The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/116680
"That's kind of the brand Michigan has — we're not as tough as somebody else, or we're too young," Robinson said. "I think we can be just as good as any other team. I know we are." That's obviously how Michigan's coaches want them thinking heading into the NCAA Tournament, and U-M assistant Jeff Meyer came well armed with evidence that the Wolverines have it in them. In rapid-fire succession, he rattled off the harder-hitting highlights of Michigan's march to 26 victories. "We played Pittsburgh, played Kansas State, played West Virginia, played Michigan State, played Ohio State," he pointed out. "You play a 40-minute game, and you have to be at your best. "We have several games we can point to where we played very physical teams, good rebounding teams, and played successfully. Maybe the point of the post-season opportunity is you draw upon those successes going forward, and you play with a little more purpose or sense of urgency, because you know this is it." Getting away from the Big Ten, its deep talent and deeper scouting reports, probably can't hurt. The Wolverines sounded ready to embrace a fresh start, just like they embraced a pre-Big Ten season that featured a 13-0 roll. "It's a two-way street," Alexander said. "Teams are in trouble by playing us as well, in the sense that they haven't seen our players, our scheme, our methodology, which is very tough to defend against. When you get in that NCAA Tournament, anything can happen. "One thing I want to inject in our guys at this stage of the game is confidence and enthusiasm. That can carry over and give us some momentum. You get past that first game, anything can happen." ❏