The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BY CHRIS BALAS H eading into the last three weeks of the regular sea- son, the Big Ten had been as unpredictable as for- mer Indiana head coach Bob Knight's temper after a loss. So called "guar- antee games" were anything but — ask Ohio State, which lost to Penn State at home, and Indiana, which lost at home to a Northwestern team many claimed was one of the Big Ten's worst in recent memory and the Nittany Lions. The Wildcats, 5-5 after stun- ning back-to-back road victories at Wisconsin Jan. 29 and Minnesota Feb. 1 and with the tough part of their schedule behind them, seemed primed to make a run at .500 in the conference — and then lost at home to a 3-6 Nebraska team. "We know in this league, teams one through 12 can beat you on any day," Michigan head coach John Beilein said before the Wolverines beat Nebraska 79-50 at home Feb. 5. "We have to try to win as many as we can and just see what happens, because it's a son of a gun to win any game." In some years, many would dis- miss Beilein's comment as coach- speak. Not this season. In a Big Ten that one national media outlet noted "is one of the nation's toughest con- ferences, but also one of its weird- est," only one league team had an undefeated home record two-thirds of the way through the conference schedule — Michigan, which finally lost at Crisler Center when it fell 75-62 to Wisconsin Feb. 16. Had it not been for a missed, last-second, point-blank tip-in with seconds re- maining against the Wolverines, Ne- braska would also have been perfect at home. THE STRETCH RUN Michigan And Michigan State Have Separated Themselves From The Big Ten Pack