Michigan vs Connecticut Basketball Recap

Michigan 68, Connecticut 63

 
Did the Michigan Wolverines and Connecticut Huskies switch jerseys before Sunday afternoon's game in Ann Arbor, Mich.? It sure seemed like it.

Over the past month, Michigan's guards looked lost, tentative, and decidedly unsure of themselves. The Wolverines hemorrhaged defeats because of a lack of clarity and conviction at the offensive end of the floor. Poor decision making and disjointed reactions caused Coach John Beilein's team to tumble to 8-7 on the season. With his youngsters in free fall, Beilein needed to light a fire under some fannies and breathe life into a flat lining squad.

Meanwhile, in the other corner of the ring, stood the Connecticut Huskies, without Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien but still endowed with a number of returning stars from last year's Final Four team. Stanley Robinson, Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker were absolutely fearless in the run to Detroit, and their toughness is precisely what allowed Jim Calhoun to reach his third Final Four in Storrs. While it's true that UConn lacks the pure power and depth of last year's team, the Huskies - on Jan. 8 - were 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big East, with their only losses coming to Duke, Kentucky and Cincinnati. Perhaps Connecticut wasn't ready to roll to Indianapolis (site of this year's Final Four), but it seemed likely that Calhoun - one of the sport's elite coaches - would surely get his boys into the NCAA Tournament with a fairly solid seed.

Following Sunday's game, however, the Huskies can't even be assured of a ticket to the Big Dance, while Michigan - off the radar screen just a week ago - has a chance to get back into the conversation.

In this contest at Crisler Arena, it was Michigan's guards, not UConn's, who carried the fight and combined inspiration with perspiration. While Walker and Dyson combined to go 7 of 21 from the field and displayed very little urgency as primary ballhandlers, Michigan's backcourt decided to buckle down. On an afternoon when UConn's Robinson and UM forward DeShawn Sims played to a standoff in the paint (Robinson had more points and fewer turnovers while Sims owned more rebounds), the guards decided this duel, and there was little doubt that the men in Maize-colored home jerseys established the upper hand.

Stu Douglass (13 points, 4 assists) and Zack Novak (10 points, 4 rebounds) played efficiently on offense and smothered the Dyson-Walker combo on defense. Connecticut's composure was so shaken throughout this game that the Huskies - down by three (61-58) with just over a minute left - watched Walker commit a turnover that led to an easy transition bucket from UM star Manny Harris (18 points, 8 rebounds). Then, with the score 63-58 and only 1:11 on the clock, Walker and Dyson snoozed at the top of the key, tentatively dribbling the ball while the clock ran down to nine seconds on the shot clock. Precisely when UConn needed to score quickly, Dyson and Walker allowed 26 seconds to elapse on an offensive possession, something which hurt the Huskies in the final minute.

UConn is 11-6. Michigan is 10-7. Yet, it's the Wolverines who have the hungrier backcourt and upward momentum. Which one of these teams will make the Big Dance? Then again, will either one find its way to the field of 65? If Sunday's game was any indication, Connecticut could find the next eight weeks to be very troublesome and trying.

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