Michigan 75, Illinois 55 Comment Count

Ace



Zak Irvin, in practice gear, had one of his best all-around games. [Paul Sherman]

While the harrowing details of yesterday's plane accident were still being released, Michigan played Illinois wearing their practice jerseys. Their normal gear sat in the cargo hold of a crashed plane in Willow Run. Tipoff was delayed by under a half-hour to accommodate the Wolverines arriving at the Verizon Center at 10:40 am for what was originally set to be a noon game.

Once the game started, however, the unusual uniforms were the only sign the Wolverines were less than 24 hours removed from skidding off a runway. Fresh off an early morning flight, Michigan jumped out to a 15-4 lead against Illinois and spent much of the duration ahead by double digits, ending the Illini's NCAA tournament hopes (and quite possibly John Groce's employment hopes) while earning a quarterfinal matchup with top-seeded Purdue. John Beilein also broke Johnny Orr's school record with his 210th victory at Michigan.

Zak Irvin had his shot going early, netting 12 of his 18 points in the first half. That inital run held strong as Michigan made 5-of-11 threes in the half and forced nine Illinois turnovers on the other end. The defense was every bit as impressive as the offense. Timely weak-side double-teams from the baseline caught the Illini off-guard time and again, and the Wolverines used that element of surprise to convert turnovers into easy points.



Michigan didn't look ready to play a game. Looks can be deceiving. [Sherman]

Tracy Abrams was almost singlehandedly responsible for keeping Illinois within striking distance at halftime due to a personal ten-point run late in the first, and he kept his offense going in the second, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting. But Michigan shut down everyone else; no other Illini scored in double figures. Irvin locked down second-team all-conference forward Malcolm Hill, who mustered only four points while going 1-for-8 from the field.

That strong defensive effort gave Michigan the breathing room it needed when their outside shooting suddenly went cold. The Wolverines went only 4-for-14 from beyond the arc in the second half, missing nine in a row at one point. Lethal finishing helped, too; M finished the game a stellar 21-for-31 on two-pointers.

Much of that was driven, as usual, by Derrick Walton. The first-team All-B1G snub played at the remarkable level he has for the last couple months, scoring 19 points, dishing out five assists, and pulling down four rebounds while continually pushing the tempo to catch the Illini defense out of position. Muhammad-Ali Adbur-Rahkman looked ready to replicate last year's Big Ten Tournament breakout with 17 points, three assists, and three steals. DJ Wilson had a quiet yet efficient 11 points. Illinois was content to focus on limiting Moe Wagner, who only scored six points but had a huge impact on the other end, coming away with five steals and committing just three fouls.

Maverick Morgan finished with four points, three rebounds, and five turnovers while his "white collar" quote hung above Michigan's lockers.

This team is anything but that now. After a frightening, hectic, and ultimately triumphant 24 hours, they finally have a little time to regroup before facing Purdue at noon tomorrow. The Wolverines are the last team the Boilermakers want to face right now.

Comments

San Diego Mick

March 9th, 2017 at 3:26 PM ^

considering the circumstances, starting to really love this team I was annoyed with earlier in the season, could be somethoing special brewing, keep it going men, Go Blue!!!

J.

March 9th, 2017 at 3:28 PM ^

Hats off to Tracy Abrams, who single-handedly kept Michigan from adding Illinois to its list of biggest beatdowns (MD beat them by 25). Without his play, this game would have been over by halftime.

Great to see Michigan shake off the travel woes and put together a fantastic performance; I was especially heartened to see the great defense.

Go Blue!

njsteve

March 9th, 2017 at 5:34 PM ^

Winning margin was one of the first things I thought of after the game, too. Illinois' worst conference loss was to MD by 25, but they lost to West Virginia by 32 out of conference.

J.

March 9th, 2017 at 6:03 PM ^

Didn't go far enough back once I saw the Maryland game.

Silly me; I didn't think Illinois would have lost to a non-conference team by > 25. :-)

Thanks for the correction. I still think that if Abrams doesn't go off, Michigan might have set the mark. Nobody else on their team seemed to be able to anything consistently at all.

bronxblue

March 9th, 2017 at 3:28 PM ^

Just a great performance, one they should be proud of. And when you read the details about that accident, it drives home the point that this team is just locked in right now. I'm not sure how many teams would bounce back as quickly from that.

Also, after hearing Beilein had to wipe jet fuel from his face while helping people get off a burning plane...I am just damn proud he coaches this team.

Wolverheel

March 9th, 2017 at 3:30 PM ^

MAAR now with 7 straight double digit scoring games. He is the epitome of what you want out of your 4 year role player type guys, and he's stepping it up big time recently. 

stephenrjking

March 9th, 2017 at 3:36 PM ^

This game is legend. What a wild season this is turning into. It's not Beilein's best team, but like the hockey team last year, it is delightfully entertaining.

KTisClutch

March 9th, 2017 at 3:37 PM ^

I think I'm the only one that is hoping we wear regular jerseys when we have the chance. It would really show how confident this team is and has been for the last month. This game didn't turn anything around, we've been the best team in the Big Ten for a month now. Swithcing back would saying "These jersey's are nothing, we're just a great basketball team"

Huzilla

March 9th, 2017 at 3:42 PM ^

Pretty amazing for us to be FORCED to wear practice jerseys against a team that called us white collar.  Nothing more blue collar than opening a can in practice jerseys and mismatched practice shoes!

ArthGuinness

March 9th, 2017 at 3:42 PM ^

So excited that everybody's okay and with this trouncing of Illinois. I'm hoping the adrenaline can keep flowing for another day, but I wouldn't be too surprised if a presumably bad night of sleep catches up with them at some point during the tournament.

KennyHiggins

March 9th, 2017 at 3:45 PM ^

Playing as a unit.  All the pistons are firing.  Beilein and assistants orchestrating.  

Team in the best sense of the word.  Could lead to something special.  Beat PU

Everyone Murders

March 9th, 2017 at 3:49 PM ^

Hopefully the good that comes from that MD-83 Pete Rosing its way off the runway at YIP is that this team is further bound as a team.  Today's beat-down was good, and tomorrow's challenge is daunting.

Tomorrow's outcome is anything but a sure thing.  But I would not bet against this team.

UMinSF

March 9th, 2017 at 3:49 PM ^

from this point on.

We're safely in the tournament, with a ton of momentum and a near-disaster turned legendary performance.

So nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the ride!

Go Blue! Beat Purdue!

MH20

March 9th, 2017 at 3:52 PM ^

Look at this douchebag's response to the "white collar" quote being hung in the Michigan locker room:

Enjoy watching the NIT.

J.

March 9th, 2017 at 4:05 PM ^

Dude's right. The Michigan players each traveled independently to Kinko's to print their own copies of those papers. If it weren't for that, the game would have started on time and UIUC would have scored more than 0.9 points per possession.

:sigh:

You can't fix stupid.

ak47

March 9th, 2017 at 3:51 PM ^

Great game today, have to fight off the letdown of the last 24 hours and not come out flat tomorrow but that is the benefit of having seniors on the team.

Alumnus93

March 9th, 2017 at 3:53 PM ^

I'm taking us in the NCAA bracket to go all the way. My only hesitation is the lack of bench quality. Donnal makes me cringe when I watch him play.

Ty Butterfield

March 9th, 2017 at 4:03 PM ^

Can someone please keep telling Zak Irvin that these are just practices going forward? Thanks.

CRISPed in the DIAG

March 9th, 2017 at 4:17 PM ^

Michigan is like that weird guy who shows up to the pickup game in jeans and a tank top but proceeds to drop in most of his team's points. Then lights up a Marlboro Menthol before the next game.

jakerblue

March 9th, 2017 at 5:22 PM ^

Book ending Groce at Illinois, got the chance there by betting is in he tourney with Ohio and now we put what is probably an emphatic end to his tenure

The Man Down T…

March 9th, 2017 at 6:12 PM ^

is hysterical:

 

 

"The Illini did not exactly show well Thursday afternoon. That's putting it politely. John Groce's team fought valiantly (except, you know, against Rutgers last week) down the stretch to get into the bubble picture in the first place, but they still (probably) needed multiple wins in the Big Ten tournament to really make things look realistic. Their first opponent? A team whose plane literally crashed during during an aborted takeoff Wednesday night. Michigan had to fly to Washington, D.C., in a rush early Thursday, needed a 20-minute delay to the tipoff time, and had to play in practice uniforms because their gear was still stuck in the storage compartment of the aforementioned crashed airplane. Illinois, on the other hand, had its proper uniforms, a good night's sleep, the motivation of postseason glory, and no lingering existential terror from being in -- we really can't stress this enough -- a CRASHED AIRPLANE. They lost by 20 anyway. If they weren't going to the NIT on merit alone -- and they almost certainly will be -- they should be banished on basic principle."

 

 

Bertello NC

March 9th, 2017 at 11:57 PM ^

Derrick Walton is so fun to watch. Some of the shit he does on a basketball court blows my mind. But the last month or so he is playing at such an unbelievable level it's astounding. His handle, his vision, the court awareness, the passing ability, his passion and tenacity for the game(the way he bellows out after a big shot or play even if it's not him who's directly involved), his shooting ability, pretty clutch at the stripe, and how he brings everybody together is just an amazing thing to watch. I know there will be matchups upcoming that will be challenging but he is really making a statement to all onlookers possibly even the NBA if he continues this pace. Don't get me wrong the guys around him have all picked up their games as well but he really drives the bus. Just a joy to watch.

Simpson- if he can gain more fluidity with his shot mechanics and gain comfortability and consistency with shooting in stride and off the dribble. He's a little robotic with it right now but everything else is there. Defense, quickness, ball handling, and passsing ability are all very good attributes for him at this point. What a beneficial thing for him to witness and learn from Walton and his approach.