By Jackson Atoyebi

What makes one lose sleep in basketball? For Coach Beilein and the Wolverines - an undersized frontcourt going up against a man-child in Thabeet (or just a man - check his birth certificate). Then again it could be the overwhelming athleticism and depth the Huskies. Needless to say, much had to go in the Wolverines favor for the upset of the college season to take place.

Michigan had a few advantages coming into this contest that I thought could benefit them – most important being they’ve won games in which they were major underdogs (UCLA, Duke). They also like switching their defensive scheme between man-to-man, 1-3-1 and 2-3 zones all night, which hopefully would cause UConn to settle for jump shots (in which they are pedestrian) and not exploit their inside dominance.

The game began the way everyone in Ann Arbor hoped, back and forth with no one able to gain a true grasp of the game. Defensively, Michigan confused UConn with their constant switching of defensive, forcing 9 first-half turnovers. Michigan did a good job of attacking the shot blocker, Thabeet, taking the ball to his chest with the drive and the backdoor cut. This then created some open looks for 3-point shooter Stu Douglass, who made 6 of his 8 attempts.

In the second half, the depth and talent took its toll on the game. UConn wore down the Maize and Blue with their defense. Michigan shot a frigid 31% from the field in the second half, which caused some easy transition buckets for UConn and gave their home crowd something to cheer for.

Michigan fans should keep their heads high though. Michigan fought hard and almost pulled out a win against a team who is everybody’s favorite right now to win it all. They also proved, to me especially, that they’re a tournament team. They’ve been able to play with anybody in the country, anywhere in the country. They may not have the overall record or RPI that the committee is looking for when it’s all said and done, but they pass the eye test of a tournament team.