John Beilein’s a great coach, one of the best in the nation. But the mishandling of last night’s foul situation may haunt him for the rest of his career.
With Louisville leading 78-74 and 50.1 seconds left, the Wolverines let precious seconds tick off the clock before finally committing a foul. A foul John Beilein believed would send Louisville to the free throw line. He was wrong. The Cardinals were not in the bonus (only 6 fouls at that point).
12.6 seconds had ticked off the clock. Beilein opted not to call a timeout here despite the confusion and despite the fact he had three at his disposal.
Beilein then reinserted Mitch McGary into the lineup with four fouls. This left two Michigan players on the floor incapable of fouling (Burke also had 4).
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7.7 more seconds ticked off the clock before Michigan fouled Luke Hancock, a 76% free throw shooter. He drained both, stretching the lead to 80-74. The game was never in doubt after that point.
To his credit, Beilein owned up to his mistake after the game.
This was Beilein’s Andy Reid moment. A damn shame too because he’s as classy as they come.