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Defense keeping Michigan Wolverines afloat in NCAA men’s basketball tournament

Michigan guard Jordan Poole, right, is chased by forward Moritz Wagner after making a 3-point basket at the buzzer to win an NCAA tournament second-round game against Houston on Saturday in Wichita, Kan. (AP photo)

ANN ARBOR — When Jordan Poole’s long 3-pointer dropped through the net for Michigan, a whole lot of unsightly shooting beforehand was forgotten.

It’s been that kind of season for the Wolverines, who are winning without much concern for aesthetics.

It was just 14 months ago that Illinois center Maverick Morgan said, somewhat accurately, that Michigan had been a “white-collar team traditionally” — but you won’t find many people saying that about the Wolverines this season. Michigan struggles at times from beyond the arc, and the free-throw line has been a nightmare. Yet here the Wolverines are, preparing to play in the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in six years.

“I think we take pride in our defense. We have that grit — more so than maybe teams before,” guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman said. “We have that mindset that we’re going to defend people and stop them. It’s not always going to be, we’re making a whole bunch of 3s and things like that. We have to win the game on the defensive end.”

Watching Michigan win with defense is a bit disorienting. It’s like if an option coach showed up one year with an offense that averaged 500 yards passing.

For a decade under John Beilein, the Wolverines could put on an offensive clinic, with smart passing, sharp outside shooting and hardly any turnovers. Michigan still tries to operate the same way, but the shooting has been hit-or-miss this season. That was certainly true in the team’s first two NCAA Tournament games, when the third-seeded Wolverines fell behind 10-0 against Montana and took over 5 1/2 minutes to make a field goal against Houston.

Michigan still won comfortably against Montana, 61-47 . Against the Cougars, it was 64-63 on the buzzer beater by Poole.

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