LOUISVILLE 82, MICHIGAN 76

Title dreams fall
one game short after
Wolverines stumble
By DANIEL WASSERMAN
Daily Sports Editor
ATLANTA - For the third
time in their lives, the members
of the Fab Five had to look on in
despair as another team sealed a
National Championship from the
free-throw line.
After the Michigan men's bas-
ketball team dominated most of
the first half, Louisville stormed
back in the final minutes of the
opening stanza to capture the

game's momentum.
The Cardinals never relin-
quished it, winning the 2012-13
National Championship, 82-76.
"Sometimes you'd rather
lose by 10 or 15 than four or five
because you're so close," said
junior guard Tim Hardaway Jr.
"This is definitely the best game
that I played in. You're in the
National Championship and you
can't really beat it. I'd trade every
game before this just to get this
game back.
"It hurts, it really hurts."
Louisville (14-4 Big East, 35-5
overall) spent much of the second
half attempting to pull away, only
for Michigan to continually fight
back. But the Wolverines could

never quite get over the hump
after leading for more than 19 of
the game's opening 20 minutes.
While Michigan's youth didn't
show in the first half - fresh-
man point guard Spike Albrecht
carried the Wolverines with 17
first-half points - it was the Car-
dinals' experience that bested a
tired-looking Michigan squad in
the second half.
But in agame marred by errant
officiating, one incorrect foul call
might have ultimately sealed the
game. After completing a mon-
strous alley-oop to freshman
forward Glenn Robinson III to
cut the deficit to three - send-
ing Michigan fans into a frenzy
- sophomore point guard Trey

Burke appeared to cleanly block
a Peyton Siva lay-up attempt.
Burke was whistled for a foul,
changing the tide of the game, as
Siva hit two ensuing free throws.
"I guess the ref thought it was
a foul," Burke said. "I thought I
had all ball and timed it up pretty
good. Unfortunately, you know, it
didn't go that way.
"I think that was a turn-
ing point. ... It could have been
momentum. If it was a no-call,
we could've gotten possession.
We can't go back on that now. It
was a foul."
The Wolverines (12-6 Big
Ten, 31-7 overall) later cut their
deficit to four via the charity
stripe - they entered the bonus

with 11 minutes to play - but
the Cardinals never let it get any
closer. With under a minute left,
Michigan forced a miss but after
corralling the rebound, fresh-
man guard Caris LeVert stepped
out of bounds with 52 seconds
remaining. Louisville was even-
tually sent to the free-throw line,
where it iced the game.
Michigan has been on both
sides of stunning comebacks,
both in regular-season losses to
Wisconsin and Penn State, and
most recently, a double-digit
comeback win over Kansas last.
weekend. It was those games
that left the Wolverines believing
until the clock finally expired.
"We fought for 40 minutes,"

Burke said.
"There was never a point in time
that we gave up.... They were the
better team today."
While LeVert's miscue was
certainly a crushing blow, Michi-
gan coach John Beilein admit-
ted he mishandled the ensuing
possession. Beilein, coaching
in his first Final Four, mistak-
enly thought the Cardinals
were already in the bonus and
instructed his players not to foul.
That blunder, along his decision
to leave both Burke and fresh-
man forward Mitch McGary in
the game when each had four
fouls allowed precious seconds to
tick off the clock, thwarting any
See HEARTBREAK, Page 3

Stud ents somber after loss in Atlanta

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"IT
haven

ans around the years, so I'm proud of the boys
and I know we'll be back next
)untry react to year," said LSA junior Sasha
Shaffer, vice president of Maize
ampionship loss Rage."I was really confident; I
L i i knew it'd be a good game.I knew
to Louisville we'd play hard, and we played a
good game - they just played a
By DAILY STAFF little bit better than us."
Back in Ann Arbor, the crowd
oss Ann Arbor and the of about 11,000 at Crisler Arena
s of Atlanta last night, reacted to each point scored -
gan fans somberly walked jumping from their seats with
in the wake of the Uni- cheers and falling with heads in
y's loss to Louisville in the hands as the final buzzer sound-
men's basketball Cham- ed. The arena cleared out quickly
hip game. In spite of a few after the game as students and
nts around the city, the Ann Arbor residents dealt with
was comparatively quiet the University's loss.
t of previous championship While the ending mood was
s. somber, cheerleaders and mem-
er traveling 710 miles to bers of the Marching Band enter-
a, University students tained and led cheers before and
isappointment clash with throughout the game. Students
l spirit: All but 30 or 40 and Ann Arbor residents wear-
rines exited the Georgia ing maize and blue waited in line
after the very:soon game. hours before tip-off.
te the swift exit and the After the game, students said
ed tone of the night, fans they were upset, but proud of
mostly civil, the way the team had performed
:n members of the Maize throughout the season.
the spirit organization "This is the most sad moment
n for rowdy enthusiasm, in my life," LSA senior Nick Eick-
n't mask their heartbreak emeyer said. "I guess it was a
result of the game became good year. I just hope most of the
players come back. It just hurts."
s disappointed, but we Some students, including LSA
't done this good in 20 sophomore Erin Burke, skipped

TERESA MATHEW/Daily

Students watched the basketball game atla packed Crisler Arena Monday night. About 11,000 people filled the arena.

class to wait in line.
One of the event's attend-
ees, LSA junior Devin Gardner,
quarterback of the University's
football team, said although the
result of the game was upsetting,
he remains optimistic for the
next season.
"I'm pretty hurt," Gardner

said. "It felt like I lost this game.
I'm pretty sure (the team) can
cope pretty well and will be back
next year."
A slow stream of students
began to trickle across the Diag,
quietly returning home from
various viewing locations across
campus.

The first students on the Diag
were Engineering freshmen
Linda Wu and O.P. Akinbola.
They left North Campus before
the buzzer, hoping to observe the
post-game reaction.
"We still had hope even
though it was only 30 seconds
left," Akinbola said.

As more students began cross-
ing the Diag, small groups began
to gather around the cement
benches at the perimeter, the
mood fluctuating between pride
and anger.
A few times, students began
singing a somewhat-slurred ren-
See ATLANTA, Page 3

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