Michigan is ducking us for sure and there are 3 things about it that have me irked.
1. They have been able to work out more than they are letting on. That article confirms it. Plus, 3-4 days should be more than enough time to shake the rust off, get a days rest in and then go at it. These are 20 something elite physical specimens. Not a 34 year old dude with iffy knees. (Me)
2. They have now caused a more difficult and probably more “injury causing” schedule down the road as the B1G SHOULD be trying to make up all these games. Playing every other day or near it is going to be fatiguing and injuries become more likely with fatigue. And that’s not just for THEM. Illinois now has to find a way to get that game in with our own compressed schedule. Thank goodness Nebraska sacked up and were willing to play tomorrow to alleviate that.
3. That last point leads to this one. Since when has the league (or NCAA really) given a crap about players possibly not being at 100% each game? The B1G and most other conferences literally play a tournament at the end of each regular season where we celebrate a team that plays three, Four or possibly even FIVE games IN A ROW. And we don’t just celebrate that sort of “warrior, dig deep, push through the fatigue” mentality, we incentivize and reward it with an automatic tourney birth. And UM is worried because they’ve had two weeks to rest, work out at a limited pace, and then use 4 days to prepare for a game?
Yup, I’m putting my hand up for this one. Gotta keep my watch out of all the BS because it’s gettin DEEP.