The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/111015
killing ICBM for Ohio State at the Big Ten Tournament a few years back ��� found nothing but net. In the overtime, the Wolverines found nothing, period. Perhaps still in shock over the stunning game-extender, U-M managed a lone bucket in the overtime, while the Badgers slipped away. ���You don���t even look at it as a loss,��� Beilein said, talking about dealing with a young team. ���We talk about all the possessions in the game that really had a bearing on the outcome of the game, not the half-court shot. There were all these possessions we wasted ��� ���Would you trade this game for a win Tuesday night [against Michigan State]? Would you trade this win for a win in the Big Ten Tournament? Would you trade this game ��� just spin it around, and make the best out of it.��� Embarrassed In East Lansing It became painfully obvious that swapping for a win over the Spartans ��� at least in their den ��� wasn���t an option. Tom Izzo���s team played what he called its best game in three years, while Beilein���s crew appeared to have left a little moxie behind in Madison. ���They bullied us. Point blank. Nothing else to say,��� Hardaway said, after Michigan State rumbled to a 75���52 win that included a pair of 31-point margins down the stretch. If Wisconsin marked the sudden spiral down, Michigan State represented the crash landing. The Wol- verines couldn���t do much right, getting bashed on the boards (41-30), doubled over in turnovers (16-8) and ��� more than anything else, against a crew that revels in Bully Ball ��� pushed around all over the court. ���It���s a physical league, it���s a physical game, and you have to embrace it,��� Beilein said. ���We did not, they did, and they just got away from us ��� ���We didn���t deserve to win that game. Maybe we got exactly what we deserved. Maybe it���s medicine for the future.��� Morgan, who attempted to play on a not-fully-recovered ankle, called for the bottoming out against MSU to mark the point at which the Wolverines fought back. ���At the end of the day, it���s just about making a decision about how good we want to be,��� Morgan insisted. ���We get all these numbers, all these rankings, but it doesn���t really mean much when we step out there. Other teams don���t care about that stuff. ���It���s pretty embarrassing, especially for me, being from here. I just hope we realize what happened today, and that it���s just not okay.��� The end of the gauntlet couldn���t have provided a tougher punch in the gut. Whether the Wolverines can get back off the canvas and fight to at least a share of the Big Ten championship remained to be seen. ���We feel we can win every game, from here on out,��� insisted Stauskas, following the bounce-back win over Penn State. ���We���ve just got to keep working and we���ll be fine.��� ���