Michigan Overcomes Double Digit Deficit to Top Minnesota 67-64

By Sean · Sunday, March 8, 2009 · 9:15 PM |  Share | 2 Comments 

After trailing by 12 in the second half, Michigan’s chances of beating Minnesota and making the NCAA tournament looked like they were quickly fading. However, Laval Lucas-Perry came off the bench and gave the Wolverines a much-needed spark that led to a big run. The lead slowly dwindled down and eventually became non-existent. DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris then took the reins from LLP and took over the game to give Michigan the lead.

Minnesota had its chances to tie the game as time was running out, and with 4 seconds left it looked like they had done just that. Lawrence Westbrook nailed an off-balance, long-range three-pointer that would have tied the game, but Tubby Smith called timeout right before the shot was released. Out of the timeout, Minnesota had trouble getting control of the ball and had to throw up a bad shot as a result. The shot was an air ball, sealing the 67-64 victory for Michigan.

This game was very similar to the Wisconsin one from a week ago. Both the Golden Gophers and Badgers managed to take decent leads before Michigan went on a run to again make it a close game. The difference on Saturday was that Michigan’s run continued until the Wolverines had the lead. And when they got the lead, there was no looking back. Minnesota did manage to tie the game once after Michigan took the lead as the game was coming to an end, but that was it. Michigan got back out in front and played tough under pressure to leave Minnesota with a win.

Now that the regular season is officially over, we now know that Michigan is the #7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, meaning they will face #10 Iowa at 2:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. One year ago Michigan actually beat Iowa to open the Big Ten tournament in a game that had no implications. This year is much, much different. A win basically guarantees that Michigan will make the NCAA tournament. Some experts out there actually think Michigan is in regardless of what happens in Indianapolis thanks to so many other bubble teams losing. While that could be true, there is no point to leave it up to chance. If Michigan beats Iowa, they are going dancing for the first time since 1998.

It is fitting that Michigan’s opponent is Iowa considering what happened just a couple weeks ago. Michigan was upset by Iowa on the road after Manny Harris was benched for the entire overtime, leading many to believe this team was destined for the NIT. I had my doubts that they could recover from such a disheartening loss, but they proved me wrong by running Purdue out of Crisler Arena four days later. Just a week ago, Wisconsin edged out Michigan in a game that was closer than I expected. Then, on Saturday, Michigan made a huge run in the second half to come back from a 12-point deficit to leave Minnesota victorious in a game that they absolutely had to win.

If this were a Tommy Amaker-coached team, chances are that Michigan would bow out of the Big Ten tournament by losing in the opening round. They would be close to making the NCAA tournament but a disappointing loss would ultimately burst their bubble and bring another NIT to Ann Arbor. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself and am still pessimistic going into such an important game, but I will say that this team is nothing like the ones coached by Amaker. Instead of laying down in the big game, this team rises to the occasion and gets the job done. Sure, there have been some bumps in the road. But regardless of what happens on Thursday or beyond that, I can safely say that this team won’t go down without a fight.