Michigan Wolverines Basketball Learning From Loss To Penn State
After the loss to Penn State Tuesday, freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis said the game has helped the team grow.
“I feel like you learn more from losing,” Brazdeikis said. “Connor McGregor always says, ‘You either win or your learn. You never lose.’ I take that mentality as well. I learned a lot from that games. I made some silly mistakes.”
In the game against Penn State, Michigan head coach John Beilein was ejected at halftime. It showed his players a lot about him.
“It was such an emotional game and just seeing that showed just how much he cares about us and the team and how much he loves winning,” Brazdeikis said. “I feel like we need to embrace that. I respect him even more after that. He fights for us until the end and that means the world. I’ve never seen that from him before.”
After the game, Brazdeikis said the team was upset.
“It was tough after that game,” Brazdeikis said. “Coach Beilein getting kicked out, the refs, it was a kind of weird kind of game. The vibe was weird. After the game, we were obviously upset. At the end of the day, we were all upset.”
Maryland will provide a strong challenge as their front court is loaded with sophomore center Bruno Fernando and freshman forward Jalen Smith.
“They’re a really good team and they have a lot of big guys,” Brazdeikis said. “They’re young as well. I feel like their frontcourt is going to be really tough. I am excited for this challenge, I feel like we’re all excited for this challenge, especially coming off a loss.”
Guarding Fernando will be a difficult task for junior center Jon Teske.
“They have two very good bigs that are probably two of the best bigs in the Big Ten, or up there at least,” Teske said. “We have to come ready to play, knock down shots, get out in transition and run on them. They’re a young team though. They turn the ball over quite a few times.”
While Maryland is a big game for Michigan’s Big Ten title chances, Teske said he likes being in the pressure of championship hunt.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Teske said. “We’re having a blast right now. Even though we lost last game, we’re still having. We’re going to be ready to play tomorrow. We’re practicing hard and we’re getting after it.”
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