It felt like a game you just knew wasn’t going to end well. The UCLA Bruins needed a lot of things to go their way, and they lined up perfectly throughout the game. The Michigan Wolverines could throw all their top defenders at Johnny Juzang, and he hit jumper after jumper in the first half. If it wasn’t him and his eventual 28 points, point guard Tyger Campbell hit a few clutch shots for an 11 point performance, and arguably better hair than Mike Smith.
Add in early foul trouble for Franz Wagner and Hunter Dickinson, a combined five points in the game for Wagner and Smith, no Wolverine scoring more than 11 points, having 14 turnovers, shooting 54% from the charity stripe, some questionable officiating, and eight straight misses to close out the game, and good luck winning that one.
It sucks, because even with a conference championship and Elite Eight appearance, it feels like Michigan let an opportunity slip by them. In Year 2 under Juwan Howard, a banner was raised, Michigan sat at the top of the conference, and will now welcome the No. 1 recruiting class. Despite the sour taste this game leaves in our mouths, the season was a bright light in an otherwise exhausting 2020 and 2021, for which I am thankful. It’s hard to be anything but optimistic for the future.
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Intro
- 01:01 - Highlights
- 20:55 - Stats
- 21:31 - 3 Key Points