The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/122487
came one of the tightest groups in any sport of any era to wear maize and blue. When April arrived they were one of the last teams standing, making it to the NCAA championship game before falling 8276 to Louisville. "A lot of people doubted us," sophomore point guard Trey Burke, the consensus National Player of the Year, said after announcing he would forego his final two years for the NBA. "I'm so proud how we made that run." It started as a No. 4 seed in the South Regional after a disappointing loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines, the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament after missed free throws down the stretch cost them a Big Ten title in a home loss to Indiana, fell to the Badgers 68-59 in the quarterfinals and seemed to be limping into the NCAA Tournament. Burke had other ideas. "The coaches are in the front of the bus, the players are in the back," assistant Bacari Alexander recalled. "I'm sitting there and a text comes through from Trey: 'Coach, it's March 16. Remember on this day that I told you, we will get to the national championship game. Just watch.'" Burke was the catalyst for the run. He'd get plenty of help, though, starting from game one. Holding Serve In Their Backyard Michigan, projected as a one seed as late as March, fell to a four after the Big Ten Tournament, but got to start close to home at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Wolverines were still a trendy pick for early elimination by several analysts, starting with a secondround matchup with South Dakota State. Much of the attention was on Burke's matchup with talented Jackrabbits guard Nate Wolters, but Michigan's supporting cast would be the difference in a 7156 win. Burke finished with only six points on 2-of-12 shooting, which included a 0-of-5 effort from three-point range. "If you would have told me he'd have single digits, I'd have said maybe it would have been a little closer, but we could still win, because we know what the other guys are capable of," assistant coach LaVall Jordan said. "At this point, it's kind of putting it all together. It's been a work in progress." Michigan led only 30-26 at the half before pulling away, thanks in large part to freshman big man Mitch McGary. It was the first game of an impressive run that would put McGary firmly on the map as one of the nation's top young big men. He scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while junior Tim Hardaway Jr. notched 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting (5 of 7 from threepoint range). Freshman Glenn Robinson III, the occasionally reluctant shooter, provided the secondhalf spark, adding 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting (3 of 3 on triples). "A lot of people say