2B — February 9, 2015
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
The moral victory Michigan doesn’t need
H
ere they were again.
In a game they weren’t
supposed to stick
around in,
with a roster
that lacked
the depth to
do so.
On this
path through
the season,
the one
that was
disappointing,
heartbreaking
and yet still
within reach, each shot and every
break brought the Michigan
men’s basketball team closer and
closer to that same place.
For the third time in as many
weeks, this time on the road in
Bloomington, the Wolverines
took a Big Ten team down to the
final seconds. They led only once
the entire game and trailed by as
many as 11 — twice. And yet there
they were in the final seconds
with a chance to send the game
to overtime, again.
Even as Indiana made shot
after shot from deep and awoke
the crowd with a dunk, Michigan
was still in the game. Junior
guard Spike Albrecht and
sophomore forward Zak Irvin
came down to the end, shooting
and driving while everyone else
watched.
Albrecht made a pair of free
throws with 43 seconds left.
Irvin, who had struggled to
shoot, sank a 3-pointer from
two feet beyond the arc with
18 seconds remaining. And the
Wolverines trailed one of the Big
Ten’s best teams by just three on
its opponent’s home court.
The week prior they had
forced Michigan State into
overtime. Before then, another
overtime game against No. 4
Wisconsin. Each one ended in a
loss. Each one called a chance to
grow. Each one labeled a “moral
victory” by many.
“That’s our story,” said
Michigan coach John Beilein.
“We’re actually getting a little
bit tired of it, but it beats the
alternative of giving in, so we’re
making progress.”
If Michigan could win, it could
spark a run to the tournament.
It could prove critics wrong who
said without a healthy Caris
LeVert or a healthy Derrick
Walton, the Wolverines couldn’t
make the tournament again. If
they could
win, they
would be able
to show they
had learned
and worked
past those
difficult
defeats.
But when
Michigan had
its chance
to show its growth, to show
how far Albrecht has come as
a scorer and how far freshman
guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman’s confidence level
has risen. To
change the
trend and walk
away with an
actual victory,
it fell short
with Abdur-
Rahkman’s
3-pointer at the
last second.
Another
“moral victory”
in a season of painful losses.
No one walked off the court
looking satisfied, of course,
because it’s still a loss. A moral
victory, no matter how good
it may feel, isn’t worth any
bonus points or an asterisk in
the standings. It’s just painful.
And it’s not worth anything
more to the NCAA Tournament
committee, either.
Moral victories, in college
basketball, are so commonplace
that they happen every week.
But this one, on this team,
feels different. It’s a team that
shouldn’t be in close games
because it doesn’t have the
pieces to. It’s a coach who, even
when he faces the toughest
stretch of his schedule, still
figures out a way to put his
team into game-winning
positions.
Given Michigan’s history as
of late, something more than
a moral victory is expected.
Five years ago, they would be
encouraging. It shows just how
far this team has come, because a
trend like this doesn’t feel good.
It feels awkward.
This moral victory, at
the hands of Indiana, only
compounds that pain, because
now, as the season approaches
its end, the future is less and less
promising.
“We say (we’re) growing either
in victory or defeat,” Beilein said.
“We don’t like growing in defeat,
but I believe we are.”
In college basketball,
confidence and experience
matter, but they don’t mean
much unless they count as a win.
There’s little time to reflect and
grow from these victories.
“Right now, everyone keeps
saying moral victories, but there
are no moral victories,” Albrecht
said. “So it was a disappointing
loss and I was proud of the way
we battled, but we’ve got to start
finishing these close games.”
They don’t make the season a
failure, but the moral victories
don’t make a difference unless
they turn into wins. As March
approaches, there’s not much
time to show how they pay off.
Because there are no moral
victories when you’re not in the
NCAA Tournament.
Greg Garno can be reached
via email at ggarno@umich.edu
and on Twitter @G_Garno.
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
The Michigan men’s basketball team again was within one basket of a huge upset, but after several close losses, the Wolverines sit at just 6-6 in the Big Ten.
“We don’t like
growing in
defeat, but I
believe we are.”
GREG
GARNO
They made a pair of runs at the
end of the first half, only to be
pushed back by big 3-pointers
from Ferrell and Blackmon. They
made strides at the start of the
second, too, but Hoosier forward
Collin Hartman had an answer.
It seemed like Indiana would
have Michigan worn down and
be able pull away at the end.
And yet, with 3:30 to play,
Albrecht hit a three to cut the
Hoosier lead to 64-58, and
Michigan
started
one
more
comeback
effort.
With Doyle
stepping
up
the
interior
defense,
Michigan
played
tight
inside
and
forced
a
couple
turnovers. On the other end,
Albrecht hit an And-1 layup to
cut the deficit to three with one
minute left.
Hartman and Albrecht, who
scored eight of his 12 points in
the final 3:30, traded pairs of free
throws on their next possessions,
wearing down the clock but not
creating separation.
Then Williams unleashed a
vicious dunk with 30 seconds
left in the game, seemingly
the knockout punch from the
ever-answering Hoosiers. But
12 seconds later, Irvin coolly
answered
with
a
3-pointer,
pulling Michigan within two
with 18 seconds remaining.
Hartman was intentionally
fouled on his next possession and
missed one of the two free throws,
giving Michigan a chance to tie at
the buzzer. The Wolverines tried
to get Irvin free, but he couldn’t
find an open shot. He worked it
around the perimeter, and the
ball eventually ended up with
Abdur-Rahkman wide open in
the corner with
a chance to tie.
But
the
freshman’s
triple was a few
inches
short,
clanging off the
rim and sealing
a Hoosier win.
“It’s a very
similar
story
to our Wisconsin and Michigan
State games, where we’re proud
of our kids’ play and how hard we
worked,” Beilein said. “I’d love to
have some possessions back and I
know that we’ll learn from them.”
It is a similar story, but Beilein,
Albrecht and the Wolverines are
still treating it like the poem,
and pondering what more they
could do.
MICHIGAN
From Page 1B
Playing with his back against
the wall, Irvin had to step up
to overcome the Hoosiers (7-4,
17-7). Taking 13 of Michigan’s
shots in the second half, Irvin
knocked down seven, including
three 3-pointers to keep the iron
hot for the Wolverines.
While Michigan couldn’t leave
Assembly Hall with a win, it
would not have even come down
to a final possession if not for
Irvin’s triple with 18 seconds left
to make it a one-possession game.
With the game clock winding
down, he had a chance to tie the
game and bring it into overtime,
but instead of forcing up a wildly
contested 3-pointer, he started
the passing around the arc,
with the ball ultimately finding
freshman guard Muhammad-
Ali Abdur-Rahkman. His last-
second attempt fell short.
Though it’s coming to the
point
in
Michigan’s
season
where actual wins are needed
over moral ones, the play of
Irvin is a promising sign for
a team with fleeting NCAA
Tournament chances.
“That’s the Zak Irvin we need
the rest of the year,” said junior
guard Spike Albrecht. “This was
a very big game for him. There
was a lot of pride on the line
being an Indiana guy. He really
stepped up today.”
IRVIN
From Page 1B
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan Men’s Basketball
17,472
Attendance Sunday at Assembly Hall for
Michigan vs. Indiana
23
Points for sophomore forward Zak Irvin,
tying a season high set Nov. 17
50.0
Michigan field-goal percentage, its
highest since Jan. 6 at Penn State
13-11
Michigan’s record through Sunday,
including 6-6 in the Big Ten
“He’s so much
more than a
shooter.”