Even though Michigan lost to Penn State Tuesday night, U-M head coach John Beilein still had his weekly radio show Wednesday night.

Beilein talked a lot about how the loss to the Nittany Lions was not a disaster

“Penn State just had a great gameplan,” Beilein said. “They played really well. They surprised us with switching every screen.”

Beilein said Penn State shortened the game by soft pressing the Wolverines.

“They outhustled us in some areas,” Beilein said. “They just wanted that basketball game very badly.”

Beilein said on the road that there a very few upsets because of the fact that playing on the road is difficult. Add to that, Beilein talked about how close Penn State had been in recent game and was a lot better than their record indicated.

“I don’t think it’s an upset at all,” Beilein said. “This team had led in the second half in seven straight games.”

Beilein said that no matter what Penn State’s record was, they were a good team that has a lot of veteran players.

Right at halftime, Beilein was ejected for the first time in decades. On the radio show, he tried to remember the other time he was thrown out in 1981 or 1982. That time, he watched the game from a window in the locker room.

Beilein didn’t have that type of luck Tuesday as he watched the second half on a television in the locker room. He said he texted the Big Ten office to get their interpretation of what went on and what he thought about the situation.

He said he was surprised by the technicals.

“The first technical was very, very surprising to me,” Beilein said. “It was a very casual conversation.”

After the game, the team was stuck on the runway for two hours as the plane had to be deiced twice and it was the most ice they had ever seen. Michigan wasn’t able to take off from State College, Pa., until 1:15 a.m.

Beilein was impressed by redshirt junior guard Charles Matthew’s performance and saw it as a sign that the team is becoming more of a player-led group.

But, Beilein knows there’s still work to do after the loss.

“Penn State made it happen and we have to grow from that,” Beilein said.

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @Balas_Wolverine, @DrewCHallett and @Qb9Adam.

• Like us on Facebook