The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/213966
michigan basketball Albrecht didn't downplay the chance to come into Crisler 40 or 50 years down the road, though, and see visual tribute to an amazing freshman year. "It's awesome," he assured. "It's great to have it up there." Wolverines Get A Taste Of Tough Action In Ames A road trip to Ames, Iowa, produced both good and bad news for John Beilein's 2013-14 crew Nov. 17. The best news involved sophomore Mitch McGary taking the court for a game for the first time since the national championship contest in the Georgia Dome last spring. The bad news? Despite McGary's nine points, six rebounds and four steals in 22 minutes, and classmate Nik Stauskas' 20-point effort, the Wolverines couldn't hold off Iowa State, losing 77-70. It's not as if U-M lost to a bad team. The Cyclones had Ohio State on the ropes in a third-round NCAA Tournament game last spring, before losing at the buzzer. They feature a powerhouse in big man Melvin Ejim, who scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds. But the Wolverines, who led by as many as eight points in the first half and by six early in the second, just went cold at the wrong time. They wound up connecting on just 8 of 29 three-point shots (27.6 percent), including sophomores Glenn Robinson III and Caris LeVert, along with freshman Derrick Walton Jr., each knocking down 1 of 5 from long range. Still, U-M's head coach pointed to defending better. "We scored 70," John Beilein said. "Defensively the way they're going to spread you out … basically we had younger guys out there guarding really experienced players, and they did a great job attacking us off the dribble on the perimeter. "Up by a little with eight to go, we've got to make some shots. We had some really good shots, missed the front end of a one-and-one and had a turnover in there. We missed some really good shots, and once they got the lead, the building gets jumping. We missed some pretty good shots during that time that could have quieted them. It wasn't meant to be." McGary's return was even a bit of a mixed blessing. The Wolverines are still getting used to playing together with him back in the lineup, and it cost them at times. "We were way off [sometimes]," Beilein said. "We called a couple plays we did not execute, and that's going to happen. But what do we do, wait until it's all perfect to get him in there? We decided to get him in the game and see where it goes. As long as we don't overtax his body, get him in and out, keep him on a bike in between, keep him warm. Mitch just played with one full practice under his belt, otherwise it was 20, 40, 60 minutes." Michigan didn't taste defeat throughout the non-conference schedule last season, steaming into Big Ten play with an unblemished record. But U-M knew this slate carried