The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1531518
FEBRUARY 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 15 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS FIVE YEARS AGO, 2020: Zavier Simpson's 16 points and 8 assists led Michigan men's basketball past Mich- igan State, 77-68, on Feb. 8, 2020. A Crisler Center crowd cheered on the Wolverines, who made 11 three-pointers and 18 of 23 free throws in the win. Isaiah Livers scored 14 points, Eli Brooks 11 and Davis DeJulius 10, more than offsetting the 20 points MSU's Cassius Winston poured in. U-M sur- rendered 0 three-pointers in the first half and only 6 for the game, while swatting away a half-dozen Spartan shots. Simpson's 3 first-half three-pointers got the Wolverines off to a hot start, and they led 25-15 with five minutes left in the first half. U-M maintained a 29- 23 advantage at the break. MSU came out hot in the second half, twice cutting the home team's edge to a single point. On both occasions, Brooks swelled the cushion with a three-pointer. Following an MSU flagrant foul and subsequent free throws, Michigan again led by 10, 56-46, with 7:16 left. The Wolverines' 83.3 percent free throw shooting kept the Spartans at bay for the rest of the game. Livers returned after sitting out sev- eral weeks with an injury, and noted: "We needed it, a lot. A lot of downers. A lot of games that came down to free throws … little stuff we did at the end of a game was like, 'Damn! We almost had it.' "We put a lot of work in. It was good for us to see all the work we put in the gym actually works out on the court during game time. I was very happy for that." 10 YEARS AGO, 2015: Michigan basketball snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Ohio State at home on Feb. 22, 2015, 64-57. The Wolverines never trailed in the game, leading by as many as 20 points. Spike Albrecht paced Michigan with 16 points, while Zak Irvin scored 15 with 7 rebounds and a career-high 4 assists. Irvin drained a three-pointer to open the contest, igniting a 7-0 run out of the gate by Michigan, and the Wolverines never looked back. U-M eventually led 31-11, and was up by 16, 39-23, at the break. The Buckeyes did try to answer, scor- ing 14 straight points to pull within three, 49-46. Irvin's three put an end to that run, and the Wolverines held off the Buckeyes the rest of the way. "This felt like a rivalry game," Al- brecht observed. "The emotion was there." 25 YEARS AGO, 2000: Michigan hockey solidified its lead in the CCHA race, taking down Michigan State at Yost Ice Arena, 4-2, on Feb. 25, 2000. Dave Huntzicker and Mike Cammalleri dazzled the home crowd with unassisted third-period goals to put the Spartans away. Huntzicker picked off an MSU pass, fired from just inside the red line and whizzed his shot just over the head of MSU goaltender Joe Blackburn. The missile found the crossbar, deflecting downward into the net for a 3-2 Michi- gan lead. Cammalleri salted the game away with just over five minutes re- maining. He skated in off another sto- len Spartan pass, faked a shot, drew the puck through the legs of defenseman John-Michael Liles, went to his back- hand and slid a one-handed shot past Blackburn. "That's a complete talent goal," Mich- igan head coach Red Berenson said of Cammalleri's spectacular effort. "That's why you recruit a kid. You don't expect him to be able to do that in such a crucial moment in a big game, but he can do it." — John Borton THIS MONTH IN MICHIGAN ATHLETICS HISTORY Zavier Simpson led Michigan to a 77-68 win over Michigan State on Feb. 8, 2020. The point guard scored 16 points and added 8 assists in the victory. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN