Michigan Upsets #4 Duke 81-73

By Sean · Tuesday, December 9, 2008 · 9:03 PM |  Share | Leave a Comment 

Over two weeks ago in New York City, Michigan lost to Duke 71-56. Duke controlled the game for the most part, though Michigan managed to keep it somewhat respectable. That loss came one day after what was seen as a program-building win over #4 UCLA. What Michigan’s win over the Bruins did was generate some interest in the basketball program again. Fans, recruits, and anybody that watched ESPN in the hours following the game got a look at what the Michigan basketball program can be in the future. Fast forward to this past Saturday and it is obvious that future is here.

Michigan took on Duke for the second time in 15 days on Saturday and pulled off the upset, winning 81-73. The best word to describe the scene as the buzzer sounded is madness. The entire student section rushed the court and celebrated what was more than a program-building win. Michigan’s second win over a top five team this season signals that the program is back. Obviously there’s no guarantee that they will be back in the NCAA tournament or anything like that, but Michigan basketball is no longer seen as an average program that is going nowhere. Instead, thanks to John Beilein and what he has done in one season and eight games, Michigan is now seen as an up-and-coming team that will make noise all season long.

Saturday’s game against Duke really showed all of the progress Beilein has made in his relatively short time in Ann Arbor. DeShawn Sims scored a career-high 28 points, had 12 rebounds, and was all over the floor. Manny Harris scored 17 points, including a huge dunk in the final minutes of the game. Zack Novak scored 14 points thanks in part to four three-pointers and blew the roof of Crisler a few different times. He nailed back-to-back threes in the second half when Michigan trailed 53-50 to give Michigan a lead they would never relinquish. On top of that, the second three-pointer Novak hit sent the Crisler Arena crowd into a frenzy and led to a Duke timeout.

Prior to Novak’s three-pointers, the game really went back and forth. Duke never led by more than 6 points and really never held a lead for all that long. Michigan and Duke traded the lead throughout the game until Novak’s pair of threes that put Michigan ahead 56-53. From that point on, Michigan took over, and although Duke got hot from three-point land in the final minutes, they never were able to come back. Michigan made all but one of its free throws in the homestretch and made sure that no matter how many shots Duke hit, they would all be for naught in the end.

Kelvin Grady made 5-6 of his free throws and played probably the best game of his career. Although he only had 9 points, he didn’t turn the ball over and made things happen for Michigan offensively. He moved the ball down the court quickly and set up his teammates to score. That pair of Novak threes I keep mentioning both happened thanks to Grady getting the ball down the floor and hitting the open man. Aside from his passing and speed, Grady also made a couple of great moves to get to the basket where he looked off the defender. One time he missed the layup, but that worked out well anyways since Sims got the rebound and ended up with a three-point play.

Grady’s play is just another example of the improvement all players on this team have made since Beilein arrived. Just look at Jevohn Shepherd, who has gone from not seeing the floor to playing 32 minutes against Duke. Even the smallest contributors came up big on Saturday, such as C.J. Lee, who got a huge rebound and knocked down a pair of free throws to put the nail in the Blue Devils’ coffin. It’s the little things like that that give a team like Michigan the ability to beat Duke.

Perhaps one of the most surprising things to become better so quickly was the crowd on Saturday. Crisler Arena was packed, the students were loud all game long, and the atmosphere in general was awesome. Rich Rodriguez, Lloyd Carr, Brandon Graham, Will Campbell, and other recruits were in attendance. Actually, when the crowd rushed the floor, Graham and some of the recruits, including Campbell and William Gholston, rushed as well. It was pretty cool to be chanting “it’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine” with the likes of Graham and Campbell and basically every other student that was at the game.

All in all, it’s hard to describe how great this win felt. To see a team go from winning only 10 games last season to beating UCLA and Duke in the first few weeks of the season is simply amazing. We all obviously have to keep a level head as the season progresses, but even an average record in the Big Ten may be good enough to get this team into the tournament. I’m probably getting a little ahead of myself, but the very fact that we even get to talk about the Big Dance says a lot about how far this team has come already.

Although wins over UCLA and Duke are great, the next part of the schedule may be the most important. Michigan’s next four games are against Eastern Michigan (Saturday at 4 p.m. on the BTN), Oakland, Florida Gulf Coast, and North Carolina Central. These are all games that Michigan should win, and if U-M wants to be playing in the NCAA tournament, it’s games like this that have to result in victories. If Michigan could begin Big Ten play with a 10-2 record that includes wins over UCLA and Duke, then the tournament resume certainly would be looking good.