The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/666058
You get some, you want more. Michigan found itself wanting, and head coach John Beilein freely admit- ted as much. "We feel really bad," Beilein ac- knowledged. "We played such a bad second half. We don't feel as bad as Northern Iowa does, but the second half was really bad." Northern Iowa, of course, ex- perienced the biggest collapse in NCAA Tournament history, blowing a 12-point lead with 44 seconds re- maining against Texas A&M. Michi- g a n d i d n ' t a p - proach that degree o f d i s a s s e m b l y, but the Wolverines were limited to 22 second-half points after scoring 41 in the first half. They made good on only 28.1 per- cent of their shots from the floor, and 23.1 percent from three-point range, in the second half against a tightened-down Irish de- fense. Michigan's elder statesmen — Irvin and fellow junior, point guard Derrick Walton Jr. — combined to shoot 8 of 29 (27.6 percent) in the game, including 3 of 15 (20.0 percent) from three-point range. Team-wise, they'd connected on better than 50 percent in the first half, appearing to control the game. When it all came apart, the Wolverines were left pondering the bitter what-ifs. Beilein considered them as well. Then he took a step back and looked at a bigger picture. "To have your season end that way is painful," he assured. "However, to win 23 games this year, to make the NCAA Tournament again, that's what we were striving for. It's the consistency of being in the NCAA Tournament virtually every year. "You're going to have blips on the radar screen every now and then, and we had a blip last year. But to be back in five out of the last six, that's the trend we want to be in, and things can work out in the end. "I'm really pleased with it over- all, but I have a bad taste in my mouth a b o u t t h e l a s t game." THE ATTRITION EFFECT The games lead- ing up to the NCAA o u s t e r p ro b a b l y played a role in the finale. Michigan got off to a 7-2 start in the Big Ten, giving a false sense of security about the Wolverines' ability to function at an extremely high level even without their seniors. But those opening nine games featured just three contests against ranked opponents. The back half of the conference slate included five games against ranked foes, with the injury attrition beginning to take its toll. Beilein himself warned at the mid- way point that life in the Big Ten was about to get tougher. With an NCAA Tournament berth on the line, U-M needed to ride its horses hard. DIGITAL BONUS: CLICK THE ICON TO PLAY OR STOP THE PODCAST John Borton and Chris Balas discuss the latest goings-on with Michigan basketball.