Finally, a team appreciates the NCAA's thriftiness.
The No. 7-seeded Michigan basketball team will bus to Indianapolis for Friday's NCAA Tournament matchup against No. 10 seed Oklahoma State.
The trip will come exactly a week after the Wolverines were evacuated from a plane accident at Willow Run Airport while on their way to the Big Ten tournament.
"Sometimes, if it's a four-hour trip, some people might complain that we're not flying, (that) we've got to get four hours in a bus," Beilein said Monday on WXYT-FM (97.1)'s "Jamie and Stoney" show. "We would have done it, probably, anyway. The NCAA will not fly you if it's within four hours. But I don't think we'll have any issues with taking the bus down there."
Beilein had said on WTKA-AM (1050) earlier Monday that the Wolverines likely will leave in the middle of the afternoon Wednesday. Michigan will have its open practice from 1:30-2:10 p.m. Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
His plan for this week is to give his players some rest after playing four games in four days en route to the Big Ten tournament title in Washington, D.C.
"Make sure the major-minute guys get two days off their legs right now," Beilein said on WTKA. "That's five games in eight days, four in a row. Take two days of recovery. We did this twice this year when we had a touch of a break _ Derrick (Walton Jr.), Zak (Irvin), Muhammad (Ali Abdur-Rahkman), D.J. (Wilson), his motor's always running, too. Get those two days off. We won't do anything except lift some weights and get massages and do everything they can for recovery."
Beilein knows what the environment will feel like. U-M played in the NCAA regional in Indianapolis in 2014.
"We love that city _ I love that city. Easier travel for our Michigan fans to get down there, great atmosphere with both Kentucky and Louisville there," Beilein said. "So it'll be a great atmosphere."
