Why everyone should root for Michigan
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Michigan won the Big Ten tournament as a No. 8 seed, but not before their plane skidded off the runway as they tried to depart for Washington.
Forced to travel and arrive just hours before tipoff and wear practice gear as game uniforms, the Wolverines rallied together and easily took down Illinois in their opening game.
Related: Passengers on Michigan flight describe scary scene: 'Thought it was gonna blow'
From there, and with proper jerseys, Michigan rode their momentum to win four games in four days and claim their first tournament title after their 1998 championship was vacated.
Related: Michigan looks like a pickup team wearing practice jerseys vs. Illinois
Senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. took home tournament MVP honors, as he embodied the never-say-die spirit that got the team through the travel woes and through the Big Ten tournament.
In last week's four games, Walton averaged 20.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds, while shooting 37.5 percent from three.
Going through a life and death experience, to then rally and win a tournament is something of which movies are made.
Related: Michigan plane arrives safely in Washington following runway scare
Long-range dagger 3-pointers are a Big Dance staple, and Michigan is ranked 24th in the country, averaging 9.5 made 3-pointers, recalling memories of the school-record 19 triples against Central Arkansas earlier this season.
After having a defense full of holes earlier in the season, John Beilein has patched that unit up, finishing a respectable 39th in the country in points allowed per game.
The Wolverines starting five consists of senior guards Walton and Zak Irvin, junior forwards D.J. Wilson and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, and sophomore forward Moritz Wagner.
Michigan is a veteran squad that dealt with significant adversity when their plane aborted its takeoff.
That veteran leadership and cohesiveness allowed the Wolverines to come together and win a conference championship.
Now, they seek to use that as a rallying cry to make a deep tournament run and is why the rest of the country should be rooting for the Wolverines as well.