When it comes to Big Ten play, it’s important to think of the old adage announcers say every March: “Survive and advance.”
It was far from perfect, but Michigan did just that in Wednesday’s win over Oregon, 80-76. This was Michigan’s third win in a row, all by four points or less.
The Wolverines are figuring out how to win close games at the perfect time. The Wolverines are 6-4 in games decided by four points or less, including a 4-1 record over the past five weeks. Danny Wolf, who had 15 points and hit two clutch free throws late, spoke after the game about making the winning plays late.
“I said it after the game, we’ve been on the opposite side of the string,” Wolf said, referring to Michigan’s close losses. “You look at the Oklahoma game, the Arkansas game, Minnesota even, some of the worst losses, buzzer-beaters that you just don’t want. I think when you hit your free throws late, you get rebounds and you get stops, I think we did a good job of that tonight. It’s just a good feeling.”
A guy who played a big factor in this close win was Will Tschetter, who led the team with a personal season-high 17 points. Wolf praised Tschetter after the game.
“Very efficient player,” Wolf said. “We’re lucky to have him to say the least. The only thing he cares about is winning. I think that’s clearly evident to see. In today’s day and age, you don’t have a lot of that.”
Just like the Penn State win, Michigan saved its best defense for last, not allowing the Ducks to make a field goal in the final 3:18 of the game. The Wolverines turned stops early in the game into easy buckets, pushing the pace and scoring 25 points off Oregon’s 12 turnovers.
“I thought we contested well,” head coach Dusty May said on the team’s late-game defense. “We tried to get out in transition before they could get their zone set and when we did that, we were pretty effective.”
Michigan had a double-digit lead for a large portion of the half before Oregon came storming back. While you never like to see Michigan lose a big lead, close games come with the territory in this conference, and Michigan is figuring out how to win at the right time.
“Big Ten wins are hard, no matter how you look at it, you got to protect home court,” Wolf said. “I think it’s a common theme that we get these big leads, but we really got to stop beating at it. When we get these leads, myself included, we really got to focus on the team.”
“It’s February, if you can find a way to win and learn some lessons, that’s usually the objective,” May said. “I do think we made enough plays. In these 1-2 possession games, our guys have been able to get some stops, they made big free throws and came up with some extra possessions.”
After this close win, attention shifts to Indiana, with the Wolverines heading south to take on the Hoosiers. Michigan is tied with Michigan State for second place in the conference, so every game is crucial heading down the stretch.
Whenever he’s pressed about his Indiana roots, May tends to downplay it, and he did nothing different when asked about it Wednesday night.
“My wife Anna handles all the tickets, I’ve gotten 20 texts from friends saying ‘Hey, I’d love to grab dinner’, which shows that they have no idea,” May said. “I have a very closed mindset during the season, where all I can think about is how do we play better.
“My Mom lives in Bloomington, it is what it is. I’m going in there trying to win a freaking basketball game and that’s it.”
