The Michigan Wolverines have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season and have a national title within their sights. Should they advance to title game, it would be the third time they’d be playing for a championship the past decade.
For assistant head coach Phil Martelli, that qualifies the Wolverines to be viewed as one of the top programs in the country with the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, and Kentucky.
“I’ve been saying this since I got here. For whatever the reason, Michigan will not get on the top of a building and go East Coast style and shout and tell everybody, ‘This is a blue blood program,'” Martelli said Thursday on the Stoney & Jansen Show.
Of course, Martelli’s statement would be hard to argue. With the most NCAA Tournament wins since 2013 and eight total Final Four appearances, he’s got a point.
“Yes, there are national championships and things like that, but most wins in the tournament over the last stretch of time, two Final Four appearances, four straight Sweet 16’s. That’s a blue blood program,” Martelli said. “And we’re getting better, we’re getting better. I don’t believe that the kind, gentle Midwest ways will ever let them get to the top of a building, but we do have one voice on top of the building yelling, ‘You better take notice, because this is a blue blood program.'”
What will the Wolverines have to do in order to advance to the Elite Eight against Florida State?
“Very challenging matchup,” Martelli said. “It’s my scout so somebody asked me last night, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘I hope we can complete a pass.’ And I don’t mean that tongue in cheek. If we can start our offense by making a pass, because they are so aggressive and stand so far up the floor, if we make the first pass we’re going to be fine. And then at the other end, we have to limit them to one shot.”
– – Quotes via Will Burchfield of Radio.com Link – –
