Michigan Basketball: Can the Wolverines Salvage the Season?
It seems like Michigan basketball is starting to click but is it too late for the Wolverines?
In my most recent article, posted prior to the Nebraska game, I said that Michigan basketball had to win 5/8 of the remaining games to feel like the Wolverines were in a good spot heading into the Big Ten Tournament. Well, here we are, 2-2 through the first four games of that stretch.
Both the Indiana and Wisconsin losses should have been wins, and the Indiana loss especially was an embarrassing loss by the team. I was ready to give up all hope, and the following offensive collapse in Madison seemed to be the nail in the coffin.
Against Michigan State, however, we witnessed something we’d been waiting for all season – a win in crunch time. Tied 72-72 late, the Wolverines scored the game’s final 12 points, leading to what looks like a convincing win.
The Wolverines have been awful in crunch time. It’s the reason they’re not even on the bubble right now instead of being as high as a 3 or 4 seed. There is no lack of talent on this team, but rather a lack of unity. Or so there had been.
The closing minutes against Michigan State were the most together this team had played all year in my opinion. They finally strayed from the iso-ball with the game on the line, and we saw how it worked out.
This Wolverines team is among the most inexperienced in the nation, so there is a legitimate reason to think that they could be starting to learn how to overcome their late-game shortcomings. The Rutgers game is going to be huge for seeing if this team has really grown, or if it was just a fluke against Michigan State.
Rutgers is a borderline top-25 team, and playing them on the road is never easy. Getting a Quad-1 win against a good opponent could be what this team needs to build some momentum. Sticking with my initial statement, the Wolverines will need to win three out of their last four to feel like they’ve put themselves in a decent position.
The problem? Three of their last four games are on the road against talented opponents. Michigan is on the road against Rutgers, Indiana, and Illinois, with Wisconsin at home. This is arguably the most difficult stretch of the year for the Wolverines, and every game feels like a must-win.
However, there is one reason to have hope.