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Michigan basketball's newfound grit raises its NCAA ceiling

It was a bank shot he didn’t call. But Zak Irvin will take it.

Wouldn’t you?

Wouldn’t you raise your arms to the rafter as he did, jogging back down the court Thursday night at the Crisler Center, the crowd on its feet, a sheepish grin across his face, awash in sweet relief?

That’s how it is when you’re a shooter that can no longer make shots. And that’s how it has been for Michigan’s senior shooting guard this season. Come off a screen, rise up, release and … clank. Or brick. Or, as Irvin did early in the second half against Wisconsin, find nothing but air.