Back to the Michigan Wolverines Newsfeed

The bracket is flat, so Michigan might as well go try to win the whole thing

INDIANAPOLIS -- As the NCAA Tournament tipped off on Thursday, Michigan went through the ritual of the pre-tournament pageant.

John Beilein, Derrick Walton Jr. and Zak Irvin took a stage under hot white lights, answering some predictable questions. Some enterprising scribes were still curious about that week-old plane wreck story. The U-M reps did their duty, repeating familiar answers. Irvin offered a money quote: "Why can't this be one of the greatest stories ever told?"

In the locker room at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, clusters of reporters surrounded rotation players and assistant coaches. Assistant coach Billy Donlon, now seen as the horse whisperer of Michigan's defense, was a main attraction.