Michigan basketball ready for last push in Big Ten tournament; 'finish with some dignity'
The flight taking Michigan’s basketball team to the 2024 Big Ten tournament took off from southeast Michigan and safely touched down in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
Normally, such an occurrence isn't a big deal. But for this particular March flight, it never feels that way for U-M assistant coach Saddi Washington. He’s one of the few still in the program who was involved in that March 8, 2017, flight chartering the Wolverines that crashed while taking off at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti due to high winds.
No one was seriously hurt, but it remains a seminal event for all involved.
“I have (that day) marked in my phone calendar,” Washington said Monday evening on the "Inside Michigan Basketball" radio show. “I have a photo of the plane, the aftereffects of the plane with the words added of gratitude.
“It helps me put days and years like this in perspective, that we’ve got to cherish these moments and not take life or the opportunities for granted. Because there is always another opportunity, should you choose to seize it. This is what we signed up for; we, as the adults in the room, have to model what we want our young men to do. So good, bad or ugly, you’ve got to show up for work the next day and do your job, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”
The Wolverines eventually made it to the nation's capital for the tournament, only without their jerseys. so they had to play their opening game of the tournament at the Verizon Center that Thursday in their warmup gear.
Not only did U-M beat Illinois, 75-55, it went on to become the first team in the tournament’s history to win four games in four days en route to a Big Ten championship.
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This year, Michigan (8-23, 3-17 Big Ten) faces another chance at history. No team in the conference tournament's history, which dates back to 1998, has won five games to capture the title. U-M’s run as the 14th seed will begin against No. 11 seed Penn State on Wednesday (9 p.m, Peacock) in Minneapolis. With a win, U-M would advance to play sixth-seeded Indiana.
“It’s March,” Washington said. “This is the magical time of the year, where we try to explain to our guys regardless of what’s happened before this point, nobody is carrying their record with them to Minneapolis. So it’s a great opportunity to reboot and a great opportunity to finish this season with some energy, with some dignity.”
The Wolverines have not seen the Nittany Lions since early January — that was an 79-73 loss at The Palestra in Philadelphia when the season was just starting to hit the skids. U-M held a 14-point lead in the first half that afternoon, only for it to collapse midway through the second half.
That was also the last road game for Dug McDaniel — who had just 11 points and five assists as he played with foul trouble — for seven weeks. He was suspended for road games due to academics days later and didn't appear in a contest away from Crisler Center until the last day of February.
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“It's more of the same, but they’ve also diversified their production,” Washington said of how PSU has changed on film since then. "(Back then) It was pretty much (Ace) Baldwin and (Kanye) Clary … now, (Nick) Kern is playing better and Puff Johnson is shooting the lights out.
“They’re one of the better defensive teams in our league.”
Michigan's task of keeping its season going until just Thursday seems daunting. It has been more than three months since the Wolverines won away from home; that 90-80 win over Iowa on Dec. 10 came when captain Oliver Nkamhoua was in the lineup.
Since then, Michigan has lost 14 times, 12 by double figures. Assistant coach Phil Martelli is in charge of what could be the final scout of the year as Michigan has a decision to make: Fold and call it quits, or give it one last push.
Washington believes this group is primed for the latter and he reminded those listening at the Pretzel Bell in downtown Ann Arbor (and later on the recording), this program has been counted out before and won.
“In those settings, the hardest game is often the first game,” he said. “If you get by the first game, you have that momentum. In years past, that’s been the case. ... We’re gonna pack big bags, hopefully we get to the last day where we have our last pair of socks, last pair of underwear and last game fit on Sunday.”
Empty award cases
Michigan did not have a single representative when the Big Ten released its all-conference team on Tuesday afternoon.
For the first time since the 2015-16 season — the Wolverines' only previous season without an NCAA tournament in the prior 12 before this current two-year strek — no U-M players were represented on the league's first, second, third or honorable mention teams, as selected by coaches and media.
The only postseason recognition was junior forward Will Tschetter, named Michigan's representative for the Big Ten's Sportsmanship Award.
Contact Tony Garcia: apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.
Next up: Nittany Lions
Matchup: No. 14-seed Michigan (8-23, 3-17) vs. 11-seed Penn State (15-16, 9-11), Big Ten tournament first round.
Tipoff: Approximately 9 p.m. Wednesday; Target Center, Minneapolis.
TV/radio: Peacock (streaming only); WWJ-AM (950).
Season series: PSU won, 79-73, on Jan. 7 at The Palestra in Philadelphia.
At stake: Winner faces No. 6 seed Indiana at 9 p.m. Thursday in Round 2.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball aims to 'finish with some dignity' in Big Ten tournament
