The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/111015
������ men���s basketball Michigan Basketball Rewind: Jan. 18-Feb. 17 Overall Record: 22-4, 9-4 Big Ten Record Jan. 18-Feb. 17: 5-3 Overall, 5-3 Big Ten National Ranking: No. 7 Associated Press poll and No. 7 USA Today coaches��� poll Best Win ��� 76-74 over Ohio State (OT): No, it wasn���t a big road victory like the Wolverines beating Illinois in Champaign, Ill. U-M���s overtime put-down of the Buckeyes represented holding serve at Crisler Center and gaining a split in the season series. Still, it was Michigan-Ohio State, at a time when the Wolverines desperately needed a win. It���s the only one they scrambled up out of a horrific four-game stretch that also featured road games at Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan State. This one could have gone down as an ���L��� as well, had it not been for junior Tim Hardaway Jr.���s incredibly hot hand, along with a well-timed three-pointer by sophomore Trey Burke. Hardaway torched the Buckeyes with six threes on his way to 23 points, while Burke nailed the long-range shot to put the Wolverines ahead in overtime. A hands-heavy defensive struggle at times came down to one last Aaron Craft attempt to tie it at the end. Hardaway swatted it down, the Buckeyes cried foul, and officials ignored them, sending the Wolverines away as winners. Worst Loss ��� 65-62 at Wisconsin (OT): Forget Michigan State (please, implores any Michigan-minded witness to that ill-fated bruise-fest). Michigan got flat-out embarrassed at East Lansing, but that appeared to be a lost cause throughout, maybe in some measure because of the game that directly preceded it. The Wolverines could have escaped from Wisconsin���s Kohl Center with their first victory there since 1999. They were right there, 2.4 seconds away, with a threepoint lead, courtesy of Hardaway���s clutch three-point shot. But Ben Brust���s running-start three-pointer from just over the half-court line ��� with U-M head coach John Beilein imploring the Wolverines to use one of the fouls they had left ��� badgered the Wolverines into oblivion. It swished, sending the game to overtime and eventually sending Michigan to East Lansing with a third Big Ten loss and a decided competitive hangover. Breakout Performer: Burke keeps breaking into higher and higher levels. He���s up for multiple National Player of the Year awards, and continues to lead the Wolverines in scoring (18.6) and assists (6.9). Nobody in the Big Ten has averaged 17 points and seven assists in a season since Magic Johnson in the late 1970s, and Burke has a shot at that magic mark. He continues to control games for the Wolverines, even on near-miss nights. Burke helped bring Michigan back from a huge deficit against Indiana, and his lastsecond three-point attempt just rattled out. He scored a season-high 29 points in U���M���s bounce-back victory over Penn State, following the first back-to-back defeats