ESPN Men's Basketball

I knew Michigan guard Trey Burke, the co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2012, played a lot of minutes in his first season for the Wolverines. I did not, however, know that Burke played 1,227 minutes last season, the second-highest single-season total in Michigan history.

That's a lot of minutes. Too many? Michigan coach John Beilein seems to think so, and as such, this coming season he will be looking for every opportunity to get Burke a break. From AnnArbor.com:

Michigan survived Burke's heavy minutes a year ago, but Beilein insists the Wolverines can't go through that again.

"Trey Burke needed to get rest," Beilein said of last season. "The game has changed where the point guard has the ball much more than he ever had it. ... And we realize that. (Burke) was a horse the whole year, and was still able to perform, but we realize that's not the best practice." [...]

"I always thought the players you want on the floor the most, 30 and 35 (minutes) is a good number," Beilein said. "That would mean an eight or nine-man rotation, but who knows, we could go 10."

Despite what the NBA2K12 computer simulations try to tell me -- I swear to God, if I have to trade another dissatisfied scrub because his minutes are down, I will break a controller -- there is no such thing as an ideal universal basketball rotation. Michigan could get away with 10 players, or it could limit its rotation to seven, but it's clear Beilein is leaning toward the latter if only to keep his best and most important player as fresh and injury-free as possible throughout the season. Considering the minutes Burke played as a freshman, it's kind of remarkable this wasn't an issue months ago.

Beilein will have a few options with which to lighten Burke's load. Freshman point guard Spike Albrecht is hardly a high-impact recruit (he's ranked No. 112 in the country at his position alone) but he could at the very least provide depth, while incoming small forward Nik Stauskus could provide some ballhandling in a combo role. Caris LaVert is a combo guard, and returner Matt Vogrich will likely be the go-to reserve when Burke and starting shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. need a rest.

In the end, that ight be Michigan's biggest concern: quality depth. If he can find it, and the Wolverines can keep Burke and Co. fresher without suffering a major drop-off in productivity, they could be as dangerous as any team in the country.

On Monday, Michigan brass -- including president Mary Sue Coleman -- made it clear there was no intention to circle the wagons around the Fab Five, Michigan's legendary-in-its-own-way team that went to back-to-back Final Fours during its run in the early 1990s.

The coming year would be the time to do so, as the 10-year NCAA penalties stemming from the Ed Martin booster scandal will be officially lifted. Some wondered whether Michigan would embrace the Fab Five (as well as the Robert Traylor-led 1998 team implicated in the scandal) by re-hanging the Final Four banners it removed from the Crisler Center rafters in 2002.

But Coleman was clear on the matter. Odds of those banners being re-raised are slim.

How does former Michigan star Jalen Rose, who has spearheaded the Fab Five recognition campaign in more ways than one, feel about all this? He's not entirely happy, but he's not flipping out, either. From the Detroit News:

"I think it was unnecessary. Flagrant. Defiant," Rose told The News during the Griese-Hutchinson-Woodson golf fundraiser for Mott Hospital last weekend. "But it was honest, and I respect that. If they choose not to embrace the Fab Five era, if they choose not to embrace us individually or as a team or the things we brought to the table, I really have no bitterness. I'm not mad at it.

"What's going to happen, though? … When you turn your back directly or indirectly on something that was so good to you, you're never going to get the true foundation of a program to build upon."

All of which is reasonable. Michigan doesn't want to formally tip its cap toward an era that cratered a proud program for nearly a decade, and is perfectly within its rights to do so. Maybe something is lost in the familial sense; Rose is probably right about that. But the Wolverines are fully back under John Beilein, so we're really just talking about fuzzy stuff here anyway.

The good news for Rose, and for any other member of the teams Michigan has chosen (or been forced) to forget, is that NCAA sanctions and university propriety don't do anything to erase the memory of the team. The Fab Five was unique that way. It never won a national title, but it made a more lasting impact on the culture of the college game -- and on basketball in general -- than most teams could ever hope. That's what people remember about Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and the rest. Banners or no banners, reunion or no reunion, catharsis or repression, that impact isn't going away.

Michigan's Fab Five remains one of the most intellectually intriguing teams in the history of the game.

There are all the usual reasons to think so -- the brash style, the baggy shorts, the black socks, the flirtation with greatness, Chris Webber's tragic timeout, the ability to pose for amazing team photo after amazing team photo, etc. -- but as the ESPN documentary "The Fab Five" noted, one of the more underrated aspects of the team's appeal is the outlaw status it retains to this day. The Fab Five's years at the school (as well as teams starring Robert Traylor in 1997 and 1998, lest we forget) were among six expunged from the NCAA history books, thanks to the infamous Ed Martin booster scandal; basically everything Jalen Rose & Co. did as college players has been wiped from the records. In the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., where one of the most famous teams in the history of the game captivated audiences for years, no banner hangs in the Fab Five's honor.

The question is whether that will change -- particularly sooner rather than later. In 2013, the NCAA's 10-year ban on association with and recognition of the four players implicated in the booster scandal will be lifted. That would allow the school to honor the team's legacy for the first time. And yet, as the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday, it's unclear whether Michigan's brass is interested in doing something most schools typically eschew:

The Free Press looked at the 11 schools forced to remove Final Four banners due to violations, and most have continued to comply with the sanctions. Most do not hang banners from or recognize vacated seasons. Only a few have welcomed back affected players, and often only in group settings.

There's no reason to think Michigan will open its arms, either. U-M president Mary Sue Coleman said to students this spring she doesn't think it's right to restore the removed banners -- from Final Four appearances in 1992 and 1993 with Chris Webber and 1997 NIT and 1998 Big Ten tournament titles with the late Robert Traylor -- and U-M athletic director Dave Brandon told reporters that he doesn't even know if it's a consideration, given the high-profile penalties.

There are hurt feelings from players not involved in the scandals. Jalen Rose, who played on those '92 and '93 teams, has stated he may pull his academic scholarships if U-M refuses to embrace the teams.

The only thing that would make this more awkward is if the Fab Five had actually won a national title. Were that the case, fans would surely be clamoring for a clear move on the school's part. At the very least, the outrage would be slightly more visible.

At this point, the people that seem most upset by the whole thing are the Fab Five themselves -- particularly Rose. Understandably so. He wants to ensure people remember his teams' history. I get it. But it's a tricky situation for the school, too, and you can't blame the administration from wanting to distance themselves from what has in many ways been a decades-long source of embarrassment, one the school's basketball program has only recently put in the past just in time to emerge under coach John Beilein as one of the nation's truly ascendant teams.

The good news in all of this, something Rose should feel confident in knowing, is that banners or no, we won't soon forget the Fab Five, and neither will anybody who was alive during their time together in Ann Arbor. The NCAA record books can tell us one thing. Heck, given that the players never won that national title, that would be the case even if the team's records were never expunged.

Why? Because we don't remember the Fab Five for their wins and losses. We remember the impact they made, the styles they changed, the playful rebellion they brought to bear on a college game that was only barely prepared. As the past 15 years have shown, banners have very little to do with that. In so many ways, the legacy of the Fab Five has nothing to do with banners. Whatever Michigan decides to do in 2013, that won't change.

This morning, my man Myron Medcalf honed in on the Indiana Hoosiers. He spoke with coach Tom Crean about Cody Zeller's similarities to Andrew Luck -- which go deeper than "they're both really good" -- and the massive preseason expectations the Hoosiers will face in the run up to the 2012-13 season. Crean is handling the preseason expectations how you'd, ahem, expect -- by trying to instill some perspective in his players, who he believes aren't "caught up" in the hype for next season:

"When you’re immersed in it, you stay in your own reality. And our reality is we’ve got a long way to go to get where we want to go. We’re going to have upwards of eight freshmen and sophomores on this team next year. Obviously, one of them is Cody [Zeller] but still, he’s only going to be a sophomore. And the bottom line for us is we’ve got to get a lot of guys meshed into this team."

Of course, he's right. That goes not only for Indiana's chances of competing for a Final Four spot or a national title, but also for winning the Big Ten, which will again be the nation's best conference in 2012-13.

Indiana is the early favorite to win the league, but it's hardly a guarantee. At least two other teams, the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines, are fully justified in having Big Ten title aspirations. Both teams will arguably have as much talent on their rosters as the Hoosiers.

As expected, Ohio State lost Jared Sullinger to the NBA draft, and shooting guard William Buford graduated this spring. But the Buckeyes -- thanks to Thad Matta's excellent 2011 recruiting class -- have big-time players waiting in the wings.

Center Amir Williams was infrequently used in his freshman season, but was the No. 4 center in his recruiting class. He should be ready, after a year of Sully apprenticeship, to take on big minutes and a major role on both ends of the floor. Swingman Sam Thompson could experience a similar sophomore boost, and point guard Shannon Scott will take on a bigger share of minutes playing behind and alongside starting point guard Aaron Craft. Sophomore small forward LaQuinton Ross missed his entire freshman season due to academic issues, but he could play a role as well.

Plus, the remaining starters are awfully good. Deshaun Thomas is one of the nation's most versatile scoring threats who rounded out his game throughout an excellent sophomore season, while Craft remains the nation's best perimeter defender, bar none. Offense may be a struggle for these Buckeyes early in the season, but their sterling ballhawking defense, a trademark of Matta's teams at OSU, isn't going anywhere.

Michigan will be no less talented. Coach John Beilein got the best news of his offseason when he learned that Big Ten Freshman of the Year (media) Trey Burke would eschew the NBA draft and return to school. Burke is a fantastically intelligent, savvy player, and his efficiency statistics (he posted a 105.3 offensive rating in 2012) will only get better as he improves his outside shooting and cuts down on the turnovers that occasionally marred his proclivity (as evidenced by his 28.7 percent assist rate) for the art of the dime. Shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. could be one of the nation's most polished perimeter scorers as a junior.

Beilein will mesh his leftover talent -- from a team that won a share of its first Big Ten title since the mid-80s, no less -- with the two best recruits of his Michigan tenure. Glenn Robinson III, the son of former NBA star Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson (we agreed we are calling Robinson III "Little Big Dog," yes?) is ranked No. 18 overall in the class of 2012. He has drawn raves from ESPNU's scouts for his "freakish athleticism" and ability to score from the perimeter, off the dribble and in the mid-range. His longtime friend and fellow incoming freshman, power forward Mitch McGary, was once considered the second-best prospect in the class of 2012. He's slipped since then, but only to No. 27 overall in the class, and he promises to be a force in his first season for the Wolverines.

The loss of shooters Stu Douglass, Zack Novak and Evan Smotrycz, and the addition of Robinson and McGary (as well as the return of forward Jon Horford from injury) present Beilein with an interesting but altogether welcome problem: These Wolverines won't be a typical Beilein team. They will attack the glass and pound the paint far more often, if only out of necessity. And with all those weapons, they'll be very difficult to stop.

Then there's Michigan State. The Spartans lost their heart and soul in senior forward Draymond Green, but the rest of the picture is bright: Point guard Keith Appling is back, as are forwards Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix. Impressive freshman guard Branden Dawson saw his season end after tearing an ACL in early March; his return will be tentative throughout the year. The good news? Tom Izzo beat out Indiana and Purdue to land the No. 2-ranked shooting guard in the class, Gary Harris, and will add three top-100 players (power forwards Kenny Kaminski and Matt Costello and small forward Denzel Valentine) to a team positively brimming with big, tough, athletic players. If the Spartans can do without Green -- and that's a valid question, given how much he meant to this program -- and rebound the ball at a similar rate as in 2012, they're legitimate Big Ten contenders, too.

Then there are the usual suspects: Wisconsin is Wisconsin, and Bo Ryan still hasn't finished worse than fourth place, or missed the NCAA tournament, in any season of his 11 seasons at the school. Minnesota will get Trevor Mbakwe, one of the nation's most bruising power forwards (now on his sixth-year medical redshirt season), back from last year's season-ending ACL injury. Purdue coach Matt Painter will bring in three top-100 players (center A.J. Hammons, shooting guard Rapheal Davis and point guard Ronnie Johnson, all three of whom hail from Indiana), an influx of size and young talent to build around. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery hauled in his best recruiting class, including Iowa native Adam Woodbury, the No. 10-ranked center in 2012. Northwestern has Drew Crawford and a spate of solid guards to put around senior transfer Jared Swopshire, an athletic former Louisville forward who could be a perfect fit for Bill Carmody's Princeton system.

You get the idea. Not all of these teams will contend for the Big Ten regular-season title. But most of them will. At the very least, the conference is sure to have a deep spate of teams determined to make any path to the Big Ten crown less a sprint than a drawn-out, physical scrum. Remember when Kentucky went undefeated in its league, with a massive efficiency margin to boot? Yeah. That ain't happenin' here.

Indiana is the favorite, and an obvious pick to get to the Final Four, and for good reason. But before the Hoosiers can turn their attention to the glories of March, they'll have to test their mettle for months on a twice-weekly basis against the best league in the country. That can be a good thing, or a bad one. It can be galvanizing experience, or a humbling one. Either way, nothing will come easy.

Recruiting analysts often discuss key commitments not only for their importance as players, but as extensions of the coach's recruiting effort. See, for example, NC State prospect Torian Graham. When Graham committed to Mark Gottfried's surging Wolfpack program last May, our own Dave Telep noted how important Graham could be in spreading Gottfried's message to other Wolfpack targets, most notably Rodney Purvis. Purvis has since committed to NC State, Gottfried's team is already a favorite to contend for the ACC title, and all is well again in Raleigh. Recruiting a recruiter, so to speak, has its benefits.

But what if other players don't want to be recruited by their peers? We sort of take for granted that this happens -- land the friend, land the target -- but what if injecting friendship into recruiting is counterproductive?

This brings us to Michigan commits Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III, childhood friends and AAU teammates, the latter of whom decided not to pressure his buddy into anything regarding his basketball future. Instead, he let McGary -- one of the top big men in the class of 2012 -- make his own decision. As AnnArbor.com's Nick Baumgardner writes, the tact did not go unnoticed:

"I wasn't recruiting him," Robinson said. "We've got too much respect for each other. I didn't need to say anything to him. It wasn't about me."

"That just means you've got a true friend for life," McGary recalls. "He just wanted what was best for me. He wasn't looking out for himself and he could have. He had my best interest in mind and not his, overall. He's a true friend and I've always appreciated that and I always will."

Interestingly enough, Robinson, the son of former Purdue and NBA great Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson*, was long considered the lesser prospect to McGary, who was ranked as high as No. 2 in the class last summer. McGary's stock has since slipped thanks to a less than impressive senior season; he now ranks No. 27 in the ESPNU 100, while Robinson ranks No. 18.

But no matter: Both players will be impact freshmen for the Michigan Wolverines, giving coach John Beilein what his teams have most sorely lacked in recent seasons: interior play. Michigan will need it, too. As Luke Winn wrote in his latest, post-draft-decision power rankings, the typically 3-happy Wolverines are losing three players (Zack Novak, Stu Douglass and Evan Smotrycz) who excelled from the perimeter and adding McGary and Robinson and previously injured forward Jon Horford to the lineup. With Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr. at the guard spots, Michigan will still be strong on the wing. But how will Beilein recalibrate his attack?

Whatever he does, the bond between the two stars of his incoming class -- one that will see Michigan ranked among the nation's top 10 teams to begin the season, no doubt -- should be a huge benefit to Beilein's chances of incorporating new and returning players into a talented, cohesive whole. You've been warned.

*It is the belief of this college basketball writer that we should immediately begin calling Glenn Robinson III "Little Big Dog," provided he does not express reservations to the contrary. (Constant comparisons to one's father must get grating, after all.) I look forward to the Internet's approval of this idea. Internet?

What's the saddest story you've ever read? Michigan recruit Austin Hatch could match it.

In 2003, Hatch survived a plane crash that killed his biological mother and two siblings. Late last June, Hatch survived another plane crash, but the father and stepmother he loved weren't as lucky. Not only was Hatch left without a family, which would be more than enough devastation for one 16-year-old kid, but his injuries -- a severe brain injury, a punctured lung, fractured ribs -- required a three-month stay in the hospital and put his long-term future, least of all his talent for basketball, into sudden and total jeopardy.

On Tuesday morning, Hatch's story came full circle. The Detroit Free-Press caught up with the still-committed Michigan prospect, who was in such bad shape last summer that he had to be put in a medically induced coma to stop his brain from swelling, and "to be released from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago last fall, his key test actually was walking up and down stairs." Now, Hatch says he is still looking forward to his Michigan career, just like his dad would have wanted:

"I'm still going on a full basketball scholarship. I'll still be on the team and all of that and go to practice and everything. But I just don't know if I'll be quite as good as I was before. But I still have over a year until then, so a lot can happen."

[...] "The most difficult thing is just missing my biological family, because I'm the only one left," he said. "I wish there was an instructional manual in how to deal with this kind of loss."

Doesn't that just break your heart? It's truly devastating. But there's also something redeeming about the way Hatch has decided to approach the rest of his life with optimism. Hatch seems to give some measure of the credit for that approach to Michigan coach John Beilein, who can't openly talk about Hatch (he's still a recruit, after all) but whom Hatch says has been a hugely supportive and understanding figure in his life.

"He is one of the best guys that I know, he's unbelievable," Hatch told the newspaper. "He says you're not going to be as good at basketball -- not yet. It takes time. He understands my road to recovery is not going to be an easy one. It's going to take a lot of work. He's still supportive of me and everything. It's pretty cool."

It's safe to say few of us are challenged in the way Hatch has been challenged, whether physically or emotionally, and that's probably the understatement of 2012. But if a teenager can wake up from a nightmare and still fight like this each and every day, the rest of us have little excuse for our foibles. That's what inspiration is. It's inspiration in the purest sense of the term.

Hatch may never play a meaningful moment of basketball for the Wolverines -- though he might, and let's hope he does -- but he's already made a true impact on the world of college basketball, simply by sharing his story. That's more valuable, and more permanent, than any jump shot could ever be.

Until he misfired during a Final Four loss against Kansas (9 points), forward Deshaun Thomas had been the best player –-- arguably -- on the Buckeyes' roster throughout the NCAA tournament.

The left-hander’s versatility fueled Ohio State’s run to New Orleans with performances that raised his NBA stock.

But Thomas announced Friday that he’s decided to return to school for another year. And that call automatically keeps the Buckeyes in the national title hunt for the 2012-13 season, even with Jared Sullinger turning pro and William Buford graduating.

I think they’re a solid top-10 squad. Aaron Craft is back to harass opposing guards. And there’s potential among young players who didn't get a ton of minutes this season.

If former McDonald’s All-America center Amir Williams blossoms in the offseason and starts to fulfill his potential as a sophomore, the Buckeyes could make another strong run in the NCAA tournament.

But Thomas will be the focus of Thad Matta’s system. And I think his skill set will allow Ohio State to spread the floor and take full advantage of Thomas’ abilities, which we saw during the NCAA tourney.

While the Thomas announcement solidifies Ohio State’s position entering next season, the rest of the Big Ten is one giant question mark.

The league has the potential to send multiple teams to the Big Dance. But depending on who goes pro by the April 29 deadline (after April 10, any early entrant who applies for the NBA draft will lose his collegiate eligibility), it might not pack the same punch it did during the 2011-12 campaign.

Indiana and Michigan could join Ohio State in the preseason top 10, but that all depends on a few decisions that will be made in the coming weeks/days.

If Cody Zeller and Christian Watford return, the Hoosiers could compete for the national championship. Tom Crean is bringing in one of the best recruiting classes in the country. Zeller will be a Wooden Award candidate and preseason All-America center. If Watford builds on his Sweet 16 performance against Kentucky (27 points), he could be one of the best forwards in the conference.

Michigan needs Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. to return. Burke, however, is more vital to John Beilein’s plans. With highly rated prospects Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson Jr. coming to Ann Arbor for the 2012-13 season, the Wolverines will add productive scorers who can contribute right away if Hardaway goes pro. But what will they do if they lose Burke? He might be the best point guard in the country if he comes back for his sophomore season. Without him, Michigan will still possess a talented, young roster. But the Wolverines could end up in Atlanta with Burke leading the way.

Minnesota also faces an uncertain future. The Gophers could be a borderline top-25 squad if preseason all-Big Ten forward Trevor Mbakwe returns. He missed most of last season after suffering a knee injury, but the NCAA recently granted the Big Ten’s No. 1 rebounder during the 2010-11 season a sixth year of eligibility. He’s expected to return -- assuming the Gophers have a scholarship for him. Tubby Smith has already reached the 13-scholarship limit, with two recruits joining the team next season. So Minnesota’s situation could get complicated, too.

Smith has asked the NCAA to allow the team to use a 14th scholarship next season. There’s also a chance that a player will transfer; five have left the program since 2009. But there are no guarantees right now for Mbakwe or the Gophers.

The Big Ten will be talented next season even if the aforementioned stars leave for the NBA.

But right now, it’s hard to project the league’s potential without knowing if its best players will stick around for another season.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Ivo Baltic proudly stretched out the front of his Ohio University jersey and slowly walked along press row displaying it.

D.J. Cooper gave a quick salute to the adoring Ohio fans, who were proudly chanting, “We are Ohio.”

Otherwise, there weren’t a lot of showy celebrations from the No. 13-seeded Bobcats, who acted very much like they’d been there and done that Friday night in sending No. 4-seeded Michigan packing 65-60 in the second round of the Midwest Regional at Bridgestone Arena.

“We want to set a higher standard for this program,” Cooper said. “You can’t set the kind of standard we want to set in one game.”

On a day that saw its share of upheaval in the NCAA tournament, the Bobcats served notice that this wasn’t their first time at the Dance.

And Cooper, in particular, reminded everyone that he can dance with the best of them.

The Wolverines had no answers for him. He got into the lane area when he wanted to and also hit three of his six 3-point attempts. He finished with a game-high 21 points and handed out 5 assists in 37 minutes.

It was reminiscent of what Cooper did to Georgetown two years ago as a freshman when he scored 23 points in the 97-83 upset of the Hoyas.

Now a junior, Cooper is even better, and he’s the kind of explosive guard who makes everybody else look like they’re running in quicksand.

“He’s a terrific talent,” Ohio coach John Groce said. “They saw him two years ago and they saw him tonight. He’s spectacular. He’s our quarterback. We go as he goes, especially on offense.”

It’s no coincidence that the Bobcats are unbeaten this season when Cooper shoots at least 50 percent from the field.

He got great looks on Friday and was patient, something his coach preaches religiously. Cooper was shooting just 34.8 percent from the field coming into the NCAA tournament.

“Coach gets onto me about settling [for jump shots], and I do settle sometimes,” Cooper conceded. “When your coach has that kind of confidence in you, you feel like nobody can stop you.”

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Cooper wasn’t a blue-chip recruit coming out of Chicago. He picked Ohio over Kent State and Loyola (Ill.). Baylor also offered late, but Cooper said it was only after the Bears struck out on John Wall.

He hit it off with Groce instantly and wanted to be part of something that was building.

“We had different kids step up,” Groce said. “Obviously, D.J. is a special talent and just has a great knack for making guys better and has learned to play the position better over the years. We’re just grateful that he’s wearing the green and white.”

Michigan coach John Beilein sees a lot of premier guards in the Big Ten. He’s not sure he’s seen a better one this season than Cooper.

“He’s as good a guard as we played against this year,” Beilein said. “He’s tremendous. So he puts pressure on others to get help, and then, or not give help and play one-on-one in the post. [They’ve] got a really good team.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Breaking down No. 13 seed Ohio University’s 65-60 victory over No. 4 seed Michigan in the second round of the Midwest Regional at Bridgestone Arena:

Overview: Other than the early minutes of the game, Ohio led the whole way in pulling off its second upset of a top-4 seed in the past three NCAA tournaments. The Bobcats knocked off No. 3 Georgetown in 2010.

There wasn’t a lot of mystery to this one. Ohio shot 51.2 percent from the field and held Michigan scoreless in the game’s final four minutes. The Bobcats were able to get good looks at the basket most of the game, and Michigan didn’t have anybody who could stay in front of Ohio junior guard D.J. Cooper.

Ohio led by nine points with eight minutes to play, but Michigan made a run and cut the deficit to 63-60 with a little more than four minutes to play on Trey Burke’s 3-pointer. The Wolverines had several chances to tie the game, but couldn’t make shots down the stretch.

Turning point: After Michigan had pulled within 63-60 on Burke’s 3-pointer, Cooper missed from 3-point range on the other end. But Ohio’s Reggie Keely chased down the long rebound. It was that kind of game. Ohio made the plays when it counted, and Michigan didn’t.

Key player: Cooper was unstoppable for the Bobcats. The Wolverines tried several different defenders on him and did their best to shadow him with two players at times. But when Cooper wanted to penetrate, he usually did. He was also 3-of-6 from 3-point land and finished with a game-high 21 points and five assists.

Key stat: Cooper was 7-of-11 from the field. The Bobcats improved to 7-0 when he shoots at least 50 percent from the field.

Miscellaneous: It was the second consecutive shaky outing for Michigan point guard Burke, the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year. He was 5-of-15 from the field and 2-of-9 from 3-point range. In the Wolverines’ Big Ten tournament loss to Ohio State, he was 1-of-11 from the field and 0-of-7 from behind the arc. … Evan Smotrycz came off the bench to score 15 points for Michigan. It was only his fourth double-digit outing since Jan. 1. … Smotrycz’s turnover when he lost the ball off the dribble with 6.8 seconds left was the final blow for the Wolverines (24-10). ... Michigan's two senior guards, Zack Novak and Stu Douglass, were a combined 1-of-7 from the field.

What’s next: Ohio (28-7) will move into the third round on Sunday and face the winner of the Temple-South Florida game. Those two teams play the late game Friday in Nashville.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Now we turn our attention to Friday's evening session in Music City:

No. 4 Michigan (24-9) vs. No. 13 Ohio (27-7), 7:20 p.m. ET

What to watch: Anybody who’s watched John Beilein’s teams play offense at Michigan, and West Virginia before that, knows how frustrating it can be defending his system in the half-court. The Wolverines are going to shoot 3-pointers and layups and not a lot else. They’re also relentless with their high picks and backdoor cuts to the basket and don’t turn it over much -- only 10.9 turnovers per game. But in Ohio University, Michigan gets a team that doesn’t mind grinding it out on defense. The Bobcats like to trap and really challenge teams with their on-the-ball pressure. They’re forcing 17.7 turnovers per game and defend the 3-point shot as well as anybody in the country. Opponents are shooting just 29.6 percent from 3-point range against the Bobcats, who are 60-19 under John Groce when they hold opponents under 70 points.

Who to watch: Michigan point guard Trey Burke was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the media. He leads the Wolverines in scoring (14.8 points) and assists (4.6). He broke Michigan’s 27-year-old freshman record for assists in a season and has 151 entering the Ohio game; Gary Grant had the old record, dishing out 140 assists during the 1984-85 season. Burke had been pretty good at taking care of the ball until the 77-55 loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament semifinals, when he turned it over eight times. He also shot just 1-of-11 from the field in that game, so you know he’s been bouncing off the walls to get back onto the court.

Why to watch: Losing to Ohio State in anything is a nightmare for Michigan. So it goes without saying that the 22-point loss to the Buckeyes in the Big Ten tournament still stings. The only thing that could make it worse would be losing to Ohio University in the NCAA tournament. The good news for Michigan fans is that the Wolverines are 8-0 in games following losses this season. But Ohio comes into this game having won eight of its past nine games. “We’re playing with confidence right now. We’re playing together as a team," Ohio junior guard D.J. Cooper said. "We’re playing pretty good defense. That’s what we’ve been relying on all year. We’re going to stick together and stay together through the tournament."

What they’re saying: “This is Ohio versus Michigan, and it’s about two teams competing and that want the same thing, and that’s to survive and advance. Every guy on our team needs to be focused on their role to help Ohio do well.” --Ohio University coach John Groce

“I think everybody is in that same boat. All 68 teams are trying to get to that point where it just becomes magical for them, and it’s so much fun if they’re successful in that dream.” --Michigan coach John Beilein

Around the rim: Michigan is 11-0 this season when sophomore guard Tim Hardaway Jr. shoots 50 percent from the field or better. ... Ohio junior guard Cooper is one of two Division I players over the past 12 years to have averaged 15 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals over an entire season. ... Cooper, who’s left-handed, recorded the first triple-double in Ohio history earlier this season in a victory at Portland when he scored 14 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out 10 assists. ... Cooper isn’t a great shooter. In fact, he’s shooting just 34.8 percent from the field this season. ... The Wolverines are 18-0 this season when leading at the half.

No. 5 Temple (24-7) vs. No. 12 South Florida (21-13), 9:50 p.m. ET

What to watch: Temple has won 13 of its past 15 games and sports a spiffy 24-7 record. The Owls are no stranger to the NCAA tournament, either: This is their fifth consecutive appearance. What they’d like to change is how long they hang around in the postseason. They haven’t won more than one game in the NCAA tournament since 2001, when they advanced to the Elite Eight under then-coach John Chaney. It’s Fran Dunphy’s show now, and the Owls have a veteran team built to make a deep run. They boast one of the more potent backcourts in college basketball and start three seniors and two juniors. All five starters average at least 9.1 points per game.

Who to watch: Temple senior guard Ramone Moore ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 17.7 points per game. He’s one of three players on Temple’s team to have made 50 or more 3-pointers this season. Not only that, but Khalif Wyatt, Juan Fernandez and Moore shoot better than 38 percent from 3-point range. The 6-foot-4 Moore has scored in double figures in all but two games this season.

Why to watch: Forget jet lag. South Florida’s players insist they were ready to play after knocking off California in the first round late Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio. The Bulls caught an early flight to Nashville on Thursday and said the short turnaround won’t be a problem. It was only a year ago that VCU came out of the first round and made it all the way to the Final Four. Plus, South Florida coach Stan Heath said, it’s not all bad to have already played a game. “We got our feet wet a little bit and got out there and maybe worked out the kinks and the nervousness and all those different things," Heath said. "The other team is a little more well-rested, may have a little more energy, but may not have the same rhythm that we may have from the previous game.”

What they’re saying: “We have to come out aggressive. They do a great job defensively. I mean, they held California to 13 points yesterday in the first half, which is great. But we’ve got to come out and play our basketball, got to make the extra pass, hit the open shots … and they don’t let you speed them up. They do a great job of getting their shots and slowing the game down.” --Temple guard Ramone Moore

“I said in Dayton that playing defense has kind of been our foundation. It really becomes a problem for a lot of teams. A lot of teams pride themselves on scoring 80 points or in the 70s, and they feel like if they can get to 80 points or in the 70s that they have a good chance of winning. For us, we feel like if we can keep them below the 60s that we have a good chance of winning.” --South Florida forward Ron Anderson Jr.

Around the rim: South Florida set the Big East Conference scoring defense record this season by allowing just 56.8 points per game. The Bulls have held 31 of their 34 opponents under 70 points. ... Anderson transferred to South Florida from Kansas State following the 2009 season. His other finalist when trying to decide where to continue his college basketball career was Temple. ... Heath said his players were wired following the 65-54 victory over Cal on Wednesday night. “I know the guys didn’t sleep much last night. They were watching 'SportsCenter' at 2 o’clock in the morning. They were watching each other’s dunks and getting excited. I was trying to put them to bed,” Heath joked. ... Dunphy said he heard someone say that going against South Florida’s defense was “like going to get a root canal.” ... Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin, who faced South Florida in Big East play, said what makes the Bulls so good defensively is how well they rotate, and when they do, the guy rotating over is anywhere from 6-7 to 6-11. ... Temple will be joining the Big East in football next season and then in all sports in 2013-14.

Bracket first impressions:

Someone on the Selection Committee must be a frustrated screenplay writer.

How else to explain the endless plots coursing through some of these regions?

In the South, Kentucky will debut as the No. 1 overall seed against either its in-state neighbor, Western Kentucky, or former Wildcat Sean Woods, the man who would have sent the Unforgettables to the Final Four were it not for a guy named Laettner.

Should the Cats get through that game, next up is defending national champion Connecticut, the team that knocked them out of the Final Four a year ago. Last we took the pulse, former New England rivals Jim Calhoun and John Calipari weren’t double-dating with milkshakes, either.

After that how about a possible Sweet 16 date with Christian Watford, er, Indiana? The Hoosiers, thanks to Watford’s shot that restored a program, are the only team to beat Kentucky in the regular season.

And then to complete the fun down South, there is perhaps an Elite Eight game against Duke (which might have to get UNLV, its program-establishing Final Four foe, first). Twenty years ago this season, the two met in in a sort-of kind-of memorable regional final.

That guy named Laettner again.

Across the way in the Midwest there are some decent storylines, too. Harrison Barnes and Doug McDermott could square off in an 1-8 game. The two once, believe it or not, were on the same team. As you might expect, Ames (Iowa) High was pretty good – 53-0 with two state titles in their tenure.

In the Sweet 16, Barnes' Tar Heels could tango with Michigan. If you don’t recall, the two met in the 1993 title game. Chris Webber remembers. He called timeout.

Being a No. 1 seed ain’t what it used to be.

Back when, like last year, you could write the nation’s best through to the Sweet 16 in ink. Maybe you wouldn’t press too hard, but ink was fine.

Now grab a pencil.

The No. 1s were not exactly rewarded with cakewalk 8-9 opponents.

Potentially lining up across from Kentucky: defending national champion Connecticut, a team that started the season ranked No. 4 in the country and sports two NBA first-rounders on its roster.

In line for North Carolina: How about a possible date with Creighton, one of the few teams in the country that can score with the Tar Heels and boasts an All-America candidate in McDermott to boot?

Michigan State could get a matchup with Memphis, a wildly talented No. 8 seed that has won 11 of its past 12 games.

Syracuse might say hello to Kansas State, two-time winners over Missouri.

Some other random observations:

• Is it the nickname? If he went by something less intimidating — like his given name, James — would Bruiser Flint be welcomed to the party? His Drexel team did win 27 games after all, and that used to be the goal of the sport — winning games.
• As usual, the 5-12 game is where the action is. Wichita State and VCU, mid-major darlings both, meet in the South; New Mexico-Long Beach State in the West and Vanderbilt-Harvard in the East. Tiebreaker in that one is a spelling bee.

Seeded too high: Colorado, Southern Miss.

Seeded too low: Memphis, Murray State, Detroit.

VCU 2012: That would be Iona. Most everyone is screaming about the Gaels being in. Understandable. But the Gaels are talented enough to make everyone eat their words just like the Rams did last year.

First team to 300 wins: That could be Creighton and North Carolina. The Tar Heels average 80 points; the Bluejays 83. Bring your oxygen tank.

Win or you’re out: That goes to all the folks who argued their merit despite failing to finish above .500 in their respective leagues. It’s not an official selection committee rule but de facto works fine by us.

And finally the potential: In October, they were tabbed the two best teams, loaded with the most talent. In December, they played an epic game in Lexington, Ky., decided only by Anthony Davis' incredible reach topping John Henson’s equally impossible wingspan. And on April 2, Kentucky and North Carolina could meet again for the national title.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jared Sullinger admits that Ohio State didn’t always acknowledge its vulnerabilities during a tough stretch in February that featured three losses in five games, a rare lull under Thad Matta.

The practices weren’t as crisp as expected, either. Players didn’t complete key tasks. And the overall effort was subpar at times.

“We took a lot of games for granted. And we didn’t play hard,” Sullinger said following his team’s 77-55 win over Michigan in the Big Ten tournament semifinals Saturday.

But these Buckeyes walloped the Wolverines and did not resemble the team that drew criticism last month.

The Buckeyes played like the dominant crew that earned a slot in many prognosticators' preseason Final Four brackets. They competed like the team that destroyed Duke in November and won six consecutive Big Ten games from Jan. 15 through Feb. 7 (three against nationally ranked opponents).

They started their win over Michigan with a 16-3 run. Then, they got serious and seized a shot at their third consecutive Big Ten tourney title in a Sunday matchup against Michigan State with one of their most impressive outings of the year. They took a 20-point lead five minutes into the second half.

A Wolverines team that beat the Buckeyes by five in Ann Arbor on Feb. 18 didn’t have a chance at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Michigan shot 4-for-25 from the 3-point line.

Trey Burke, who scored 30 points in a quarterfinal victory over Minnesota, only produced five points (1-for-11) against the Buckeyes.

The latter’s four-game winning streak has showcased their talent and their evolution from the squad that endured that tough sequence in February.

Sullinger said those losses taught the Buckeyes a lesson and made them take a more focused approach to each game.

“When we had that ‘bad’ month of February, we just took off. We took off from there,” said Sullinger, who scored 24 points against the Wolverines. “It’s just win and advance. Win and advance and keep going.”

The Buckeyes are better because Deshaun Thomas is better. The sophomore has scored 19 or more in five of his team’s past six games. He had 22 against Michigan.

Sullinger scored 17 points combined in two games in late February. He’s been on a mean streak since then. He’s recorded three double-doubles in the past four games and put that late-February anomaly behind him.

The Buckeyes are also playing tough defense and getting quality minutes from reserves (Evan Ravenel scored six points in 16 minutes against the Wolverines).

“We play our best basketball when we don't rely on one person to try to score a lot of points. And we're playing great on the defensive end, and everyone's talking, everyone's into the game,” guard Aaron Craft said. “I think we're starting to understand that's where we're at our best and that's what we need to do for however many games we have left to play, just continuing to go out there, have fun, be positive with each other, and enjoy it.”

Ohio State has thrust itself back into the national championship conversation again. There were stretches in February when the Buckeyes’ postseason potential was questioned. But their display in Indianapolis has offered reminders about how good the Buckeyes can be if they play together.

Matta can only explain part of Ohio State’s late push.

Specific tweaks like switching up Thomas’ pregame routine so that he’s ready to go before tipoff and not using the early part of the game to get warmed up have helped. He also said that Michigan State losing to Indiana in the final full week of the regular season and opening the door for Ohio State to win a share of the Big Ten title may have reinvigorated the Buckeyes.

Regardless of what’s clicked for Ohio State, it’s a promising turn for one of the best teams in the country.

“We have a very good togetherness right now, a very good understanding of how we want to play, what we want do, how we want do it, and I think those are the things that we've been striving for all season,” Matta said. “And it's good to see, over the course of the last couple weeks, just the energy and the enthusiasm this team has had. And I think it carries over to the court for us as well.”

Sunday’s game is a matchup between the Big Ten’s best. Perhaps the winner will earn a No. 1 seed. But even if the matchup doesn’t shift the NCAA tournament bracket, it’s still an opportunity for the Buckeyes to build more mojo and continue to prove that they’re an elite team with the goods to reach New Orleans.

They also want to end the discussion about the Big Ten’s hierarchy after Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan shared the regular-season crown.

“It’s all about who wants to win the Big Ten outright,” he said.

One of the differences between the Buckeyes team that struggled in February and the one that traveled to Indianapolis is that Ohio State has pounced on its two conference tournament opponents when given the opportunity. The Buckeyes beat Purdue by 17 points in the quarterfinals Friday.

That victory and Saturday’s win over Michigan displayed the kind of cutthroat basketball that could lead to a win Sunday and March Madness success for the Buckeyes.

They’ve found their killer instinct at the right time.

“We know [Sunday’s matchup against the Spartans] is going to be a battle," Thomas said, "and we just want to come in and try to hit them first, like we've been doing for these last two games."

INDIANAPOLIS -- Reaction from Ohio State's dominating 77-55 victory over Michigan in a Big Ten tournament semifinal.

Overview: Pure dominance for Ohio State. That’s all. The Buckeyes jumped out to a 16-3 lead. They shot 51 percent from the field on their way to a halftime lead of 34-21. They held Michigan to a 1-for-13 clip from beyond the arc in the first half, too.

The carnage continued in the second half. Five minutes after halftime, the Buckeyes possessed a 20-point lead. The Wolverines could not neutralize Ohio State’s talent as they were dismissed from the tourney with a lopsided loss. And now we’ll see a matchup between the two best teams in the league, Michigan State and Ohio State, in the Big Ten tournament championship. The Buckeyes will have a chance to win their third consecutive title. Michigan State hasn’t reached the title game since 2000.

Turning point: The moment that Ohio State put on its uniforms. This looks like the Ohio State squad that so many assumed it could be at the start of the year. The Buckeyes have had some struggles in recent months. But right now, they’re playing like one of the best teams in the country.

Key player: Jared Sullinger’s mean streak continues. He scored 24 points, grabbed six rebounds and recorded two blocks. Deshaun Thomas added 22 points and six rebounds.

Key stat: Michigan went 4-for-25 (15 percent) from the 3-point line. The Wolverines didn’t have a chance against the Buckeyes without the 3-ball.

Miscellaneous: Trey Burke scored 30 against Minnesota Friday. He had 5 points against the Buckeyes Saturday.

What’s next: Ohio State will play Michigan State Sunday for the Big Ten tournament championship, a game that could have major NCAA tournament seeding implications. Michigan will get ready for the NCAA tournament.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michigan did not expect the test it encountered against Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament Friday.

But the Gophers weren’t prepared for Trey Burke, either. The Big Ten freshman of the year scored 30 points in a 73-69 win over Minnesota to advance to a Saturday matchup against the winner of Friday’s game between Ohio State and Purdue. Burke did whatever he wanted when he wanted to do it against the Gophers.

“Well, the coaches just tell me to take whatever the defense gave me. We [saw] that in the first half. They had a little trouble guarding the pick-and-roll action, so the top of the key was kind of open for an 8-foot jump shot,” Burke said after the game. “Towards the second half, they were kind of making me not use the screen, so it allowed us to be able to get down in the lane and shoot lay-ups. And a couple times they had pinched in, and that's when I hit the shooters on the wing. Like we say, we knocked down big shots when it mattered.”

The Gophers, a 10-seed, took a nine-point lead on a Rodney Williams' dunk with 4:33 to go. An upset was brewing at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

But Michigan clicked in the final minutes and sent the game into overtime -- Minnesota is the only team that’s ever played in two overtime games in a single Big Ten tournament -- after Evan Smotrycz hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds to play. The Wolverines proved to be too tough in overtime.

Burke scored six points in the final 32 seconds (a layup and four free throws) to seal the win.

For Michigan, Friday’s game was a challenge that could help it prepare for the NCAA tournament.

“Sometimes you like to see your team go through … a little trouble like that to see how they're going to respond and see how tough we are. I think we passed the test today,” said Zack Novak. “We played a team that was fighting for their lives. They came to play and they played very well. And for us, we didn't do some of the things that we typically do. To be able to come out of this game with a win is huge, and that's what you gotta do at this time of the year.”

INDIANAPOLIS -- Reaction from Michigan's 73-69 overtime win over Minnesota in a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal game.

Overview: The Gophers led by as much as nine during an ugly first half that ended with Minnesota leading 23-20. The Gophers had a 20-10 rebounding advantage in the first half but only shot 33 percent from the field. Trey Burke scored 13 of Michigan's 20 points before halftime.

In the second half, the two teams traded buckets until the Gophers, a 10-seed, surged late and took a nine-point lead with less than four minutes to play. But Michigan would not go away.

Evan Smotrycz hit a late 3 that tied it with seconds on the game clock and ultimately sent the contest into overtime. Minnesota became the first team to play two overtime games in a single Big Ten tournament. They needed overtime to dismiss Northwestern on Thursday, too.

Friday’s game was a two-point affair with a minute to play in the extra period. But Burke’s layup with 33 seconds to go extended Michigan’s lead to four. The Wolverines went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final 22 seconds of the game to seal the victory.

Turning point: Julian Welch hit back-to-back 3s that gave the Gophers a 52-45 advantage with 5:11 to play. Then, Rodney Williams flew down the court for an impressive dunk that drew “oohs” from the crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and put the Gophers up by nine (54-45) on Minnesota’s next possession. Game over, right? Wrong. Michigan sent the game into overtime with a late push. Burke’s layup with 33 seconds remaining in overtime was just enough to give the Wolverines the four-point cushion it needed to finish off the Gophers.

Key player: Burke carried the Wolverines Friday. He scored 30 points and went 11-for-14 from the field.

Key stat: Michigan shot 24-for-49 from the field (49 percent).

Miscellaneous: The Wolverines were outrebounded 31-22 against Minnesota … The Gophers committed 16 turnovers … Freshman Andre Hollins scored 21 points one day after recording 25 against Northwestern.

What’s next: Michigan will play the winner of Friday night’s Purdue-Ohio State matchup in the semifinals Saturday. The Gophers will have to wait and see if they’re in the NIT. They did not make it last year. This could be their second consecutive year without a postseason.