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John Beilein
 

In early October, two weeks after the FBI announced arrests and charges against four assistant basketball coaches and an Adidas executive, Michigan's John Beilein summed up his thoughts the way you might expect.

"I didn't like what happened," Beilein said at the annual Michigan Sports Business Conference. "But I sure didn't lose any sleep that night. And that's a great feeling."

John Beilein

Beilein, after all, is known as the "cleanest" coach in NCAA basketball, according to a survey of his peers, published by CBS Sports.

Now to cap the season in which the FBI's investigation of fraud and corruption in the recruiting process dominated the headlines, Beilein is in the national championship game as his Wolverines face Villanova on Monday night.

The juxtaposition is impossible to ignore.

CBS released the results of its poll before the FBI's probe hit the hit news. The poll asked more than 100 coaches this question: "Who is the high-major coach you genuinely believe does everything by the book and operates completely within the NCAA's rulebook?"

Beilein dominated. He received 26.6 percent of the vote. Among the other coaches, only Mike Brey of Notre Dame managed to crack double digits (10.5 percent).

For whatever it's worth, three other Big Ten coaches placed in the top eight: Greg Gard of Wisconsin (7.6), Chris Holtmann of Ohio State (4.8) and Tom Izzo of Michigan State (4.8).

This is Beilein's second appearance in the national title game. In 2013, the Wolverines lost to Louisville, which fired coach Rick Pitino in October when the school became a focal point in the FBI's probe.

Michigan Basketball Practice

"If people are committing felony crimes in our business, then get them the heck out of our business," Beilein said. "If that's what's happening."

In a recent interview with CBS Sports, Michigan senior Duncan Robinson gave another example, from shortly after the FBI revealed its investigation, of how strong Beilein's reputation is as a coach who follows the rules.

"To be honest with you, it was a cool moment to be part of this program," Robinson said, "because I had some friends playing at other programs."

Those players were being asked lots of questions about the FBI's probe.

"Nobody even reached out to me, 'cause everyone just kind of knows," Robinson said, referring to the standard Beilein has established at Michigan.