Glad we made it this far, even more glad we did it the way we did

Submitted by rockydude on

We didn't win that last game the way I'd have liked to. The team from Pennsylvania was pretty darn good. But I really did like this run.

If you were to ask me though, would I rather hoist a banner, Louisville style, or would I be willing to take a banner if it meant we have the ethics of schools in the area, some in E Lansing, some programs not near, but bluebloods by any stretch, it would be an easy choice.

I'm glad our program, from team leader Beilein, to a junior forward who went to console the opposing player, to freshmen who go to congratulate the opposition's chaplain, has been who they are, every step of the way.

They have been everything I could hope for and more, from start to finish. And congratulations to Villanova. I look forward to playing them again this time next year.

So thank you guys, for being just what we wanted and needed, in a time when that is so difficult to come by. This team is made of Michigan Men.

rockydude

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:05 AM ^

I'm pretty cheery right now, maybe I just sounded otherwise. Sure, it would be nice to win, but a championship game isn't exactly bad. But I totally forgot about hockey. So let's go win this one !

The Man Down T…

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:01 AM ^

is that this is that last time we'll see MAAR and Robinson (and probably Wagner) in a Michigan uniform.  MAAR has been the hardest working and biggest hustling player we've had in his 4 years.  Robinson is a storybook.  Div 3 to NCAA finals!  Dang.  Wagner was just incredible.  

 

Going to miss cheering for them but it was an honor to do so!!

 

Go Blue!!

BeatOSU52

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:03 AM ^

So the tbt and Tbs cameras were the exact same

Right . If so, did they show one happy Nova fan on the national coverage or was it purposely all sad Michigan fans ?

HailToA2

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:15 AM ^

That's just what television does these days (and it's really annoying). Everybody in media just wants their stuff retweeted and shared all over the internet so they go for stuff they know is easy for people to make fun of. They're just feeding the internet what it wants I suppose. But I agree it's really lame if you're someone who isn't constantly trying to goof on every single team that loses at something even if it's a great season.

The Fugitive

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:04 AM ^

What, you guys don't want the FBI snooping around? How about swapping sexual assault charges for a littering ticket? That's the kind of excitement I look for in a season

Sam1863

April 3rd, 2018 at 9:18 AM ^

Good point. If someone had said, "Michigan will win more than games in this season than any other, repeat as B1G Tournament champs, and go to the championship game," who really would have believed it?

And yet, that's what happened. Yeah, the ending wasn't what we'd hoped, and will leave a bitter taste for a while. But that doesn't change the fact that this season was one hell of a ride.

Well done, guys. You did the University of Michigan proud. Go Blue!

JTP

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:05 AM ^

This loss all you have to do is listen to Coach Beilein talk, nothing but class and you can learn from him just a great guy!

SHub'68

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:12 AM ^

We were down 14 when Poole went coast-to-coast out of control and turned it over.  A few seconds later, he commits a foul and he's pulled for Matthews.  Coach pulls him aside -- guarantee he was teaching him about the coast-to-coast.  National Championship game, not totally over, chance to cut into the lead (slim, but there).  Not yelling, teaching.  Beilein is the man.  Maybe this year will be the run that convinces a 5 star or two so we can be Villanova.

Bando Calrissian

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:07 AM ^

(Have now calmed down from where I was a half hour ago)

It's fun to do things the right way. It's fun to be proud of a program you like, even if they crush your soul sometimes. This is what we sign up for with Michigan Basketball. Love Coach Beilein, love the class of these players, just wish it didn't hurt so much to walk into a bench player buzzsaw.

Winchester Wolverine

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:15 AM ^

I understand being upset, just not ANGRY. We in no way, shape, or form could have predicted this incredible run, especially in the beginning of this season. In my opinion, after the Sweet Sixteen win, we were playing with house money.

A Final Four? Shit, man. A title game appearance? Unreal. This season was simply incredible for being unexpected. Be happy. Even greater things will come.

Boom Goes the …

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:09 AM ^

tough one, took it on the chin, but we hang 2 banners, won a school record number of games, and made some wonderful memories along the way.  Only 1 team gets to end the season with a Win, I just hope we can get Beilein there- nobody deserves it more!

charblue.

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:09 AM ^

Only two teams make it that far every season. We were one of them. Think of winning 14 straight games and 33 while losing 8 and not experiencing a loss for two months through two tournaments with one and done consequence. That is amazing. And we weren't even ranked coming into the season. And going forward, this team and program will only get better because most of us were thinking ahead, not in the present tense.

What a season. What a run. What a team. Wow, it's great to be a fan of this program. Thanks for making the winter fly by.

SD Larry

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:10 AM ^

MAAR played in 140 some Michigan games.  Wow. what a great career and a class act through and through.  Love the players and chemistry on the team.  Great work ethic, great improvement, better rebounding and amazing defense.  Hope they improve on ft shooting next year, but really appreciate and see this team as special.

Mr. Owl

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:12 AM ^

Michigan showed it was capable of being the best team on the court, but the better team won.  Nova didn't need help.  They did get some, but it didn't matter.  They were the better team.

I hope to see a team next year who knows what it took to get this far and is ready to be better.  Hit those free throws.  Make them respect you.

HammeredPanda

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:15 AM ^

Sick of these “‘moral victories”. Plenty of times the best team didn’t win because the scrappy underdog took it personally. I’m pissed. Who cares if nova was the favorite

Ham

April 3rd, 2018 at 12:34 AM ^

“Sure we got killed/humiliated on the national stage because they went 3-23 from 3 and collapsed on both sides of the ball, but at least we don’t cheat” has to be the dumbest take. Villanova doesn’t cheat, either. How that’s supposed to make up for what just happened, I’ll never know.

J.

April 3rd, 2018 at 3:03 AM ^

It's very sad that you feel that way.  It's not surprising, because it's more or less in line with your thinking all year.  But it is sad.

Serious question, but not one that requires a response.

What do you think the purpose of college athletics is?

For me, the purpose is to mold the next generation of young men and women into something better than they would be otherwise.  It's to instill discipline, character, and the belief in something larger than oneself.  In short -- it's a good way to teach.

One of the lessons of sports is that sometimes life is random.  You can take 23 three-point shots, and one day you can make 13 and be on top of the world, and the next day you can make 3 and lose the national championship game -- and do nothing differently whatsoever.

Michigan did not lose tonight because they "collapsed on both sides of the ball."  And they certainly didn't get humiliated.  There's no shame in being beaten by the best -- measurement comes afterwards when you see how they react.  Michigan didn't quit on the court.  They made mistakes, because they're human.  Then they got back up and continued to compete.  If they play the game 100 times, Villanova probably wins 70, and likely in a different way each time.

Villanova was the better team.  Michigan was going to need to play a nearly perfect game and get a little lucky in order to win.  They did neither.  It happens, and you have to pick up the pieces and move on.

We all hope that, next time, Michigan will be the better team.  But this team has nothing to "make up for," and "what just happened" was that Michigan set a program record for wins, won the Big Ten tournament, and became national runners-up with a team that you, personally, had disparaged as being soft and heartless in January.  If you can't take any solace in their accomplishments -- and the fact that they did so cleanly in an era where few can say that -- I'm afraid I don't know what to tell you.

Ham

April 3rd, 2018 at 8:37 AM ^

1) I’m going to need a citation on the claim that I ever used the specific insult of “heartless” to describe the team ever. My criticisms earlier in the year when the team was scuffling always pertained to coaching (i.e. end of game situations), preparation (i.e. free throw shooting and game plans), and execution (i.e. inefficient players playing hero ball).



2) If you don’t think that game rivals the humiliation Notre Dame suffered when they were killed by Alabama after people doubted that they deserved to be in the title game, then I don’t know what to tell you.



3) I never said the team had to make up for anything. I was referring specifically to the OP rationalizing away the loss immediately following the game by presenting a false choice argument between cheating and winning. But nice reading comprehension.



4) So I guess either you have no problem with the way the team played in one of the worse title game blowouts in the past 3 decades or you can’t take solace in previous accomplishments. Extrapolating from one small comment immediately following the game pertaining 100% to a claim about how Beilein’s reputation should make up for times the team doesn’t succeed to assert that I think the season was a failure is bs.



4) Michigan didn’t need a perfect game to stay close or even win. Shoot their average from 3 and don’t allow 12 offensive rebounds in a year where defensive rebounding was a strength, and they, worst case scenario, lose by a possession or two.



5) If you think Michigan’s poor shooting for much of the year, including most of the tournament, has anything to do with “randomness,” then I don’t know what to tell you.

matty blue

April 3rd, 2018 at 11:56 AM ^

we lose, and ham shows up.

"preparation" does not, to my way of understanding the word, have impact on free throw shooting.

"humiliation" is an interesting word to use here.  i promise you, the team and staff didn't feel "humiliated" and won't, ever.  disappointed?  obviously.  wishing they'd played better?  well, duh.  but they will hold their heads high knowing they went full out all the way and earned their shot.  notre dame didn't feel humilated, either.  the only people that get "humiliated" after a game like this are whiny man-children like yourself that place most of their own self-worth on whether their favorite team meets their expectations and wins every single game convincingly.

good heavens, please don't throw out the "one small comment" bullshit, okay? you've been almost unremittingly negative for literally the entire hoops season (AND, let's not forget, the football season). who can ever forget the "i can't take it anymore, i'm not going to watch this team until it gets better" shit?  i won't.

michigan's shooting - EVERY team's shooting - has to do with randomness.  by definition.  every team has a level, and you randomly go up and down around it.  this team's level was lower than some previous beilein teams, and it hurt them in the end.  get over it and grow up.

i've said it many, many times before - please, by all means, let us all know where your seats are, so we can sit as far away from you as humanly possible.  i can't think of anyone on this board i'd less like to sit near, up to and including the sparty trolls.

being negative all the time doesn't make you "realistic" or whatever. it just makes you a dick.

J.

April 3rd, 2018 at 11:12 AM ^

1 - It may not be a direct quote, but I'm confident in my paraphrasing.  The source is "every game thread you were in where the opposition made a run."  And, honestly, if your argument is "I insulted the team, but not with that particular insult," you've already lost.

2 - While I agree with the other poster that Notre Dame players don't feel humiliated, I'd point out that there is a material difference between a 42-14 football loss and a 79-62 basketball loss.  The former was never competitive.  Last night's game was competitive -- a 10-0 or 12-4 run or the like would have gotten Michigan back into it.

3 - I read your comment differently than you intended, but I'll still take issue with it as restated -- it does matter to me, a lot, that Michigan competes ethically.  I would rather lose with dignity than cheat to win any day.  So, yes, it does bring some solace.  Is it a false dichotomy?  Only if you assume that OP was stating that the only way to win is to cheat, or that Villanova cheated in order to win.  I didn't read it that way.  I read it as "lots of other teams cheat and didn't get as far as being national runners-up."

4a - I hope that's true.  If you can only enjoy perfection, you're going to find yourself oft disappointed.  I'll take your word for that, though, because you seem to celebrate privately but complain publicly.

4b - OK, but...

5 - This is the crux of the problem.  Michigan's poor shooting last night had a lot to do with randomness.  They didn't shoot their average from 3.  Many of the looks were open.  Why was that?  Fatigue? Pressure? A late start time? Shooting in a dome (the same dome where Villanova shot the lights out in the first half Saturday, and then shot their season average afterwards?)

The answer to all of those is "maybe" -- except for the dome thing, which has been conclusively debunked -- but there's no evidence for any of them.  Michigan shot their season average -- more or less -- in the Big Ten championship game against Purdue.  Was that lower pressure?  It's harder to find 9 PM ET tips this year than it was last year, but none of them will be as bad as last night, because 13% was literally the worst they've shot this year.

Some of the credit should go to Villanova's defense.  Michigan took a couple of late-shot-clock threes that had little chance, and they forced up a couple of contested ones as well.  Let's credit Villanova with making 4 of those shots impossible.  That leaves 19 other shots.  If Michigan is a 37.5% true talent team at 3 point shooting -- their regular season average -- the likelihood of making 3 or fewer threes out of 19 attempts is 3.75%, or about one in 26.7.  Michigan played 41 games this season; you would anticipate them doing this once.  Heck, even if you refuse to credit Villanova at all, the chance of making 3 or fewer threes out of 23 attempts is 0.99%, or about 1 in 101, so you'd expect them to do that once every three years.  Going back, I see two worse performances dating back to 2013 -- last year's South Carolina game and the 2013 victory vs MSU (the Trey Burke steal game), where they went... 0 for 12 (!).  So -- about once every three years.

There isn't always a reason.  Sometimes things just happen.  Last night's three-point shooting was part good defense by Villanova and part dumb luck.

Cali Wolverine

April 3rd, 2018 at 1:20 AM ^

This team did things nobody saw coming. I am a little salty that this team couldn’t hit from behind the arc in a National Championship Game and that DeVincenzo picked tonight to come off the bench and put in an absolute performance for Villanova, but man this Michigan had some run.

Looking forward to the Frozen Four!

bo_lives

April 3rd, 2018 at 4:05 AM ^

I'm done. I've discovered the highs aren't worth the lows for me. I honestly can't envision Michigan ever winning anything of note for the next 50 years. I realize that sounds stupid after they were just in the bball NCG, but they only made it past the 2nd round on a 1/100 shot and the odds are they aren't going back any time soon. Meanwhile, football is just fucking garbage. Even Harbaugh couldn't resurrect this shit program. I am just venting now but honestly for whatever reason I don't get any joy out of Michigan sports anymore. I feel like I will never witness an OSU football victory again let alone a national title. 

jackw8542

April 3rd, 2018 at 8:16 AM ^

This team was great to watch.  Great kids, great heart and a great team.  We didn't have a true star, but we did have a TEAM.  Bo would have been proud.  I was happy and sad at the same time last night, but very proud of the heart and character of our team and our coach.

Alumnus93

April 3rd, 2018 at 9:32 AM ^

Seemed like taking out Robinson so fast for the entire first half, after two fouls, really hurt us. Why not leave players in until they foul out? Is this not done because the other team will target the player with alot of fouls? Why not just leave Robinson in until he fouls out, and then replace? Wonder if this is Beileins Achilles heel..