8 — Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
‘M’ doesn’t
deserve the
postseason
this year
W
hen I was younger
— younger than
22, that is — and
played recreational basketball,
at the end of every season, I
got a trophy. That’s right —
undefeated or winless — if I
showed up
for Tuesday
night
practices
and for
games on
Sunday
mornings,
I walked
away with
hardware at
the end of
the season.
And get this — I made the
playoffs, too, because, well,
every team did, records be
damned.
I liked the idea of being
rewarded regardless of my
effort or my team’s result.
Show up. Run around.
Thank Nathan’s mom for
bringing the postgame snack
(Gushers and Capri Sun!).
Clinch a guaranteed spot in the
postseason. Get a trophy.
Now, nearly the same height
but a few years wiser, I get
that’s not how things work and
not how they should have back
in my young hoops days.
Trophies are reserved for
winners. The postseason is
earned.
Showing up isn’t enough.
Talking about winning isn’t
enough. Perform at a high
level, and you get rewarded
with the opportunity — the
privilege — to continue playing.
The Michigan men’s
basketball team doesn’t
deserve a postseason. Not
after it had a spot in the NCAA
Tournament wrapped up and
sitting on its doorstep, but
squandered opportunities to
finish out the season.
But what about the National
Invitational Tournament — the
NCAA Tournament’s little
brother that brings 32 teams
who weren’t good enough to sit
at the big kids’ table together
for a second-rate postseason?
That seems like a likely
landing spot for the Wolverines
(10-8 Big Ten, 20-11 overall)
after they dropped games to
Wisconsin on the road and
then to Iowa to close out their
regular season.
Michigan coach John
Beilein said on Sunday that
his team would embrace any
opportunity for postseason
play. But the NIT feels like a
massive second prize when a
spot in the NCAA Tournament
was its for the taking. A win
against either the Badgers
or the Hawkeyes would have
given Michigan 11 conference
wins, a number with which no
Big Ten team has ever missed
the NCAA Tournament.
But instead, last Sunday
in Madison, the Wolverines
squandered an opportunity to
steal a rare game on the road.
A one-point lead in the second
half was erased by a 13-3
Wisconsin run.
Six days later, with a
whole week to regroup, the
Wolverines fell flat against
Iowa, which was riding a four-
game losing streak into Crisler.
Instead, Michigan made the
Hawkeyes look like their old
selves, the ones who kicked
off Big Ten play with seven
straight wins, including upsets
over then-No. 1 Michigan State
and then-No. 14 Purdue.
After its own win against
Purdue three weeks ago,
Michigan looked poised for
a spot in the tournament.
In a gritty battle against a
bigger Boilermakers team,
the Wolverines fought for
rebounds and outscored
Purdue in the paint to clinch
their ninth conference win.
The rest looked easy.
Michigan had games against
Ohio State, Maryland,
Northwestern, Wisconsin and
Iowa to close out the season.
Win any two, and it would
almost be guaranteed to hear
its name on Selection Sunday.
It would have earned it, by any
measure.
But against Ohio State,
Michigan looked as bad in
person as it did on television
from ESPN’s sideline angle.
At Maryland, the Wolverines
were unable to close out after
clawing back in the second
half.
Michigan edged
Northwestern by single digits
after letting it hang around late
into the second, locking up win
No. 10, but it couldn’t get No. 11
in its final two contests.
When Michigan pushed,
opponents pushed back
harder. When Michigan had
margin-closing scoring streaks,
opponents had game-ending
runs. And when Michigan
needed to buckle down late
in games, it couldn’t. Its
two seniors sat injured on
the bench for all but two
conference games, and no one
else appeared to provide the
needed mental toughness on
the court.
Saturday’s matchup with
Iowa was a perfect showcase.
It was a must-win game, but
Michigan played it like a sort-
of-maybe, sure-would-be-nice-
to-win game. Eleven turnovers
— including one late in the
second half by junior guard
Zak Irvin when the Wolverines
were threatening a comeback
— were too much to overcome.
Shooting just 24 percent from
3-point range didn’t help
either.
When the final buzzer
sounded Saturday night,
Michigan looked far from a
team deserving of a postseason.
Beilein has long said he
doesn’t lobby the NCAA
Tournament selection
committee on behalf of his
team. After losing to Iowa,
though, he made the case that
Michigan might still deserve
a shot.
“We do have 10 wins in a
very good league,” Beilein said.
“We do have some wins over
top-25 teams. We’ve played a
lot of top-25 teams. And I’m
sure (other teams) have similar
arguments.
“I really trust the people
in that (selection committee)
room. They’re really talented
at what they do. They don’t
get too many of these things
wrong.”
If Beilein’s right, and the
selection committee doesn’t
make mistakes, his team
shouldn’t get a shot at the big
kids’ tournament. It doesn’t
deserve it.
Save for two wins in the
Big Ten Tournament, the
Wolverines don’t have business
being there. To win three,
they would need to beat a top-
seeded Indiana in their second
game — a team that pummeled
Michigan at home earlier in the
season.
History isn’t on the
Wolverines’ side either.
Michigan has won more than
one game in the conference
tournament only once under
Beilein. The way this team has
been playing, it doesn’t look
like that will change this year.
What will happen instead
is that Michigan will accept
an offer to play in the NIT
with the have-nots — a prize
more befitting a team of the
Wolverines’ stature, but still
a prize, nonetheless. One
Michigan doesn’t deserve.
Kaufman can be reached
at sjkauf@umich.edu and
on Twitter @sjkauf.
SIMON
KAUFMAN
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Beilein makes tournament
case for reeling Wolverines
By LEV FACHER
Daily Sports Writer
In each of the last five seasons,
every team to finish with a
winning record in Big Ten play
has received an invitation to the
NCAA Tournament. This year,
the Michigan men’s basketball
team is 10-8 in conference
games.
The long-running precedent,
however,
seems
unlikely
to
save the Wolverines, who have
dropped four of their last five
games and appear ready to break
the trend. After a 71-61 loss to
Iowa on Saturday, the expert
consensus holds that Michigan
would need an improbable run
in the Big Ten Tournament —
first, a win over Northwestern,
then another against top-seeded
Indiana — for its résumé to qualify
for the Big Dance once again.
“We did get 10 wins,” said
Michigan coach John Beilein
on Saturday. “I think (if) you do
research on how many times you
get 10 wins in this league...”
Beilein trailed off, knowing
he had made his point. By the
numbers, the Wolverines have
done just enough to put themselves
in the conversation. A winning
mark in the Big Ten, three wins
over opponents in the RPI top 50
and no inexplicable losses make
for a reasonably compelling track
record, one that gets teams into
the field of 68 more often than not.
The eyeball test tells the
opposite story. The Wolverines are
3-6 in their last nine games. They
let Indiana score 25 unanswered
points at Crisler Center on Feb. 2.
They left Michigan State’s Bryn
Forbes open for eight 3-pointers
and 29 points in an equally
humbling loss five days later.
They had to fight tooth and nail in
February to put away a Minnesota
team that at the time had yet to
record a Big Ten win.
If
the
numbers
aren’t
a
factor, Michigan isn’t an NCAA
Tournament team by any measure.
A
more
analytical
approach,
Beilein seemed to say, leaves the
matter open to interpretation.
“It has a lot to do with what the
other teams are doing,” Beilein
said. “Who was the competition?
We do have 10 wins in a very good
league. We do have some wins
over top-25 teams, and we’ve
played a lot of top-25 teams. I’m
sure other people have similar
arguments.”
Michigan’s ninth-year coach
didn’t sugarcoat the situation,
however. The Wolverines had
five days off before taking on the
Hawkeyes — five days to discuss
that they needed a win if they
wanted to keep their NCAA
Tournament hopes alive.
The game’s opening minutes
didn’t
reflect
Michigan’s
predicament. It came out flat,
quickly falling into a double-digit
hole. It finished with 11 turnovers
and a stunning 8-for-34 mark
from 3-point range — all bad signs
for a team that needed a break
before the Big Ten Tournament.
“I’m not going to hide it from
them and say, ‘Hey, maybe,’ ”
Beilein said. “I’ve always felt we
had to get more work done during
this time. That way, any questions
about us will be answered. Who
knows what’s gonna happen from
here?”
The fall since Michigan’s win
over then-No. 18 Purdue on Feb.
13 has been remarkable.
Then, it seemed the Wolverines’
problems were behind them. They
had just recorded an all-important
third win against an RPI top-
50 opponent, seen by many as a
litmus test for deserving an NCAA
Tournament bid. They sat at 9-4
in the Big Ten, 19-7 overall and
seemed like NCAA Tournament
shoo-ins. All Michigan had to do
was avoid a disastrous 1-4 or 0-5
finish in its final five conference
games.
The disastrous finish — once a
hypothetical — is now reality, and
it has left Michigan with one path
to the NCAA Tournament, one
that redshirt sophomore guard
Duncan Robinson needed only
one word to outline on Saturday.
“Win.”
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
The Michigan men’s basketball team lost four of its last five games to close out the regular season.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Sophomore right-hander Ryan Nutof and the Michigan baseball team dropped a pair of contests against Cal Poly and Santa Clara over Spring Break.
Michigan tested against adversity
Victory over
California stops
two-game
losing skid
By NATE CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
After the Michigan baseball
team started the season 4-0,
Michigan coach Erik Bakich
wondered how the 19th-ranked
Wolverines (7-3) would respond
to inevitable adversity.
Bakich got his answer during
Michigan’s Spring Break trip.
After the Wolverines defeated
St. Joseph’s, 5-1, on Feb. 26,
they faltered in their next two
contests, losing to Cal Poly, 5-1,
and Santa Clara, 5-3.
Michigan left nine men on
base in each of its defeats.
“In each of our setbacks this
Spring Break trip, you could point
at something that contributed to
the loss,” Bakich said. “We gave
away too many bases against
Cal Poly, and we didn’t execute
with runners in scoring position
against Santa Clara. Sometimes
the growth comes from learning
from your mistakes.”
But in the marquee matchup
of the week — against then-No.
10 California — the Wolverines
responded strongly. Buoyed by
sophomore
left-hander
Oliver
Jaskie’s 5.1 scoreless innings,
Michigan scored three runs in
the third inning, en route to its
5-0 victory.
“Seeing them get knocked
down and pick themselves up
after that, there was definitely
some lessons learned there,”
Bakich said. “You’re not always
gonna have your A game. You’re
not always going to be 100
percent, so I think our guys have
done a good job of responding to
small amounts of adversity we’ve
experienced.”
Relief pitching was another
bright spot for the Wolverines
against
the
Golden
Bears.
Freshman left-hander William
Tribucher, junior right-hander
Mac Lozer and junior left-hander
Carmen
Benedetti
combined
to pitch 3.2 scoreless frames,
surrender two hits and strike out
five batters.
“We’ve had a lot of time to
bond
and
really
collaborate
together and create a mindset as
a staff,” said sophomore right-
hander Ryan Nutof. “We played
very athletic teams with a lot of
speed (in California).”
Michigan carried its newfound
confidence into its contest with
San Jose State. With the score
tied at five in the top of the sixth,
sophomore shortstop Jake Bivens
came up with a double to drive
in a run and give the Wolverines
their final 6-5 edge.
But then more problems arose
as Michigan dropped its series
opener against UC Davis, 4-3.
A failed pick-off attempt by the
Wolverines in the bottom of the
fourth and a fielding error in the
sixth both proved costly, as they
each resulted in one unearned
run for the Aggies.
“All the teams were extremely
competitive
in
California,”
Bakich said. “We competed well
against Cal, San Jose State and
UC Davis. I thought the effort
was good (in those games).”
Before the Wolverines once
again had the chance to bounce
back from a loss, Mother Nature
threw a wrench into things.
Heavy rain cancelled their next
two games against UC Davis,
forcing Michigan to wait until
March 10 for the chance at a fresh
start at Hawaii.
“It’s disappointing to not play,”
Nutof said. “This team is always
hungry to play and always wants
to compete.”
The Wolverines passed their
adversity test against the Golden
Bears, but that’s just one game in
a long season. When Michigan
travels to Honolulu, Bakich will
have a clearer picture of what
kind of team he has.