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Michigan's season came to an end on Sunday night, but not without a fight. The Wolverines made play after play in the final ten minutes even though they were brutally beaten on the boards in the second half. Overall, the Wildcats outrebounded the Wolverines by 11. This played a major factor in the game as Kentucky had multiple easy put back dunks. It was also this lack of low post presence that led to many easy post play baskets by Julius Randle and Dakari Johnson
The deciding points in the game not surprisingly came within the final minute. Michigan had the ball and just under one minute to play. Stauskas drove the lane and then a flurry of offensive rebounds and missed three pointers ultimately resulted in a put back by Jordan Morgan. Kentucky had the ball with 27 seconds and eventually waited till the final seconds to win the game.
After Caris LeVert used their last foul to give, Kentucky inbounded the basketball. It was then handed off to Aaron Harrison who then waited and shot a long contested three pointer. It was nothing but net and the Wolverines only had just under three seconds left to play. Michigan's final play didn't work out as Nik Stauskas missed a desperation three and the season was officially over.
Nik Stauskas came up big scoring 24 points, while Caris LeVert scored just nine points. LeVert might have only scored nine points, but he came up big in the second half with many great defensive plays.
Kentucky was lead by Julius Randle as he had a big game scoring 16 points and rebounding 11. Aaron Harrison had a rough first half, but came out big in the second. He made four 3 pointers with his last being the game winner. It was all the freshman did that game, but they were huge shots that catapulted them to victory.
With Michigan's season now over, there are many questions to be asked. Who will declare for the draft? Is there any way Nik Stauskas stays for one more season? If Glenn Robinson III and Stauskas declare for the draft, can Zak Irvin fill one of their shoes? The offseason will surely be a long one, but it will play key into the 2014-2015 season for Michigan.