Michigan forced to play in practice jerseys at Big Ten tournament after plane scare (Photos)

The Big Ten tournament got off to an eventful start before it truly began on Wednesday when Michigan’s team plane, set to take off for Washington, D.C., slid off the runway.

Thankfully, no players or coaches were injured. But there was one casualty: Michigan’s uniforms.

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With the uniforms stuck on the plane while the incident was investigated, all Michigan had with it were its practice uniforms.

So when the Wolverines took the floor early Thursday afternoon, they did so in their practice uniforms:

Michigan had to wait until this morning for the rescheduled flight, and arrived in D.C. just under three hours before tipoff.

The Big Ten was apparently willing to move the game to accommodate Michigan after the travel scare and subsequent delay, but the game was played more or less as originally scheduled, reportedly at Michigan’s request. It tipped off at 12:20 p.m. ET, 20 minutes after the normal tip time.

All the chaotic travel arrangements and rearrangements didn’t stop Michigan from playing some really good basketball, though. It comfortably beat Illinois, likely securing its NCAA tournament bid and setting up a showdown with top-seeded Purdue Friday at noon in the quarterfinals.