Michigan guts out biggest win in a decade

ON BASKETBALL

It looked like the same old story.

The story of the past 10 seasons.

A Michigan basketball team that isn't bad and can win big games in front of a home crowd, but simply doesn't have the focus and drive — the will to win — to pull out must-win games in hostile environments.

The Wolverines were following the script early in the second half Saturday at Minnesota's Old Barn. They allowed the Gophers to get the ball in the paint whenever they pleased — which was often. They allowed the Gophers to get all the loose balls.

And just like that, Minnesota was up by 12 points and well on its way, it seemed, toward an NCAA Tournament berth while the Wolverines appeared like a team that, quite frankly, shouldn't play in the tourney.

Then the improbable happened, and it wasn't a fluke. The Wolverines, perhaps sensing the desperation of the situation, perhaps thinking about how they'd feel to have to settle for yet another NIT invitation, dug deep and mounted a run that shocked the ready-to-celebrate Gophers crowd.

It all started with Laval Lucas-Perry, which is strangely appropriate. After all, the transfer from Arizona didn't play his first game in the Maize and Blue until December. He hasn't been around long enough to be polluted by all the losing, by all the disappointments.

And so Perry wouldn't just accept another tough loss, another botched chance to get the Wolverines over the hump and into the Big Dance.

Instead, the freshman — who had been very quiet and unproductive in recent games — did what none of his teammates would do. He stepped up and hit one big 3-pointer (and the deficit was down to seven). Then another from long range (and it was down to ... seven, again).

But his third 3 in less than 2 minutes got the Wolverines within four. And when he added two free throws – giving him 11 consecutive Michigan points — the margin was suddenly down to two. And his teammates could smell a comeback victory.

From there, it was a team effort. Unlike in close losses in the past, the Wolverines didn't become stagnant when the opportunity presented itself to grab the lead that had long eluded them.

DeShawn Sims' pair of free throws gave them a 60-58 lead. Then, when Minnesota answered right back to tie the game, Sims coolly sunk a baseline jumper to regain the advantage. You could tell, on those two possessions, how much the junior wanted the win and a chance to put the past behind him.

He played like a man all early afternoon, leading Michigan with 24 points. And when Manny Harris assertively dished him a bounce pass in the final minute, Sims made the aggressive, you're-not-stopping-me play that has been nonexistent from Michigan players in the past decade.

He soared to the rim and jammed the ball home while being attacked by a Minnesota defender. That gave the Wolverines a five-point cushion, and when Lawrence Westbrook's last-ditch 3-point attempt fell wide left the Wolverines had their biggest win of the season.

Yes, bigger than beating UCLA. Yes, bigger than beating Duke. No, Minnesota isn't as good as either of those teams, but the importance of Saturday's win revolves around the date and location.

In March. On the road.

In recent years (excluding last season's loss-infested campaign), the Wolverines haven't had problems winning games in November, December and even January. But they've flailed down the stretch, when the games gain importance and the players sense what's at stake.

That looked to be the case for about 30 minutes on Saturday. But then the Wolverines showed me something new. They showed that they'll no longer accept defeat — no matter how close they come — when the deck is stacked against them.

They showed, in a gutsy 10-minute stretch of basketball, that they're an NCAA Tournament-worthy team.

Now, they have to close the deal. That means taking care of business in the first game of the Big Ten tournament (likely against Iowa) — a win that would almost definitely put them in the tournament. And it also means staying hungry and not settling; going out and winning games they're not supposed to pull out.

If Michigan goes on to Dance, the players will point to the conclusion of Saturday's game as the defining moment when they finally moved forward off of the bubble.

And, hopefully, erased the curse of a decade filled with nothing but disappointments.

Wolverines overcome first mental hurdle, but now it gets harder

ON BASKETBALL

One down, a few more to go.

That's where the Michigan basketball team stands after a solid 74-62 home victory over Minnesota Thursday night.

It was a win the Wolverines had to have, a game they couldn't let slip through the cracks if they want to sneak into their first NCAA Tournament since 1998. And, sure enough, once they got hold of the lead in the early going, they never relinquished it and cruised to the easy victory.

But there remains plenty of work to be done. Sitting at 17-10 and 7-7 in the Big Ten, Michigan probably needs to win two, if not three, of its final four regular-season games plus a game or two in the Big Ten tournament to go dance in mid-March.

That doesn't seem like too big of a task except for this: three of Michigan's final four games are on the road. For a young team that hasn't tasted much success, that's the ultimate challenge.

The Wolverines are just 2-6 on opponents' homecourts, with the wins coming over mediocre Northwestern in overtime and lowly Indiana thanks to a last-minute comeback.

For Michigan, it's a mental thing. The Wolverines have to know, have to believe, that they can play well on the road and match up with anybody. Because they certainly have the talent and ability to compete well in any team's gym.

How else can one explain their spirited effort at No. 1 Connecticut a couple weekends ago? In that game, Michigan led at halftime before falling by eight points. The Wolverines showed, for most of the game, what they're capable of.

But as Manny Harris noted afterward, it was still a loss. No matter how good an "L" is, it doesn't help a team's NCAA Tournament resume.

Wins are all that count, and these next couple weeks will show just how well the young Wolverines have grown up. Can they not only play a good 20 minutes in a hostile environment, but a full 40 minutes? That, usually, is the difference between NIT and NCAA teams.

If they do, then they certainly could upset Wisconsin and Minnesota away from home — their final two games. A victory in either of those contests would do wonders for this team.

But before traveling to Madison and Minneapolis, Michigan must travel to Iowa City on Sunday and then host Purdue. Both are winnable games. The Hawkeyes are, to put it bluntly, horrible. They're 3-10 in the conference and I can't name a single player on their roster.

That, of course, is why they're scary: They have absolutely nothing to lose and will relish playing the spoiler role. An experienced team, a team used to playing deep into March, wouldn't give Iowa life in such a game. It'd extinguish the Hawkeyes' energy in the early going.

That's the mindset Michigan needs on Sunday. It needs to play with the same vim and vigor it displayed against the Gophers in Ann Arbor.

We know that'll be on display on Senior Night against a ranked Boilermakers squad, but none of that will matter if Michigan is coming off a bad loss in Iowa.

With one win at a time, the Wolverines can attain their dream: They can play in the Big Dance.

Most prognosticators, including this one, said that goal would be realized next season with a more mature group.

The next couple weeks will show just how quickly (or not) this cadre of players has matured, and it will indicate whether they've developed the killer instinct necessary to win the tough road games.

The signs inside Crisler Arena Thursday night were all good.

But what will transpire away from the friendly confines?

It's time to find out — one last time — just how ready to dance this group of Wolverines is.

A signature win for the young Wolverines

ON BASKETBALL

It was only one game in a long season. It only counts for one non-conference win.

But don't think that Michigan's 55-52 upset of No. 4 UCLA Thursday night will be forgotten anytime soon. Instead, it might be remembered as the signature victory that marked the beginning of the Wolverines' climb to respectability.

This much can be taken from the game: John Beilein has the program headed in the right direction.

Are the 3-0 Wolverines an NCAA Tournament team? Probably not — although their chances are greatly enhanced by the "quality" November win. But they're almost definitely an NIT team, which would be a big improvement from last season's 10-22 finish. And with most of their key players not seniors, they should be even better next season.

Before I applaud the Wolverines, it should be noted that the Bruins didn't look like a top-5 team — or maybe even a top-10 squad. After making a third consecutive Final Four last April, this team is clearly adjusting to the losses of three key players, and it'll be much better by March.

There was offensive confusion, bad turnovers and plenty of missed free throws to go around. It was far from a typical UCLA performance.

But who cares? A win over a great program is just that — HUGE. And now Michigan gets not one, but two shots at No. 10/No. 5 Duke. The Wolverines will take on the Blue Devils Friday night in the tournament finale, and then Duke will travel to Ann Arbor for the rematch two weeks later on Dec. 6.

While a win against the Devils — who, from watching regularly, I'd say are better than the Bruins — would be an even bigger surprise, just the thought of a non-conference resume with "W's" over two top-10 teams has to be intoxicating to any Michigan hoops fan.

But back to the team. It is clear from watching the Wolverines that Beilein knows what he's doing with his 3-point shooting, 1-3-1 zoning style. Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims are good players who could probably play on most Division I teams. As for the rest of the roster, however, they're "system" players. In other words, you would never see David Merritt running the point for John Calipari in Memphis.

Consider 6-foot-3, 175-pound freshman guard Stu Douglass, who made the biggest shot of the night. With the Bruins leading 48-46 with less than 5 minutes remaining — and seemingly on the verge of breaking away, as many would expect — Douglass unexpectedly launched a long, contested 3-pointer that I can't believe he released. It was the type of shot you groan about, thinking, "Dumb freshman."

But, holy smokes, it caught nothing but net. After they had allowed the Bruins to forge ahead, Douglass' improbable shot restored the Wolverines' confidence, and they didn't trail the rest of the game. It was the kind of shot that could be pointed to in February as momentum-building if Michigan is in the midst of a memorable season. And it was made by a player who wasn't recruited by any top-notch programs and wasn't even rated by scout.com.

And it wasn't an aberration (Douglass is a designated long-range sharpshooter; that's his role). Michigan's performance in Madison Square Garden was no anomaly, either. In case you missed it, this is what the Wolverines do well and are only getting better at.

1. Defensively, they fluster opponents with their 1-3-1 extended halfcourt trap, which slows down opponents and especially makes life difficult for teams such as the Bruins who don't shoot particularly well from the perimeter. UCLA passed on several open — albeit long — 3-pointers and shot just 5-of-15 from behind the arc. At times, it exploited the defense with deft inside passing, but that takes precise execution. Half of the time, passes just a little off the mark resulted in turnovers.

Michigan forced 17 UCLA miscues. Meanwhile, the younger Wolverines gave the ball away just nine times. That was a huge factor in the victory.

2. The Wolverines still look stagnant at times on offense, and there were a few possessions when everyone was bunched together on the perimeter with the shot clock running down. But Michigan tends to move very well without the ball, creating plays such as the backdoor pass that Sims took from Anthony Wright for a huge dunk that extended Michigan's lead to 53-49 with 34 seconds remaining.

Also, all the Wolverines are quick and can shoot from anywhere on the floor, including 6-10 big man Zack Gibson. This means opponents can't sag back against anyone, which creates plenty of space for Harris to slash to the basket. The biggest thing Harris needs to work on is his passing. He made two awful passes in transition that almost cost Michigan the game. With the attention he's going to receive from opposing defenses, he needs to be able to find the open man.

So even before Thanksgiving, Michigan has an identity (not to mention that program-building win on national television). Don't tell me that there weren't some high-school kids watching ESPN2 who didn't think, "Wow, now there's a team I could see myself playing for." Yes, the win could certainly help recruiting.

But most important, the upset was a confidence-booster for a Michigan team that hasn't won such a big game since taking down No. 1 Duke on Dec. 14, 1997. Michigan fought back from 17 points down in that game and ended up going to the NCAA Tournament, where it bowed out in the second round.

Sitting in Crisler Arena's nosebleeds that Saturday afternoon, I never could have guessed that after the season Michigan would go 10 straight seasons without making it back to the Big Dance or beating a top-five team. The thought would have been met with laughter.

But sadly enough, that's what has transpired during the darkest era of the program's history.

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008, was only one day, and it contained just a single Michigan victory, but in the months and years to come it could hold a special significance in the minds of the program's faithful followers. It could mark the day of the signature victory that boosted the program onto an infallible road back to respectability.

Regardless of how the win is remembered, this much is for sure: Beilein and staff know what they're doing and are well on their way to molding this team, and the ones to come, into one to be reckoned with throughout the season.

What the Wolverines did against UCLA is learn to win a close, hard-fought game against a more highly regarded opponent. The effects of the victory shouldn't be underestimated.

And you can bet Duke won't be taking the Wolverines lightly in the teams' first meeting or second.

Michigan can't catch a break

ON COLLEGE BASKETBALL

The Michigan men's basketball team played its most complete game of the season Tuesday night.

It still wasn't enough to equal a much-needed win.

Michigan lost a heartbreaker 64-61 to Wisconsin to fall to a morose 5-14 overall and 1-6 in the Big Ten.

Back in December, my friend Tick said Michigan might manage just one or two Big Ten wins. I called him crazy. The Big Ten, after all, isn't the power conference it used to be. And Michigan plays bottom-dwellers Penn State and Northwestern twice.

But if the Wolverines continue to be on the receiving end of the type of bad breaks they were Tuesday, Tick might be a prophet.

Coaches like to say that teams create their own breaks. Sometimes, however, that just ain't true.

During the tight second half, there was Michigan's Manny Harris scoring on a baseline runner ... only to have it called off by a questionable charge call. The basket, at least, should have counted since Harris released the ball before he made contact with the defender.

Then with Michigan trailing by a point in the final minute, Harris lost the ball, which squirted away from a teammate before finally being corralled by a Badger, who called a timeout.

And finally, there was Wisconsin forward Marcus Landry connecting on a 3-pointer over the outstretched arm of Michigan's best defender, Ekpe Udoh, to give Wisconsin a four-point lead. Any other basket would have given the Wolverines a chance to tie the game, but not Landry's bomb.

It's hard not to feel sorry for the Wolverines after Tuesday's result. They came oh-so-close to beating the No. 11 team in the country, to getting that signature win they desperately need, and they couldn't get what coach John Beilein calls the "50-50" balls.

Michigan had several opportunities to take the lead throughout the game, but it never did. Not once. It tied it on a Udoh jumper, but Wisconsin quickly retook the advantage.

The Wolverines rightly took a lot of positives from the game. Harris, who was spectacular, scoring a career-high 26 points, said the team has turned a corner.

But this team still needs to learn how to win. Or, better put, it simply needs a postmark win however it can get it. Even if it comes due to a few fortuitous bounces and a 3-pointer by an unexpected source.

Then the Wolverines will turn the next corner, gaining loads of confidence in the process.

Harris, Sims must lead Michigan

ON COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Here's what someone who didn't watch Michigan's 65-58 loss to Purdue Saturday might glean from today's game story:

These Wolverines, now 4-10, are the quickest team in school history to reach double digits in losses.

Ouch.

But watching the Wolverines battle Purdue on its homecourt Saturday, I saw hope in the form of two young players.

Freshman Manny Harris and sophomore DeShawn Sims.

The guard-forward duo simply refused to let Michigan receive its annual shellacking at Mackey Arena.

Despite going nine minutes, 37 seconds without a basket in the first half and trailing by 14 at the break, Harris and Sims ignited a furious second-half rally that pulled Michigan to within two points on three occasions.

Sims initially pulled got the Wolverines within a basket by swishing two 3-pointers, including a contested 3 after he used a jab space to create a small sliver of space.

Then the freshman took over, consistently driving to the basket and scoring or getting to the free-throw line, where he didn't miss in the half. Harris also showed his versatility, stepping back for a late jumper that pulled Michigan within three.

Purdue's young squad, however, refused to miss free throws in the final minutes, making seven in a row and 11 of its last 12 from the line to pull out the win.

And leave Michigan with another loss.

But here's another great thing about the precocious Harris. As hard as losing hits him, he finds light in each "L," always looking toward the future — which is the only way this history-making (in a bad way) Michigan team can stay positive.

"Our best is still to come, and we're still getting better," Harris told the Ann Arbor News. "You can pull a lot of positives out of this game, but it's still a negative because we lost."

Well-said, Manny.

In all, Harris (25 points) and Sims (15) scored 29 of Michigan's 38 second-half points. And that was with Purdue's defense keying on them. A player is good when he can score against a team-focused defense. A player is great when he can score when a defense is determined to stop him.

Let's be realistic. As much as any good player and any good coach wants to win every single game in which they compete, this season isn't — and shouldn't be — about wins and losses. It would be unwise for John Beilein or any player to set a goal of, say, 15 wins.

They'd just be setting themselves up for disappointment — a common theme under Tommy Amaker's six Michigan teams.

Rather, this year is about the underclassmen becoming comfortable with each other and Beilein's complex Princeton-style offense and 1-3-1 trapping defense. It's about this team showing in spurts what it can be — all the time — two years down the road.

And it's about the future leaders of that future team emerging.

If it wasn't clear before Saturday, it is now that Harris and Sims are Michigan's "dynamic duo," the pair that might finally lead the Wolverines back to the NCAA tournament.

Sims is the player who best understands Beilein's system. He knows that big men like him must step out to shoot 3s over defenders unwilling to defend on the perimeter. And he made a beautiful bounce-pass feed to a cutting Ron Coleman for a layup in the second half Saturday.

Harris is easily Michigan's most talented player. He still makes freshman mistakes — on a side note, is "freshman mistake" still a viable phrase in today's freshmen-dominated college basketball environment? — such as his pair of bad passes out of bounds Saturday, and he finished with a team-high four turnovers.

But when he also leads Michigan with those career-high 25 points and five rebounds, the giveaways don't look so bad.

What's most important is that Harris is a player who can create shots for himself and get to the free-throw line — from which he's money — when nothing else is working offensively. He played a team-high 36 minutes versus Purdue, but he also scored Michigan's last four points to keep it in the game. His legs were far from dead in the closing minutes.

So now the brutal road continues with a home contest against No. 12 Indiana on Tuesday. The game will mark six ranked opponents in Michigan's first 15 games.

Again, ouch.

But even with each loss, Michigan fans can hold out hope that an NCAA tournament birth isn't that far down the road thanks to the play and leadership of a freshman and a sophomore.

Michigan needs to toughen up

ON BASKETBALL

Dear friends who haven't seen a second of Michigan basketball this season:

Let me update you on the state of affairs in Ann Arbor during John Beilein's first go-around as coach of the Wolverines.

After losing 77-64 to Boston College Wednesday in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Michigan is 3-4. In its defense, Michigan's losses have been to ranked teams Georgetown and Butler, the ACC's Eagles and strong mid-major Western Kentucky.

But, I digress, they're losses, and at a place like Michigan, a loss is a loss.

Here's Michigan's biggest problem. It's not tough. It doesn't rebound well. And it's streaky.

OK, actually those are three problems. Again, I digress.

In Beilein's complicated offense — where four players are stationed on the perimeter — the Wolverines shoot loads of 3-pointers. When they're making them, like in the first half Wednesday, they're never out of a game regardless of what happens on the other end of the floor.

Michigan trailed just 34-33 at halftime after making 5-of-10 triples.

But when the Wolverines struggle from behind the arc, like they did in the second half (4-of-15), games against good opponents tend to get away from them. That was the case Wednesday, when the Eagles pulled away in the final eight minutes.

Another problem is rebounding. To begin with, Beilein's 1-3-1 zone is not privy to rebounding acuity, but that's no excuse for getting dominated 50-32 on the boards, as was the case Wednesday.

Boston College left Michigan in the dust in a mere 2-minute stretch. First, there was 6-foot-1 point guard Tyrese Rice stealing an offensive rebound and scoring for a 56-52 lead. Then Michigan's Manny Harris tried an ill-advised baseball pass, which was intercepted by the Eagles.

Seconds later, Biko Paris was fouled. He made the first and missed the second — which was snared by BC's Corey Raji.

Raji proceeded to put the ball back up and in and draw a foul. His free throw made it 60-52, just like that.

Three more baskets — one aided by another offensive rebound — and the Eagles were sitting comfortable, up 66-52.

Of course another thing you — and the people who decided to leave early after the Eagles' 12-0 burst — should know is that these Wolverines can never be counted out of a game. On Wednesday, the late 3-pointers didn't fall, and a made one was waved off because of an offensive foul.

But there were a plethora of open looks, and Michigan had many opportunities to get back into the game. And there are several Wolverines who can shoot the three (five made at least one).

So there you have it, friends. The current countenance of the 2007-08 Wolverines.

Are they a great team?

Definitely not.

Are they a good team?

Not yet.

Are they an exciting bunch to watch?

You betcha. Considering that Michigan, despite looking far from stout defensively (especially in allowing the multi-dimensional Rice to score 28 points, including five 3-pointers), blocked nine shots, there is potential to build on defensively.

Michigan just needs to learn how to close out on 3-point shooters (B.C. was 8-for-14 from downtown) and, yes, limit second-chance opportunities. Oh, and there were a few times when the Eagles shredded the 1-3-1 setup by passing over it for easy layups.

Yep, these Wolverines have a lot to work on. But as the television announcers pointed out, plenty is being worked on during each and every Michigan practice. These kids should be granted an additional major in "Beilein's System."

But until the hard labor starts translating into quality wins, it will remain difficult to judge the progress this team is making.

The Beilein effect: Michigan off and shooting

ON COLLEGE BASKETBALL

They've played just two games, yet the changes are very evident.

A change in body language. A change in attitude. And, most importantly, a change in their style of play.

The Michigan men's basketball team is — drum roll — fun to watch.

Unlike the past six seasons under Tommy Amaker, when the Wolverines' offense was often stagnant, the 2007-08 Wolverines are never stuck in the mud. They're always moving, always creating open shots for each other.

I'm not joking when I say Michigan made nine 3-pointers in its 72-57 win over Brown — in the first half.

Since the Wolverines lack depth up front and and are far from a big team, they pressure teams defensively with a halfcourt trap that did a good job of preventing Brown from settling into its offense. The defense keeps everyone on their toes, always moving and communicating.

That's what you want in a zone defense.

More important than whether you or I enjoy watching this team, it's transparent that the players have bought into coach John Beilein's system and enjoy playing within it.

Freshmen backcourt starters Manny Harris and Kelvin Grady thrive in it, creating open 3-pointers for each other and for transformed forward DeShawn Sims, who didn't make a 3 last season but knocked down 3-of-5 Sunday en route to 17 points. (And he wasn't banking them in, either. His shooting stroke is as sweet as a shooting guard's.)

Not to be forgotten is redshirt sophomore Anthony Wright, who came off the bench to make three triples and score 10 points. And with senior Ron Coleman also swishing a 3 Sunday, that's five Wolverines who made at least one 3-pointer.

That's what commentators call "a diversity of weapons."

Michigan was far from perfect against the undersized Bears, don't get me wrong. Far too often in the first half the Wolverines picked up their dribble and were trapped in the frontcourt. And then there were the two fastbreaks when Harris and redshirt sophomore K'Len Morris threw away easy passes. And the time Harris got caught in the air on the break and threw the ball ... to a Bear.

But those are minuscule miscues for players with no college experience prior to last Friday. There's not too much Beilein and his staff can complain about after two games, two wins.

What they can smile about is the versatility of Harris, who led Michigan with 22 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Harris is the type of slashing guard that the Wolverines dearly missed last season. He has the quickness to get to the basket, but he also can knock down the 3, as he showed by making 3-of-4 from long range.

Harris has already established himself as Michigan's best and most important player. When he's on top of his game, Michigan won't be blown out of games.

Grady might be the point guard this program's been searching for. He's unselfish, quick and he takes good care of the ball. On Sunday, he committed a modest two turnovers. Also, Grady is far from an offensive liability. He proved that he can't be left open by making two first-half 3-pointers against the Bears.

Returning point guard Jerret Smith's absence from the first two games — due to a one-game suspension and an ankle injury — has been a blessing in disguise for Michigan because it has given not only Grady, but redshirt senior C.J. Lee the opportunity to show Beilein how they can run the team.

Lee did so efficiently Sunday, dishing out three assists and not turning the ball over in 18 minutes.

During Amaker's six years in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines took themselves out of games — particularly road games — with loads of turnovers. Michigan is playing much more mistake-free under Beilein, giving up the ball 22 times total so far despite being sans experience in the backcourt.

Now the real tests begin. People will say, "We'll really find out about this Michigan team in the next two games" — at Georgetown, vs. Butler in Alaska — and they're right. We'll find out how the Wolverines handle a dominant big man against the Hoyas' All-America candidate, 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert. We'll see how they guard an experienced backcourt full of deadly shooters against Butler.

But these first two games weren't just wins over inferior opponents — as was often the case during the beginnings of seasons while Amaaker was in charge.

The initial pair of wins of the John Beilein Era showed that these Wolverines love playing for their coach. That they love shooting 3-pointers (which they happen to be pretty good at). And that they're only going to get better.

And that's all Beilein can ask for.

That his team improves from game to game, continuing to distance itself from the not-so-pretty images of the program's last decade.