The day it all changed

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

It was FOUR years ago tonight that Stu Douglass changed the direction of Michigan Basketball.

Michigan entered the game on a 6-game losing streak that included horrible losses to the likes of bad Indiana, Northwestern and Minnesota teams. The season looked to be going as the "experts" had predicted before the season started. (They had Michigan finishing 10th of 11 in the Big Ten).

And then something funny happened. Michigan led for most of the game but you just weren't sure if this was real or not. It sure didn't seem like it near the end as state had a comeback in the final 2 minutes.

And then it happened. It REALLY happened. A three pointer that ended the hopes of a state comeback up at breslin with under 30 seconds to go to put Michigan up 60-55. Michigan's first win there since most of the players on that team were in kindergarten. 

And the rest, they say, is history. 

1/27/2011 to Basketball, is what 11/22 was to Football, IMHO. A special date that should never be forgotten.

Fitting another Michigan MBB team pulled on out a win on this night.

 

tdcarl

January 27th, 2015 at 10:03 PM ^

Man, I still remember watching that game in my dorm room in Markley and hearing the whole hallway go absolutely apeshit when Stu hit that shot.

Avant's Hands

January 27th, 2015 at 10:15 PM ^

I was actually just talking about this yesterday. Met a guy who played AAU with Stu and told him the two things I would never forget are that three and the tournament dunk.

LSAClassOf2000

January 27th, 2015 at 10:26 PM ^

As I recall, our conference record when that game began was something like 1-6 and we finished the conference schedule at 9-9. In the grand scheme, it seems sort of "meh" on the surface but it was a 8-3 run and Michigan basketball, at the moment of that three, seemed to find something that it had not had in years to that point - a confidence and a "can do" sort of attitude that seems to resonate even today.

EDIT: Bah, I say "when that game began" and proceed to quote the record when the game was over. Thanks to snarling wolverine for pointing it out. Corrected.

carlos spicywiener

January 27th, 2015 at 10:56 PM ^

People seem to attach a lot of significance to that shot and that game...I'd argue the "watershed" moment was Darius Morris telling MSU to remove themselves from the court post-haste after M completed the sweep.

NateVolk

January 27th, 2015 at 11:08 PM ^

Look it up, but I bet Michigan has one of the 3 highest winning percentages in the country from that point forward.

It was Novak. That woke everybody up.