Bonded Michigan basketball thumps Illinois 75-55 in Big Ten tournament
WASHINGTON -- The Michigan basketball team woke up early to make it to the Big Ten tournament on Thursday.
Now, the Wolverines plan to stay.
Taking a morning flight to D.C. after enduring a plane crash Wednesday, the No. 8-seeded Wolverines had the same aggressiveness from the past five weeks and pounded No. 9 Illinois, 75-55, at the Verizon Center.
Derrick Walton Jr. scored 19 points, which included a few late three-pointers, and the Wolverines (21-11) never trailed.
"What these guys have been through the last 24 hours has been incredible," said U-M coach John Beilein, who became the Wolverines' all-time winningest coach with the victory. "It's been bonding. It's been emotional for many of them. It's made them so resilient. They played connected today like they were connected yesterday when we got 100-some people off an airplane it seemed like in two minutes. We just feel really blessed today to be in this situation, not only play, but win against a good Illinois team."
U-M advances to play top-seeded Purdue on Friday (Noon, ESPN). The Wolverines beat the Boilermakers, 82-70, on Feb. 25, part of a 6-2 finish that framed the team's push toward the NCAA tournament at the end of the regular season. Meanwhile, Illinois’ (18-14) outside chance at the NCAA tournament vanished.
Related:
Michigan may have to keep wearing practice jerseys
Three Wolverines joined Walton as double-figure scorers, including Zak Irvin with 18 points and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman with 17 points.
Walton hit four three-pointers and had five assists and four rebounds, serving once again as the team's engine. When Illinois cut the deficit to 62-52 with 4:17 to play, Walton hit a pair of three-pointers to help put the game away.
The focus was on basketball from the outset on Thursday.
"This morning we really didn't talk about (the crash), we just went about our day," said freshman point guard Xavier Simpson, who roomed with Walton at the hotel in Ann Arbor on Wednesday.
That focus showed when the Wolverines took the court for warm-ups, laughing and joking as they stretched, bouncing and joyous as they met at midcourt.
The noon tip-off, which was delayed 20 minutes to give Michigan more time, was easier than waiting around.
"Personally, I didn't want to wait," U-M forward D.J. Wilson said. "I just wanted to get it out of the way, start at our regular time and get things rolling from there."
Michigan looked nothing like a team that endured 24 uncomfortable hours: from practicing in the dark Wednesday in Ann Arbor to tipping off at the Verizon Center. The Wolverines looked uncommonly energized, opening a 20-point lead after 12 1/2 minutes of mostly up-tempo basketball. They had a 12-0 edge on the fast break, making 10 steals and scoring 16 points of turnovers. Both ends flowed as well as they could have imagined.
They looked relaxed while wearing practice jerseys and an assortment of their Jumpman shoes that they grabbed back in Ann Arbor. The result was U-M winning its Big Ten tournament opener for the 10th straight season under Beilein.
The Wolverines flamed out in the second game of the tournament in the first seven years or his tenure, though that has changed recently with their 2014 run to the title game and their two wins last year.
Illinois took U-M's 20-point first half lead down to seven as Illinois senior Tracy Abrams dominated with nine straight points. He finished with 23.
U-M allowed its fewest points since mid-December.
"We embrace adversity well," Wilson said. "We're just prepared for that, all the sudden change that's been going on recently. Coach just got us in the flow this morning and let us know we've got to put all that behind us and we've got a basketball game in front of us."
2017 Big Ten basketball tournament results, schedule
Contact Mark Snyder: msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark__snyder. Download our Wolverines Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!