College basketball wasn’t without a few surprises early on in the season. But then again, early wins and losses rarely impact what happens when March Madness takes hold, and Michigan basketball‘s rise to No. 4 in the nation and subsequent fall from grace is evidence that, occasionally, really good programs get caught.
Or maybe it’s not.
When the Wolverines lost their way in Louisville, it was at the hands of one of the best around. A few days before that disaster down south, Michigan basketball had walked off its flight from the Bahamas and entered the struggle bus bound for Kentucky on a trip that was never meant to end with anything other than a loss.