Michigan 73, Louisville 69
A sweet victory, indeed. [Marc-Gregor Campredon]
As John Beilein delivered his opening statement of the postgame presser, Derrick Walton looked up to the ceiling and mouthed "oh my god."
Michigan won their second instant classic in as many games. Perhaps most remarkable is they went about it in an entirely different way. After making 16 three-pointers against Oklahoma State, the Wolverines were forced by Louisville's aggressive, switching defense to play through their big men. With Derrick Walton struggling to hit his shots, Moe Wagner and DJ Wilson stole the show.
Wagner scored a game-high 26 points on 11-for-14 shooting. In arguably the best performance of his young career, the big man used a dizzying array of post moves to punish mismatches. His biggest bucket of the game came on a move Beilein has wanted to see from him for a long time; off a pick-and-pop, Wagner got his defender to bite on a pump fake at the three-point line, then drove for a layup to give Michigan a six-point lead with 1:18 to go.
"We feed off of him," Walton said. "Because he's not afraid of anything."
Wilson's all-around impact nearly matched that of his German roommate. The last of his 17 points came in the final 20 seconds at the free-throw line, where his perfect four-for-four shooting kept the Cardinals at bay. His third block of the game ended the contest, as Walton plucked Donovan Mitchell's tipped shot out of the air and triumphantly raced into the frontcourt as the clock expired.
"Our play is kinda contagious on the floor," said Wilson. "I feed off his energy and he feeds off mine. Down the stretch when we pulled out the victory, I was as happy as I could possibly be."
Moe Wagner's best game couldn't have come at a better time. [Campredon]
Louisville led for nearly the entire first half. While neither team shot the ball well, ten UL offensive rebounds kept them out in front, and some creative officiating helped them go on an 8-0 run to close the half after Michigan had finally managed to tie it up. At the break, the outlook was bleak.
"The end of the first half I thought was a defining moment for our team," said Beilein. "A team that's not as experienced or doesn't have the poise that we had, they come back and try to win it all right away, but we won every four-minute period until we got ahead in the game."
That meant weathering a tough stretch at the beginning of the second half. Louisville center Mangok Mathiang matched Wagner bucket-for-bucket, and his putback off a missed three-pointer extended the lead to nine with 14:46 left. Then Michigan's offense really got rolling. Three straight baskets by Zak Irvin cut the deficit to three, and a short time later Wilson nailed a pick-and-pop three to get the Wolverines within one.
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman knotted the game at 51 with 8:54 to play, hitting two free-throws after taking a hard foul at the rim. While the teams would trade blows, Michigan never trailed again. Wilson worked his way into the paint to give them the lead. The perimeter finally opened up a bit; Wagner knocked down a triple out of a timeout, then Walton followed suit with a signature stepback, looking as if he had no recollection of going 1-for-11 up to that point.
Derrick Walton came up huge when his team needed it most. [Campredon]
Wagner's pump-fake layup looked like it would ice the game, especially when Jaylon Johnson committed an offensive foul on the following possession, but Louisville wasn't done. Irvin coughed up back-to-back turnovers on inbounds as UL turned up the pressure, and a layup by Mitchell, who led the Cardinals with 19 points, cut the deficit to two as hearts jumped into throats and stomachs churned.
That was Walton's cue. Michigan's unflappable leader hadn't made a shot at the rim all afternoon, but when he got a step on his defender, he didn't hesitate to go up strong over Deng Adel for a layup.
Mitchell would get two more layups, but each one was answered by Wilson free throws. Wilson and Wagner embraced after the game-sealing block to send Michigan to the Sweet Sixteen.
"We're very close," said Wagner. "It's beautiful seeing each other be successful."
It sure is.
We have a lot of tools - we can do this GO BLUE
"creative officiating" ;-)
Right. That was a 4-point screw-up. Michigan had an easy 2 points off the turnover. Instead Kentucky got 2 free throws to end the half.
Plus, fouls are so valuable. We were seconds way from Moe going into the locker room with only one personal, but that phantom call got him his 2nd. Thankfully it didn't make a difference in the end.
Their mental toughness is founded upon talent. Wagner and Wilson are two of the best big men we've ever had. Walton is the consummate point guard. Rahkman is solid, filling all the niches.
Irvin is perhaps the most impressive. It's been a horrible year for him, yet somehow he's raised his game over the last several weeks. He's not showing the most ability, but he's hung in there and contributed all over the court.
Good point. The narrative that somehow they are lovable underdogs with a good back-story going up against teams that are way out of their league is just wrong. They have talent.
We are not Princeton here folks.
Beilein can't recruit big men!!!
March 20th, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^
Oh come on, let's appreciate the team and all it has accomplished. This is a Helluva Ride, and I'm amazed at the possibilities still before them...but Walton FLAT OUT was not "the consummate point guard" 2 months ago. Something happened, and it happened long before the plane incident.
Irivn was dribbling out shot clocks waiting for a Hero Ball shot multiple times each game. MAAR was largely an observer, trying to figure out his place in this system. Donnal, enuf said ad nauseum. Robinson far too often wasn't finding his shot or it just wasn't falling.
Only Wagner & Wilson have been steady, productive and reliable this whole season. And they're still getting better!!!
God Bless the whole team for joining them, but anyone who was concerned or even frustrated in January is not suddenly wrong now. THIS team has changed, and it's a miraculous and beautiful thing!
Great writeup. Sums it up nicely.
There will only be 16 teams left that can play for it all and we're one of them . . . that is sweet.
Mich scored 27 more points in the 2nd half of the 2 NCAA Tourney Games than in first...Two completely different adjustments:1st Game adjustment to create open threes..2nd Game to get inside to Moe...Thumbs Up for Coach B.
Great write up Ace. Right on.
Fantastic poise, tremendous win. Onward.
Michigan scored 40 points in the paint.
That is all.
Nor would I.
Not sure how many folks caught his postgame interview. Totally classless. I don't want to dwell on it... I've been walking on clouds all afternoon... But he is such a douchebag.
real team effort, and some great halftime adjustments by B. Awesome.
A gracious Winner, as well as upholding M standards. Just tremendous job by all on His team.
now, and have been improving in the process. We are winning the close games that were slipping away earlier in the year. I think over the last half of the season, we have been the best team in the Big Ten. If we are not, we twice beat tge tean that is.
Love that quotation from Wagner. Awesome that our players enjoy seeing their teammates succeed so much. Every game is seems like someone else is winning the game for us.
Embed this I can't, but in the Louisville Courier Journal sports section, and the second video in the article "Cards Disappointed To Be Sunk," you can find Tim Doyle and Jordan Cornet of 120 Sports lavishing praise on Michigan and Coach Beilein.
Major kudos to Beilein for abandoning the three point game when it wasn't working and finding something that did work...very well. It was refreshing to see that.
Wagner is a mutant. Big guys are not supposed to be that quick or coordinated.
The first half had at least two ghost fouls against us, ala 2013.
the strengths that Michigan displays can't win a national championship. And I am loving how this team just keeps winning.
Screw conventional wisdom!
Go Blue!
M wins and sparty loses !!
And Duke loses. Grayson Allen's tears taste like ... shit. I mean, why would you taste that jackhole's tears?
Anyway, a pretty good trifecta. Glad I was able to catch most of the second half during an incredibly busy weekend.
(Have an upvote and welcome to the board. Upvotes taste like Grayson Allen's tears. Wait, no they don't, they're actually flavorless.)
Moe was an absolute beast today. This team is legit now that they are playing with toughness, cutting off drives to the basket, and contesting shots at the rim without sloppy fouls. They've always been able to score and have 6 different guys who can light it up from outside and put them on a quick run. Hell even Donnal hit a 3 today. My 1 gripe is those 2 late turnovers trying to inbound the ball. That was a major issue during the '13 run too and you can't keep leaving the door open against good teams. That said, bring on the sweet 16!
Agreed.... although is seemed as though we've overcome our struggles inbounding (the last two years it was painful)....
Zak made two horrible passes, at the absolute worst time. Thankfully they didn't end up costing us the game.
A part of me is sad Spike wasn't on our team to be part of this win.
March 19th, 2017 at 10:52 PM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 10:09 AM ^
Didnt he force Beileins hand by retiring, which led to Beilein committing to another player, and then coming back after the fact, as a maneuever to leave? He was once my favorite player, but this did not seem kosher, and it seemed Beilein ended up looking bad, when it was Spike that deserved it.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:35 AM ^
Open scholarship
Was sent packing- open roster for player development(x?),
Injury concerns
March 20th, 2017 at 12:24 PM ^
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