Stay healthy and deny the Spartans a possible NCAA bid. Those were the top two priorities I had for the Michigan Wolverines heading into the Sunday match-up at the Breslin Center vs. Michigan State. Unfortunately, neither were accomplished.
Eli Brooks went down after landing awkwardly on his ankle in the first half, having to be carried off the court by Juwan Howard. A defensive staple, Brooks is a huge hit to the Wolverines squad at just about the worst time, heading into the Big Ten Conference Tournament before heading to the NCAA Tournament. Brooks later appeared in a boot on the bench, so it’s likely we’ll see him at least in the near future.
To make matters worse, on Michigan’s final possession, Franz Wagner landed on his ankle awkwardly and limped around the baseline before putting up the final shot of the game. This one didn’t seem to be of the same seriousness of the Brooks injury, but it’s something to watch moving forward.
If you want to look at the bright side of things, Michigan still captured the regular season Big Ten Championship despite the 70-64 loss, and will head into both the conference tournament as a 1-seed and the NCAA Tournament as a likely 1-seed. Though the potential injuries are a bummer, ending the season 19-3 with a banner to raise isn’t the worst spot to be.
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Intro
- 00:25 - Highlights
- 19:16 - Stats
- 19:48 - 3 Key Points