Twin Killing

First, the basketball team goes down to Oklahoma, ruining any NC hopes Michigan had in the first weekend. We know, we know -- they were a 10 seed, had no chance, but hey, they were there, and everybody has a chance.

But then, Michigan hockey goes down to Notre Dame in the CCHA Championship game at Joe Louis Arena, 5-2 after taking a 2-0 lead in the first. Hopefully they got their loss out of the way early, because starting next weekend, it's tourney time. First up is perennial powerhouse Air Force. We would go on and on about how Michigan's opponent is this or that, but we refuse on account of their being a service academy.

Go Blue. That is all.

Hey -- it was nice just to make the tournamen... wait, what?

Photo from Detroit News.
For the first time since 1998, the Michigan Wolverines are in the NCAA Tournament. And for the first time since beating Davidson that year, the Michigan Wolverines are winners of an NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament game. Michigan started and ended the game slow, but that 30 minutes in the middle was good enough to hang with the best teams in the country. Not beat them, but hang with them for sure. Manny Harris is a beast, DeShawn Sims played well inside on both ends, and "Who the hell is" Stu Douglass provided some spark from three-point land, not to mention his head butt of Oglesby's forearm.

Next up is Big 12 favorite Oklahoma. All pressure is off Big Blue at this point, which should be scary for the Sooners. When this team plays loose, they play well.

In the meantime, Michigan hockey is coming off their utter humiliation of the Western Michigan Broncos last weekend, and play Alaska in the CCHA semi-finals tomorrow night, then the Northern-Notre Dame winner the following night. Back-to-back CCHA Championships. WOOT!

Michigan ranked!

For the first time in almost three years, Michigan basketball is ranked in the top 25 in the AP poll. They sit at 24, after starting the year beating two #4 teams, and hanging with a #3 team on their floor. Beilein has the Blue hitting 3-pointers, and playing a stout 1-3-1 defense, causing confusion for the opposition offense. They need to get better on the boards if they want to make a run in the tough Big Ten, and of they can, they could make a healthy run out of the first weekend in The Tournament.

Yup- I said The Tournament.

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.