Weve been down on the road just about every time

INDIANAPOLIS -- This time, Jordan Morgan got the ball to bounce the right way -- and Michigan celebrated. A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7.9 seconds left to give No. 8 Michigan a 64-63 victory over Illinois in Fridays Big Ten tournament quarterfinals and a shot at another league championship. "Im telling you -- I probably exaggerate -- 10,000 times, at least 2,000 times in five years Jordan Morgan has run that same drill," coach John Beilein said. "Theres a bag to hit him, you still got to catch it in a crowd and keep it up and dunk it if he can. He said he wanted to add a little drama to the game, so he decided to put it up on the rim. Illinois had a chance to win it when Tracy Abrams drove in for a layup, expecting contact, but the ball hit the front of the rim and bounced off. No foul was called. Its about time something went right for the Wolverines (24-7) in this tournament. Since going 3-0 to win the first title in 1998, Michigan has not won more than one game in the annual tourney. The Wolverines later vacated that tourney title because of NCAA infractions, and Michigan has endured everything from an embarrassing 21-turnover game in a 2006 first-round loss to Evan Turners buzzer-beating 40-foot heave, which gave rival Ohio State a 69-68 quarterfinal win in 2010. Things are supposed to be different this year. After ending a 28-year drought between outright regular-season titles with a win at Illinois last week, Michigan came into this weekend with the No. 1 tourney seed for the first time in school history and with a full head of steam -- six straight wins. But it almost happened again. Michigan blew a 13-point second-half lead, scored just six points in the final 7 1/2 minutes and then wound up getting bailed out by Morgan when Big Ten player of the year changed the play coach John Beilein called in the huddle. "I was looking to be aggressive and raised up to shoot and man, the guy guarding me was still chasing me and the big was chasing me too and J-Mo rolled down the lane and he was wide open," Stauskas said. "I hit him with the ball and he laid it in." The Wolverines usual trio led the way. Stauskas had 19 points despite going 4 of 12 from the field and 2 of 10 on 3-pointers against Illinois zone defence, Glenn Robinson III had 15 points and seven rebounds and Caris LeVert finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Yet it was Morgan, who wound up the star. He made the only two shots he took -- none bigger than the layup he never expected that sent Michigan into Saturdays semifinals against either fourth-seeded Nebraska or fifth-seeded Ohio State, who played in the second quarterfinal of the day. Michigan swept Nebraska this season and won at Ohio State in this seasons only meeting with the Buckeyes. Morgan, who missed the shot that gave Indiana last years outright regular season title, made this one. "As far as catching it, I just put it on the rim and got a nice roll," he said matter-of-factly. Ninth-seeded Illinois (19-14) was on the cusp of pulling off a major upset after finally retaking a 59-58 lead on Rices driving layup with 4:53 left. The Illini allowed just one 3-pointer, one free throw but couldnt stop Morgans layup the rest of the way. Abrams and Rayvonte Rice each finished with 11 points. Kendrick Nunn had 10 points as the Illini lost for only the second time in seven games. "Its obviously an uncontested shot that I probably could make," Abrams said. "We obviously wanted to get that one in and we wanted to win, but there was a lot of other plays that we can account back to that we could have did different or could have got an extra rebound." Illinois zone defence changed game. Following a media timeout with 11:26 left, Stauskas made two free throws to give the Wolverines a 55-44 lead. The Illini answered with 10 straight points and finally took the lead on Rices driving layup with 4:53 left. Michigan tied the score at 61 with 3:10 to go, but all the Wolverines could muster the rest of the way was one free throw from Stauskas until the surprised Morgan got the right roll. "Well, were thrilled to get that win because as you can see, as Illinois has shown in their last six games, how well the program has played after a tough January," Beilein said. "They proved how good they were, and, fortunately, we got some good bounces around the basket to finish the game." Cheap NFL Jerseys Sale . Chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and general manager Sandy Alderson were among those there. The get-together also included sports agent Brodie Van Wagenen, but not Cano. Cheap MLB Jerseys . Theyre just about ready to drop the puck in sunny Southern California. The ice is solid, the fans have bought nearly every ticket, and the two local teams are eager for their historic showdown under the lights and stars. http://www.cheapjerseysfox.us.com/ . -- The NASCAR Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway was rained out Saturday and will be made up as part of a rare doubleheader at the track Sunday. NFL Jerseys Outlet Cheap .Y. - New York Jets rookie safety Calvin Pryor sat out practice while he recovers from a concussion, although coach Rex Ryan says the first-round pick is "making strides. Cheap NFL Jersyes Deals .When Schultz does have a rare shot to score, the defenceman enjoys the chance to cash in.It must be nice to be a goal scorer, he said.SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Trevor Cooney has hit shooting touch back -- just in the nick of time for top-ranked Syracuse. Cooney scored a career-high 33 points, matching a school record with nine 3-pointers, and the Orange beat Notre Dame 61-55 on Monday night in another matchup of former Big East foes. After struggling to a woeful 25.4 per cent (14 of 55) from behind the arc in his first seven Atlantic Coast Conference games, Cooney has hit 11 of 13 in the past two games and was the difference against the Irish as the Oranges front line faltered. "It feels good," Cooney said. "I kind of got going and guys just found me in good spots." Syracuse (22-0, 9-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which moved to No. 1 this week after its scintillating 91-89 overtime victory over Duke on Saturday night and Arizonas loss to California, extended its school record for most consecutive wins to start a season. Notre Dame (12-11, 3-7) has lost seven of nine. Two days after one of the most emotional wins in Jim Boeheims 38 years as head coach, Syracuse played its first game as the nations top team since the 2011-12 season. Two years ago, the Orange were unbeaten and ranked No. 1 when they went to South Bend, and Notre Dame upset them 67-58. It was the eighth time Notre Dame had beaten a No. 1 team and turned out to be Syracuses lone loss of the regular season. "That was in the back of my mind," said C.J. Fair, who had a season-low six points on 2-of-13 shooting after scoring a career-high 28 against Duke. "I didnt want that to happen again." Cooney made sure there was no repeat, hitting five 3-pointers in the first half as the Orange gained a 13-point halftime advantage, then barely held the Irish at bay in the second half. "We put ourselves in position to make it interesting," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "We came into this game, and especially if you watch what they did to Duke, beating them up in the paint. You really try to take stuff away in the paint. I thought overall with the guys that destroy you in the paint we did a good job. But we couldnt do a good job on Cooney. Seven of the nine I think we challenged. He was just in one of those zones, and youve got to take your hat off." Cooney, 9 of 12 from long range, matched the rrecord set by Gerry McNamara in the 2004 NCAA tournament and equaled by Andy Rautins in 2008 and James Southerland in 2012.dddddddddddd. Jerami Grant and Fair, who combined for 54 points against Duke, combined for just 15, while Tyler Ennis found little room in the lane to penetrate and finished with six points and eight assists. Garrick Sherman led Notre Dame with 16 points, Steve Vasturia had 13, and Pat Connaughton 11, while Eric Atkins had nine on 3-of-10 shooting. Notre Dame closed within 38-32 on a 3-pointer from Atkins with 14:19 to play, but Syracuse responded with seven straight points. Grant slammed home a dunk after his block on Sherman and Fair followed with a slam off a Grant miss. Cooney completed the run with his seventh 3-pointer, which tied his personal best. The Irish have four long-range threats in Atkins, Connaughton, Vasturia, and Demetrius Jackson, who had combined for 127 3-pointers on the season entering the game, and Notre Dames long-range attack came alive in the second half after going 1 of 6 in the first 20 minutes. Two 3-pointers by Atkins, Vasturias three-point play and a slam dunk by Tom Knight moved the Irish back within 43-40 with 8:41 to go. Grant responded with a spinning drive through the lane and Cooney hit another 3. Grant then fed Cooney for a reverse layup and three-point play and Cooney hit his ninth 3 for a 54-44 lead with 4:14 to play. Notre Dame refused to wilt, pulling back to 54-49 on Connaughtons three-point play at 2:52. "Thats who this group is," Brey said. "We havent been able to get over the hump and win enough. Weve been down on the road just about every time, and we come back and give ourselves a chance. I love that about us. If we keep doing that enough, I think well get a couple of them." Grants layup off a feed from Ennis and two free throws by Ennis boosted the lead back to eight, and the Orange made it interesting when Ennis and Fair each missed the front end of 1-and-1s in the final minute. Atkins missed a floater and Connaughton was off on a 3-point attack in the final seconds. "I had a look and missed, which would have been a really big shot for us," Atkins said. "That was a huge play. But they played great. They made plays when they were needed." cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '