No Big Ten title? Who cares?

Saturday's frustrating loss to a Minnesota team that just would not miss all but eliminated the Wolverines from contention for the Big Ten regular-season championship - a title they haven't won since 1986.

So, why is winning the Big Ten so difficult for a team that regularly makes the NCAA Tournament?

Good question.

But here's a better question: What does it matter?

Dan Stillman Still the Man

Who needs the Big Ten, anyway? It's not like the Wolverines can't shock the world without a Big Ten title. They did it in 1989 when they marched to an NCAA championship - after finishing third in the conference.

In a way, it may be a good thing that the Wolverines, who now reside in fifth-place in the conference, three games behind first-place Michigan State, are all but out of the Big Ten race.

Yeah. That's it. It's a good thing. Maybe Michigan could go 12 more years without winning the Big Ten. That would be ... spectacular!

It's always nice to win, no matter what. But let's face it: These Wolverines just don't care very much about winning the Big Ten. If they did, they would've done it long before now with the talent they've had.

What really matters to these Wolverines - the Traylor, Conlan, Bullock, Ward and Baston generations - is the NCAA Tournament, March Madness, the Big Dance.

That's kooky-talk. You can't just think about the Final Four all the time when you can't even win your conference.

But that's what these Wolverines do think about. Robert Traylor said it before the season - "We'll be a Final Four team." That was his priority, not the Big Ten.

That approach may be wrong, but it's understandable that these Wolverines may think that way.

They've played their collegiate careers in the shadow of the Fab Five. And Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King didn't make themselves and their school famous by winning a Big Ten championship. They did it on a much grander level - a nationwide-, even worldwide-level, keyed by two NCAA Tournament runs.

So it's no wonder the current Wolverines probably care more about March than they do about November through February.

Hello? You still haven't said how this out-of-the-Big Ten-race-thing is good.

For normal teams, this wouldn't be a good thing. But, as is painfully obvious, Michigan basketball teams are rarely normal, and this season is no exception.

Ever since the Wolverines started the conference season 5-1 and launched themselves into the Big Ten race, they've lacked many of the traits that got them to that point in the first place - great defense, intensity and aggressiveness.

Now that they're probably out of the running for the Big Ten crown, the Wolverines need not treat every game as a must-win. Sure, the Wolverines would like to win all five of their remaining conference games. But barring a total collapse, a couple losses are not likely to lose Michigan an NCAA Tournament bid.

Starting with tomorrow night's game against Ohio State, the pressure is, relatively, off, and the Wolverines can concentrate more on developing their game, rather than just beating the other team.

"The important thing against Ohio State is not only winning, but how we play," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said.

The Wolverines' job is no longer to win the Big Ten, it's to get better during the remainder of February and build momentum going into the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.

Because that's what really matters - at least to these Wolverines.

It would still be cool to win the Big Ten - then everybody would know how good Michigan is..

n n n

Oh, sorry. I stepped away for a moment. I was just checking who the 1989 Big Ten champion was. For some reason, maize and blue was all I could remember.

- For more information on how to be really optimistic about a really frustrating team, Dan Stillman can be reached via e-mail at dns@umich.edu.

02-10-98