The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/956415
APRIL 2018 THE WOLVERINE 29 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Three Best Players 1. Junior forward Moritz Wagner Several Wolverines were deserving of this top spot, but a slight edge to Wagner due to his performance in Michigan's run to the Big Ten Tournament title. In the four games against Iowa, Ne- braska, Michigan State and Purdue, the Berlin native averaged 15.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest, and was absolutely crucial in the Maize and Blue's two most important wins. In the semifinal contest against Michigan State March 3, Wagner pulled down eight boards and scored 15 points, with 14 coming in the decisive second half. Then in the champion- ship game against Purdue the following day, the junior tallied 17 points, shot an efficient 7 of 11 (63.6 percent) from the floor and nailed 3 of 6 three-point attempts. His heroics over the four-day span also earned him the confer- ence tournament MVP award. 2. Sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson Like Wagner, Simpson gets the nod in the No. 2 spot mainly because of his play in the Big Ten Tournament. The sopho- more's statistics from Feb. 21-March 17 weren't necessarily overwhelming (9.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game), but his defensive prowess was. This was on full display for the Madison Square Garden crowd when the U-M sophomore shut down a bevy of talented op- posing point guards. Here's the stat line for each foe he went up against in chronological order — Iowa sophomore Jordan Bohannon (3 of 14 from the field, 11 points), Nebraska junior Glynn Watson Jr. (4 of 12, 10 points), Michigan State sophomore Cassius Winston (3 of 10, 11 points) and Purdue sophomore Carsen Edwards (4 of 16, 12 points). Simpson's defensive presence also helped bail out two poor offensive showings by Michigan in NCAA Tournament wins over Montana and Houston, when the team shot a combined 40.1 percent in the two games. 3. Senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman In Michigan's eight games from Feb. 21-March 17, Abdur-Rah- kman was incredibly steady — 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per outing — just as he has been all season. His best performance undoubtedly came in the 85-61 blow- out win at Maryland Feb. 24, when he poured in a career-high 28 points while pulling down eight boards and dishing out seven assists. The senior also averaged 15.0 points in the Big Ten Tourna- ment, highlighted by a 21-point showing in the 77-58 blowout of Nebraska in the quarterfinals. Perhaps the most important play Abdur-Rahkman made between Feb. 21 and March 17, though, was his game-winning assist to freshman guard Jordan Poole in the thrilling 64-63 de- feat of Houston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Key Play This one is obvious — Poole's game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to give Michigan a dramatic 64-63 win over Houston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament March 17. With just 3.6 seconds remaining and U-M trailing 63-61, freshman forward Isaiah Livers launched an inbounds pass to Abdur-Rahkman just in front of the half court line. The senior guard then dribbled twice, crossed midcourt and fired a pass to Poole, who was standing about eight feet behind the three-point line. The freshman never hesitated, letting the ball go with 0.8 seconds remaining, and watched as it splashed through the net almost simultaneously as the final buzzer sounded. The Michigan bench exploded with celebration and at- tempted to mob the Milwaukee native, who sprinted around the court in pure joy. Best Highlight Poole's game-winning three-pointer to take down Houston would be the obvious choice here, but because it was already discussed above, sophomore center Jon Teske's monstrous dunk against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament title game March 4 gets the nod. With U-M leading 64-48 and just more than six minutes remaining, Simpson drove to the hoop and was immediately surrounded by Purdue seniors P.J. Thompson and Isaac Haas. The point guard, who had already left his feet and was about to go out of bounds, rifled a pass to a streaking Teske at the free throw line who then threw down a gigantic two-handed dunk over the 7-2 Haas, who also fouled him in the process. The play extended the Wolverines' lead to 18 at the time, and left no doubt that the Maize and Blue were well on their way to victory. Surprise Performer Teske gets the call here. The 7-1 big man has been an impor- tant part of the Wolverines' rotation all season long, but made an especially big impact late in the season when the team needed him most. This was most evident in the Big Ten Tournament title win over Purdue, when he came in for a foul-plagued Wagner and played 21 minutes and tallied 14 points. Teske also protected the paint admirably against a huge Boil- ermaker front line, and as a result had the Madison Square Gar- den crowd chanting his name enthusiastically at one juncture. — Austin Fox SUPERLATIVES IN GAMES FROM FEB. 21-MARCH 17 Sophomore center Jon Teske came on strong late in the season, highlighted by a 14-point effort over 21 minutes in U-M's 75-66 vic- tory versus Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament title game. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN