6A — Thursday, March 9, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan opens Big Ten Tournament against Illinois
At West Virginia in 2005, John
Beilein faced nearly the same
situation he faces today.
After
finishing
the
regular season
18-9,
the
Mountaineers
headed
to
Madison
Square Garden
as the Big East
Tournament’s
No. 8 seed in
need of a victory
or two to feel
secure
about
their
chances
of
making
the
NCAA
Tournament.
West Virginia ended up doing
more than picking up the wins it
needed. After beating Providence
in the first round, the Mountaineers
followed that performance up
by establishing and maintaining
a 22-point halftime lead to take
down the tournament’s No. 1 seed,
Boston College. Beilein’s team
then carried that momentum into
the next day’s matchup against
Villanova, where West Virginia
escaped with a two-point win and
was suddenly 40 minutes away
from a Big East title.
The Mountaineers dropped
the
conference
championship
game to Syracuse, but their run
to the final instilled a newfound
confidence in Beilein’s squad that
carried over to the Big Dance.
There,
West
Virginia
first
squeaked past Creighton at the
buzzer in the first round, then
upset No. 2 seed Wake Forest
in double overtime and worked
magic again to get past Texas
Tech and into the Elite Eight.
The Mountaineers finally folded
just short of the Final Four, when
they blew a 20-point lead against
Louisville and lost in overtime.
Just
three
weeks
earlier,
Beilein didn’t even know if
his team was going to have
the chance to play on college
basketball’s biggest stage. But
as it all unfolded, West Virginia
became the main attraction of
that year’s tournament.
And that’s the moment when
Beilein first witnessed the magic
of March.
“That series of events taught
me anything can happen,” Beilein
said. “We were just trying to make
the NCAA Tournament, and the
next thing you know, we’re ahead
16 points on Louisville in the first
half (of the Elite Eight), and don’t
go to the Final Four. It was a great
testimony of kids realizing, if you
believe, anything can happen.”
Twelve seasons and seven
NCAA Tournament appearances
later, Beilein finds himself facing
a
very
similar
situation
with
Michigan.
The
Wolverines enter
the
Big
Ten
Tournament
as
the No. 8 seed,
and while many
believe Michigan
to be in the field
of 68, a win or two
will certainly lock
in a spot on Selection Sunday.
Based on the parity across the
league throughout the regular
season, this year’s edition of
the Big Ten Tournament could
be as wide open as ever. If the
Wolverines
can
discover
the
same edge Beilein’s West Virginia
team found, they
could
be
the
most
dangerous
team
in
the
tournament.
“We’re
trying
to sell to them the
magic that can
happen in a run,”
Beilein said. “It’s
the best feeling.
Something about
the spring air and
that the end of the season is near
but you’re playing good basketball.
You’re more excited to see your
teammates. What a time March
can be if you’re still playing.”
While Michigan’s goal and
expectation is a championship,
the Wolverines are focused on
keeping their vision narrow and
not overlooking what’s on the
immediate horizon. Heading into
the tournament, that challenge
will come in the form of Illinois,
a team Michigan saw twice in the
regular season.
One of the Wolverines’ biggest
obstacles will be their travel
schedule. After their team plane
slid off the runway in a take-off
accident during a power outage
Wednesday, they will now leave
Ann Arbor for Washington at
6 a.m. Thursday, just six hours
before tip-off.
At the Verizon Center, a rubber
match awaits them. Michigan and
Illinois split two regular-season
meetings, with each winning
at home with the last meeting
coming early in the conference
season Jan. 21. In basketball time,
that’s almost an eternity ago.
The “white-collar” comment
Illinois center Maverick Morgan
made following the first matchup
has lost its sting, and both teams
have developed new looks on
both ends.
“The fact that we’ve played
them twice, we know each other a
little better,” Beilein said. “If you
watch our last five games, their
last five games, there are some
similarities. But both teams have
really evolved.”
Being that both teams are
familiar with each other and
know what’s at stake, Beilein kept
his prediction of what to expect in
the Verizon Center simple:
“Whoever makes shots and
defends the best is going to win.”
But for Michigan, it may not
be that easy. The hardest part of
any tournament run is managing
the game-to-game needs and
ultimate goals. The Wolverines
will
have
to
establish
that
approach Thursday when they
take on the Fighting Illini.
“We end practice everyday
talking about being champions,”
Beilein said. “We wanted to be
champions of the (2K Classic). We
were. We wanted to be (Big Ten)
regular-season champions. But
about two weeks ago, that wasn’t
a possibility. Now there’s another
one. That would be really special
to spend those days there in D.C.,
to see the groundswell of support
we have and win this thing.”
“But that’s the way you have to
go into it now. Not with the idea
that we just need to get another
win. That’s part of it. I think
they’re old enough to understand,
‘Let’s focus on this one game at a
time, but the real prize is to win
this championship.’ ”
BRANDON CARNEY
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan
vs. Illinois
Matchup:
Michigan
20-11; Illinois
18-13
When:
Thursday
12 P.M.
Where:
Verizon Center
TV/Radio:
BTN
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein’s team has been the No. 8 seed in each of the past three Big Ten Tournaments. This year, the Wolverines’ first opponent is Illinois.
“What a time
March can be
if you’re still
playing.”
After splitting two regular-season meetings, Wolverines take on Fighting Illini at noon Thursday in Washington, D.C.
Wolverines to take 6 a.m. flight to
Washington; noon tip-off still on
The
Michigan
men’s
basketball
team’s
trip
to
the
Big
Ten
Tournament
in
Washington,
D.C.,
was
jeopardized
Wednesday
when the team plane slid off
the
runway
during
takeoff
at Willow Run Airport. The
program
confirmed
in
a
statement that there were no
significant injuries.
The team immediately got off
the plane and spent the evening
searching for an alternate travel
plan. Around 10:30 Wednesday
night, the program’s official
Twitter account announced its
new schedule: The Wolverines
will now meet at Crisler at 6
a.m. Thursday, take a bus to
Metro Airport, depart at 7:30,
arrive in Washington at 8:45
and take a bus straight to the
Verizon Center for a noon tip-
off against Illinois.
The schedule is a difficult
way to start the tournament.
If Michigan beats the Fighting
Illini after a draining trip,
it
will
play
a
well-rested
Purdue team Friday at noon
in the quarterfinals. Earlier
Wednesday evening, a Big Ten
official said that the conference
would wait to see Michigan’s
new
itinerary
to
make
a
decision about changing the
game time. The other three
second-round games are on the
schedule for the rest of the day
at the Verizon Center.
The
Daily
confirmed
Wednesday
night
that
the
airport tower suffered a power
outage — gusty winds affected
the Ann Arbor area all day — but
that the third-party dispatch
still cleared for departure.
“After attempting to take
off in high winds, takeoff
was aborted and, after strong
braking, the plane slide off (sic)
runway,” a team spokesman
said in a statement. “The plane
sustained extensive damage but
everyone on board was safely
evacuated and is safe.”
Erica
Donerson,
manager
of media relations of Wayne
County Airport Authority, also
confirmed and gave specifics
about the incident in an email
statement.
“Shortly before 3 p.m. today,
a charter flight aborted takeoff
at Willow Run Airport and went
off the end of Runway 23L,”
Donerson wrote. “The Airport
Authority Public Safety and
Operations teams responded.
There
were
no injuries to
the seven crew
members
and
109 passengers,
including
members of the
University
of
Michigan men’s
basketball team.
The
MD83
was
operated
by
Ameristar
Charters. As a
result of this incident, Willow
Run Airport remains closed at
this time.”
At that time, in an interview
with
WXYZ-TV,
Michigan
coach John Beilein expressed
in an interview his belief that
flying Thursday is the right idea.
“Right now, I think the
best decision is to wait until
tomorrow and just get up early
and go,” Beilein said. “I do not
think it’s wise, with this wind,
with our players where they
are right now, our students,
our staff, our cheerleaders, our
band, probably not a good idea
to go up again today.”
Several
of
the
players,
coaches,
staff
and
other
passengers
tweeted
positive
notes afterward.
Recovering
mentally
and
physically in time for the game,
meanwhile, is a different story.
“It
puts
so
much
in
perspective right now that
everybody’s safe,” Beilein told
WXYZ-TV. “We have a few
people banged up a little bit,
a few cuts, a few bruises, but
other than that, everybody’s
healthy, and it could have been
much worse. The way the flight
attendants,
the
pilots,
the
student-athletes, the students,
the staff, conducted themselves
was incredible. We were off that
plane, going down those chutes,
getting up on the wings, getting
out
of
there.
In
a
minute,
it seemed like
everybody
got
off that plane.”
According to
other
reports,
the
Federal
Aviation
Administration
and
National
Transportation
Safety
Board
are
still
investigating
the
wreck,
including some of the team’s
gear that is still on board. The
coaches and players returned to
Crisler Center after the accident
and will now be pressed to
make it to Washington before
tip-off.
Still,
those
inside
the
program
are
grateful
the
damage was not worse.
“It’s only an airplane that was
destroyed,” Beilein said. “No
lives were destroyed in that. We
gotta put things in perspective,
and that game tomorrow has
still a lot of meaning, but
certainly our kids will look at it
a lot differently, look at life a lot
differently, after what we just
experienced.”
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Team plane slid off runway during power outage at Willow
Run on Wednesday; no significant injuries to passengers
MICHIGAN DAILY STAFF
“It puts so much
in perspective
right now that
everybody’s safe.”
Seniors prepare for home finale
A lot has changed since the
seniors on the Michigan hockey
team arrived in Ann Arbor
before the start of the 2013-14
season. The Wolverines entered
that year ranked No. 10 in the
country,
and
though
their
22-year
NCAA
Tournament
streak had ended the year before,
the nine freshmen who entered
had aspirations of adding to the
storied history of the program.
Now, after three of their
classmates moved on to the NHL,
just six seniors remain. And with
this weekend marking the last
regular-season
games
of
the
season, forwards Evan Allen, Alex
Kile, Max Shuart, defensemen
Nolan De Jong and Kevin Lohan
and goaltender Zach Nagelvoort
are facing their final opportunities
to play at Yost Ice Arena.
“It’s exciting in a weird way,”
Nagelvoort said. “I don’t really
know the right word for it. It’s
exciting that we have a chance
to play Penn State … I think
that’s really the focus in the
room: playing Penn State on the
weekend, not necessarily the
Senior Night aspect of it. We’ll
experience that after the game on
Saturday. It’s not like a leading-
into-the-game kind of thing.
“I know I love playing here at
Yost, so I’m going to just enjoy my
last two times playing here. I’m
sure I’ll be a mess after the game,
but we’ll see when I get there.”
As Nagelvoort says, Michigan
isn’t emphasizing Senior Night
heavily
at
all.
Instead,
the
Wolverines’ focus is on winning
the
games
remaining
and
trying to rally some momentum
before playing in the Big Ten
Tournament.
“We don’t do much,” said
Michigan coach Red Berenson.
“We do (Senior Night) after the
game, where some teams have a
hurried presentation before the
game, and we don’t do that. … We
don’t make a big deal of it in the
locker room as coaches. We’ve
tried it in the past, and it doesn’t
work. It doesn’t seem to relate. It
relates more to the game.”
Things haven’t been easy
for this particular senior class.
Barring an unlikely win in the
Big Ten Tournament, it will be
just the third class in the last 26
seasons to participate in only one
NCAA Tournament collectively.
Add that to the departure
of three of their classmates —
JT Compher, Tyler Motte and
Michael Downing — before this
season, and the six-some has
seen its fair share of struggles.
But with all of that, they say it has
just made them closer as a group.
“With
those
three
guys
signing in the offseason, it
only made us, as a class, come
closer,” Kile said. “… It’s going
to be different next year, and it’s
going to be hard to move on, but
hopefully this last couple weeks
of hockey can be memorable with
those guys. And as we graduate
and go (down) different paths,
I definitely imagine all six of us
keeping in touch.”
Added Allen: “The six of us
remaining here, we all live in the
same house or right next door to
each other. We hang out every
single night and every day. So
we became really close. I mean,
we do everything together. … It’s
been really fun, and I’m going to
miss it a lot.”
This season alone has been
trying enough for the Wolverines
and their seniors, as they are
on track to have the program’s
worst record in 30 years. But the
individual players are used to
dealing with tough situations.
After all, when this season is over,
their legacy may be their ability
to fight through difficult times to
make contributions on the ice.
“The one thing that’s happened
to every one of them, they’ve all
run into adversity,” Berenson
said. “On the ice, they’ve all had
trouble finding their way at one
time or another. … And yet now
they’re all contributing players,
and they’re all graduating, and
I’m glad they are.”
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Zach Nagelvoort plays the final home games of an eventful career this weekend.
MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Editor