Coach John Beilein certainly has the Michigan basketball program trending in the right direction, but can the Wolverines take the next step to Big Ten contender and possibly even return to the Final Four for the first time since the Fab Five days? The Wolverines are 35/1 on Bodog’s NCAA basketball odds to win the national championship.
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Beilein led UM to its second Big Dance in the past three years last season, although UM was a bit of a bubble team after finishing 9-9 and in a four-way tie for fourth in the Big Ten. The Wolverines almost made a huge splash in the Big Dance. They crushed Tennessee in their first-round game and then were leading top-seeded Duke in the final few minutes in the Round of 32 before falling 73-71. Still, a good season for a team that was projected to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten and was down there with a 1-6 conference start.
The bad news is that UM’s best player last year, Darius Morris, declared early for the NBA draft. The sophomore averaged 15 points and 6.7 assists a game and pretty much ran the offense from the point. The good news is that Morris is the only starter lost.
Key players Tim Hardaway Jr., Jordan Morgan, Evan Smotrycz, Zack Novak and Stu Douglass all return as Michigan hopes to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994. Hardaway came on strong toward the end of the season and ended up averaging 13.9 points. He made 76 3-pointers, one of four Michigan players with at least 45. And the Wolverines add a potential starting point guard to replace Morris in freshman Trey Burke. If he’s not ready to run the team, then Douglass will.
As usual, Michigan will be outsized by nearly every opponent in the frontcourt and will rely more on the 3-point shot than most teams in the nation. The Wolverines open the season Friday against Ferris State.
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