The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1451622
12 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2022 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2017 — John Beilein's Michigan basketball crew ral- lied from nine down against No. 2 seed Louisville, winning 73-69 on March 19 and advancing to the NCAA Tourna- ment Sweet 16. Louisville closed out the first half on an 8-0 run, establishing a 36-28 halftime edge. The Cardinals led by nine early in the second half, before Michigan began chipping away at the deficit. Moritz Wagner scored eight points during Michigan's rally, and Zak Irvin hit a pair of jumpers to pull the Wol- verines within three, 49-46, with 11:45 left. D.J. Wilson's three-pointer pulled U-M within one, and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman's two free throws and layup put Michigan up, 53-51. Michigan then held Louisville off through a harrowing final few mo- ments. Wagner 's career-high 26 points paced the Wolverines, while Wilson added 17 and Derrick Walton logged an all-around strong game with 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Walton said of Wagner: "He's got the mentality where he wants to make the play. He just makes the right play at all times. He has the calls to make the big plays, so we feed off him because he's not afraid of anything." 10 YEARS AGO, 2012 — Michigan beat Penn State on the road on March 4, 71-65. Ohio State's subsequent win at Michigan State gave the Wolverines their first share of a Big Ten champion- ship since 1986. The Wolverines shot 59.5 percent from the floor (25 of 42) and 56 percent from three-point range (10 of 18) to take down the Nittany Lions in Happy Val- ley. Trey Burke led the scoring for the Wolverines, tossing in 19 points, while Evan Smotrycz scored his Big Ten sea- son-high of 17. Veterans Zack Novak and Stu Doug- lass scored 11 and nine points, respec- tively. Michigan shot 70 percent in the first half, building an 11-point lead over the opening 20 minutes. Penn State pulled within four, 64-60, down the stretch, but Michigan held on and saw its victory turn into a championship. "It puts us in position to be in posi- tion, if the right breaks go our way, to have a share of the Big Ten champion- ship, which is something that is very im- portant to the University of Michigan," Beilein said afterward. 25 YEARS AGO, 1997 — Florida State looked for an NIT championship on March 28. But a Tractor Traylor got in the way of the Seminoles, and ran over them. Robert Traylor scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to drive Michi- gan's 82-73 victory in the NIT final at New York's Madison Square Garden. Traylor's 300-pound frame tipped the scales in Michigan's favor, according to Florida State coach Pat Kennedy. "The thing I was very concerned about was their size and physical strength," Kennedy said. "We could just not chal- lenge them like we wanted to early in the game. I don't think I've ever coached a team in my 17 years that has been so physically imposing as they are." Still, Florida State hung with the Wol- verines until the final moments, despite 20 points from Maceo Baston and 17 more from Louis Bullock. "You build a 20-point lead and it can evaporate in a hurry," Michigan head coach Steve Fisher said. "I think that was more Florida State than Michigan. It was more what they did." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Moritz Wagner netted a career-high 26 points against No. 2 seed Louisville March 19, 2017, to advance the Wolverines into the Sweet 16, where they would fall by one point to No. 3 seed Oregon. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN