By JOSH NEWMAN
NEW YORK – Three days after NJIT registered a massive upset of then-No. 17 Michigan at Crisler Arena, not much has changed. The Highlanders are still winning, while the Wolverines are still losing at home to teams they shouldn’t lose to.
In Ann Arbor Tuesday night, the Wolverines followed up their unthinkable loss to NJIT by falling again at home, 45-42, to Eastern Michigan. The loss marked Michigan’s first back-to-back non-conference losses since November 2010 (Syracuse, UTEP) and first back-to-back losses since February 2013 (Wisconsin, Michigan State).
“Anytime you beat Michigan, especially on its home floor, it’s a huge deal,” EMU head coach Rob Murphy told MLive Media Group beat writer Brendan Quinn. “We did a great job from start to finish not letting Michigan get comfortable.”
The kicker?
Michigan paid out $172,000 to NJIT and Eastern Michigan to pay the game, according to beat writer Brendan Quinn.
Meanwhile, 700 miles east in Newark, Damon Lynn scored a game-high 22 points, including two tie-breaking free throws with 1:13 to play to help NJIT outlast St. Francis Brooklyn, 68-66. At the conclusion, fans stormed the floor at the Fleisher Athletic Center, which seats all of 1,100 people and only has seats behind one sideline.
Saturday’s win by NJIT, which is the lone Division I independent made national headlines and even caused a spike in Highlanders gear being sold from the school’s bookstore. Not coincidentally, much of that gear was sold to Michigan State, Ohio State and Indiana fans in an effort to mock their rival.
While NJIT has to travel to Holy Cross on Friday, Michigan has the unenviable task of trying to right the ship against No. 3 Arizona on Saturday night is Tuscon.
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