He went for a walk down the Arkansas River. He paced the hotel. And when he arrived at the arena, he paced more.
Michigan had a long day Thursday in Wichita. A lot of waiting. A lot of thinking. A lot of anticipation.
"I think I had 15,000 steps on my watch today," Michigan coach John Beilein said shortly after midnight inside the Intrust Bank Center. "We'll do it again Saturday night."
Saturday night is the most important game because it's the next one. No. 3 Michigan drew the NCAA tournament nightcap Thursday against No. 14 Montana. The Wolverines waited to play all day, and then waited longer when the early game between Houston and San Diego State ran long, pushing Michigan's start time from 8:50 p.m. local time to 9:26 p.m.
Two and a half hours, a lengthy shot clock delay and an odd experience later, Michigan put the finishing touches on a 61-47 win over the Grizzlies to advance to the second round Saturday. The Wolverines will play No. 6-seeded Houston (9:40 p.m. ET, TBS) for a shot at the Sweet 16.
"Definitely a weird day," Michigan sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson said. "I'm not sure what it was. But a weird day. I'm glad we got through it.
"Because the weird days are the scariest days."
Make no mistake, Montana did everything in its power to scare the Wolverines through the game's opening four minutes.
Moritz Wagner was whistled for a travel after the jump ball. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman was whistled for a foul nine seconds into the game. And Simpson, a defensive leader who rarely fouls, found himself headed to the bench with two fouls and his team suddenly staring at a 10-0 deficit before most of the building had found its seat.
All the waiting Thursday combined with the Wolverines' 11-day layoff seemed like it was crashing together at once and Michigan was a mess.
If there's one thing this team has accomplished this year, it's the ability to play with poise. No matter the situation.
"I liked our composure at that time," Beilein said. "Myself, I thought that was the time the team needed the coaching staff to be really composed.
"It was just something we had to fight through."
Michigan fought through its brutal start with the help of some unlikely heros, as fifth-year senior point guard Jaaron Simmons came off the bench to deliver six points in 11 first-half minutes as Simpson's sub.
Simmons came to Michigan as a graduate transfer from Ohio, with hopes of leading the Wolverines to the tournament as a starting point guard. That didn't happen, but the coaching staff has applauded his positive attitude throughout the season, insisting there would be a day where the team would need him.
Thursday was it. And Simmons delivered.
"Survive and advance and we're on to the next day," Simmons said. "To be able to help my team get some points on the board when we were struggling, that was big.
"I'm always prepared from the jump ball because anything can happen. ... I was prepared, I was ready, I was confident going in and I was able to help."
Simmons fought through Montana's physical, aggressive defense for three layups in traffic to help kick-start a stagnant offense that struggled to adjust early.
The Grizzlies rushed every high ball screen Michigan threw at them, something the Wolverines were prepared for entering the game. Montana wanted to take away Wagner's open looks in the pick and pop game while pressuring the lead ball handler into a rushed decision.
Michigan fell into traps plenty early, but after Simmons and Charles Matthews (20 points, 11 rebounds) were able to break free for a few buckets, Michigan found space by rotating the ball from the high post to open cutters underneath the basket for easy looks.
They fell behind 10-0, but entered halftime up 31-28. And despite a roughly 11-minute delay during the early portion of the second half due to a clock malfunction, Michigan answered Montana's surge by outscoring the Grizzlies 44-20 over the next 26 minutes.
Defensively, Michigan prevented Montana from having any hope. The Grizzlies went nearly 10 minutes without a point and shot 1-for-14 to start the second half.
"Rusty, call it whatever you want," said Wagner, who collected five points and six rebounds in 32 minutes. "That shouldn't be a reason, though. We're going to look at it for sure over the next 48 hours."
A scary day, a weird day, but a victorious day. Players compared Thursday's game to the sluggish performance they had during their opening game of the Big Ten tournament against Iowa in New York earlier this month. Things worked out well there and the Wolverines are hoping for a similar result.
Still, Michigan knows it has to get itself right, as Houston used 39 points from senior guard Rob Gray to gain a 67-65 win over No. 11 seed San Diego State earlier Thursday.
Michigan will go through practice and film Friday in Wichita before settling in for another long one Saturday as the Houston game will tip roughly 30 minutes after Kansas and Seton Hall conclude their 7:10 p.m. tilt.
More pacing. More naps. More waiting.
But for Michigan, at least the rust is off.
"It was a long day," Beilein said. "We'll do it again Saturday night. But it'll be a little different as we've got a game under (our belt)."
