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INDIANAPOLIS—This time last year, the Wolverines didn’t bother watching the NCAA selection show. They were eliminated in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament, officially ending the worst season in Michigan history, which saw just three conference wins. Their coach was fired the day after that defeat. Some players sat at home, while redshirt senior forward Will Tschetter left campus altogether to watch his brother play for a state championship back in Minnesota. 

And even seven days ago, it wasn’t looking like Michigan (25-9, 14-6 Big Ten) had a real shot at the conference championship either despite finishing third in the conference. The Wolverines dropped three straight games for the first time all year, letting the regular season title slip from their fingertips and ending with a trouncing at Michigan State. 

Lineups weren’t clicking, shots weren’t falling, and the team’s energy had suddenly shifted for the worse. The lightning in a bottle Michigan coach Dusty May had captured looked like it was dying out. 

But the Wolverines found a way, defeating fifth-seeded Wisconsin in a 59-53 dogfight. Michigan brought home the first tournament championship since 2018 and returned to the March Madness after missing out the last two years. Did they recapture the magic they had earlier in the season, or did they dig in and find something new?

“It’s a little bit of both,” graduate guard Nimari Burnett said postgame Sunday. “I would sort of edge on the side of finding something new, especially because of the way that we defended. The way that — even in tough moments when you’re not making shots offensively — we kept moving the ball, moved the ball from one side to another, played together. I think we really are hitting our stride, hitting our potential that we have been reaching for all season.”

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