It was pretty easy to notice that John Beilein’s Michigan squad spent an awfully long time not fouling towards the end of the game. It turns out that was less by design and more by, well, accident.
Louisville vs. Michigan: John Beilein didn’t know how many fouls his team had
John Beilein miscalculated the amount of fouls his team had late in the game, marking the first time an important Michigan figure made a mental error in the last minute of a national title game.
USA TODAY Sports
Michigan turned the ball over with 52 seconds left, trailing by four points. 15 critical seconds of game clock came off the clock before the Wolverines finally fouled, without Michigan really making plays on the ball, more waiting for Louisville to pass to someone who wasn’t a good free-throw shooter. They finally committed a foul, only then to realize that they weren’t in the bonus and needed to foul again. By the time Louisville was shooting free throws, there were just 29 seconds left - meaning almost half the game time that was remaining when they had made the turnover was gone.
Why’d they wait? According to Beilein, it was a mental error:
Wow. Beilein admits he didn't realize Michigan wasn't in the bonus yet in the final minute, which is why they didn't foul immediately.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) April 9, 2013
What? Michigan failed to understand the technicalities of a late-game scenario in a national title game? That's something that has never, ever happened before.
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