Newsstand: ESPN analyst says take the under for Michigan win total
The Michigan Wolverines head into the 2024 season with a very good roster and a puncher’s chance at a fourth-straight Big Ten title. But the schedule is loaded and features no shortage of powerhouse programs.
That is prompting ESPN analyst Greg McElroy to think long and hard about how he views the Wolverines with the Vegas win total.
Most sportsbooks have the Wolverines at 9.5 wins ahead of the 2024 season. McElroy said recently that something about the uncertainty screams “under.”
“Two that stand out on the high side right now – I look at Michigan, fresh off a national championship. Fresh off a run of dominance in the Big Ten that we have not seen in quite some time. They’ve won however many games, however many consecutive years and you look at this year’s over-under season win total and it’s 9.5,” McElroy explained. “And if I’m a Michigan fan I’m thinking, ‘Wait, hang on a second. They don’t think we can win 10 games?’
“That’s going to elicit a reaction to me. So if I’m frustrated about how low the season win total might be, then I might lean towards taking the under. That’s all I’m saying. That one jumps out to me.”
There are 83 days left until the regular season and the time arriving to figure out the ceiling. Michigan opens the year with Fresno State on Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. in Ann Arbor.
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“But the three that stayed, I think my first question or one of the first couple questions to all of them was, ‘Would you choose to attend Michigan if you didn’t play ball?’ And all of them said, without any hesitation, ‘100 percent. Absolutely. They all love it here. And so when you have something that brings us together, something bigger than ourselves — and that’s the association with this block ‘M’ — I do think that makes our job a little bit easier to retain and also acquire quality people.
“It was comforting to me to know that those guys take a lot of pride in this place and wanted to leave here on a winning note and with a legacy. It was difficult at first because I couldn’t tell them what their roles were going to be. I couldn’t have told them what I projected as far as minutes or anything, because everything was so different, so new, and I needed to get to know them.”
– Michigan head men’s basketball coach Dusty May on Will Tschetter, Jace Howard and Nimari Burnett returning for next season
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