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Michigan Basketball: Being Not Bad Isn’t Good

By Tyler Fenwick

Feb 28, 2016; Madison, WI, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Duncan Robinson (22) moves the ball as Wisconsin Badgers forward Vitto Brown (30) attempts to follow during the first half at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 2016; Madison, WI, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Duncan Robinson (22) moves the ball as Wisconsin Badgers forward Vitto Brown (30) attempts to follow during the first half at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan basketball doesn’t really have a bad loss to its name, yet it finds itself squarely on the tournament bubble. What’s up with that?

Here we are on the first day of March, and we have no idea if the Michigan Wolverines will be heading to the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.

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Looking back at the beginning of this season, at all the promise that was clearly there, it’s kind of weird to recognize all the things that went wrong and helped put the Wolverines in this position.

First there was Spike Albrecht, who stepped away from the game in early December because of struggles with surgically repaired hips. Then there was Caris LeVert, who was struck down with a left leg injury in Michigan’s first conference game of the season on Dec. 30 vs. Illinois; he’s only been back for one game since. And to top it all off, the Wolverines haven’t seen the greatest performances from Derrick Walton Jr., Zak Irvin or Duncan Robinson—at least not recently, and certainly not at the same time.

As Michigan gears up to play its final game of the regular season on Saturday vs. Iowa, there are many who will appeal to the fact that the Wolverines don’t have a loss to a team outside the RPI top 100. Its worst loss came to Ohio State (No. 62) on Feb. 16. (That was the game very few people could actually watch because of ESPN implementing those terrible camera angles.)

As encouraging as it might be that Michigan arguably doesn’t have a “bad” loss, it just goes to show that not being bad isn’t good enough. And when you take into consideration how the Wolverines have played in the second half of the conference season, it’s not difficult to see why this 20-win team has a terribly undetermined future.

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Would it surprise anyone to learn that in two weeks, when the selection committee picks the field, they were to decide Michigan is just too much of a coin-flip team? Not me.

From blowing fast-break layups to going on at least one four-minute scoring drought every game—it could all very easily pile up against Michigan in the very worst way.

Now, if the Wolverines beat Iowa on Sunday, all of this goes away. A 21-10 regular season team with wins over Texas, Maryland, Purdue and Iowa is going to be in the field somewhere. But if Michigan loses to Iowa—and especially if it’s a bad loss—and then goes on to flop in the Big Ten Tournament, what’s keeping the selection committee from scratching this team? Probably not a whole lot.

John Beilein said on his radio appearance Monday night that getting to 11 league wins would be quite an accomplishment, and considering what Michigan has had to deal with this season, he’s not wrong. But even with all the bumps and bruises and losses endured along the way, Michigan hasn’t put itself in a good position by just not being bad.

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Whether that ends up biting the Wolverines—we’ll know soon enough.

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