There weren't many upsets on the first day of the second round of the 2012 NCAA tournament, but Friday has been a different story. Earlier in the day, Missouri, a No. 2 seed, lost to Norfolk State, a No. 15 seed, in a shocking upset. Then, on Friday night, No. 4-seeded Michigan fell to Ohio, a No. 13 seed, by a score of 65-60.
Ohio's upset wasn't nearly as surprising for two big reasons: 1) quite a few people picked the Bobcats to win; and 2) guard D.J. Cooper is a star in the making. He had 21 points and shot lights out for Ohio. Michigan couldn't stop him and paid dearly as a result.
Michigan's downfall in this game was its defensive woes. Ohio shot 51.2 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from behind the arc. Also, in addition to Cooper scoring 21 points, Ohio got 11 points from Walter Offutt, 10 points from Ivo Baltic and 10 points from Reggie Keely.
Michigan had three main scorers in this game. Trey Burke led the way with 16 points after hitting a couple threes late in the game. Evan Smotrycz had 15 and shot 6-of-7 from the field. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 14 points for the Wolverines, but it wasn't enough to avoid the upset.
Michigan's season and the careers of Zack Novak and Stu Douglass are now over. It was definitely a successful regular season for Michigan considering the Wolverines won their first Big Ten title since 1986, but losing in their opening game of the NCAA tournament was a disappointing way for things to come to a close in 2011-12.
More on the Michigan Wolverines can be found at Maize N Brew. For more coverage of the 2012 NCAA tournament, visit SB Nation Detroit's StoryStream. Also, make sure to check out SB Nation's NCAA tournament hub and our printable NCAA tournament bracket.
