Wolverines head to Minneapolis in a must win situation
Submitted by Wes Sims on Wed, 03/04/2009 - 10:05
After the tough loss at Wisconsin last Saturday, the Maze and Blue are truly a bubble team in regards to making the NCAA tournament. The Wolverines will play the Minnesota Golden Gophers this Saturday and must win to avoid having their bubble burst.
Michigan heads in to the game with 18-2 overall record and an 8-9 Big Ten record. Minnesota stands at 20-8 overall along with an 8-8 Big Ten record (The Golden Gophers host Wisconsin tonight).
Earlier this season, the Wolverines defeated Minnesota 74-62 at Crisler Arena. In that game, Zack Novak led Michigan with 18 points while DeShawn Sims added 12. Devoe Joseph led the Golden Gophers with 18 while Lawrence Westbrook netted 12 points.
In order to beat Minnesota on their court, the Wolverines must play a complete game for 40 minutes, something they didn’t do in the loss to the Badgers.
"It just didn't fall for us in the first ten minutes, we bounced back, though." said Sims after the loss at Wisconsin.
Michigan will need stellar play from its two most talented players, Sims and Manny Harris. Sims is averaging 15 points per game and seven boards while Harris is averaging over 17 points a game along with seven rebounds and 4 assists per outing.
The Golden Gophers are led by Westbrook, who is averaging 12 points per game and almost three rebounds. Damian Johnson is also having a great season, averaging nine points an outing along with four rebounds.
In order for the Wolverines to get a bid to March Madness, they must win this game as it would be their only quality Big Ten road win, something they need on their resume. The Wolverines must also win at least win one Big Ten Tournament game.
Right now, the Wolverines stand as the eighth seed in the Big Ten Tourney, which has them paired up with Northwestern. Michigan won both meetings with the Wildcats this season, including an overtime win in Evanston in mid February.
The game with Northwestern is an after thought if they don’t take care of business in Minneapolis on Saturday. If the Wolverines lose, they will most likely be hosting an NIT game in few weeks instead of packing their bags for March Madness.
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