Pac-10 Favorite and Perennial Final Four Loser UCLA Drops a Shocker to Lowly Michigan, 55-52
College Basketball November 21st. 2008, 9:00am
When the Pac-10 predictions came out, and UCLA was atop the league, we wondered why. When an analyst selected Darren Collison as the top point guard in the country, we were briefly taken aback. Why’s everyone on the jock of a team that lost three starters to the NBA, including its best two scoring options?
After a receiving a scare from Miami (Ohio) last time out, overrated UCLA, ranked fourth, lost to unranked Michigan last night at MSG, 55-52. It was a bigger victory than any registered by former coach Tommy Amaker (12 straight losses to Top 25 teams) and certainly better than anything Rich Rod has accomplished in Year One wih the football team.
The LA Times chalked up UCLA’s 2nd half struggles to facing a 1-3-1 zone, but offered no excuses as to why a normally staunch Bruin defense allowed a mediocre Michigan team to shoot 61 percent in the second half. By the time you read this, Ben Howland will already have made his team run suicides. Outdoors. At the cage.
We fully expect Duke to stomp Michigan tonight, and for all of Tobacco Road to say, “Well Michigan beat UCLA and we beat Michigan by 30, thus, we’re a Top 5 team!”
Below, listen to the dejecting in Dick Vitale’s voice following a thunderous Michigan dunk in the final minute to seal the win. For a guy who is usually bouncing off the walls during exciting moments, he’s downright dour. You have no clue how hard we’ll be pulling for Michigan tonight. None.
28 Responses to “Pac-10 Favorite and Perennial Final Four Loser UCLA Drops a Shocker to Lowly Michigan, 55-52”
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November 21st, 2008 at 9:08 am
Go Blue!
Beline > RichRod
November 21st, 2008 at 9:09 am
Burn.
BJ Mullens > Michigan’s entire team.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:13 am
lets just hope that michigan got all their upset out of their system last night.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:15 am
I hope Rich Rod goes out to he 50 and Blows his head off before the game. That would be awesome.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:21 am
College sports discussions are really getting old and repetitive to those of us in the midwest…a Big Ten team in one of the two major sports finally gets a really nice win but the entire tone of the post is how the other team is overrated
Plus isn’t it a tad presumptuous to be calling a team in its second year under a new coach (and a really good one at that) “mediocre” and “lowly”…not saying Michigan is bound for the Dance this season but you never know, this could be one of those games that at the end of the season doesn’t look like as much of a shock
November 21st, 2008 at 9:22 am
Butler = beastmode
Tampa, it would be better if he pulled some Last Boy Scout shit
November 21st, 2008 at 9:23 am
CR-I was thinking about that but why shoot others when he no one to blame but himself.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:27 am
Tampa - violence for the sake of violence cant be a bad thing, can it?
November 21st, 2008 at 9:30 am
so many upsets happen this time of year. didn’t UNC lose to Santa Clara the same year (2005) they won the title? not saying the UCLA was going to be winning anything, but it happens a lot in college basketball. michigan is going to be a lot better than people think. it pains me to say that.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:34 am
Fuck Michigan
/All TBL commenters except for MG.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:36 am
I think Mich St. lost to Wright St.(?) the year they won the title.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:36 am
KC, some lovely ladies from OSU have the same sentiment.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:38 am
Flintstones are gay dudes, though. Doesn’t count.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:39 am
yep, we did.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:41 am
Sparty -
How did you get access to the vaunted OSU Tri-Delt Penthouse?
November 21st, 2008 at 9:42 am
i hate Duke, but this Gerald Henderson dunk was pretty sick from last night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCA9OfP7wBg
November 21st, 2008 at 9:43 am
spencer sneaked me in.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:47 am
Sparty:
To those girls, my name can be Michigan for a day
/went to Purdue, used to just ok looking sorority girls
November 21st, 2008 at 9:50 am
/fixed
//Maggs
November 21st, 2008 at 10:00 am
UCLA isn’t a great team right now. The freshmen still look like they are feeling their way through games. They should have lost to Miami last week if it weren’t for the striped shirts assisting them in the last 5 minutes. I think they will be fine in January, but that wasn’t as big of an upset as the rankings showed.
Of course, it was Michigan and they only won 10 games last year, so maybe it was!
/It’s 10:00 and Michigan Still Sucks…
November 21st, 2008 at 10:23 am
Come March, nobody will remember this game. That’s how college basketball works.
November 21st, 2008 at 10:30 am
College basketball >>>>>>>>>> NBA
November 21st, 2008 at 10:32 am
When was the last time two college hoops programs played each other in November and again in December? (Duke goes to Ann Arbor on Dec. 6.)
Meanwhile, I eagerly await TBL’s next post about how Jon Scheyer should not be playing at a D-I program.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:31 am
“Come March, nobody will remember this game. That’s how college basketball works.” For teams on the bubble, this statement is flat out false.
I wouldn’t be so quick to call a Duke win tonight. They played a horrid first half and had a 13:19 assist to TO ratio.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:43 am
Belein owns Ben howland. I’m shocked Howland didn’t have his team prepared for the 1-3-1 when they played West Virginia twice the last 3 years when Beilein was there..
November 21st, 2008 at 11:53 am
How do you know you are envied? Easy. The haters come out on every thread. Now I know what it is like to be a Yankees fan.
Go Blue.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:57 am
fixed
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:17 am
[...] No. 4 UCLA 77, Southern Illinois 60. Was en route to my lady’s house when I get a call from my suddenly enthused brother. “Yo, are you watching this?” “No. I’m in the car. What’s up?” “UCLA and Southern Illinois are tied with 10 minutes to go.” I get to a television 10 minutes later and the Bruins are winning by 15. Good thing for them they won, too; there are already thoughts of how overrated this team is. [...]