Michigan basketball played in practice uniforms after its plane skidded off the end of the runway

This was a weird scene at the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament. Michigan wearing practice uniforms during a win against Illinois on Thursday:

Michigan’s had a whale of an experience trying to get from Ann Arbor to Washington, D.C., the first-time site of this year’s tournament.

The Wolverines’ first game was scheduled to tip at noon Thursday against Illinois (on the Big Ten Network). It was moved back to 12:20 p.m. ET, and Michigan wound up winning by 20 points, 75-55.

The team planned to travel to D.C. on Wednesday. Flying on the day before a game is standard operating procedure in college basketball, as it is in most sports.

But Michigan’s flight from Ypsilanti, Mich., didn’t get off the ground on Wednesday. Its takeoff was aborted due to high winds, in what looked like a scary scene. Fortunately, everyone was OK.

But Michigan’s game jerseys were stuck at the bottom of the plane, athletic director Warde Manuel told the Big Ten Network on Thursday. So, Michigan doesn’t have them.

The Wolverines wound up flying to D.C. on Thursday morning, just hours before their game. It appears they landed shortly before 9 a.m. They didn’t get to the Verizon Center, the tournament site, until 10:40 a.m., 80 minutes before the scheduled game time.

The situation got weirder still, with a reported media quarantine.

It seemed outrageous to me that the Big Ten didn’t move back the game time to give Michigan more rest and travel time cushion. But according to the league, that was Michigan’s doing. A Big Ten representative told ESPN’s Andy Katz that the league was “willing to move” the game but Michigan wanted to play quickly upon its arrival.

Maybe the Wolverines had an idea what they were doing, because they dominated the game. They’ll play Purdue at noon Friday on ESPN.