Tipping Off: Michigan talked Super Bowl on way to Sweet 16

FILE - In this March 17, 2017, file photo, Michigan coach John Beilein yells from the sideline during the first half of a first-round game against Oklahoma State in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in Indianapolis. When Michigan was slumping earlier in the season, Beilein started thinking Super Bowl, not Final Four. Beilein conjured up the highlight-reel catch that Patriots receiver Julian Edelman made during New England's game-tying drive in the Super Bowl, and said the Wolverines should keep that sort of play--an outlier, as he called it--in mind.
"The point with the Super Bowl catch was that Edelman, he willed that catch," Beilein said Wednesday, March 22. "We have to will stuff to happen. You have to work hard. I really stressed the outlier things, too." (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) — FILE - In this March 17, 2017, file photo, Michigan coach John Beilein yells from the sideline during the first half of a first-round game against Oklahoma State in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in Indianapolis. When Michigan was slumping earlier in the season, Beilein started thinking Super Bowl, not Final Four. Beilein conjured up the highlight-reel catch that Patriots receiver Julian Edelman made during New England's game-tying drive in the Super Bowl, and said the Wolverines should keep that sort of play--an outlier, as he called it--in mind. "The point with the Super Bowl catch was that Edelman, he willed that catch," Beilein said Wednesday, March 22. "We have to will stuff to happen. You have to work hard. I really stressed the outlier things, too." (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

By Associated Press March 23, 2017 5 min read

When Michigan was slumping earlier in the season, the coach started thinking Super Bowl, not Final Four.

John Beilein conjured up the highlight-reel catch that Patriots receiver Julian Edelman made during New England’s game-tying drive in the Super Bowl, and said the Wolverines should keep that sort of play – an outlier, as he called it – in mind.

“The point with the Super Bowl catch was that Edelman, he willed that catch,” Beilein said Wednesday. “We have to will stuff to happen. You have to work hard. I really stressed the outlier things, too.”

Michigan’s road from the bubble to the Sweet 16 continues Thursday night with a game against third-seeded Oregon.

Since the Super Bowl, the Wolverines are 12-2, including a sweep through the Big Ten tournament that secured their spot in the NCAAs.