The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/787035
MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 103 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL "Before each and every game, and in practice, everybody is just locked in," Walton said. "When the defen- sive segments come in practice, ev- erybody is excited, knowing that's the hump we have to get over. "It made for such a great story early in the season. It's getting back to just enjoying playing defense and stopping people." Michigan came out very cold late in the first half and early in the sec- ond half versus the Hoosiers, but still managed to maintain a sizable lead. To Walton, it spoke to what the Wol- verines have been emphasizing of late. "Like I've preached before, when this team is not making shots and the effort is still there, we're going to win," he said. The senior captain assured the Wolverines are getting back to the place they were early in the season, when victories over Marquette and SMU in Madison Square Garden had onlookers talking about the Wolver- ines as a group to watch. "We watched a lot of the games where we played so great early in the season when we won the 2K Classic, how connected we were on the de- fensive side of the ball," he said."We know that's who we can be and who we really are. I don't think it's a belief drop-off. "It's just getting back to the ba- sics and playing the same as we did when we were successful." WALTON EARNS BIG TEN CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK There isn't any question about who is presently in charge of the Michigan basketball team. The Big Ten backed that notion Feb. 13, nam- ing senior point guard Derrick Wal- ton Jr. the Co-Player of the Week in the conference. Walton averaged 22.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in a pair of Michigan must-win games — at home against Michigan State and on the road at Indiana. He shot 60.9 per- cent (14 of 23) from the field, 83.3 percent (5 of 6) from three-point range and an unblemished 12 of 12 from the free throw line. His 9-of-9 performance from the line allowed the Wolverines to close out Indiana on the road. The honor marked Walton's first Big Ten Player of the Week award, which he shared with Minnesota's Jordan Murphy. ❏ • Michigan remained just off the league lead in three -point shots made per game. Purdue led the way, averaging 9.5, with the Wolverines second at 9.1. • Walton has climbed steadily higher in the Big Ten scoring race, and reached the two-thirds mark of the season fourth in the league, with an average of 17.2 points per game. He trailed only Purdue's Caleb Swanigan (19.7), Ne- braska's Tail Webster (19.0), and Iowa's Peter Jok (18.2) in conference-only scoring stats. Walton was also among the league's top 20 rebounders, tied for 19th with a 5.5 average. • Redshirt sophomore forward D.J. Wilson stood fifth in the league in field goal percentage, at 56.1. Michi- gan State's Nick Ward topped all Big Ten players at 58.8. • The Wolverines put two players in the Big Ten's top five for three-point shooting. Through Feb. 12, junior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahk- man stood third in the league in three- point shooting, connecting on 51.9 percent of his triples in conference play. Walton was fifth at 48.3 percent. • Walton stood third in free throw shooting in Big Ten games, connect- ing at an 89.1-percent clip. Iowa's Pe- ter Jok (90.9) and Northwestern's Bry- ant McIntosh (90.2) topped all charity stripe performers, with a third of the season to play. • Walton was No. 12 in the league in assists, averaging 3.7 per game. McIntosh paced all Big Ten players, averaging 5.8. • Walton found himself tied for fourth in the league in three-pointers made per game, averaging 2.4, along with Minnesota's Akeem Springs. In- diana's James Blackmon Jr. and Mary- land's Kevin Huerter stood atop the conference, each averaging 2.7 three per contest. • Wilson ranked eighth in the con- ference in average blocked shots per game, at 1.6. Minnesota's Reggie Lynch paced the league here, at 3.1. • Walton was seventh in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio, at 2.2. Min- nesota's Nate Mason led all Big Ten performers, at 3.5. • The wins over Indiana and Michi- gan State helped Michigan move up 14 spots, from 75 to 61, in the NCAA RPI (strength of schedule and suc- cess against that schedule) rankings through games of Feb. 12. Senior point guard Derrick Walton Jr. averaged 23.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists per outing during a five-game stretch from Jan. 26 to Feb. 12. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL