The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/279958
MICHIGAN BASKETBALL regular-season sweep between the schools, but featured more than enough firepower to do so. Sopho- more Nik Stauskas poured in 25 points and added five assists, while classmate Caris LeVert tossed in 23 points, and Glenn Rob- inson III added 15 with five rebounds. T h e W o l v e r i n e s n e e d e d a s i g n a t u re win to propel them to the conference champi- onship, and secured it in front of their home crowd. Worst Loss — 69-55 against Michigan State at Bankers Life Field- house: The finale of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis went sour from the opening sequence, when both of Michigan's big men headed to the bench with foul trouble. After that, it was no holds barred, and MSU bullied its way to a 69-55 win. Michigan shot only 31.8 percent, against the sort of clutch-and-grab chicaner y that would have made some old Philadelphia Flyers teams proud. MSU proved the more desper- ate team, securing its lone win of the season versus the Wolverines, while the latter quickly looked ahead to NCAA Tournament play. Breakout Per former — Glenn Robinson III: Robinson has struggled with his shot at times this season, but down the stretch in Big Ten play, he came up with the magic touch in the most opportune moments. In front of his home-state crowd at Purdue's Mackey Arena, Robin- son leapt high to snag a l o n g, c ro s s - c o u n t inbounds pass, then s co re d a b a n k s h o t game-winner to lift the Wolverines over the Boilermakers in over- time, 77-76. U-M had to come from 19 down to win that game, and Robinson's 17 points led the way for the Wolver- ines. Then in the home fi- nale against Indiana, R o b i n s o n 's t h r e e - p o i n t e r d o w n t h e stretch proved the back- breaker for the Hoosiers in Michigan's 84-80 win at Crisler. Impact Freshman: Zak Irvin con- tinues to provide instant offense for the Wolverines. He was averaging 6.8 points in 15.6 minutes of action per game. Plus, heading into the NCAA Tournament, Irvin ranked as the sec- ond-best three-point shooter (41.8 percent) on the team. Irvin's 56 triples stood second on the team behind only Stauskas' 80, mak- ing the freshman someone for the opposition to be instantly wary over on the defensive end of the floor. Game To Watch — Wofford vs. Michigan, March 20: It's all about the Big Dance, and it's on. — John Borton Freshman Zak Irvin was averaging 6.8 points in 15.6 minutes of action per game h e a d i n g i n t o t h e N C A A Tournament, and he ranked as the second-best three- point shooter (41.8 percent) on the team. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL