So there is a risk in asking Michigan now, following a 75-66 victory over Purdue in the Big Ten championship game, to cool its heels for a week until discovering its circumstance for the NCAA Tournament, and another four to five days to actually play again.
On the other hand, it’s a week of practice with no game prep for the brilliant John Beilein. How much can the Wolverines improve with that unfair advantage?
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“I think the greatest thing about us is, we’ll devote these days to us getting better,” senior forward Duncan Robinson told Sporting News. “Obviously, we don’t have an opponent lined up, so there’s no preparation for anyone else. Instead it will be us competing and growing in that area.
“If there’s one thing I know about Coach B: not a second will be wasted with what I do. Every day we’ll be diligent with whatever we’re doing, whether we’re resting or lifting or watching film or going in practice. Everything will be calculated, that’s for sure.”
There were several elements that led the No. 15 Wolverines (28-7) to their second consecutive Big Ten Tournament title. It has helped them to have played these last two in Washington and New York. Their many East Coast alums, eager for a chance to connect with their university, overwhelmed the venue in D.C. last year and Madison Square Garden this weekend and provided what almost amounted to a home-crowd advantage.
More importantly, they had Beilein.
Beilein’s record improved to 719-417 with Sunday’s victory. He has been at the game’s highest level for only 16 of his 36 seasons as a head coach at four-year colleges. He has made one Final Four and won an NIT championship. The sort of fancy accomplishments that make one a clear Hall of Fame coach are not on his resume. He must settle for being better at the job than pretty much everyone.
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The 24th and 25th words Purdue coach Matt Painter said in greeting the media following his team’s defeat – wait, maybe it’s just the 24th word, since it’s hyphenated – were to describe Michigan in this manner: “well-coached.” It’s possible it took him that long to get to this because it might have seemed redundant. For as long as people in basketball have known about Beilein, his teams have run terrific stuff and his players have made tremendous individual improvements.
This Michigan team wandered a bit early in the season as it searched for some certainty at point guard. It lost a couple of bucket-for-bucket battles to Purdue in the regular season because its defense wasn’t quite there.
Sophomore Zavier Simpson ultimately solved both problems. He has given Michigan the best on-ball defense in Beilein’s 11 years with the program. Albeit with plenty of assistance, Simpson shut down talented guards Jordan Bohannon (Iowa), Glynn Watson (Nebraska), Cassius Winston (Michigan State) and Carsen Edwards (Purdue) during this tournamment.
They were a combined 14 for 52 from the field (that’s 27 percent) for an average of 11 points (that’s not a lot).
Although he got at least one person’s MVP vote, Simpson somehow managed not to make the All-Tournament team. His backcourt partner, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, did.
“Muhammad and I just wanted to come out and set the tone,” Simpson said. “We wanted to play great defense from the start so our energy could be contagious. And, as you’ve seen, others followed.”
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In previous years, even Beilein’s best teams generally had to outscore the opposition to be successful. The Wolverines’ best defensive efficiency rank in his tenure was 37th in 2011. His teams at West Virginia were even less imposing at that end. But these Wolverines have stormed to No. 6 in efficiency. Virginia and Cincinnati get loads of attention for their defense, and rightfully so, but UM is oppressive without blocking shots or taking the ball away. You just don’t score.
Even when Painter was asked about what makes Beilein so successful in a tournament setting, he referenced the offensive schemes Beilein runs. And they did produce 50 percent shooting for the Wolverines and 17 points for MVP Mo Wagner. But what makes this team dangerous now is that all those intricacies of the UM offense are supported by a defense that not only can get the occasional big stop but can help dictate the direction of the game.
And what more will we see in a couple weeks’ time?
Beilein was so prepared for this circumstance he recited, with no cue cards or TelePrompTer, the name of nearly every program that made the Final Four in this decade with a long break after completing its conference tournament: Butler twice, Wichita State, Gonzaga. He left out VCU.
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Gonzaga, by the way, has been at this for nearly two decades. It has lost only three opening-round NCAA Tournament games since its 1999 Elite Eight breakthrough. It is possible to use that extra time productively.
Beilein wants more of his players to see the floor better, instead of dribbling with their heads down and missing open teammates. He wants better blockouts in rebounding, which he says have slipped over time. The challenge of scoring when opponents force the Wolverines away from the 3-point line and won’t allow them near the rim — that must be conquered. And they must do it to opponents, as well.
“I’m like a sick individual,” Beilein told Sporting News. “My mind’s already: Are we going to be ready for the NCAA Tournament? I think the practice time will really help us. We have no other choice.”
