The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 101 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL WALTON SAYS MICHIGAN IS READY FOR A RUN The Wolverines put themselves into what appeared to be a deep hole with a 70-66 home loss against Ohio State Feb. 4. The disheartening defeat plunged U-M to 4-6 in Big Ten play, with games against Michigan State and at Indiana dead ahead. The Wolverines bounced back to win both of those, and following an- other sterling effort to help his team earn a rare jewel — a victory at As- sembly Hall — senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. couldn't help but look ahead. "We just needed to get back to playing the game with passion and letting everything else take care of it- self," Walton said after the 75-63 vic- tory at IU. "Getting back to that form makes us a 10 times better team." Walton noted the Wolverines are coaching each other up at the defen- sive end, embracing an area that has been the Achilles heel for this group. BASKETBALL REWIND: JAN. 17-FEB. 14 Record From Jan. 17-Feb. 14: 4-3 Season Record: 16-9 overall, 6-6 Big Ten Best Win — 86-57 over Michigan State, Feb. 7: There's definitely room for de- bate on this one, especially given a win at Assembly Hall in the same time span. The counterpoint to that pick is simply this: Indiana isn't its normal self this season. The Wolverines flat-out destroyed the Hoosiers 90-60 in Crisler Center Jan. 26, so it wasn't a shocker to see them manage the regular-season sweep, even in Bloomington. By contrast, the Wolverines entered the showdown with the Spartans having been written off by many. They'd already lost at MSU (70-62) and were coming off the disheartening home loss to a sub-par Ohio State team (70-66). They'd been beaten up badly on the boards, and the Spartans promised more of the same treatment. Instead, Michigan unleashed a nightmare for the Spartans in the first half, connecting on 75 percent of its shots (21 of 28) and running away for a 55-29 halftime lead. Michigan State never mounted a serious charge in the second half, due in part to 21 turnovers forced by the Wolverines. Senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. led the charge in the Spartan smackdown, scor- ing 20 points, dishing out eight assists and grabbing five rebounds. Sophomore center Moritz Wagner poured in 19 points and snared six rebounds, and junior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 16 points and three assists. "Give them credit," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "They had a purpose … give Walton credit. I think he's playing the best basketball of his career. I think this game was the most important thing in his life, and that's what it's got to be." Worst Loss — 70-66 to Ohio State at Crisler Center, Feb. 2: Walton showed up, but he didn't have much company in battling the Buckeyes, who entered the game 3-7 in Big Ten play and ripe for the picking. Instead, they plucked away 42 rebounds to Michigan's 24, including 16 offensive boards they turned into 19 second-chance points, and the Wolverines couldn't keep pace. Walton supplied a gritty effort, scoring 25 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and handing out three assists. Abdur-Rahkman added 12 points and seven rebounds. The other six Wolverines in the game managed a combined seven rebounds, and Ohio State — despite 16 turnovers — snuck out of Crisler Center with a win. Marc Loving paced OSU with 17 points, while Jae'Sean Tate and Trevor Thomp- son added 13 each. Thompson paced the assault on the boards, hauling down eight rebounds. Breakout Performer — Derrick Walton Jr.: Walton has certainly backed Izzo's observation about him playing the best basketball of his career. Over the five games culminating in Michigan's road win at Indiana, Walton averaged 23.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, leading the Wolverines in both categories. He also totaled 25 assists during that span and has consistently proven a fiery leader for his team. He talked about stepping it up in terms of getting others going, and he's done so. "This bunch needs to elevate," Walton said following Michigan's win over MSU. "As a leader, I need to push guys a lot more to be more consistent. When you see stuff like this, I know as reporters you're all like, 'Where has this team been?' "It's frustrating. It's frustrating being in it, knowing we can be such a great team and we have nights we just don't bring it. It makes you scratch your head at times." Walton has been etching his name onto the team's MVP trophy, while giving Michigan a chance. Freshman Impact — Xavier Simpson: The rookie guard is finally starting to deliver some quality minutes, helping ease the ball-handling burden on Walton and playing with the toughness Michigan needs. In the home win over Michigan State, Simpson played a solid 12 minutes, scoring seven points, tossing off two assists and grabbing a rebound. He followed that effort up with another 12 minutes at Assembly Hall, in Michigan's 75-63 win over Indiana. Simpson scored two points, made two assists and grabbed two rebounds in that win, along with making a steal. Head coach John Beilein is committed to playing him, and he's responding. — John Borton MICHIGAN BASKETBALL SCHEDULE 2016-17 Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time Nov. 4 Armstrong State! W, 77-49 Nov. 11 Howard* W, 76-58 Nov. 13 IUPUI* W, 77-65 Nov. 17 vs. Marquette^ W, 79-61 Nov. 18 vs. SMU^ W, 76-54 Nov. 23 at South Carolina L, 61-46 Nov. 26 Mount St. Mary's W, 64-47 Nov. 30 Virginia Tech# L, 73-70 Dec. 3 Kennesaw State W, 82-55 Dec. 6 Texas W, 53-50 Dec. 10 at UCLA L, 102-84 Dec. 13 Central Arkansas W, 97-53 Dec. 17 Maryland Eastern Shore W, 98-49 Dec. 22 Furman W, 68-62 Jan. 1 at Iowa L, 86-83 (OT) Jan. 4 Penn State W, 72-69 Jan. 7 Maryland L, 77-70 Jan. 11 at Illinois L, 85-69 Jan. 14 Nebraska W, 91-85 Jan. 17 at Wisconsin L, 68-64 Jan. 21 Illinois W, 66-57 Jan. 26 Indiana W, 90-60 Jan. 29 at Michigan State L, 70-62 Feb. 4 Ohio State L, 70-66 Feb. 7 Michigan State W, 86-57 Feb. 12 at Indiana W, 75-63 Feb. 16 Wisconsin (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at Minnesota (BTN) 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at Rutgers (BTN) 6:30 p.m. Feb. 25 Purdue (ESPN2) 4 p.m. March 1 at Northwestern (BTN) 7 p.m. March 5 at Nebraska (BTN) 8 p.m. March 8-12 Big Ten Tournament$ TBD ! Exhibition; * 2K Classic Ann Arbor regional; ^ 2K Classic championship round at Madison Square Garden in New York; # ACC-Big Ten Challenge; $ at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. SIMPSON