Has Michigan's bubble burst?

On Thursday night the University of Michigan basketball team needed a win.
They really needed a win.
I mean, the Wolverines needed a win more than Bruce Pearl needs an attorney.
The team was hosting No. 12 Wisconsin, and with the NCAA tournament looming, the Wolverines are badly needing another big win to bolster their resume.
Sure, the Michigan State win at Breslin was huge, but then the Spartans got blown out by Iowa and Wisconsin, and it looked like their season was tail-spinning in to the kind of Dumpster fire that would rival any on the MSU campus.
The Spartans have since (sort of?) righted the ship with wins against Illinois and Minnesota, however, two wins by a combined nine points over a pair of very mediocre Big 10 teams is hardly a return to glory. In other words, one has to wonder how impressive a win over the biggest disappointment in NCAA basketball really is.
After that, Michigan's biggest wins are against Clemson and Harvard.
Harvard? Really?
If the Wolverines are pinning their tournament hopes on a three-point win over the Ivy League's finest, it's probably time to start packing for the NIT.
So, you can see why Thursday night's game against the Badgers was so important.
And for almost all of the second half of the game, it looked like the Wolverines were going to get that win that could transform them from bubble team to legitimate tournament hopeful.
In fact, until about the :06 mark, things looked really promising. The Wolverines held a 52-50 lead and even though Michigan's Darius Morris choked on the front end of a one-and-one about 25 seconds earlier, things looked OK.
And then Wisconsin freshman Josh Gasser hoisted up a desperation three-pointer, and a stunned Crisler crowd watched helplessly as it banked in just ahead of the buzzer.
That shot not only lost the game for the Wolverines, but it may have killed their chances of making it into the NCAA tournament.
With two games remaining before the Big Ten tournament starts, Michigan will surely have to win out, and probably make it at least to the conference tournament semifinals to even have a shot at an at-large bid to the Big Dance.
One of those final regular season games is against Minnesota, while the team's final game of the season is again...who else? Michigan State.
By the time this game is played, it is very possible that both Michigan and Michigan State will be relying on this game to get a bid.
Two teams, two rivals, one state.
And one really volatile bubble.

ESPN's Mike Tirico checks out Skyline basketball

For a guy that spends most of his working life traveling around the country covering sports for the "Worldwide Leader in Sports", you would think ESPN commentator Mike Tirico would find something else to do on his days off.
You'd be wrong.
Tirico, an Ann Arbor resident, was spotted at Skyline High School on Feb. 8, taking in the Southeastern Conference match-up between the host Eagles and rival Dexter.
The commentator was treated to a great game, as the young Skyline team downed Dexter in double overtime, winning 78-75.
Tirico said that while he doesn't make it to a lot of high school games, Skyline was the local high school in his family's area, and that he knew some of the players.



Skyline has won six of its last eight games, and the Eagles are going to have to keep playing at a high level. After all, they have fans in high places.

Belleville's home game at EMU

Most players in any sport like to have a home field or a home court advantage. This week the Belleville basketball teams took to the hard courts of Eastern Michigan University to face a familiar foe in Romulus.
The games were considered home games for the Belleville Tigers and the Lady Tigers. Part of the reason the teams played at EMU was because Belleville High School is because they are getting a new school and the parking lot is completely torn up and it would have been impossible to host the Eagles’ and their fans for this classic hoop matchup.
Tiger Athletic Director Rod Fisher said they had a game at EMU about six years ago before he was the athletic director.
“It was when Ypsilanti and Belleville were both ranked in the state,” Fisher said. “It went well.”
He said last year during the home game against Romulus they had to turn people away at the gate because they couldn’t hold that many in the gym at Belleville.
“I anticipate that we will have a crowd between 1,200 and 1,400,” he said. “The first time we played it was close until the fourth quarter.”
Junior Kaylynn Counts said it felt different to play a game in the university setting.
“We practiced here the day before,” Counts said. “It didn’t feel at home.”
Fellow junior Diajah Ruffin made an interesting point about the game.
“It is not about the arena,” Ruffin said. “It did take away an advantage.”
Tiger coach Don Hickman said that it a good experience for his players to be able to play on a college court but also said that it doesn’t always make for the best games.
“I would have preferred to have played at Belleville,” Hickman said after the loss. “It was a great experience for our kids but we didn’t have all the pomp and circumstances.”
Hickman said there wasn’t much they could do without a parking lot so they were very grateful that the people at EMU and the staff were able to let them play a game at their facility.
Tiger junior guard Jerome Pearson said he liked having the game at EMU but admitted it did take something away from the classic Belleville and Romulus basketball battles.
“We had to adapt to it,” Pearson said. “There was not as much hype and it wasn’t as big.”
Whatever the reason for having the game at EMU this rivalry between the two schools is great for high schools sports and I have seen well over s dozen really good battles between these schools and I have to say it is better played on each other’s court.
I don’t think these teams need to play at EMU or any neutral site unless it is the post season and the teams are battling for advancement into the state finals.
I have seen some great players in these matchups. From Belleville’s Mohamed Conde and Nate Hand from Romulus’ Ron Coleman and Jerret Smith there have been some games that in my opinion were just awesome to watch.
These games last Friday left me with s lot less to remember than the games of the past. I know the arena doesn’t make that much of a difference but for my money I want to watch these teams battle either at Romulus or Belleville.