The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2019 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2014: Michi- gan clinched its first outright Big Ten basketball championship in 28 years by taking down Illinois, 84-53, on the road March 4. The 22-7 (14-3 Big Ten) Wolverines left no doubt, crushing the Illini with 52 first-half points and a white-hot performance by guard Nik Stauskas. The sophomore nailed seven of his nine three-point attempts in piling up 24 points. Stauskas made a massive statement at the end of the first half, underscor- ing Michigan's swagger. Illini head coach John Groce was having his team foul repeatedly when still short of the bonus, while the "Orange Crush" stu- dent section tried to taunt Stauskas into ineffectiveness. Stauskas let fly from 25 feet with a second remaining in the half, nailed the shot, then whirled and glared at the silenced student section. The shot elicited a "Wow" from head coach John Beilein on the sideline. The boisterous fans couldn't knock the Canadian off his game, but they could make him laugh. "As I was inbounding the ball, they were chanting U-S-A," Stauskas said. "So I got the ball back and I hit it and I kind of just stared at them for a couple of seconds." Regarding the chants, he added: "I think it's funny." The outright title wasn't any laugh- ing matter, propelling the Wolverines toward a successful postseason that included a Big Ten Tournament cham- pionship game appearance and three NCAA Tournament wins to reach the Elite Eight. 10 YEARS AGO, 2009: Beilein's crew held off Clemson 62-59 in their NCAA Tournament opener March 19. Sophomore guard Manny Har- ris poured in a game-high 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists in Michigan's win. The victory marked the first for the Wolverines during March Madness since 1998, which also was their last Big Dance appearance. A 16-2 run early in the second half put Michigan in control, and the Wol- verines pushed the margin to 43-28 with 16:24 remaining. Clemson rallied hard to chop its deficit to a point (58- 57), but Harris responded on a driving three-point play with 37 seconds left. The Tigers hit a shot to get back within two, but freshman guard Zack Novak notched a free throw with 13 seconds remaining to close out the scoring. "We expected to win, we wanted to win," Harris noted. "That was the main thing." "I love the way our kids persevered," Beilein added. "Our kids hung in there." 25 YEARS AGO, 1994: Juwan Howard poured in 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to push Michi- gan past Maryland, 78-71, in a Sweet 16 showdown in Dallas March 24. The Wolverines built a 66-45 lead with 8:47 remaining, but Maryland charged back to cut the deficit un- der double digits with 3:29 left. The Terrapins couldn't extend the rally, though, allowing four of the Fab Five to move on to Elite Eight play for the third straight year. Howard credited his teammates for his personal success. "They do a great job of getting me the ball in places where I can be suc- cessful," noted Howard, who con- nected on all seven of his second-half shots. Jalen Rose added 16 points for the Wolverines and gave credit to the Ter- rapins. "In the future," he said, "they will be a dominant team. But tonight, we were the more experienced team." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Sophomore guard Manny Harris' 23 points helped U-M to its first NCAA Tournament win in more than 10 years with a 62-59 triumph over Clemson on March 19, 2009. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN