Michigan Basketball has mastered late-game situations in midst of March Madness run

Michigan Basketball has tied an NCAA record with 13 wins in games decided by four points or fewer. Dusty May’s team turned the page on early-season struggles and found a new level of execution in close games:

The Michigan Wolverines have become masters of late-game situations, holding a 13-4 record in games decided by four points or fewer. The 13 wins in such contests ties Bradley’s 1985-86 squad for the all-time NCAA record for the most in a single season.

Dusty May’s team turned the page on their early-season struggles and found a new level of execution in close games, which propelled them to winning the Big Ten Tournament Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. The Wolverines have won 11 straight games decided by four points or less.

“When I watch our guys in the last five minutes, they have a different level of athleticism, intensity and desire to do whatever it takes to win that possession,” May told the media . “They have grown to that because we struggled early in the year. In November, we didn’t win those close games. Since then, we have found ways to win in one or two-possession games.”

Early in the season, Michigan was plagued by mistakes in crunch time and eventually fell short in multiple close games. As the year progressed, the Wolverines refined their ability to avoid miscues and deliver key plays when it mattered most.

May made it a point to have a difficult non-conference schedule so the team could see what they needed to improve on, and it clearly paid off. Michigan has flipped the script after gut-wrenching losses to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Wake Forest in the non-conference.

”Just going back to what we changed, our philosophy three or four years ago, where we just felt like the teams that scheduled aggressively early, they improved,” May told the media in late October. “They were challenged, they were exposed, their warts were out in the open and they stayed the course, and they improved because of all that.”

This poise in high-pressure moments that was seemingly developed throughout the course of the season has been on full display throughout this current five-game win streak. The Wolverines trailed in the final minutes in each of the last four games, but managed to come from behind and win.

It appeared the Wolverines were going to get eliminated in the Big Ten Tournament by Maryland before Tre Donaldson had an unforgettable game-winning layup. He has only continued to step up in crunch time as Michigan’s postseason run moves forward.

In the Big Ten title game against Wisconsin, Michigan trailed by one point before Donaldson hit a go-ahead three-pointer with two minutes left. Donaldson’s dagger was followed by game-sealing free throws from Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf.

The Wolverines found themselves in a similar situation, trailing UC San Diego 65-63 with less than two minutes to go in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Donaldson came through again , drilling another clutch triple to put Michigan back on top for good.

Perhaps the most telling example of the Wolverines’ growth came in their Sweet Sixteen-clinching win over Texas A&M, where they were down 70-66 with seven minutes left before Roddy Gayle Jr. took over and helped fuel a dominant 25-9 run.

After learning from early-season losses, Michigan has become accustomed to playing in close games and is comfortable when the game is on the line. Hopefully the Wolverines can use those lessons once again when they take on Auburn in the Sweet Sixteen.