Moe Wagner gritted his teeth, pumped his fist and stuck out his mouthpiece to the crowd’s delight Sunday. When a team has that kind of range and confidence, they’re a tough out for anybody in March Madness.
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Suddenly, the often overlooked 6-foot-11 forward was the well-deserved centre of attention. We just gave them no resistance.
The big play of the first half was a steal by Mitchell and his pass led to a dunk by Adel for a 23-18 Louisville lead. Wagner is a classic Beilein post player, skilled and capable of shooting from deep.
Walton’s bucket came after MI quickly saw a six-point lead to get trimmed to two after two turnovers. Wilson reached double-figure scoring in three of U-M’s four Big Ten tournament games.
BOTTOM LINE: Michigan has used poise, emotion and experience to reel off six straight wins. The Wolverines probably won’t catch the Cardinals sleeping due to their stellar play over the last few weeks.
So how did MI celebrate? MI withstood a Louisville comeback effort to advance to the Sweet 16 with a 73-69 win. “I’m no spring chicken in this thing”, Beilein said. “Guys like Jay Wright, who won a year ago, we started coaching in the Big East together and now (Villanova) is winning the national championship”, Beilein said.
At least not in Indianapolis.
Louisville led by as many as nine points in the game, but MI just continued to pick away at the score.
While Beilein rarely, if ever, drifts into the realm of what’s beyond the next game, he made it clear that he thinks he’s capable of coaching MI to a national title and the Wolverines are capable of winning it.
Balado has been an assistant on Rick Pitino’s staff the last four years.
After two years of surprise early NCAA Tournament exits, Baylor finally broke through. That begins with their point guard Derrick Walton Jr. setting the tone, as he’s done all season long.
Mathiang and Anas Mahmoud accounted for six points in the opening minutes of the second half, helping Louisville gain a 45-36 lead five minutes in.
Not much went as expected, though.
Michigan State will take on Kansas at about 5:20 p.m. today in Tulsa.
Walton had an off day for MI until late in the second half, shooting 3-of-13 with 10 points. MI shot 16-for-29 from three in the first round, but shot 3-for-11 in the first half against U of L.
Quentin Snider struggled and missed all nine shots in the game.
“We’re all going to be judged a lot on what happens in November, December”, he said. I’ve never seen shooting like that since I’ve been a coach. MI has suddenly turned into a Final Four contender that no one wants to face.
Michigan: The Wolverines’ magical ride continues. We went away from our defensive game plan and gave them their strong hand.
Shortly after the game started, Arkansas State announced it had hired one of Pitino’s assistants, Mike Balado, as its next head coach.
Meyer suggested Wagner had extra energy to spend on this game, but he’s a vigorous player on a daily basis. Fortunately, Michigan is the best team in the nation at taking care of the ball, with just nine a game.
Afterward, Balado sat quietly in the locker room with red eyes. “I think I’m just very confident because of our practice, because of all the hard work we put it”. My heart feels for these kids. “I hope they get back to a national championship game”.
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The Wolverines advance in the NCAA’s Midwest Regional, where they’ll face either OR (30-5) OR Rhode Island (25-9) on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.
