The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2018 THE WOLVERINE 51 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Three Best Players 1. Junior forward Moritz Wagner Wagner was expected to be Michigan's best player com- ing into the year, and he has lived up to the hype. The 6-11 center has been incredibly consistent this season, scoring in double figures in all 12 games he's played in, while posting 18 or more points five different times. Wagner's 15.6 points per contest are the most on the team and ninth-best scoring average in the Big Ten. The Berlin, Germany, native has added another element to his game as well this year — rebounding. After averaging just 4.2 boards per game last season, Wagner has increased that total to 7.6 caroms per contest in 2017-18. As of Dec. 17, that ranked 10th in the league. His ability to do a little bit of everything on the court — in- cluding knocking down threes at a respectable rate (38.3 per- cent) — has made him Michigan's most indispensable player. 2. Redshirt sophomore guard Charles Matthews Like Wagner, Matthews has had several impressive offen- sive performances this season, posting 20 or more points five different times. The redshirt sophomore has also picked up his rebounding production in December. In three straight wins over UCLA, Texas and Detroit Dec. 9-16, Matthews pulled down eight boards against both the Bruins and Longhorns, and seven against the Titans. Before those three games, though, he had only hauled in eight or more just twice all season. His 3.2 assists per game are also tied with senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman for the team lead. 3. Senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman He had arguably the best performance of his career in Michigan's 59-52 win at Texas Dec. 12, tallying 17 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. The veteran also made two of his four three-point attempts in the game. Abdur-Rahkman has been very dependable this season, averaging 34.5 minutes per game to lead the team. In fact, he has played at least 31 minutes in all but two contests. The senior's 4.8 rebounds a game rank third on the team and are on pace to shatter his career high of 2.8 last year. Key Play Trailing 65-63 to UCLA with just 10.9 seconds left in the Dec. 9 contest at Crisler Center, freshman point guard Eli Brooks drove to the hoop for a game-tying layup and was fouled. He headed to the free throw line and calmly drained both attempts to knot the score at 65, sending the game into overtime. There, the Wolverines outscored the Bruins 13-4 to grab a 78-69 victory, helping erase the taste of a 71-62 loss at Ohio State five days earlier. Best Highlight With 9:14 to go in the second half and Michigan lead- ing Detroit 77-40, sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson grabbed a rebound off a Titan miss and instantly looked to run. The sophomore took the ball up the court before lob- bing a pass from Michigan's free throw line to a sprinting Matthews. The redshirt sophomore grabbed the ball with both hands above the rim and threw it down for a thunderous alley-oop dunk, extending the Wolverines' lead to 79-40. The throw down was reminiscent to those of former U-M forward Glenn Robinson III (2012-14). Surprise Performer Sophomore center Jon Teske gets the call here. After strug- gling mightily in limited action (3.1 minutes per game) last year as a freshman, he has performed like a different player this season. Although he's only averaging 12.5 minutes of playing time a contest, Teske is accumulating 4.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. His nine blocks pace the squad. Teske racked up the first two double-doubles of his career against Southern Miss Nov. 16 (10 points and 11 rebounds) and Detroit Dec. 16 (career-high 15 points and 10 rebounds), when he started in place of an injured Wagner. — Austin Fox SUPERLATIVES FROM GAMES 3-13 Redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews boasted five 20-point out- ings in the season's first 13 games and ranks second on the team with an average of 14.8 points per contest. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL