The final 32 seconds of Friday night’s Midwest Regional semifinal between the Michigan Wolverines and the Tennessee Volunteers just kept spinning sideways.
When the spinning stopped, Michigan was able to say that its first 37 minutes of quality were not undone by the final three. The Wolverines gained the kind of win that, in the middle of January, can elicit unsettling questions. In late March, such an escape brings forth a form of relief that’s happy more than concerned.
*
A year ago, in this very same stage of the NCAA tournament, Michigan stood on the other side of the divide in a regional semifinal inside a domed stadium against a higher-seeded foe. The fourth-seeded Wolverines were playing from behind throughout the second half against top-seeded Kansas in the South Regional semis. Somehow, they pulled a massive comeback out of the hat; every break they needed in the final minutes, they received. Trey Burke’s memorable 35-foot hoist, the kind of shot opposing coaches (Bill Self) can only do so much about, served as the centerpiece of a rather remarkable rally.
This time, as the heavyweight in the Sweet 16 against a hard-charging upstart, Michigan occupied a distinctly different piece of territory.
Yet, in the end, it stood on the side of fortune again.
Even the most rabid Michigan fan — having seen Jordan Morgan throughout his collegiate career — would acknowledge that Morgan, a true difference-maker on Friday night (more on that in a bit), has a tendency to flop. He appeared to replicate his normal move against Tennessee big man Jarnell Stokes with six seconds left in a game the Wolverines led by one, 72-71. The baseline official called a player-control foul on Stokes, though. The call gave Michigan the last big break of the game, the break that enabled John Beilein’s team to return to the Elite Eight.
Michigan stood on the side of fortune, yes… but let’s not allow that reality to obscure some larger truths about this contest, the first one being that the Wolverines might not have needed a bailout if the officials had made a proper call a few seconds earlier.
With just over 30 seconds left and Tennessee trailing by five (72-67), a rebound appeared to glance off the hand of Tennessee’s Jeronne Maymon. The call wasn’t the easiest call in the history of replay, but it was certainly less than fully ambiguous. The weight of visual evidence didn’t say, “Too close to call.” It said, “There might be a tiny pinch of doubt, but on balance, that’s gotta be Michigan ball.”
The ruling? Tennessee ball.
The Vols scored on their subsequent possession, forming the gateway to the comeback they almost pulled off… but was blunted by the poor charge call on Stokes. The scales evened out, with the difference being that Michigan’s break was the last one, with a tighter score to boot.
That’s the right side of fortune, but it’s not as though the scales of justice leaned in one direction; they split the difference in the final 32 seconds in Lucas Oil Stadium.
The other particularly salient point to make about Michigan’s winning performance is that until the final few shaky minutes, it possessed such noticeable clarity and diversity. The Wolverines received timely three-point makes from many sources — not just Nik Stauskas and Caris LeVert, but Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin as well. The Wolverines didn’t just excel on the perimeter, though: Morgan, who was more liability than asset for Michigan in 2013 against high-end opponents, verily carried — yes, carried — the Maize and Blue for brief stretches of this contest against Tennessee. Morgan’s maturation as a player this season has been striking, and on a night when the Stokes-Maymon tandem was supposed to threaten Michigan in the paint and on the glass, Morgan was the best post player on the floor. The Wolverines needed every ounce of Morgan’s best to win this game.
They received it.
This is how John Beilein has steered a team without Mitch McGary to the Elite Eight. This is how the Wolverines won the Big Ten regular season championship and earned a seed two notches higher than last year’s national runner-up.
Michigan might have stood on the side of fortune once again, but if the Wolverines hadn’t played as well as they did in the first 37 minutes on Friday night, they wouldn’t have owned a lead to begin with.
Two poor calls canceled each other out in the final 32 seconds in Indianapolis. When the dust settled, Michigan’s performance — embodied by Jordan Morgan — remained just a little bit better than Tennessee’s. Let any controversy surrounding the endgame be brought to a firm halt with that hard-to-refute contention.
