Michigan Survives Upset Scare Thanks to Sims’ Overtime Buzzer Beater

By Sean · Monday, December 1, 2008 · 1:01 AM |  Share | 2 Comments 

Michigan survived quite the scare on Saturday against Savannah State. After getting off to an absolutely terrible start, Michigan actually trailed by 20 points at the half. Not only was this stunning considering the opponent was Savannah State, but any positive thoughts about the rest of the season immediately went out the window. A loss to Savannah State, especially one in embarrassing fashion, would take the program back as many steps as the UCLA win took it forward.

Thankfully there was still another half left to play. Michigan outscored Savannah State 15-0 to begin the second half and eventually came all the way back to tie the game. In fact, the game was tied with only a few seconds left, and Savannah State had possession of the ball. On an inbounds pass, though, Zack Novak stole the ball and rushed it down the court. He went up and attempted a dunk, and the ball rimmed out just as the clock expired. Michigan could have won the game in regulation, but Novak missed the dunk.

In overtime, Michigan struggled to make a field goal until Novak hit a three-pointer to give the Wolverines the lead. Then, after going back and forth, Savannah State tied the game with only 5 seconds left. Rather than call a timeout to slow the game down or draw up a play, Manny Harris got the ensuing inbounds pass and quickly passed it down the court to a wide open DeShawn Sims. Just before the buzzer sounded and the clock expired, Sims shot the ball from just inside the three-point line. The ball went right through the basket, and Sims became the hero, as Michigan won 66-64.

As exciting as this game was, it should have never come down to a buzzer beater in overtime for Michigan to beat Savannah State. I’m hoping this was just an off day for the team. Although it was great that they played so well to start the second half and erased a 20-point deficit, the fact that they were once trailing by 20 points is not good. Had it not been for Sims, who tied a career high in points (23) and rebounds (12) rebounds, and Manny Harris, who scored 22 points, 14 of which were from the free throw line, Michigan would have lost this game for sure.

If you want to take a positive out of this game, look no further than the fact that Michigan played poorly and still one. Last year’s team didn’t have that luxury, but not only did Michigan fight back on Saturday, but they escaped with a win in a game Savannah State dominated for at least 20 minutes. Obviously Michigan can’t play this poorly and hope to come back against good teams, but it’s a good thing they were able to on Saturday.

With this scare now in the back of the team’s mind, Michigan embarks on a big week with two games against ACC teams. On Wednesday, Michigan heads to Maryland to play their game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Maryland beat Michigan State on Thanksgiving by an impressive score of 80-62. Since then, though, Maryland has been blown out by both Gonzaga and Georgetown. Mind you, those are both good teams, but it seems like the Terrapins are beatable. I guess we’ll find out on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

On Saturday, Michigan hosts Duke for a rematch of the 2K Sports Classic title game that was played on November 21. Hopefully Michigan’s second meeting with Duke in just over two weeks goes better than the first one did. Duke beat Michigan 71-56 and had little trouble with the 1-3-1. Also, although Michigan had an off shooting night, Duke definitely played a role in that by playing great defense. The rematch will tip off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN.

(To watch the entire Savannah State game, you can go to the Big Ten Network’s website, as they have put it in their archives. For highlights, click here.)