x
Breaking News
More () »

Michigan not overlooking Montana in NCAA tournament opener

The team is relaxed, loose and confident.

Jordan Poole played hangman on the white board with Austin Hatch and Ibi Watson. Charles Matthews tried to pants Duncan Robinson during an interview and John Beilein wondered how long it took reporters to get here.

Welcome to Wichita.

"I heard it's kind of a hip scene here, little younger crowd," Michigan junior center Moritz Wagner said. "So that's cool. I can appreciate that."

More: Michigan basketball's journey under John Beilein a lesson in evolution

Michigan's NCAA tournament journey is underway and the team's overall attitude seems to be exactly what it was when the Wolverines wrapped up their Big Ten Tournament championship run in New York 11 days ago.

The team is relaxed, loose and confident.

And after more than a week off, they are ready to play.

"It's one day at a time. We tried to win (Tuesday) at practice, travel here safely, we had 60 minutes of video (Wednesday) and already practiced for 105 minutes," Beilein said Wednesday inside the INTRUST Bank Arena shortly before his team's open practice. "That's the only way you can approach it. Try to get closer to the game time.

"Then the ball goes up and (it's time to) play."

No. 3 Michigan will hit the floor at 9:50 p.m. ET Thursday night against No. 14 Montana in an opening-round West Region game.

More: Michigan basketball vs. Montana in NCAA tourney: Scouting report, pick

Michigan ended the league tournament as one of the country's hottest teams. And while they haven't played a game since March 4, people haven't forgotten.

A number of national pundits placed Michigan's name on their Final Four brackets. The Wolverines are double-digit favorites Thursday. If they survive Montana, they'll be favorites again if they play Houston or San Diego State.

The Wolverines aren't the same group that started the 2017-18 season, back when Beilein wasn't sure who his starting point guard would be and had no idea what he'd be able to get from his freshmen.

Michigan slowly turned itself into a contender. One step at a time. That mantra continues.

"We're focused right now on getting one (Thursday). Like we just said, we know this is a really good Montana team that's won a lot of games this year," Michigan senior co-captain Duncan Robinson said. "So first and foremost, we're focused on Thursday."

More: Michigan's Jon Teske leans on unbreakable bond with grandfather, finds success

Montana, meanwhile, is ready to play spoiler to what Michigan hopes will be a magical month.

The Grizzlies enter the tournament after having an uphill battle during last week's Big Sky Tournament — a run that featured an eight-point win over North Dakota; and an overtime victory over Northern Colorado where Montana took advantage of a last-minute 10-second call before canning a 3 to force overtime. The Grizzlies won three games in three days and were forced to come from behind each time.

Survival was the mantra. Head coach Travis DeCuire talked about how important it is for his team to play with desperation.

"(Last week) helped us not get caught up in the moment too much," senior forward Fabijan Krslovic said. "We weren't thinking ahead, we kept our heads in the game and if things went our way it was on to the next one.

"We try not to get too caught up in the moment or the environment surrounding us."

Michigan's respect for Montana has overflowed this week, as Beilein's hammered it into his team's mind that this is a team that's more than capable of winning Thursday.

More: NCAA tournament bracket prediction: MSU, U-M go deep; Arizona trolls

Beilein compared Montana's offensive set to that of Nebraska, as guards Ahmaad Rorie and Michael Oguine can both beat people off the dribble and make plays in the lane.

Defensively, the Grizzlies play with plenty of pressure in the half court. They attack passing lanes, they rush ball screens. Montana's tied for No. 21 nationally in turnovers forced this season with 15.45 per game.

Montana's confident.

But so is Michigan.

"I wasn't necessarily familiar with the name and the players at first, but I looked at the wins. That was like kind of the key number," Wagner said. "And then I figured out that they won both the regular season and the tournament. So that's a great accomplishment, and they deserve a lot of respect. So yeah. It's a great challenge."

Contact Nick Baumgardner: nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner.

Before You Leave, Check This Out