The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1513253
JANUARY 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 15 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2019: Michigan men's basketball boosted its record to a gaudy 15- 0, 4-0 in the Big Ten, with a 74-63 win over Indiana at Crisler Center, on Jan. 6, 2019. The Wolverines, ranked No. 2 in the nation, led wire-to-wire, building a 44-29 halftime lead and fending off the No. 21 Hoosiers throughout the second half. Jordan Poole and Charles Matthews paced the Wolverines with 18 points apiece, while Zavier Simpson added 12 and Ignas Brazdeikis tossed in 10. The Hoosiers trailed by only two early in the contest, when U-M — sparked by Poole's step-back three-pointer — surged to a 10-0 run in less than two minutes. The Wolverines poured it on, taking a 23-9 lead and boosting the margin to 15 at the half. Indiana fought back in the second half and fi- nally managed to cut its deficit to single digits, at 57-48, with around 12 minutes remaining. The Wolverines featured more than enough firepower and defense down the stretch to turn back the Hoosiers and remain undefeated. Poole downplayed any fixation on Michigan's flawless 15-0 mark afterward. "We're just worried about getting better," he said. "We rarely talk about our record." 10 YEARS AGO, 2014: No. 21 Michi- gan basketball toppled No. 3 Michigan State in the Spartans' own building on Jan. 25, 2014, posting an 80-75 victory with a huge second-half perfor- mance. The victory in East Lansing made it nine straight wins for the Wolverines, the most recent three against top-10 foes. The Spartans led most of the night, including a 36-30 halftime advantage. But the Wolverines rallied, Caris LeVert tying the score at 53-53 at the 7:45 mark. Jon Horford's layup gave Michigan a 55-54 lead, and after a Spartan surge, Derrick Walton Jr. hit a three to retie the contest at 58. Horford's block on a Keith Appling layup attempt led to a Nik Stauskas three, and a second Horford swat on Appling turned into a three-point play by Walton, giving Michigan a 66-60 lead with 2:29 remaining. A stunned Breslin crowd watched the Spartans foul often in their comeback attempt, but U-M held them off by hitting 14 of 16 free throws down the stretch. Walton paced that effort, connecting on 9 of 10 free throws on his way to 19 points, tying Stauskas for Michigan scoring honors. Stauskas connected on 5 of 6 three-point attempts in front of the hostile crowd, while LeVert scored 17 and secured 8 rebounds. The win put the Wolverines alone atop the Big Ten at 7-0. Stauskas also stepped between U-M coach John Beilein and an official at one point, possibly pre- venting a technical foul. "That's a great step in his leadership," a smiling Beilein said afterward. MSU coach Tom Izzo offered up a rare admission. "The better team won," he said. 25 YEARS AGO, 1999: Lloyd Carr's Big Ten champion Wolverines rallied for a 45-31 win over No. 11 Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl, starting out the new year properly on Jan. 1, 1999. Michi- gan put up 21 points in the final six minutes of the contest to secure the win. Anthony Thomas paced U-M's high-scoring at- tack, rushing for 132 yards and 3 touchdowns on 21 carries. Thomas earned Citrus Bowl MVP hon- ors with his yeoman effort. Tom Brady connected on 14 of 27 passes for 209 yards, including a 21-yard TD toss to DiAllo John- son. Brady also fed 7 completions to Tai Streets, who turned them into another 127 yards for the Wolverines, giving him more than 1,000 on the season. Michigan built a 17-7 lead and increased it to 24-10 at the half, seemingly in control. But Arkan- sas stormed back, scoring a pair of third-quarter touchdowns and taking a 31-24 lead. With their backs against the wall, the Wolverines poured it on. Thomas' 1-yard TD plunge tied the score with 5:49 left, followed by the Brady-to-John- son TD hookup with 2:25 remaining. A pick-six by cor- nerback James Whitley sealed the win with 1:47 left. "This team wanted to finish strong after the dis- appointing [0-2] start we had," Carr said, regarding his 10-3 squad. "This team had a disadvantage in that they were always going to be compared to the 1997 national championship team." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Tom Brady connected on 14 of 27 passes for 209 yards in Michigan's 45-31 win over No. 11 Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 1999. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS