8A - Monday, March 5, 2012 BEILEIN From Page 1A efforts alone are the only ele- ments necessary for the fulfill- ment of their goals. Michigan gave that up, though, when it fell to Purdue on senior night a week ago. The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com back i eveni Buforc tans. The team i for the it still bounc its uns The As the Wolverines filed into picked their hotel rooms on Saturday the le night, as they filed onto the bus but m to head to the Bryce Jordan to run Center yesterday, as they went Nob through the monotony of their State t pregame warmups and as they for the finally escaped with a 71-65 win and as over the Nittany Lions that was land. more draining than it need have been, the spirits of sea- sons past danced above their "t' heads. No, these weren't the spir- bi its of the dead, of those who donned the colors long ago and and now lie in eternal rest. These were the spirits of men very in much alive, but whose great- ness and pedigree still ride the winds in search of what they could not seize. Yet They were the spirits of the tough, greats, those who have a claim it wou to hallowed spots in their pro- ting al gram's lore - Rice, Robinson, It's, Rose. glass a They were the spirits of senior those who weren't quite as embod talented, but who still gave They j everything they had to Michi- lying d gan - Blanchard, Robinson Jr., to its r Horton, Abram, Sims. wrong They were even the spirits of them a those who had no peer on the way th court but who shamed their But school off it - Webber, Traylor, John B Bullock. posing They still drift aimlessly lifer li( because, for all they achieved, mind t they never won their confer- slows, ence's ultimate prize. But you ever-h can be sure they were swirl- His ing as the Wolverines landed isn't th n Ann Arbor on Sunday have a bonafide all-star. It has ng in time to see William a couple players that will prob- d's jumper sink the Spar- ably make the NBA some day, but nobody that's going to set ***the league on fire. Beilein, this season, had Michigan basketball essentially the same team that s Big Ten co-champions he had last year - a squad e first time since 1986, and that went 8-8 in the confer- seems like just a dream ence. Trey Burke is more ing around the heads of dynamic than Darius Morris, ung players. while Novak and Douglass are Wolverines were to improved. I to finish near the top of But Tim Hardaway Jr. and ague before the season, Evan Smotrycz have been ost expected the Buckeyes worse players overall, and the away with it. bench is even thinner. body expected Michigan But this edition has been o be as strong as it is, or more disciplined. The players conference to be, far have been tougher and have ray, the best league in the played smarter - that comes from coaching. Beilein, with his tactical genius and subtle powers as a s time for the motivator, has squeezed more out of this group than any could g goals now have thought possible. He probably won't win Big , irrevocably, Ten Coach of the Year, but he the future." Those who called for his fir- ing during the early lows of last season, and those who ques- tioned his hiring in the first Michigan navigated a place, now seem sillier than er road than it imagined ever. id have to traverse in get- Michigan has been yearning 1 the way to the top. for its program's promised reas- a testament to Stu Dou- cendance, for the return of the nd Zack Novak, two days when its name was synon- s who have been the ymous with basketball power. liment of leadership. This season isn't over yet, but oined a program that was with this championship, that lormant and took it back day has come. ightful place, proving "We want to get back (to the all those who doubted top), but to get there, you have and their team the whole these mini-goals, and this was rough. one of them," Beilein said after mostly, it's a testament to the Penn State game. Beilein. Behind the unim- But thanks to his own face of the mid-major rebuilding mastery, the days es a searing basketball of the mini-goals are over. The hat never stops, never sleeping giant that was Michi- in driving endlessly for gan is slumbering no more. igher goals. This season isn't over yet. It's team this season really time for the big goals, now, and tat talented. It doesn't irrevocably, in the future. MICHIGAN From Page 1A of Buford's last-second shot. "Everybody just froze for half-a- second, and once the shot went in, the place erupted." Crisler Center will see a new regular-season-title banner for the first time since 1986, when Michigan all-time scoring leader Glen Rice finished up his impres- sive freshman campaign. The past 26 years have been quite the conference champion- ship drought for the Wolverines on the hardwood. Touted early-90s recruits Jalen Rose and Chris Webber couldn't deliver one, but the unsung duo of Novak and Dou- glass - who formed coach John Beilein's first recruiting class in Ann Arbor - did just that. "First Big Ten Championship in (26) years," Novak said on Sunday night. "For everybody on this team - you see the reunions, we've had a few since we've been here - guys will come back, and this is the Big Ten Championship team from this year. This team won this championship. We're going to be able to do that." Before the season, few ana- lysts predicted that Michigan would vie for a title by season's end, and after the Wolverines suffered their first home loss of the season on senior night to Purdue last weekend, the pro- jections seemed accurate. Ohio State fell on its senior night that weekend as well, and all Michi- gan State had to do to wrap up the outright title was win one of its last two matchups. But in an unlikely twist, Indiana denied the Spartans in Bloomington on Tuesday, 70-55, and Buford took care of the rest on Sunday. "The most rewarding part of what just happened is watching our young men's faces," Beilein said after Ohio State took care of business. "When you (are a) coach for this long, and our staff knows this, it's not about the Ws, it's about the journey. ... It's cer- tainly a highlight in this year's journey, and for some guys, a four-year journey." Despite the slip-up against the Boilermakers last week, the Wolverines will enter the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapo- lis this weekend on a roll, having won six of their last seven con- tests. In accordance with the tie- breaker rule - how the three first-place teams fared against fourth-place Wisconsin this sea- son - Michigan State (2-0) gets I RALPH WILSON/AP Senior guard Zack Novak battles for a rebound in Michigan's season-ending vic- tory against Penn State on Sunday. the No tourna No. 2 the No plus t "I in ye all rec Mic night . 1 seed in the conference of the game between No. 7 seed ment, Michigan (1-0) the Northwestern and No. 10 seed seed and Ohio State (1-1) Minnesota on Thursday. Should . 3 seed. The three teams, the Wildcats win, the Wolver- he fourth-seeded Badgers, ines will have their hands full on Friday, as they needed overtime to subdue Northwestern in both .t n of their meetings this season. t's O T J f But for now, Michigan will .h ighlih rest up and enjoy the title they highlght rightfully earned. "All I know is, this is a really this ... four- good cup of coffee," Beilein jourey. quipped. 'ar Journe q.e"I might have a really good glass of wine when I go home, and the coffee the next morn- ing will really taste good. That's eive first-round byes. when it will sink in, probably higan will tip off on Friday tomorrow morning, when I make at 6:30 against the winner my first cup of coffee." ST TA Fulfill Your Requirements. Earn Credits this Summer at Baruch College - In the Heart of Manhattan. Choose from introductory courses in Communications, Economics, English, Math, Political Science, Psychology, and more. 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