guard (e.g Nick Boyd) who can take advantage of the space created by pulling the center out. Labaran Philon is a dude, gotta fight through screens. Thing about Alabama is they only have one big—most of the team are 6-8 wings, and they can only play Sherrell 20mpg. Don't force TOs. Can't rebound! They should get ravaged in the paint. Texas, Georgia, Zaga, Purdue all got massive OReb rates. Long rebound luck game: where do the missed quick threes carom? Ne

1 Hour and 35 Minutes With David Nasternak and Alex Drain This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games. Segment 1 There is no need for the NCAA hockey tournament selection show to be drawn out as much as it is. It took 20 minutes to find out anything interesting. It's just hostage-taking for fans just wanting the bracket. What are the pros and cons of neutral site games? Campuses are better atmospheres but at least it's fun to explore host cities if you travel. Hosting the tournament in smaller, less prominent locations makes the tournament feel like the minor leagues. Empty arenas diminish the viewing experience. Anyways, Michigan won the Big Ten Tournament. Some penalties felt controversial and rewarded embellishment. Michigan's depth and skill took over late. Hopefully Hage is okay. There's a perfect satisfaction that comes with beating Ohio State in the cham

53 minutes The Sponsors Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com. Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers. Segments 1-3 were in MGoPodcast 17.29a yesterday. 4. Sweet Sixteen Preview: Alabama Starts at 0:51 We hate facing three teams in the Tournament because of randomness. Bama is the Nate Oats show: he wad doing efficiency before it was cool. PG Labarn Philon isn't Aden Holloway but is lengthy can can get to the

1 hour and 40 minutes The Sponsors Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com. Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers. 1. Men's Basketball vs Howard and Saint Louis Starts at 0:51 This is part one of a part two podcast! Which Robbie Avila nickname was your favorite? Of the last ten times Michigan has made the tournament they've been in the Sweet Sixteen nine. Were Beilein teams built better for the tournament tha

Things Discussed: Howard preview: Their center isn't a center, but he's mini-Yaxel. Takeaways from BTT: Brian/Craig/Sam: The Purdue game was just a ref show—Oscar Cluff is a a) Buffalo, b) Oaf, c) deliberately running guys over and cheating on screens. Michigan doesn't have enough galoots. Seth: I've moved on. Biggest concern is Michigan vs Wisconsin: bringing too much help to the rim when we have some five-out teams (Saint Louis!) in the first weekend. Georgia and St. Louis. Georgia is soft—they have a shot-blocker and a lot of guards who can get their own points. Robbie Avila looks like Seth Fisher—he looks like a gumnut out there—but he's very skilled, especially at setting his guys up. I really like their four, Amari McCottry. Yaxel, take over man! Lots of opportunities to get him vs a mouse in the house and they didn't make the read. Michigan seemed to want to use Rez in that spot instead and he didn't have an inspired week. Pickin upsets: UNI over St. John's? Can slow the game to a grind. Kinda think N

1 Hour and 45 Minutes With David Nasternak and Alex Drain This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games. Segment 1 How often do you get a haircut? Catching up on the World Baseball Classic, U.S. and Dominican Republic go down to the wire. Did the tournament structure itself for a U.S. vs Japan final? Anyways, Michigan dominated Notre Dame 6-1 in the Big Ten quarterfinals. A Notre Dame player runs into Ivankovic again, leading to a fight and a game misconduct. Credit Michigan for standing up for their goalie. Overall this game wasn't really close.   Segment 2 Michigan beats Penn State 5-2 to make it to the Big Ten championship game. Penn State was aggressive early but Michigan settled in. Michigan had a lot of penalties but the power play held strong, but eventually they had a lengthy 5-on-3 that gave a 4-2 lead. T.J. Hughes sealed the game after Michigan's goalte

1 hour and 36 minutes The Sponsors Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com. Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers. 1. The Tourney Draw, Midwest Region Preview Starts at 0:51 Overall a fine draw for the 3rd one-seed, with several teams that did not want Michigan as their one-seed. Alabama as a four-seed is a fine draw. They have some big wins because they can shoot their way to a W in any game, but they're also

Things Discussed: Fears: The Red Cedar Message Board are sacrificing their junk to get the bottom of this. Minus LJ: Roddy Gayle stepping up. Just need him to finish (read: no turnovers) at the rim. Trey McKenney doing it on defense. What teams scare you in the BTT? Illinois has the size and can shoot their way out of any problems with the softness of their frontcourt. Nebraska plays offense like an NBA team, and that allows them to get around Michigan's defense a bit. MSU is a bad matchup for them, however, because MSU has so much size on the perimeter. Purdue? They are getting 100% what they can from offense and they are limited on defense. Michigan? Can they keep Mara and Cadeau on the court? Cadeau is showing he's willing to shoot more and there will be a correction to that from defenses to bring back the dunks. Officiating vs MSU, what's the deal? Fears should have been thrown out of the game. The 3rd foul on Rez was 100% a foul grift and needs to be legislated out of the game. The only reason they call

1 Hour and 43 Minutes With David Nasternak and Alex Drain This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games. Segment 1 Does Daylight Savings Time bother you? Does the World Baseball Classic have too many teams? The tournament does have a lot of national pride amongst the teams. Let's check in on some old friends across the league. Notre Dame sweeps Ohio State (Notre Dame's final conference record is 5-17-2). Michigan State clinches the Big Ten despite a shootout loss. Discussing bracket scenarios.    Segment 2 How are former Wolverines doing in the NHL? Updates on Luke Glendening, Jacob Trouba, Dylan Larkin, and Andrew Copp. Several deserving teams in the Eastern Conference may miss the playoffs. Player injuries and team projections. Michigan's pipeline is all over the NHL at various skill levels.   MUSIC NHL on ESPN Theme "C'Mon Down" -- Poor Man's Poison Ice Hoc

1 hour and 44 minutes The Sponsors Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com. Our associate sponsors are: Peak Wealth Management, Matt Demorest - Realtor and Lender, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, Sharon's Heating & Air Conditioning, The Sklars Brothers, Champions Circle, Winewood Organics, Community Pest Solutions, Venue by 4M where record this, and Introducing this season: Radecki Oral Surgery, and Long Road Distillers. 1. Men's Basketball vs Michigan State Starts at 0:51 Michigan is the best team in the Big Ten since the 1977 Indiana team. You can't say they didn't earn it, they had to win at Breslin, Carver, and Illinois. They would still win the Big Ten outright if you only counted the games that Michigan won

Things Discussed: Illinois game: Impressed that they not just shut down Wagler with Yax but they hunted Wagler defensively. They're not physical enough to play defense and not quick enough to guard point guards—Dent did it to them, Fears did it to them. Why didn't Illinois shoot us out of their building if they're five out? Mara was everywhere on defense, Boswell was left to shoot. When Boswell got downhill he gave Cadeau issues. That's something to watch out for because burlyguards on top of a five-out offense are able to score vs M. Yax went off-script to switch on defense. MSU the second-best team in the Big Ten; Illinois is going to get physicaled out of the Tournament. Rez was lit, and that maybe lit up Mara. When Mara gets himself to the rim he's unstoppable. What do you do when someone takes away what you want to be? Cason: Problem with losing him is ^. He was our answer. Best finisher on the team, critical in transition. Like with Rez last year, the play that he got injured on was the play that shows

1 Hour and 33 Minutes With David Nasternak and Alex Drain This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games. Segment 1 It's that time of year to speculate on the NHL trade deadline and what teams are about to be like. Checking in on the NHL playoff picture. College hockey - this was a weekend where it feels like everyone took the week off. In game one Michigan had the puck a lot but just didn't do anything with it. Naurato press conference drama, but he was right. Minnesota somehow wins off of 15 shots. It seemed like Michigan would come back to win and then they just didn't. This was just a poor showing all around and by far their worst loss of the year.    Segment 2 Frustration over what days and what times games actually start. Friday night was a better performance on senior night in a 4-2 win. TJ Hughes is one of the most productive four-year players of the 21st