The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1533441
APRIL 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 57 B efore all the confetti settled at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in India- napolis, an uproar erupted from Michigan faithful everywhere. CBS had quickly announced when revealing the NCAA Men's Basketball Tourna- ment bracket that the Wolverines were a 5 seed. A 5 seed despite having the fourth-most Quad 1 wins in the nation. A 5 seed despite that Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin, against whom U-M was 5-2 and had a better or equivalent con- ference mark, were all 4 seeds. And a 5 seed matched with arguably the tough- est 12 seed in recent history on only three days' rest in the thin air of Denver. There is no question that the selec- tion committee absolutely hosed the Maize and Blue with their bracket draw and that the committee barely consid- ered, if at all, the Big Ten Tournament results. Michigan easily should have been a 4 seed ahead of at least one of those three Big Ten schools. But it does not matter. It does not matter because, for Michigan, anything more is extra credit. The Wolverines have already sur- passed all expectations for this season. The bar was not on the floor to start the year even though Michigan had just ex- perienced its losingest season ever and monumental player attrition. New head coach Dusty May came in and reset the roster immediately with several quality pick-ups in the trans- fer portal. After those transfers were published, I wrote in this column in May 2024 that May could transform the Maize and Blue from last place in the Big Ten by a mile (8-24 overall, 3-17 con- ference) to a tournament team in one offseason. May has done much more than that. This was not a fringe NCAA Tourna- ment bubble team. Oh, no. This was a team that, at one point, was as high as 10th in KenPom's adjusted efficiency margin rating and, a month later, was 12-2 in the Big Ten and leading the con- ference. Behind the two 7-foot towers of Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, Michigan had its eyes on a title. A Big Ten title, not a national one. Even though Michigan was riding a his- toric streak of close wins to stay atop the conference leaderboard, U-M was sliding down all the analyti- cal power models. It seemed Michigan was more lucky than good and a cut well below the elites of college basketball, namely Duke, Auburn, Houston and Florida. That's why it felt imperative that Michigan capitalize on its good fortune and finish the regular season strong with a banner. It seemed likely that Michigan's luck would run out and the odds of making a deep March run would be fickle. That's also why it stung so much when Michigan did disintegrate in its last three matchups of the Big Ten slate. The Wolverines lost them — two at home — by an average of 14.3 points and looked completely out of sorts. The regular-season trophy had been ceded to their rival Michigan State, in- cluding a humiliating showing in East Lansing, and they were flailing to the finish line. However, rather than just allow the great feelings of this season to slip away down the toilet, in just three days dur- ing Championship Weekend, May, Goldin, Wolf and the Maize and Blue crew reset the narrative once more and cemented their legacy for this season. They boiled the Boilermakers in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. They escaped some horrid officiating when point guard Tre Donaldson jetted end to end in less than five seconds for a game-winning layup against Maryland in the semis in dramatic fashion. Then they clawed, scraped and gutted their way back from an 11-point deficit to win an ugly but glorious final round versus Wisconsin. Nothing is more glorious than a new banner hanging from the rafters of Crisler Center. Even more so when it seemed it would be many years before U-M would be in this spot again. That's why any success Michigan has in the NCAA Tournament is gravy. The Wolverines may be the upset victim so many pundits are predicting. UC San Diego is just 11 spots behind U-M in KenPom and may exploit one of U-M's biggest two flaws by forcing a gazillion giveaways — UCSD is second in defen- sive turnover rate, while U-M is 328th in offensive turnover rate. A first-round exit is foreseeable, and Michigan's po- tential foes thereafter — Texas A&M's elite offensive rebounding and Auburn's all-around excellence — do not scream a deep run for U-M. But again, that is OK. This Michigan team feels like the 2011-12 squad that captured U-M's first Big Ten title since 1986. They may not be as good as their record, and an early NCAA Tournament exit may be in the cards. Even so, it will never take away what they have already done. They united when almost every- one doubted them and put this program back together. They will always be (improbable) champions. Anything more now is just extra credit. ❑ INSIDE THE NUMBERS ❱ DREW HALLETT Marching For Extra Credit Grad transfer Vladislav Goldin went off for 25 points against Maryland in the semifinals and helped power a gritty Michigan team to the 2025 Big Ten Tournament title. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Staff writer Drew Hallett has covered Michigan athletics since 2013. Contact him at drew.c.hallett@gmail.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @DrewCHallett.