Posted: Feb 12, 2011 at 10:35 AM [Today]
The confidence is back.
The Michigan basketball team’s recent resurgence of four victories in five games has inspired a newfound confidence as it enters a rematch Saturday with Indiana (4 p.m., Big Ten Network).
It was a much different feeling than the last time Michigan (15-10, 5-7 Big Ten) saw Indiana (12-13, 3-9), when the Hoosiers demolished the Wolverines, 80-61, in Bloomington on Jan. 15 when Michigan was in the middle of a six-game losing streak.
“It was a rough stretch that we went through where we were coming close and just couldn’t get over the hump,” junior guard Zack Novak said. “At Michigan State we pulled out a close one, and it just gave us a lot of confidence.
“Still have a lot of work to do, but it’s good guys are feeling good about themselves and guys are just playing a lot better. Just aside from confidence, we’ve gotten a lot better as a team.”
This is suddenly a team of players who believe in each other, believe in the system and in themselves.
It was a message Michigan coach John Beilein stressed in a pre-game speech at Michigan State according to a video on JohnBeilein.com and is something that became obvious as the Wolverines came from behind to beat Penn State, 65-62, and then held on to a lead against Northwestern on Wednesday night.
“Guys are just being aggressive,” Novak said. “I don’t want to say we’re being flashy as a team because the solid teams win. Typically the solid teams win, the flashy teams don’t.
“You can be flashy and solid sometimes but a lot of times you’re better off making the solid play. It goes back to the confidence we have going now.”
Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein
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