The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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54 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2025 I t was March 15, 2013, and the Michi- gan basketball team had just lost again. Players and staff members filed off the team bus at the Westin Michigan Avenue in Chicago, went up the elevators to their rooms, grabbed their belongings and came back down. Head coach John Beilein's team was headed home after a second-round exit in the Big Ten Tournament, losing 68-59 to Wisconsin. At the team hotel, Beilein approached a group of fans. He thanked them for supporting his team, apologized that they couldn't get it done and then said something that too many fans forget this time of year. "The beautiful thing about college basketball is we have new life next week," Beilein said. "It's a new season." The next season, the Wolverines were 6-6 in their last 12 games entering the NCAA Tournament, but as the No. 4 seed made a run all the way to the na- tional championship game. Three weeks before Michigan began its run, it lost to Penn State, which was 0-14 in the Big Ten coming in. The Nittany Lions stormed the court but didn't have enough fans to fill the floor. That was a low point, but one game doesn't define a college basketball season. A completely different looking team, with a rediscovered swagger, showed up at the Palace of Auburn Hills, where they beat South Dakota State and VCU to kick off the run to the final Monday night. On March 10, 2022, Michigan had a 17-point lead with under 13 minutes left but crumbled in a Big Ten Tournament loss to Indiana. It was truly stunning, and a lot of people had given up on the Wolverines. A week later, we watched No. 11 seed Michigan beat Colorado State and Ten- nessee to advance to the program's Big Ten-record fifth straight Sweet 16 … in that same building, Gainbridge Field- house. As long as you're still alive in college basketball, you've got a chance, which is why it has the best postseason of any sport. 'FLOODGATES CAN STILL OPEN' We were reminding fans of this for weeks while Michigan played poor bas- ketball down the stretch of the regular season, but many didn't want to hear it. Rivals said the Wolverines would lose out and the season was over just be- cause they were swept by MSU and lost four of their last six games. Maybe it's more exciting to forget all of that and then be surprised and swept up in the moment when a March turn- around happens. That was on display in Indianapolis, when Michigan beat Pur- due, Maryland and Wisconsin to win their fourth-ever Big Tournament title. Instead of being a No. 6 seed in the Big Dance that everyone was going to pick against, the Wolverines are an under- seeded No. 5 seed that is viewed as a team with a chance to make a deep run. Things can change quickly in this sport. Michigan still hasn't reached its ceil- ing, either, which is scary, and preparing in a short period of time for the Wolver- ines' two 7-footers, junior Danny Wolf and graduate Vladislav Goldin, won't be easy for opponents. "Do I think this team can be a good March team? Yes, I do," head coach Dusty May said before the postseason. U-M proved that in Indy, and this team will have a lifelong, championship bond because of it, but May doesn't be- lieve the Wolverines have reached their ceiling. "Not all eight in the rotation are clicking on the same night, and we be- lieve it's going to happen," said May. "The way we shot the basketball earlier in the year and the way we're capable of [shooting] during practice, we think the floodgates can still open for us." That would make for another memo- rable NCAA Tournament run. The Wol- verines have made the Sweet 16 in their last five appearances and won 23 Big Dance games since 2013, more than any other Big Ten school. When May took the job following Ju- wan Howard's firing last March, there were high long-term expectations, but nobody believed they'd hang a ban- ner in Year 1. Michigan already has one championship under its belt and more to chase the rest of March and into April. There are no guarantees, just like it wasn't a given the Wolverines would continue to sputter after a rough end of the regular season, but there's plenty of hope and excitement this spring. ❏ SAYFIE BLITZ ❱ CLAYTON SAYFIE The Beauty Of College Basketball Tre Donaldson's last-second layup in the semifinals against Maryland sent Michigan on to the Big Ten Tournament Championship. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Staff writer Clayton Sayfie has covered Michigan athletics for The Wolverine since 2019. Contact him at Clayton.Sayfie @on3.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @CSayf23.