Is Michigan the Best opponent | The Boneyard
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Is Michigan the Best opponent

I think that "the talking suits" are making a big deal over Michigan beating ND by 30+ points, but IMHO, ND is no where near their usual talented roster!
Yes Michigan is a good team that will get better with time, but UConn will give them all they could handle!
Some "usual suspects" are a rung below their loaded roster as in the past!
It will be a good game on Friday night vs the Wolverines but no one matches UConn's talented depth!
 
Bone Dog said:
At that moment, I think Geno meant so far this season. But it may also turn out to be true for the entire regular season.
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"Based on what I've seen from Michigan they will be, for sure, the best team we play this year, by a long shot at this time in the season," Auriemma said after his team's win over Ohio State on November 16, per an X post from Avery Becker of UCTV Sports.

Well, I dunno. It seems he is saying that they are the best that he has seen, at this time, that y'all will face in the regular season. I think they are the best Guard oriented team y'all will face this year but may fall short on the bigs.
 
visitingcock said:
"Based on what I've seen from Michigan they will be, for sure, the best team we play this year, by a long shot at this time in the season," Auriemma said after his team's win over Ohio State on November 16, per an X post from Avery Becker of UCTV Sports.
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It’s typical Geno, wanting to say something decisive, but then hedging it at the end.
 
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visitingcock said:
"Based on what I've seen from Michigan they will be, for sure, the best team we play this year, by a long shot at this time in the season," Auriemma said after his team's win over Ohio State on November 16, per an X post from Avery Becker of UCTV Sports.

Well, I dunno. It seems he is saying that they are the best that he has seen, at this time, that y'all will face in the regular season. I think they are the best Guard oriented team y'all will face this year but may fall short on the bigs.
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The next opponent is always the "best" opponent. One game at a time.
 
Michigan plays full speed every possession from smallest to biggest player. Led by a player almost every BY member coveted for our Huskies. Watching Olivia play it's easy to understand why, she is the real deal. They attack like a swarm of bees with no letdown.
Will Mich. match our pace of play? Maybe we will find out Friday. Where Michigan has talent it's hard to think they can match our talent, starters or bench. They have a very good coach, just not the caliber of Geno or his staff. It looks like we have them by 15 points. They are good just not Husky good.
 
I can hardly wait for @cferraro04 ‘s analysis. But in the interim, I’ll offer this. Michigan has a very good core rotation. They don’t have a significant big post, but they have a pretty good platoon of medium big posts in Sofilkanich and Delfosse. But the key is they have a bunch of big guard/wing types and this allows them to play a tallish smallball unit that has good speed. Their rotation is only 8 deep, which means they can’t outrun UConn for long, and they absolutely cannot outmuscle us. They also have a pair of speedy little guards in Quarles-Daniels and Holloway both of whom are pickpockets. But there’s no backups for them. Dudley can spell Swords and Olson or maybe even play the post in the smallball unit, but if the little guards need to sit, then the guard duties fall to Olson and Swords. KBA doesn’t have any other options I can see.

So the issue will come down to whether Azzi KK Kayleigh Ash and Allie can outhustle the little guards over 4 quarters — I’m willing to bet they can — and whether the real core of the team which is Olson and Swords are tough enough to hang with Sarah Blanca and Azzi. I don’t think they can. Will it be close? Maybe, but I suspect we’ll pull away in the second half if not sooner as Olson and Swords tire out.
 
I watched the Michigan v ND game and I think Michigan is for real. They were very tenacious and locked in on defense, great perimeter shooting and just showed fire and heart the whole game.

They are a little short inside but have some big guards and a solid bench. I think the game will be competitive, more than we have seen so far.
 
Here's an extended (30 minute) highlight vid of the Michigan/Notre Dame game. I know Notre Dame is more discombobulated than usual, but even given that, Michigan is good. They seem well-positioned to punish lapses in defense and other mistakes.

We'll know a lot more about what level this year's UConn team is at after Friday.

 
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LwrcasefaN said:
Michigan is definitely one of the better teams this season, but the beatdown on ND says more about the ND team in my opinion. If Hidalgo is off….they will have a bad night.
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I agree. But Hannah had an off night mainly because Michigan’s little guards would run with her, and Swords Olson and Dudley are long and lean enough to deter her from the paint. In other words, Hannah’s off game was because of what Michigan was doing on defense. And after Hannah, the supporting cast couldn’t really match up with Michigan. But that may not be so true by the time we play ND.

And one other thought. I recall a game two years ago in which Michigan upset tOSU, and their strategy was to get charges on McMahon by waiting on her patented spin move. This has been a strategy of Michigan teams for awhile now. I suspect they’ll try to pin a few charges on Blanca in this same way.
 
WBBZen said:
I watched the Michigan v ND game and I think Michigan is for real. They were very tenacious and locked in on defense, great perimeter shooting and just showed fire and heart the whole game.

They are a little short inside but have some big guards and a solid bench. I think the game will be competitive, more than we have seen so far.
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Agreed! I think this could be a tough game. I like us to win of course, but this is definitely not a team to take lightly, and the final score could easily cause a few of us to squirm uncomfortably in our seats.
 
Bone Dog said:
I agree. But Hannah had an off night mainly because Michigan’s little guards would run with her, and Swords Olson and Dudley are long and lean enough to deter her from the paint. In other words, Hannah’s off game was because of what Michigan was doing on defense. And after Hannah, the supporting cast couldn’t really match up with Michigan. But that may not be so true by the time we play ND.

And one other thought. I recall a game two years ago in which Michigan upset tOSU, and their strategy was to get charges on McMahon by waiting on her patented spin move. This has been a strategy of Michigan teams for awhile now. I suspect they’ll try to pin a few charges on Blanca in this same way.
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True. But shutting down a single threat versus 4 or 5…is a different ballgame. And UCONN's defense is the other factor.
 
Better not look past Michigan as you contemplate a possible undefeated season- they have great shooting guards! They play great defense and switch off excellently, they have a deep squad, and they push the pace. If I have to choose a team that they resemble in style, I’d say UConn. I view Swords as #1 shooting threat as she reminds me of Azzi with the quick release and range. Put KK and Kayleigh on her. Sarah is going to have a big game!
 
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visitingcock said:
"Based on what I've seen from Michigan they will be, for sure, the best team we play this year, by a long shot at this time in the season," Auriemma said after his team's win over Ohio State on November 16, per an X post from Avery Becker of UCTV Sports.

Well, I dunno. It seems he is saying that they are the best that he has seen, at this time, that y'all will face in the regular season. I think they are the best Guard oriented team y'all will face this year but may fall short on the bigs.
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Reminds me of my "twin brother" when he would say to a sophomore entering his science room, after she asked him if she was his favorite student, "You are my favorite Allison Biggs in this hour's Chemistry class."
{name changed to protect the innocent, but the name matched the student each hour of the day...}

Translated into "twin brother speak," Geno 'actually' said, "Michigan is the BEST Team that we are playing on Friday, 11/21/2025 from 8 p.m. to ~10 p.m.." 😎 🔥 😍
 
For the curious, Michigan is hosting Binghamton tonight at 7PM on B1G+. ESPN Analytics predicts that Michigan has a 99% chance of winning.
 
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The season is very young so it's hard to say, but I think USC and Tennessee have a lot of upside and could wind up being the toughest opponents. Definitely a lighter schedule this year with most ranked games at home and no marquee matchups against the likes of South Carolina, Texas and UCLA.


Last year Michigan was a streaky team which is what you'd expect from a team led by freshmen. They almost upset South Carolina and destroyed a good Maryland team, but also lost to bottom feeder Wisconsin and were blown out by Michigan State. So far they have a statement win over Notre Dame but their level of consistency remains to be seen.
 
I am very very confident with UConn. Ohio St shot lights out in the first qtr and Azzi wasnt on and we had the lead. We overwhelmed them. I expect that for the rest of the year. Michigan is very good but UConn is at a different level. They have to defend 5 UConn players one on one. I dont see them slowing UConn down it aint happening.

I dont think many understand how good and talented this team is. We can win big with a player having an off nite. We can explode and run over opponents. I dont expect this game to be close. We could blow them out and just never let up. I say that knowing we will be all over Olsen and handle everybody else. This is a special team with alot of smarts and athleticism....and we got Geno.
 
RSHERMVIKES said:
I think that "the talking suits" are making a big deal over Michigan beating ND by 30+ points, but IMHO, ND is no where near their usual talented roster!
Yes Michigan is a good team that will get better with time, but UConn will give them all they could handle!
Some "usual suspects" are a rung below their loaded roster as in the past!
It will be a good game on Friday night vs the Wolverines but no one matches UConn's talented depth!
Expand ...
I guess that is the question. Is Michigan that good or is notre dame that bad?
 
Bone Dog said:
At that moment, I think Geno meant so far this season. But it may also turn out to be true for the entire regular season.
Expand ...
I agree. I think Geno ( like most of us) was shocked at the beating Michigan gave to ND. And I think the game was at ND. I saw much of that matchup, and they played all game like OSU played against UCONN in the first quarter. Michigan did lose their best player from last year to the portal ( UCLA ). I don't think we play UCLA this year but they are a top team. USC is still very good even without JJ/. But that is like UCONN without Paige ( when she was injured). Still good but wounded. Michigan could turn out to be the toughest opponent we see before the big dance.
 
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