After losing the Big Ten Tournament Championship to Purdue, many fans have had concerns about Michigan Basketball's potential for a March Madness run. The Wolverines were the less physical team, didn't show much intensity, and were quite frankly dominated on the interior against Purdue. Braden Smith ran the pick and roll to perfection, and the Purdue bigs were able to score at will against Michigan.
Add that to a relatively poor shooting night, and there are some valid concerns there. Michigan basketball can't have another performance like that, or else its season may come to an end. Here are three reasons why the loss to Purdue shouldn't concern you.
It was a meaningless game for Michigan
Some may scoff at this, but the truth is that the Big Ten Tournament did not matter at all for Michigan. No matter what the Wolverines did, they were locked in to being the #1 seed in the midwest region. Compare that to the teams they matched up against: Ohio State was fighting to solidify its spot in the tournament, Wisconsin was battling for a better seed, and Purdue, who likely would've been a 4 or 5 seed with an early loss, wanted to show that they were deserving of a high seed.
All of those teams had meaningful things to play for, and it showed. All three of Michigan's opponents arguably played with more intensity than the Wolverines. We know that Michigan basketball doesn't lack intensity. We've seen their intensity in just about every big game this season. But for Michigan basketball, these games were more about getting practice in, and staying healthy. A championship would have been nice, but it wasn't going to have any effect on this team's potential in the tournament.
NCAA tournament officiating *should* be better
There have been theories floating out there forever about the effects of the difference between Big Ten officiating and NCAA Tournament officiating. One thing is for sure, though: Purdue could have been called for a lot more fouls than they were, and they probably should have been. For Michigan to attempt 40 two point shots and only shoot six free throws is ridiculous, especially against a team as physical as Purdue.
In the NCAA tournament, you can expect to see a lot more fouls called in a game like that. The Big Ten is notorious for physical play, and the NCAA tournament is notorious for hurting the Big Ten by not letting that fly. If that exact same game plays out in the NCAA tournament, it could very well have a different outcome solely due to officiating differences.
This Michigan team is built for March
Everything about this Michigan roster screams "made for March". They have a coach with Final Four experience. They have a blend of youth and experience, led by the Big Ten Player of the Year in Yaxel Lendeborg. This is a team with plenty of leadership, and it's a team that should shine under the brightest lights.
We've seen numerous teams led by freshmen fall victim to an upset in part because of a lack of experience. That isn't a concern with Michigan. The last time Michigan got to play in a tournament against non-Big Ten teams, they wiped the floor with them. There's no reason to believe they can't do the same this time.