In Michigan's last game, they had all they could handle against
Pitt. Michigan was able to pull away in the later segments of the game to secure a win, but the Wolverines will definitely be looking to avoid such a close finish in their NIT Championship game against Kansas State. This game has a few interesting story lines but perhaps the most intriguing is the return of Bruce Weber. Weber coached Illinois for the last 9 seasons, winning the Big Ten Championship twice, making the NCAA Tournament 6 times, the Sweet Sixteen twice, the national championship game in 2005, and holding a record of 5-5 against Beilein during that his tenure in Champaign.
Of course, Weber is now at Kansas State and his time at Illinois is in the past. The Wildcats have actually been pretty consistent over the last few years. Former coach Frank Martin decided to leave for South Carolina during the offseason, but he had secured 5 straight NCAA Tournament berths, a few solid tourney runs, and brought back a talented lineup for this season. Personally, I'm not completely sure why he left, but the bottomline is that it leaves Weber in a pretty good place for his first season.
