Michigan had a shot of continuing their run in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, but couldn’t convert in the closing seconds.
Michigan had been on a fantastic run through the 2017 NCAA Tournament. They entered as a No. 7 seed, but took down their next two competitors, the second of which was No. 2 Louisville. This was behind excellent three-point shooting and the play of Moe Wagner.
On Thursday night, the Wolverines faced Oregon with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line. It would be a close contest throughout the 40 minutes of play, and came down to one last shot. This saw a three-point shot taken with Michigan down 69-68 and just seconds remaining. Unfortunately for them, the ball clanked off the rim and the game ended, sending them out of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
The magical run for John Beilein’s squad comes to an end after the two previously-noted upsets, the Big Ten Conference Tournament win and the frightening incident with their plane earlier this month. The latter is what seemingly ignited this team, as they breezed through the conference tournament and took that momentum into the Big Dance.
RELATED: Updated 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket
UM not making it to the Elite Eight shouldn’t be considered a disappointment, though. They rode through adversity and broke through in two tournaments they may have had no business in advancing. This could be a great recruiting tool for future players, something that doesn’t require any selling.
Next: 28 Most Memorable Buzzer Beaters in March Madness History
So that ends the 2016-17 season for Michigan. It was mostly successful, and they’ll look to play off this for next year. Oregon will advance to the Elite Eight, too, and they’ll await their opponent for Saturday night. The winner will go to the Final Four and get us one step closer to determining a new champion.