After a disastrous 8-24 season last year, Michigan basketball has made a very impressive comeback, finishing the regular season with a 22-9 record and winning the Big Ten Tournament. While they didn’t win the Big Ten regular season title this year, they still finished in third, earning them a five seed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament.
It was very unpredictable how well Michigan basketball would do this year because they had hired a new head coach named Dusty May and had six transfers in and four transfers out. The only player to stay stable in the lineup was Nimari Burnett, a guard averaging about 9.5 points per game this season.
Michigan started off the year winning eight of their first nine games, putting them at 14 in the men’s Associated Press (AP) Poll. They then lost two very close games to Oklahoma and Arkansas, two NCAA Tournament caliber teams. Michigan then went on another winning streak, winning five straight, before losing two of their next three to Minnesota and Purdue.
At this point, Michigan was 14-5, sitting at third in the Big Ten and in 20th in the AP Poll. Michigan went on to win another six straight, before a very rocky end to the regular season. In Michigan’s last six games, they lost four of them, causing them to drop in the AP Poll and eventually out of contention for the Big Ten regular season championship. Michigan had fallen apart in the last six games, and they needed to fix it if they wanted to be successful in the postseason.
Seventh and eighth grade English teacher at Clague Raleigh Woods has high hopes and expectations about the Michigan team.
“We are a well-coached team with players with high basketball acumen. This team can make the Elite 8 or better, depending on our health and the luck of the draw.” Woods said. “People don’t realize this is the team most other teams will fear come March Madness. Go Blue!”
Although Michigan didn’t have the best end to their regular season, their success earlier in the season earned them a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. They played their first game against Purdue, confidently winning 86-68. Their second game was against Maryland, a team they had lost to 71-65 in the regular season. This time, it was different, with Michigan winning 81-80 on a last second layup by Tre Donaldson, the Michigan point guard. This advanced Michigan to the Big Ten Tournament final, where they played Wisconsin. Both teams did not play to their full potential that day, but Michigan pulled away in the end, winning 59-53.
Michigan earned a five seed in the NCAA Tournament and had a first round matchup against 12 seed UC San Diego. Michigan won 68-65, advancing to the round of 32 in a game that was a lot closer than it should have been. In the second round, Michigan played four seed Texas A&M. It was a very back and forth game, but Michigan was able to pull away, winning 91-79. Michigan is now set to play number one overall seed Auburn in the Sweet 16 for a chance to play in the Elite 8 and to be one step closer to a national championship.
