Even the best fall down sometimes... That is what happened on Saturday night in the nation's capital for the Michigan Wolverines vs. the Duke Blue Devils. Yes, it was only a narrow five-point neutral-site defeat in the Edwards Jones Capital Showcase. However, the 68-63 defeat at the hands of Duke could serve as a jumping-off point for Dusty May's juggernaut team out of the Big Ten. So what is it?
While Michigan was able to get Duke to turn the basketball over, the Wolverines got dominated on the glass and really struggled at putting the ball through the cylinder from beyond the arc. Although they were plus-four in turnover differential, being minus-13 in the rebounding department is a brutal way to go. Moreover, Duke shot eight-percent better from 3-point land to help clinch this major victory.
What is important to know is there is a non-zero chance these two college basketball behemoths may meet again in the NCAA Tournament. While Duke has probably emerged as the top No. 1 seed, Michigan will likely remain a No. 1 seed in its own right. After all, these are two teams who are both 25-2 on the year and have dominated their competition in league play. One of these teams may win it all.
Of course, Michigan must overcome the worst NCAA Tournament history possible out of the Big Ten.
Michigan can be the first Big Ten team to win national title since 1999-00
While the college football world has run through the Big Ten each of the last three seasons with Michigan, Ohio State, and now Indiana all winning national championships, we have to go back more than a quarter century to find the last Big Ten team to win it all on the hardwood. That would be Tom Izzo's delightful 1999-00 Michigan State Spartans. He has been coasting off that season for decades.
What makes this year's Michigan team different is it has both the necessary physicality and enough athleticism in the backcourt to knock off whomever it faces in the NCAA Tournament. It is why teams like Duke and Florida are so dangerous come tournament time. Jon Scheyer and Todd Golden's teams are built in that manner to stifle any opponent it might face. Dusty May's team is built like this.
Yes, May is going to have to lean on his best players in critical spots. How well Elliot Cadeau and Yaxel Lendeborg play in crunch time may determine how far this year's team can go in the tournament. To be quite frank, this year's team is built differently than most elite Big Ten teams of yesteryear. That Purdue Boilermakers team that went to the national title wishes it that could be this Michigan team.
For now, Michigan has to know Duke just set the bar and that the Wolverines must elevate above that.