Michigan basketball team suffers one of 10 early-round NCAA upsets, five Big Ten teams remain
The Michigan basketball team isn't alone in its sorrow this weekend.
Not that the Wolverines will care.
Fourth-seeded Michigan was one of nine teams to fall to double-digit seeds this week during the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and one of 10 early-round upset specials.
The two most notable early-round upsets came at the expense of two No. 2 seeds. Missouri fell to No. 15 Norfolk State just hours before Michigan's stumble to Ohio on Friday. Hours later, Duke ended its season in shocking fashion by falling to Lehigh.
Other early-round upsets were: No. 12 VCU over No. 5 Wichita State, No. 11 Colorado over UNLV, No. 10 Xavier over Notre Dame, No. 12 South Florida over No. 5 Temple, No. 11 North Carolina State over No. 6 San Diego State, No. 10 Purdue over No. 7 St. Mary's and No. 9 Saint Louis over No. 8 Memphis.
Michigan also was the first and only Big Ten team to fall in the tournament's second round, as No. 1 Michigan State, No.2 Ohio State, No. 4 Indiana, No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 10 Purdue all advanced to the tournament's third round.
Indiana edged VCU on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16, joining Wisconsin, who got by No. 5 Vanderbilt. Ohio State also won Saturday, dropping Gonzaga to keep its season alive.
Michigan State and Purdue will look to become the fourth and fifth Big Ten teams to make the Sweet 16 on Sunday. The Spartans play Saint Louis at 2:45 p.m., while the Boilermakers get No. 2 Kansas at 8:40 p.m.
Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.
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Comments
B2Pilot
Mon, Mar 19, 2012 : 12:48 p.m.
Coach Beilen is a hell of a coach, I am VERY happy that he is here and improving the Meechigan program!! He has a young team and they ran out of gas at the end of a very physical Big Ten season. He changed his game plan when injuries became an issue and he continues to recruit well, he has integrity, he knows how to coach and the fact that MEEchigan is beginning to get top Blue-chip players is proof that the program under his leadership is moving in the right direction. We've got your back Coach keep doing what you are doing! -GO BLUE!!
bigtenknight
Mon, Mar 19, 2012 : 3:56 a.m.
I still find it funny that every Michigan fan thinks that 'next year' will be different just because Mitch McGary arrives with his 'inside presence'. What good will a 6'10" guy do when you STILL will have 4 guys lining the perimeter?!? Until Michigan rids itself of the main problem, Beilein and his offense, they will never be in the national title contender conversation. Jordan Morgan is a decent post player. He just needs more than 5 touches a game or junk rebounds off of 30 footers.
B2Pilot
Mon, Mar 19, 2012 : 12:43 p.m.
Michigan BB is still rebuilding; John Beilen is a great coach and things will continue to improve. I think his game plans were very good all year given the line-up he had. Injuries make it tough to change your game plans but he made it work. Please do us a favor and comment on your own program.
Pickforddick
Mon, Mar 19, 2012 : 12:05 a.m.
What happened? Why?
B
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 11:33 p.m.
Perhaps we shouldn't have bragged about being BigTen champs when we backed into it. We had a nice year but weren't worldbeaters.
Goofus
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 11:10 p.m.
Pretty embarassing that by the end of the first weekend, UM is still the only Big Ten team eliminated. Some "co-championship."
um_61
Mon, Mar 19, 2012 : 12:05 a.m.
Yes. We have forgotten our big wins came from games at our homecourt.
Dave66
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 10:41 p.m.
They haven't won an NCAA game in 18 years, so why call this an "upset?" Isn't it just business as usual?
RudeJude
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 11:11 p.m.
A bad joke, or blatant ignorance?
81wolverine
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 9 p.m.
This loss wasn't too surprising, since Michigan was NOT playing very good basketball going into the tournament. Unlike last year when we were on a roll and had momentum, this year the team was struggling to win games. The loss at home to Purdue, blowout loss to Ohio St., and lucky win against Minnesota showed this. Also, as others have pointed out, Michigan's lack of an inside game has been hurting us all season. That will change next year. Overall, Beilein and staff did a great job with this team that really overachieved all year.
RudeJude
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 10:06 p.m.
It stunk losing in the first round. By comparison, it hurt more seeing Michigan football upset by Iowa. They got cold at the worst time, but few saw them going any farther than the Sweet Sixteen. Michigan's future doesn't look any less bright, with their elite recruiting class, what's-his-face coming back from his medical redshirt, along with all the returning players. I didn't see them winning a share of the Big Ten this year, so they exceeded my expectations (does anyone remember what the experts predicted for them?), and they split with MSU and OSU. Great season, Wolverines.
Wally the Wolverine
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 8:40 p.m.
Voter Score: 0 Wally the Wolverine 2:10 PM on 3/18/2012 I hope this loss finally puts to bed the childish tactic of using the Ohio name as a punchline when making reference to osu. The coaches (Brady & John) are doing themselves and - more importantly - the players a great disservice in teaching them to blatantly disrespect an opponent. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed Dave B hasn't put a stop to it. Clearly, the matchup with ohio u was clearly one of karma. Our ill-fated attempt to be cute had the the unintended consequence of disrespecting another school and came back and bit us in the form of a national embarassment. Namecalling is better left to the fanbases.
B2Pilot
Mon, Mar 19, 2012 : 12:51 p.m.
Wally is that short for Wal-mart ? I am glad YOUR disappointed, Only true MEECHIGAN fans understand which your obviously not-
Wally the Wolverine
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 11:09 p.m.
...one thing, for the coaches, it's quite another.
Wally the Wolverine
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 11:08 p.m.
It was Ohio U's coach, John Groce, that said it was disrespectful. http://www.google.com/search?q=michigan+ohio+reference&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#q=michigan+ohio+reference&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&ei=ImhmT_29A4qGsALQ1KW2Dw&start=0&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=4a2153c9f6692464&biw=768&bih=928 I am stunned that many on these pages fail to see the reference as a slight to OU. Little wonder why many outside AA see us as arrogant. Again, if fans want to do it, thats
RudeJude
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 9:55 p.m.
Let me know who was truly offended by this naming issue and found it to be disrespectful. I'll go get them milk and cookies and tell their mom to give them an extra big hug before she tucks them in at night.
um_61
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 8:27 p.m.
Rocco That is a positive and encouraging comment. Thanks
rocco
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 6:36 p.m.
It should surprise no one that Michigan had a quick exit from the NCAA tournament. After five years of recruiting, Beilein did not recruit an inside presence (that means more than a single servicable big). Ironically, the team's success rested largely on the shoulders of a freshman point guard who would have opted for OSU had Craft not been entrenched there. This coach is clueless when you look at what other teams in the Big10 have done on the recruitment trail. Michigan looks good for next year but we will have to see. Losing to a MAC team in the opening round is also ironic, since Michigan talent wise looked more like a MAC team than a Big10 team. The guy get a lot out of he talent he has but at some point the lack of talent catches up with you as it clearly did in the tournament.
B2Pilot
Mon, Mar 19, 2012 : 1:09 p.m.
Ben Cronin's career ending injury hurt the program as well as Horford's injury- Beilein is well respected and great coach
RudeJude
Sun, Mar 18, 2012 : 7:16 p.m.
Though it was painful to see Michigan get upset in the first round, it is foolish to judge Beilein's entire Michigan tenure based on one game. As with the Duke and Mizzou upsets, Michigan's loss shows what is true about every match up int he tournament, that anybody can beat anybody. Looking over John Beilein's seasonal records at Michigan, he has matched or improved his conference ranking every season (9th, 7th, 7th, 4th, 1st.) His recruiting has also improved, including Mitch McGary, a big man that will exponentially improve Michigan's inside presence. Also, with the aid of Dave Brandon, Michigan's facilities are now on the same competitive levels as many elite teams, and should aid in future recruiting success. Michigan basketball was a mess before Coach Beilein arrived, and it has vastly improved in the year's since. John Beilein has worked wonders with the relatively unathletic recruits he has had, and made them able to compete with the Spartans and Buckeyes, and their elite talent. May be it is late from your perspective, but Michigan is recruiting guys of similar caliber. I believe Michigan will only continue to increase its competitiveness in the future and it will show in both the Big Ten and in future NCAA tournaments. Go Blue