The Wolverine

April 2015

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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M ichigan's young and banged up 2014-15 team improved dramatically by season's end and seemed to be playing some of its best basketball of the year. Head coach John Beilein would have loved to see what they could do in the postseason NIT, but the Wolverines were passed over following a 71-60 loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. The ones that got away — or more accurately, the ones U-M gave away — eventually did them in. A heartbreaking, 82-78 double- overtime loss at Northwestern March 3 required some futility down the stretch, including a turnover on an inbounds play that allowed the Wildcats to complete a comeback from six down in the last nine seconds. Earlier, U-M lost a late, six- point lead in a defeat at Illinois, one of four OT losses in Big Ten play. Michigan head coach John Beilein held out hope until the very end that his Wolverines would be selected as one of 32 teams to participate in the NIT. His faith in the committee wasn't warranted, though, when he learned they'd been passed over. Beilein previously told reporters Michigan would not participate in the CIT or CBI tourneys this season. U-M was one of a dozen teams competing for the final five spots in the NIT, but didn't get the bid, the first time since 2009-10 the Wolverines won't participate in the postseason. "We are obviously disappointed t h a t w e ' re n o t g o i n g t o t h e postseason — at the same time, I have tremendous faith in the committees that choose the NCAA, that choose the NIT," Beilein said. "Those guys work around the clock for months and weeks to come up with this decision. "The real fact is, you don't get into these things and you don't go to tournaments when you come close so many times. You have to win more games, and you have to do better than we did. That's a fact.   MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Michigan's Season Ends In The Big Ten Tournament Head coach John Beilein led U-M to a 73-55 win over Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, but then the Wolverines fell to Wisconsin in the quarterfinals. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN

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