As Wolverines Rise, Tigers Fade Out

Michigan Enjoys Victorious Return To Tournament : Michigan 62, Clemson 59

KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 19 -- With long bodies and rangy athletes, Clemson unleashed 94 feet of pressure on a Michigan team unaccustomed to facing such an up-tempo, frenetic style of play in the Big Ten, which has been criticized for a particularly sluggish brand of basketball this season.

But the Wolverines responded with a steady dose of three-pointers and opportunistic plays that were hallmarks of Coach John Beilein's most successful teams earlier this decade at West Virginia. Now in his second season in Ann Arbor, Beilein is using a similar recipe to return luster to a program that has been dormant for more than a decade.

Clemson Coach Oliver Purnell even referred to his opponent as West Virginia after the game. But it was indeed 10th-seeded Michigan, making its first tournament appearance since 1998, that edged seventh-seeded Clemson, 62-59, in Thursday's first-round matchup at Sprint Center. Michigan advanced to play Oklahoma in Saturday's second round.

"Finally!" Michigan forward Anthony Wright said. "It has been over a decade since not only being in the tournament, but a tournament win. This is for the team, the coaches, Ann Arbor, the state of Michigan."

The loss marked a disappointing ending to the season for Clemson, which had won its first 16 games. The Tigers were positioned for a top-four seed in the NCAA tournament but closed the season with losses in five of their final six games. And they played the final 17 minutes Thursday without their best outside shooter, Terrence Oglesby, who was ejected for a flagrant foul.

Michigan built a 16-point lead before Clemson sliced it to one point in the game's final minute. Beilein said he thought, "How can we survive this? Someone is going to have to make a shot."

That would be guard Manny Harris, who converted a three-point play with 36 seconds to play to give the Wolverines a four-point advantage. Clemson's K.C. Rivers missed a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game.

"It is a hard one to take in," Clemson forward Trevor Booker said. "There has been some crying."

The game's tenor changed early in the second half when Oglesby initially was assessed an intentional foul after he appeared to throw an elbow at Michigan's Stu Douglass. After officials conferred and checked the video replay, they ejected Oglesby from the game for a flagrant foul.

After the game, official Thomas Eades issued a statement that said: "What we saw was a push-off to the forehead. When we looked at it, there was no doubt there was an intentional act to the forehead. In my opinion, when you take a forearm to somebody's head it is a flagrant foul."

Oglesby said: "I did not punch the guy. I did elbow him. I swept through a little high and caught him. I just blanked out and did it. I didn't really think about if I was going to get him or not. It was selfish of me to lose my cool, and I left the guys out to dry. I apologize to that kid."

Douglass said, "Whether it was intentional or not, an elbow hit me in the face. Oglesby is a great player. For them to lose him is a big hit on them."