 | Will McCahill Whatcha talkin' |
|---|
Prior to this season, the Michigan basketball team was picked by the media to win the Big Ten conference. And why wouldn't the Wolverines win the conference? Good players returned, many of whom were heading into their third season of conference competition. And they had the lethal combination of talent and experience that wins conference titles and keeps teams playing a long way into March.
Eight games into the season, it looked like the pundits were right about the Wolverines, who were ranked fourth in the country, with some huge wins. A victory at Duke was among several on the road, and Michigan had beaten Arizona, something the team hadn't done since coach Steve Fisher was 12 years old.
But then something happened. A loss to Memphis in the first round of the Rainbow Classic, followed shortly thereafter by a loss to Pittsburgh in the same tournament. A momentary lapse, perhaps. Except that those defeats were followed by one that really, really wasn't supposed to happen - a loss at home to an allegedly mediocre-at-best Ohio State team.
Which brings us to Minnesota. Right now, the Gophers are the team that Michigan is supposed to be. They have a bunch of seasoned upperclassmen, just like the Wolverines. The only real difference is that Minnesota got nowhere near the amount of preseason hype Michigan did, so people are shocked that the Gophers are 14-1 and ranked 11th in the nation.
And Wednesday night, they again sent some shock waves through the college basketball establishment when they beat No. 15 Indiana in Bloomington, 96-91 in overtime.
To win the Big Ten, you have to take care of business at home, and win a decent number of conference road games. Right now, Minnesota is 7-0 at home, and is 3-0 in the Big Ten, with two of those victories coming on the road.
Hey, look who's up next for Michigan - the Golden Gophers. At Williams Arena, no less, which is a tough place to play in a league full of such establishments.
So here's the scoop: if the Wolverines lose to Minnesota tomorrow night, they will be lucky to finish as high as second in the conference. Things don't get any easier after that. A visit to Columbus is the easiest road game left, and the Buckeyes have already beaten Michigan at Crisler Arena. If you can't beat a team at your place, how can you expect to beat them at theirs?
Last night's 88-74 victory over Illinois went a long way to bringing the Wolverines back to their pre-Hawaii form. The inside game was working, the team was scoring in transition and from the outside, and the defense held Illinois to a measly 39 percent from the field.
And most importantly, the competitive fire, the hustle, the vibrant chemistry the team displayed early in the season was back again.
"We just got into it tonight," junior guard Travis Conlan said. "If we keep our intensity level as high as it can be, and if everyone goes out and leaves everything they have on the floor, we're a tough team to beat."
Indeed, the Wolverines look like the real thing heading going into tomorrow's must-win contest at Minnesota. And not only must the Wolverines win then, but they have to win at least four other places away from home - and of course avoid slipping up at home - if they want to win the Big Ten.
Can they do it? Sure they can - Michigan has proven it can win tough road games, such as at Duke.
Will the Wolverines do it? If the team that waxed Illinois last night shows up, the Wolverines have a shot. If the team that blahed its way to a meager 18-point win in Evanston last weekend takes the Williams Arena floor tomorrow night, forget it. And a Big Ten championship with it.
- Will McCahill can be reached over e-mail at wmcc@umich.edu.