The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1029353
12 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2018 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS COLLEGE BASKETBALL EXPERT TABS MICHIGAN AT NO. 19 IN PRESEASON TOP 25 Former ESPN college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman, now with Stadium, released his preseason top 25 for the 2018-19 season Sept. 10, and placed Michigan No. 19 in the country. He rated the Wolverines as the second-highest Big Ten team in his prediction, behind only Michigan State, which he pegged in the No. 11 spot. "[Head coach] John Beilein lost a ton from last year's team that lost to Villanova in the national championship game: Moe Wagner, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Duncan Robinson were all key pieces," Goodman wrote. "But [red- shirt junior guard] Charles Matthews, [junior point guard] Zavier Simpson and [sophomore forward] Isaiah Livers — all starters — are back. So are [sophomore guard] Jordan Poole and [junior center] Jon Teske, so the Wolverines should be a legit top-25 team again as long as Beilein is roaming the sidelines." Goodman actually placed two other Big Ten squads inside his top 25 as well — Indiana at No. 20 and Maryland at No. 24. The analyst then listed six other league foes on his "25 more to watch" category — Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North- western, Purdue and Wisconsin. He did not give them numerical rankings, but judging by his two lists, he views nine of the 14 Big Ten teams as 50 of the na- tion's best. DEMAND FOR BASKETBALL SEASON TICKETS AT ITS HIGHEST POINT IN 18 YEARS Entering the week of Sept. 2, the Mich- igan athletic department announced that 10,775 basketball season tickets (85 percent of Crisler Center's 12,707 capacity) had already been sold for the upcoming campaign, marking the most since the 2000-01 season. The skyrocketing sales come in the wake of incredible success for the pro- gram over the last two years. The 2016-17 campaign saw the Wol- verines win the Big Ten Tournament and advance to the Sweet 16, where they fell to No. 3-seeded Oregon by a single point. Last year, the Maize and Blue once again took the Big Ten Tournament crown, before making it all the way to the national title game to face Villanova. U-M fell to the Wildcats 79-62, but set a school record for wins in the process while finishing 33-8. Michigan posted a 15-1 mark at Crisler Center in 2017-18 (lost to Purdue), and has racked up a fabulous 43-8 mark there over the last three seasons. U-M student ticket sales, meanwhile, are also up more than 50 percent, due to the Maize Rage having claimed 3,086 so far, 1,031 more than last season's 2,055 total. "With momentum from last year's Final Four run, a talented team returning and an outstanding educator in coach John Beilein at the helm, interest in Michigan men's basketball is exceptionally strong," associate athletic director for external communications and public relations Kurt Svoboda said in the Sept. 6 release. START TIMES/TV NETWORKS ANNOUNCED FOR 2018-19 BASKETBALL SCHEDULE On Sept. 6, Michigan released the start times and TV net- works for its entire 2018-19 basketball schedule. The unveiling publicized that U-M's lone exhibition matchup Nov. 2 against Northwood will tip off at 7 p.m. and air on BTN Plus, while the Nov. 6 regular-season opener against Norfolk State will begin at 8:30 p.m. and be shown on BTN. The latter will be when U-M adds last season's ban- ners for the Big Ten championship and Final Four berth to the rafters at Crisler Center. The non-conference slate as a whole is highlighted by a Nov. 14 trip to Villanova (6:30 p.m./FS1) and a Nov. 28 home date with North Carolina (9 p.m./ESPN) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Wolverines will also take part in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament in Uncasville, Conn., where they will face George Washington Nov. 17 (12 p.m./ ESPN3) and either Providence or South Carolina the following day (time TBA/ ESPN or ESPN2). It should be noted that the Maize and Blue will play two conference games in early December — Purdue at home Dec. 1 (3:30 p.m./ESPN) and at Northwestern Dec. 4 (9 p.m./BTN) — before kicking off league play for good at home ver- sus Penn State Jan. 3 (7 p.m./ESPN or ESPN2). The matchup with the Wildcats will be one of only three dreaded 9 p.m. week- night tipoffs for the team this season, with the others coming versus UNC Nov. 28 and Jan. 29 inside the Crisler Center against Ohio State (ESPN or ESPN2). In an odd scheduling quirk, Michigan will also play two Friday night games in Big Ten action — Jan. 25 at Indiana (6:30 p.m./FS1) and Feb. 1 at Iowa (7 p.m./FS1). The regular season will conclude with a monstrous March 9 showdown at Michigan State (time TBA, ESPN or ESPN2), where potential Big Ten title implications could be at stake. — Austin Fox MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK 2018-19 MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time (ET)/TV Nov. 2 Northwood (Exhibition) 7:00 PM/BTN+ Nov. 6 Norfolk State^ 8:30 PM/BTN Nov. 10 Holy Cross 7:30 PM/BTN+ Nov. 14 at Villanova$ 6:30 PM/FS1 Nov. 17 vs. George Washington* Noon/ESPN3 Nov. 18 vs. Providence/S. Carolina* TBA/ESPN or ESPN2 Nov. 23 Chattanooga* 4:00 PM/BTN Nov. 28 North Carolina# 9:00 PM/ESPN Dec. 1 Purdue 3:30 PM/ESPN Dec. 4 at Northwestern 9:00 PM/BTN Dec. 8 South Carolina Noon/FS1 Dec. 15 Western Michigan 2:00 PM/BTN Dec. 22 Air Force 4:00 PM/BTN Dec. 30 Binghamton Noon/BTN Jan. 3 Penn State 7:00 PM/ESPN or ESPN2 Jan. 6 Indiana 1:30 or 4:30 PM/CBS Jan. 10 at Illinois 8:00 PM/FS1 Jan. 13 Northwestern 7:30 PM/BTN Jan. 19 at Wisconsin Noon/ESPN or ESPN2 Jan. 22 Minnesota 7:00 PM/BTN Jan. 25 at Indiana 6:30 PM/FS1 Jan. 29 Ohio State 9:00 PM/ESPN or ESPN2 Feb. 1 at Iowa 7:00 PM/FS1 Feb. 5 at Rutgers 8:00 PM/BTN Feb. 9 Wisconsin Noon/FOX Feb. 12 at Penn State 8:30 PM/BTN Feb. 16 Maryland Noon/FOX Feb. 21 at Minnesota 7:00 PM/ESPN or ESPN2 Feb. 24 Michigan State 3:45 PM/CBS Feb. 28 Nebraska 7:00 PM/ESPN or ESPN2 Mar. 3 at Maryland 3:45 PM/CBS Mar. 9 at Michigan State TBA/ESPN or ESPN2 Mar. 13-16 Big Ten Tournament & BTN or CBS Mar. 17 Big Ten Championship & 3:30 PM/CBS Mar. 19-31 NCAA Tournament% CBS, TBS, TNT April 6 NCAA Final Four~ CBS, TBS April 8 NCAA Championship~ CBS, TBS ^ Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament, Campus Round; $ Gavitt Tipoff Games at Villanova; * Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at Uncasville, Conn.; # ACC/Big Ten Challenge; & Big Ten Tournament at Chicago; % NCAA Tournament at various sites; ~ Final Four and National Champonship at Minneapolis, Minn.