The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2020 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2015: The Wol- verines overcame a nine-point deficit with under nine minutes remaining, rallying in a 62-57 battle over Minne- sota at Crisler Center Jan. 10. Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton Jr. scored 15 points each to help Michi- gan hold off the Gophers, with Zak Ir- vin and Ricky Doyle tossing in 12 each. The foursome scored all but eight of Michigan's game-winning tally. Garbed in special uniforms com- memorating U-M's 1989 national championship squad, the Wolverines trailed 49-40 with 8:56 left. Michigan rode a 22-8 finish to come away with the win. A three-point play by Doyle drew U-M within two (49-47) with 6:56 re- maining, and moments later, Walton dropped a three-pointer from the cor- ner to put the Wolverines ahead 54-52. Three LeVert free throws gave Michi- gan the cushion to keep the Gophers at bay the rest of the way. "You have to just watch this team and enjoy the progression," head coach John Beilein said. "We're going to shoot ourselves in the foot many times over the year and then have to come back. It's just going to be part of it. The adversity is going to make us better, so down the road we'll learn to do this and we could lose. "It makes it a little harder, but we'll really break down that film and show them that we can't put ourselves in this position. At the same time, whether you're home or away, you re- ally have an opportunity to win every game if you just hang in there and stay solid. Just don't get dumb trying to get 10 points at a time." 10 YEARS AGO, 2010: Michigan buried Indiana 69-45 Jan. 14 with an overwhelming performance at Crisler. Manny Harris (21 points and six re- bounds) and DeShawn Sims (20 points and eight rebounds) led the way for Beilein's crew in the dismantling of the Hoosiers. The Wolverines led only 27-21 at the half, but Harris' 17-point second half spurred his team in the runaway. U- M's second-half effort included a 21-2 sprint to the finish against a tiring crew of Hoosiers. Indiana shot 1 of 15 from beyond the three-point arc, and managed only one double-figure scorer. The Wolver- ines, meanwhile, shot 56.0 percent in the second half to end any hopes for a comeback by the visitors. 25 YEARS AGO, 1995: Michigan nailed down a rare victory at Indiana's infamous Assembly Hall, Steve Fisher's Wolverines escaping with a 65-52 win Jan. 24. The Wolverines put four players in double figures, led by 13 each from Ray Jackson and Maceo Baston. Mau- rice Taylor added 11 and Jimmy King 10 for the visitors, who limited Indiana to 37.7-percent shooting. The Hoosiers hit 5 of 13 three-pointers, and went 7 of 12 at the free throw line, almost unheard of in their home arena. "Usually, Indiana can beat you to death from the outside, but they've struggled with that this season, as we all know," Fisher noted. Bob Knight certainly knew. "I don't have any pretense that we're a national contender," Knight said af- ter the game. "I'd just like to see us develop an attitude toward play that makes us as good as we can be … not game by game, but possession by pos- session. Then it would be interesting to see what kind of team we have." By then, even Knight's attitude to- ward the game appeared to be sliding south. "I hate the clock and the three-point shot," he groused. "I wish I had retired seven years ago and wouldn't have to put up with that … because I don't even like the game." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton Jr. (above) each posted 15 points to help the Wolverines rally over Minnesota in a 62-57 win on Jan. 10, 2015, when Michigan wore special uni- forms to commemorate the school's 1989 national championship team. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL