Michigan loses, but earns respect at Connecticut

John Beilein didn't pull off a huge upset in his return to a Big East arena, but on an emotional Saturday afternoon in New England, the former West Virginia coach saw his young team play the kind of game that, if replicated in future weeks, will produce an NCAA Tournament bid.
 
Beilein's Michigan men fell short in a big-ticket ballgame against Connecticut. The Wolverines left Gampel Pavilion on the short side of a 69-61 decision against the No. 1 team in college basketball. The scoreboard loss denied the Maize and Blue a third win over a top 10 opponent, but a strong 40-minute effort should lift the spirits of a club that has found consistency to be an elusive entity in 2009.

Michigan has revealed a distinctly Jekyll-and-Hyde personality to the Big Ten: Focused and forceful one night, timid and tentative the next. Placed in a midseason non-conference contest against Jim Calhoun's powerful Huskies, the Wolverines' toughness would be tested. Even though they couldn't bump off the big dog in their sport, the kids from Ann Arbor held their own against the strong studs of Storrs.
 
Michigan didn't back down against the size posed by UConn's 7-3 center, Hasheem Thabeet, and the muscular might of chiseled 243-pound forward Jeff Adrien. This doesn't mean that the Wolverines were successful in navigating the lane against the Huskies, but the fearlessness displayed by the blue-shirted visitors did send a message to the top team in the Big East Conference. Thabeet did snag 12 boards and block 6 shots, while altering dozens of other deliveries from the Michigan side. Nevertheless, the willingness of the Wolverines to continuously attack Thabeet enabled Beilein's boys to spread the floor and deep UConn's defense honest. Michigan didn't score big in this game, but the Wolverines limited their turnovers (only two in the first half) and made the Huskies work for everything they attained, and those subtle but important elements kept this contest close. Much as turnovers can drastically affect the trajectory of a football fistfight, they can also change the nature of a basketball battle. Such was the case on a night when Michigan maintained contact with Connecticut simply by minimizing its mistakes.

This game was never fully salted away by Connecticut until a three by guard Craig Austrie extended the Huskies' lead to 64-56 with 59 seconds left in regulation. While UConn enjoyed a small but real cushion down the stretch, the Final Four contender could never fully shake the persistent and passionate Wolverines, who once again saved their very best basketball for the prime-time spotlight against a sexy intersectional foe.
 
As Michigan flies home and returns to Big Ten competition, the situation is simple for a team that somehow finds itself at 5-6 in the conference: If the Wolverines can treat the rest of their league games the same way they approached their battles with UCLA, Duke, and now UConn, they'll find themselves in the field of 65. John Beilein's team--when at its best--can play with anyone, as this narrow loss in New England shows. As long as the Maize and Blue can become a steadier, more reliable ballclub in all aspects of game competition, they'll be dancing once again in Ann Arbor.

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