Day 202

Fresh Start_202: Big Ten Champs=Big Dance
Today is a great day to be a Michigan Wolverine fan. I am not going to sit here and claim that this season was one for the record books, in fact this season up until the Big Ten Tournament was not the greatest. This was a season of rebuilding and building a program again. After last year, most of the starting five and team for a whole for that matter either graduated or transferred. The team that had a good run with Burke, Hardaway Jr, and Robinson III, wasn’t the same in 2015, but had the experience that this 2016 doesn’t have.

Yes, the team returned about half of their team, and four out of the five starters that played in the Big Title game returned, but it is still a young team. The Wolverines have four red-shirts of the team and only four seniors on the team. What that means is, coach John Beilein had his work cut out at the beginning of the season to build a culture to make this team go anywhere. Being 24-11 and 10-8 in conference is a type of year that just has “NIT” all over it because it means the team struggled. No college program wants to find themselves in a place where they are stuck trying themselves and for a while, that is what happened to Michigan this season. Losing to South Carolina when they weren’t ranked, Virginia Tech not ranked, Michigan State not ranked, Ohio State not ranked, and Iowa not ranked are some bad losses that you would make your team look into the mirror. However, beating Perdue and Nebraska twice (once in the Big Ten Tournament) are some good wins. Getting the Big Ten title is the single reason that the Wolverines are dancing right now, but you take it.

Having a young team and catching fire is a good thing when you have a good battled tested coach like Beilein. The tough task of daunting Louisville starring you in the face after you beat Oklahoma State is concerning but take it one game at a time. This will also be good experience for the five Freshman and four Sophomores on the team. Getting to the Tournament this year is just a plus and this can be used for years to come. I will hope for best and hope that the Wolverines can make a run, but I will be realistic with my expectations like I was all season. So Go Blue and play the fight song!
Sources:(espn.com, umhoops.com, mgoblue.com)

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