Brandon's Pick: Reveling In Michigan's 62-59 Upset Win Over Clemson

Michigan pulled off a slight upset over Clemson in the 7-10 matchup in the 2009 NCAA tournament.

March 19, 2009, Kansas City: No. 10 Michigan drew Clemson in the 7-10 matchup of the first round of the NCAA tournament and a pretty good game was expected. Normally, that kind of opponent is just another team in different jerseys, but not for me.

At the time, I was living in Pendleton, S.C., a small town just five minutes from Clemson's campus. I was teaching seventh grade science at Riverside Middle School in a sea of Clemson Tiger fans. Students, parents, other staff members — all knew that I was a Michigan fan and were all draped in orange and purple on Thursday at school the day of the game. 

Michigan and Clemson were set to tip at 7:10 pm that night so there was a good bit of trash talking that took place throughout the day. If you can make out the 11-year old footage, take a look at some of the highlights from the game.

At one point in the game, Michigan had a 16-point lead over Clemson but the Tigers clawed back into it with a 14-0 run of its own. With just 49 seconds left to play, U-M was up just 58-57. Manny Harris took the ball to the rack and scored through a foul with just 37 seconds left. Harris knocked down the free throw to complete the and-one. Michigan dropped in one more free throw, while Clemson scored again giving U-M the 62-59 upset win over the Tigers.

I strolled back into school the next morning with a grin and a glow that rubbed all of those Clemson fans the wrong way. At our school, the entire student body and staff convened in the gym for morning announcements. I proudly walked in sporting a throwback Michigan basketball t-shirt to a roar of boos. The game obviously ended up being a very tight contest, but it was extremely memorable for me because of where I was living at the time. 

What was your favorite first-round NCAA tournament Michigan victory?