11/21/08

Michigan Stuns Top Ten Team


Oh, if only to have written this Saturday afternoon, not Friday morning. As it is, the Michigan basketball team rallied from 8 down at half to advance to the finals of the 2K Sports Classic by beating #4 UCLA.

I watched as long as I could, but fell asleep in the second half after Michigan made their run to take the lead. As I drifted away, I thought that was better, to go to sleep then and then read about the UCLA run in the morning. I woke up to see a message board post that they were still up 3 with two to go, and then checked the final score this morning. They looked stout on defense, with Beilein running a 1-3-1 defense against the Bruins, forcing 17 turnovers. Michigan countered by taking care of the ball, with only 9 turnovers. When was the last time a Michigan team played a full game with only 9 turnovers? They get #8 Dook and Coach K's nose tonight at Madison Square Garden for the final.

Meanwhile in northwest Canada, the Red Wings looked dominant for the first 15 minutes of the first period, and then cruised to a 4-3 win over Edmonton. The Wings were outshot 15-12 in the first, but were up 3-0. Osgood looked good when he needed to throughout, and the Wings just keep rolling along. They did this without Holmstrom, who was a late scratch with back spasms. Enter Tomas Kopecky. He filled in admirably, sticking his rear end in front of the net on power plays, scoring one and having a significant hand in another.

CORRECTION: Michigan was only down 6 at half, 29-23, not 29-21. I was tired.

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