LANE KIZZIAH
Daily Sports Writer

A

t 6:13 p.m. on Sunday 
night, 
the 
Michigan 

men’s basketball team 

could 
finally 
breathe. 
After 

weeks of speculation and missed 
opportunities to punch their own 
ticket, the Wolverines made it out of 
the bubble and into the bracket. 

“I definitely was nervous, I’m not 

gonna lie,” graduate guard DeVante’ 
Jones said. “I feel like we let a lot of 

games slip, so I didn’t know how 
the people that were actually 
making the brackets, I didn’t 
know how they would perceive 
us.”

With an 11 seed, Michigan coach 

Juwan Howard and his team have 
narrowly avoided the embarrassment 
of being the first Michigan team 
since 2015 to not make the NCAA 
Tournament. But, this sense of relief 
comes with a caveat: This story has 
already been written. 

Yes, the Wolverines will play 

No. 6-seed Colorado State on 

Thursday. They might 

face No. 3-seed Tennessee or No. 
14-seed Longwood in the second 
round. But — pending an act of God 
— this team’s legacy won’t be what 
happens in March. In all likelihood, 
its most defining moments are already 
behind it. 

Thirty years down the line, 

Michigan fans might remember 
this as the year the Wolverines were 
a preseason top 10 team and then 
started the season 7-7. The year they 
could barely squeak out wins against 
unranked opponents like Tarleton 
State and Buffalo. Or as the year 
Howard socked some guy in the head. 

The ones with better memories 

might recall Michigan blowing a 
17-point lead against Indiana to 
send them home from the Big Ten 
Tournament in just the second round. 
Personally, I know I’ll remember 
when sophomore center Hunter 
Dickinson had to sit out with a tummy 
ache. 

Of 
course, 
there’s 
the 
slim 

possibility that the Wolverines will 
turn it all around in the 11th hour, go 
all the way and become the Cinderella 
story of the decade. If that happens, 
every loss and poor performance will 
be cast in a new light. This team won’t 
be looked at as one that failed to meet 
expectations, never able to capitalize 
on the talent that — on paper — should 
have led them to the Final Four. 
Instead, it’ll be a team that bided its 
time, finding its groove when it 

Michigan escapes 

bubble, but season-long 
questions still remain

SPORTSWEDNESDAY

BYE, BYE
BUBBLE

needed to the most. 

But that’s just the trope of a cheesy 

movie. As others have pointed out, 
the time for a cinematic, zero-to-hero 
plot line is long behind us. Coaches 
and players alike have been saying 
that they’ll use their losses to learn 
and grow for months, yet the same 
mistakes pop up week after week. 

Still, when asked what makes the 

team feels confident that they can go 
on a run in the Tournament, Jones 
repeated a similar refrain: 

“This is the opportunity we 

always talk about, especially after 
the loss to Indiana,” he said. “… After 
that, we’ve been saying that all we 
need is a chance. All we need in an 
opportunity.” 

It’s hard to make the argument 

that the Wolverines have lacked 
opportunities thus far. Instead, it’s 
much easier to find examples of when 
they’ve squandered them. There have 
been instances where it’s looked like 
Michigan is finally starting to right 
the ship, but then, after a one or two 
game stretch, its flaws come racing 
back. 

“It’s a new season now, this is the 

postseason,” Howard said. 

Maybe Howard is right and this is 

a new season, an entirely new team 
from the one that got trounced by 
Indiana on Thursday. Or — more likely 
— we’re starting a new chapter in the 
same story. Maybe the inconsistencies 
that have plagued the Wolverines will 
still be there on Thursday, and this 
year will end in the same way it began: 

With dashed hopes and unmet 

expectations.

Tess Crowley, Julia Schachinger, Dominick Sokotoff/Daily 

Design by Lys Goldman

