When Hunter Dickinson let go of a deep three down 68-65 to Wisconsin, Michigan coach Juwan Howard could only think about one thing:
“Well I was looking at the flight of it, and all I can tell you is that (I was thinking) ‘Please go in,’ ” Howard said. “I didn’t even know how to react, all I did was just pump my first. You know, we were owed that one.”
Because for the majority of this season, those shots haven’t fallen when games got to the nitty gritty. Against Virginia, Jett Howard’s three airballed. Against Purdue, the Wolverines couldn’t quite pull even in a five-point loss.
Central Michigan. Indiana. Their last outing against Wisconsin. You get the picture.
But as Dickinson plucked an inbound pass, spun to his right off a dribble and lobbed the ball toward the hoop, none of those losses mattered. Following Howard’s wishes, sank through to force overtime.
After failing in clutch moments so many times this season, Michigan finally pulled through. And after rattling off a dominant overtime performance to clinch an 87-79 win, it seemed like the weight of all those struggles had been pulled off its chest.
“This was one of very few games we’ve pulled out in the end,” Dug McDaniel said. “And it shows our resilience, and we’re going to use this momentum going forward for the next two games.”
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