NJIT upsets No. 16 Michigan 72-70
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For years, Jim Engles has only heard no.
No, you can't be in our conference.
No, we won't come to your arena.
No, you can't play us, a ranked team.
No, your team doesn't have a chance to win.
After Saturday, when his New Jersey Institute of Technology team came into Crisler Center and knocked off No. 16 Michigan, 72-70, that last one is no longer valid.
"I may appreciate winning more than anybody in the country," said Engles, NJIT's coach for the past seven years, including a 51-game losing streak, after the program transitioned to Division I in 2006-07. "It's hard to win one game. Because I inherited a program where winning wasn't a given and when we win, I appreciate it. During a game, I am not expecting to win until the game is over with."
His team (3-5) apparently had more confidence than he did in the program's first game against a ranked opponent.
Shooting 58.7% from the field and 65% from three-point range, it was ideal execution for the Highlanders down the stretch, confident they could play with Michigan (6-2). It showed as guard Damon Lynn dropped wild corner three-pointers, finishing with 20 points, and his teammates attacked the basket.
"We knew for a fact coming into the game, they had multiple guys that could make shots," said U-M guard Derrick Walton Jr., who scored 16 points. "We had mental lapses on defense where we left guys that were really good shooters open. Down the stretch, guys for them just made big time plays for them when they needed to."
On the other side, the 24½-point favorite Michigan was simply a one-man band. Until the final seconds, it was the Caris LeVert show.
He was magnificent, scoring 25 of his career-high 32 in the second half, scoring six of Michigan's last seven baskets and 15 of 17 points as they made their final push.
It was an All-America display but one on five – low-lighted by Zak Irvin's 2-of-11 shooting -- wasn't enough.
"He did so many things out there," U-M coach John Beilein said. "Big shots now. It is tough when they answer and you've got to answer and they answer and you've got to do it again and they answer. I love his growth right now. All our other guys, the guys that have the experience, certainly didn't have as good a night as he did.
"But that was sensational. If you like watching great one-on-one players, between Caris and Lynn, that was quite a show."
But certainly one the Wolverines would avoid the rest of Saturday, one of those nights to dodge SportsCenter fearing the scorn.
"We're on this national stage, you've got to react both ways," Beilein said. "When you beat a team like Syracuse (on Tuesday), you say, OK, that's good but this is no different than what Connecticut's got to do as well, with Yale beating them in their home state (Friday). A lot of people probably didn't know New Jersey Tech was Division I… This is something that is humbling and we've got to go through that humility."
For NJIT, it's the top of the world.
"This wasn't in my game plan," Engles said. "Coming into the season, I sort of penciled this one as an L. So I'm going to have to readjust my whole process here. We just beat Michigan, maybe we should be in the top 25."
He was joking, with his team playing its best game and most of U-M struggling and still the Highlanders only won by two points.
But the message was clear, he wants more respect for his team.
"We're trying to get in the America East or the Northeast Conference? I want to get in the Big Ten now. How 'bout opening a spot for us?" Engles said.
He grinned but felt Saturday should help open a door, pointing out his team shouldn't be the only independent, saying "we're not Notre Dame football."
For Beilein, whose team led by five at halftime but allowed a 13-0 NJIT second-half run to let the lead slip away, the reality of his young team is apparent.
"I didn't sense that we looked past the team at all," Beilein said. "We had a bad night and let it bother us."
Mark Snyder covers the Michigan Wolverines for the Detroit Free Press.
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