The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FEBRUARY 2023 THE WOLVERINE 15 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2018: Michigan knocked off No. 8 Ohio State in men's basketball, 74-62, at Crisler Center on Feb. 18, 2018. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Jordan Poole paced the Wolverines with 17 and 15 points, respectively. The Wolverines' victory left both teams at 22-7, U-M holding the upper hand in this one throughout the second half. Zavier Simpson added 13 points and Moe Wagner 12 with 7 rebounds for the home team, which shot 57 percent (13-for-23) in the second half and turned the ball over only seven times in the game. Ohio State's Jae'Sean Tate led all scorers with 20, but the Buckeyes featured only one other scorer in double figures and shot a miserable 47.4 percent (9- for-19) at the free throw line. The Wolverines used an 11-2 run, sparked by a Poole three-pointer, to es- tablish a 26-18 lead at 5:19 of the first half. U-M finished out the half up 33-28, having forced OSU into 9 turnovers those first 20 minutes. The Buckeyes cut the lead to 2 points in the first three minutes of the second half, but they were never able to get on top. Abdur-Rahkman's triple gave the Wolverines their first double-digit lead, 65-53, with 3:15 left, and free throw shooting held the Buckeyes off. "We needed some magic in a bottle to get ourselves going in the first half, and Jordan Poole gave us some of that," U-M coach John Beilein said. "It was a great, great team effort for our team in every way." 10 YEARS AGO, 2013: The Wolverines took down No. 10 Ohio State in overtime, 76-74, to move to 21-2 on Feb. 5, 2013, at Crisler Center. Tim Hardaway Jr. not only led the Wolverines with 23 points, he blocked a final, desperate shot on a drive by OSU's Aaron Craft to seal the win. Trey Burke's three-pointer to open the overtime period proved the difference in a 4-2 extra session. Burke missed a three-pointer that would have settled things in regulation, but he made up for it with his eventual game winner. He scored 16 points with 8 assists, while Mitch McGary scored 14, Nik Stauskas 11 and Glenn Robinson III 10. The Buckeyes, paced by Deshaun Thomas' 17 points, held a tenuous 31-30 advantage at the half. The Buckeyes built a 7-point lead early in the second half, before the Wolverines clawed their way back. The home team nailed a red-hot 58 percent (14 of 24) from beyond the arc to lift its fortunes, moving to 8-2 in Big Ten play. "I saw the ball in my face, so I just tried to wrap it up," Hardaway said of Craft's final drive. "Probably got his arm or something like that, but like I said, it's up to the refs to call that call, and they let it go." 25 YEARS AGO, 1998: Red Berenson's hockey team scored four final- period goals to take down Lake Superior State 4-1 on Feb. 7, 1998. The Wolverines (23-6-1) found themselves shut out over the first two peri- ods but came alive to pepper the net for a victory in the decisive third. "Their defense really had to work hard to contain our forwards, and I think it was just a matter of time before we got the break we needed," Berenson said. The Wolverines trailed 1-0 following a first-period goal by the Lakers' Jason Sessa. But Michigan tied it when Scott Matzka's rebound deflected off Geoff Koch's skate and into the net. Matt Herr followed with a backhand shot for a goal and the lead less than two minutes later, and the Wolverines broke the door down against Lake Su- perior's clutching defense. — John Borton MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Women's basketball fifth-year senior guard Leigha Brown: Brown was named Big Ten Player of the Week Dec. 27, after helping Michi- gan to a 76-68 win over No. 6 North Carolina at the Jumpman Invitational Dec. 20. It was the second weekly honor of her career and first this season. Brown tallied a game- high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals against the Tar Heels. She scored 13 of her points on 4-for-4 shooting from the floor and a 3-for-3 showing from distance in the first quarter. Men's gymnastics freshman Landen Blixt: The Fowlerville, Mich., product was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week following U- M's wins over Greenville and Simpson Jan. 7 in his first-ever college meet. He won the all-around com- petition with an 80.400 score and took the win on floor exercise with a mark of 13.80. Blixt placed in the top three in three other events, scoring a 13.85 on pommel horse, a 14.15 on vault and a 13.45 on still rings. Men's track and field senior Nick Foster: The distance runner placed fourth in the 1,000-meter run at the Wolverine In- vitational Jan. 7, running a career-best 2.22.35. He was ranked second na- tionally for the 1,000 me- ters at the time. The honor marked his first Big Ten Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week nod and was the Wol- verines' first since Dec. 9, 2015 (Nate Chap- man). Wo m e n's t r a c k a n d field sophomore Riley Ammenhauser: Ammen- hauser placed first in the triple jump at the Wol- verine Invitational Jan. 7, p o s t i n g a c a re e r - b e s t 12.79 meters. She ranked second in the nation in the triple jump at that time. The honor was her first career Big Ten Women's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week selection. — Clayton Sayfie THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY