The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/279958
BY CHRIS BALAS M any of the world's best thrill rides rely on the ele- ment of surprise for their best features and stom- ach-dropping moments. Just when you think it's over — BAM! — it picks up again and sends hearts rac- ing once more. For Michigan fans following the basketball program's 2013-14 season, the big hill thrill ended March 4 with an 84-53 win at Illinois, and even that was anticlimactic. The Wolverines scored 52 points in the first half alone in cruising to a 22-point edge at the break (put in perspective, that's more than the Illini had relinquished in their previous four games), celebrated an outright Big Ten title with a con- test that was never in doubt and fin- ished the regular season three games ahead of both Michigan State and Wisconsin. Not since 2008 had a team won the conference crown by as many games (Michigan State, which finished 15-3, ahead of 11-7 Purdue and Illinois), and the Wolverines earned every bit of it. They played one of the tougher conference slates, facing runners-up MSU and Wisconsin (both 12-6) twice and winning three of four. They swept No. 4 Nebraska, handing the Cornhuskers their only home loss of the year with a one-point win in January, and won at fifth-place Ohio State in the only meeting between the two schools. The Wolverines captured seven road wins in nine tries, including four in the first half of the schedule, STANDING ALONE Michigan Dominates Down The Stretch To Win Big Ten Regular-Season Title Michigan basketball coach John Beilein "We won't reflect on it too much, but we value championships so much at the University of Michigan. This is one we'll certainly remember very fondly."