The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1212135
84 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2020 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL "That's special," head coach Ju- wan Howard said after the game, unaware of the record. "It says a lot about them being able to be consid- ered a winner. They've won Big Ten titles. They've been to the NCAA championship game. They have a ton of experience. "They've been a part of the big mo- ments, but they have worked hard to get to that moment, with all the countless hours of working hard on their game individually and also being coached by a great coach in Coach [John] Beilein." Howard brought them up again in the Indiana postgame, and he had both Teske and Simpson say some words to the team in the postgame locker room. As usual, the humble Teske didn't say much, teammates said. "Sleep [Teske's nickname], man, he's not the loudest on the court. You don't hear him talking a lot," junior Isaiah Livers said. "But behind the scenes, he's a real good big brother and I haven't told him that. I prob- ably should tell him that. "Zavier, I didn't know what col- lege basketball was until I ran into that dude. My first open gym he was yelling at me because I let [former Wolverine] Duncan Robinson hit two threes. I'm like, 'What am I supposed to do?' And then I realized at the col- lege level, scouting is serious. You can't just allow players to get off, es- pecially Duncan Robinson, probably the best shooter to ever come out of Michigan. That's when I woke up and was like, 'OK — I'd better pick it up or Zavier is going to be on me all four years that I'm here.'" That the two broke the record to- gether was perfectly appropriate, sophomore David DeJulius said. "To see how well they play with each other, especially off the pick- and-roll, and just to see the mental- ity that they have and their leader- ship role in practice, it's something that not only myself but the rest of the team feeds off of," DeJulius said. "These two years have been nothing short of amazing, just to see the ap- proach that they have, the winning mentality that they have. "It's big shoes to follow going for- ward when they leave. Right now, I'm just appreciating those guys for being here." — Chris Balas MISCELLANEOUS NOTES All statistics as of Feb. 17 • When Michigan lost three straight home games to Penn State, Illinois and Ohio State from Jan. 22 through Feb. 4, it marked the program's first three-con- test losing streak at Crisler Center since the 2014-15 campaign (three straight setbacks to New Jersey Institute of Technology, Eastern Michigan and SMU from Dec. 6-20). • Senior guard Zavier Simpson missed U-M's win at Nebraska Jan. 28 due to suspension, marking the first game he'd ever missed as a member of the pro- gram. His absence snapped a stretch of 135 consecutive appearances, though he is still on pace to become the school's all-time leader in games played. The Lima, Ohio, native's 140 ca- reer tilts rank fourth on the school's all- time list, trailing only Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman's (2014-18) 144, and Zak Irvin's (2013-17) and Jordan Mor- gan's (2009-14) 142. • U-M's 69-63 triumph over Rutgers Feb. 1 in Madison Square Garden marked the Wolverines' 10th consecu- tive win in the historic venue. The win- ning streak is highlighted by Michigan's run to the 2018 Big Ten Tournament title there, when it took down Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan State and Purdue to claim its second straight conference tournament crown. U-M last lost (to Duke) at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 21, 2008. • The Wolverines held Michigan State to just 33.3 percent shooting in their 77-68 triumph Feb. 8 at Crisler Center, marking the Spartans' worst offensive showing of the year and their third worst in their last 100 games (dating back to the start of the 2017-18 season). The only two affairs MSU shot worse in were last at in the Final Four against Texas Tech (31.9 percent) and versus Syracuse in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament (25.8 percent). • Michigan's 79-54 win at Northwest- ern Feb. 12 was tied for the program's eighth-largest margin of victory on the road since the 1991-92 season. The only seven that were bigger were a 93-57 blowout at Nebraska in 2017, an 84-53 romp at Illinois in 2014, a 94-66 beat- down at Northwestern in 2013, an 80-52 pummeling at Ball State in 1995, a 73-46 thrashing at Villanova in 2018, a 77-50 obliteration at Northwestern in 1996 and a 100-74 smothering at Detroit in 1991. • U-M's 89-65 victory over Indiana Feb. 16 was its seventh consecutive win over the Hoosiers, marking a new program record for the Maize and Blue. Prior to the seven-game victorious stretch, Michigan's most consecutive wins over IU occurred when it won five in a row from 1930-33. The 24-point beatdown was also tied for U-M's fourth-largest margin of victory ever against the Hoo- siers, spanning 170 meetings in a series that dates back to 1918. — Austin Fox Michigan held archrival Michigan State to 33.3 percent shooting in its 77-68 victory Feb. 8, marking the Spartans' worst effort of the year and third-worst in their last 100 games. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL