Streaking
Carol Hutchins and the
Michigan softball team are
off to a quick start with a
12-game win streak
» Page 3B
Bowed out
The Michigan men’s hockey
team was eliminated from
the Big Ten Tournament
with a loss to Ohio State
» Page 4B
Before
Sunday’s
NCAA
Tournament selection show,
John Beilein stood up from his
chair and addressed a crowd of
Maize Rage students.
“In 2008-09, we broke the
streak,” Beilein said. “There
had
been
11
years
where
Michigan hadn’t been in the
tournament. And it was very
different than this atmosphere
because we didn’t know if we
were in or not. … It never gets
old.
“We don’t know where we’re
gonna go, we don’t really care.
We don’t care where we seeded,
that we’re Big Ten champions
again.”
Beilein
spoke
with
a
businesslike intonation. The
upcoming
hour,
though
—
when Michigan would learn
of its matchup as a No. 3 seed
against No. 14 seed Montana
in Wichita, Kan. — would be
playful and animated.
Michigan State was placed
as a No. 3 seed in the final spot
in Detroit, and boos cascaded
forward. When the final spot
for Boise, Id. was decided,
freshman forward Isaiah Livers
grabbed his chest in relief. The
team smiled and chattered.
Then,
the
Wolverines
learned their tournament fate
would begin in Wichita with a
Thursday 9:50 p.m. tipoff, and
John Beilein high-fived his
players. Almost all of the roster
has never been to Wichita —
Beilein included — and they
too switched to a businesslike
demeanor.
“I don’t know too much,”
said freshman guard Jordan
Poole. “Obviously, it’s a place
where we can go, we can lock in
and do anything and get some
wins.
“Being able to go out there
and see a team like a Montana —
this is our job, and this is what
we’re here for, so we’ve got a lot
of confidence.”
Following
a
few minutes of
repartee after the
announcement,
the
Michigan
players huddled
around
Beilein
to discuss their
next steps. For
the first time in
over a week, the
Wolverines could get ready
with a studiable opponent in
mind.
For junior forward Moritz
Wagner, it’s the last piece of the
puzzle to start a tournament
run.
“You kinda know each other
so well it’s hard to take that
next step,” he said of the team’s
practices. “I know Jon Teske,
I know everything he does. …
(Preparing for an opponent
is) more specific and more
interesting.
Being on the road
is fun too for a
cool event.”
Wagner,
though,
will
be
back
in
unfamiliar
territory.
“I know it’s in
Kansas. I know
Kansas
and
Missouri have something going
on there with Kansas City,
right?” Wagner said. “I just got
to know that their names were
the Montana Grizzlies. I just
don’t know them at all. They’re
very good probably because
they’re in the Tournament,
they’ve got 26 wins. That’s a lot
of wins. You’ve gotta respect
that, approach it like it’s the
last game of the season.”
For
fifth-year
Duncan
Robinson, he approaches it
like it’s the last game of his
collegiate career. In his first
season with the Wolverines in
2015-16, they were bounced in
the Round of 64. Then last year
came Michigan’s surprise run
to the Sweet Sixteen. Now, it’s
about an Elite Eight appearance
or better.
“The first few years — it’s
kinda funny my first two years,
I got my feet wet,” Robinson
said. “But now in my final
year, I don’t want it to end so
hopefully we can keep it going
as long as possible.”
As for Beilein, his attitude
was mainly level throughout
the
evening.
A
man
with
little concern about the exact
opponent or seed or location.
He
knows
the
danger
of
sleeping
on
a
double-digit
seeded team — his 14-seeded
Richmond team topped No. 3
South Carolina in 1997.
His
stoic
outlook,
of
course, didn’t mean he wasn’t
pleased. Beilein is happy that
the Wolverines will play on
Thursday instead of Friday —
one less day his team has to
wait after an extended break.
The No. 3 seed, he believes,
validates the progression his
team experienced throughout
the season.
But Beilein can only smile
for so long before he drinks
his 7:30 a.m. coffee tomorrow
morning and game-plans for
the Grizzlies himself.
“I try to answer most texts,”
he said. “Any congratulations
coming in will have to wait. I’ll
be focused on Montana.”
ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor
Section B | The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | March 12, 2018
Design by Jack Silberman
Evan Aaron / Daily
Beilein, Michigan facing Montana in West Region
SPORTSMONDAY
TEST IN THE WEST
“... Hopefully
we can keep it
going as long
as possible.”
WICHITA, KS
MARCH 15, 9:50 P.M.
#3
#14
MONTANA