Moe & Mom, Teske Chant Highlight B1G Championship Celebration

By Steve Kornacki

NEW YORK -- To "The Victors," go the spoils.

The Empire State Building was lit up in maize and blue all night long after the Wolverines made it back-to-back Big Ten men's basketball tournament championships, beating No. 8 Purdue, 75-66, in the championship game at Madison Square Garden.

Michigan dominated all 94 feet of the most storied court in the world on Sunday (March 4), and got to bring home the trophy to Crisler Center early Monday morning.

There was so much to remember on a night when the confetti fell on the Wolverines. And, you might have noticed that dominating point guard Zavier Simpson stashed a massive handful of the multi-colored paper strips into his championship hat turned backward.

Two scenes, however, were unforgettable in the celebration. One involved improbable hero Jon Teske hearing his name chanted as he snipped the nylon net. And the other was of a heart-warming moment between mother and son, Beate and Moritz Wagner.

Beate had flown in from Berlin, Germany, and screamed herself hoarse during Michigan's overtime win over Iowa in the first of four triumphs in four days. She had her voice back for the title game, when her son scored 17 points in 17 minutes and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tourney, and gave her the trophy to take home.

"My mom, she cares so much," said Wagner. "She watches every game back home. And my dad and brother just went to bed after watching it in Germany, and that puts a smile on my face. It's ridiculous. To give something back like that to her to take home is awesome.

"It was a familiar feeling, cutting the nets down again after winning another Big Ten championship. It's really special. But my favorite part will always be hugging my mom in the confetti, and then giving her the trophy. It's awesome, just awesome."

Beate cradled the trophy, saying her son wanted her to have it, and her eyes were red from all the joyous crying she had done.

"He gave it to me to take home," Beate said, noting that his father, Axel, and other family members can't wait to see it and share it.

Wagner averaged 15.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in only 23.5 minutes per game against Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan State and Purdue.

When Beate's son made the first of his trio of three-pointers, he looked into the stands to make eye contact with Mom.

"Yah, yah, he did that," she said, eyes twinkling. "He's so cute! He's professional on the one side, but on the other side he is so close to us. For him, it is real important. He's authentic. He's been like this since he was a small child. It's so important to him that everyone is happy. He works to make them happy.

"What I am proudest about with my son is this family feeling he has with his teammates. For him, he wants to play basketball and he wants to win, but he wants to really do it together."

What did Beate enjoy most about the game?

"For me, the best thing to see is the team and how they play as a team," she said. "They play strong and together. That's most important."

And they all reveled in the championship together. At one point, Jordan Poole and Ibi Watson were doing the jitterbug together when the beat of the music blaring over the public address system prompted them to boogie in an old school way.

"We wanted this so bad and we've got it now!" Wagner told Jim Nantz of CBS-TV during the on-court celebration. "I can't stop smiling."

Each player was announced when it was their time to cut down a strand of the net.

Teske, a 7-foot-1 sophomore center, climbed the ladder with a pair of scissors as the fans chanted: "TESS-KEE! TESS-KEE! TESS-KEE!"

He came off the bench to score 14 points, and laid down a monster dunk on 7-foot-2 Purdue center Isaac Haas that was the consensus favorite moment of his teammates. Simpson just could not stop talking about it.

Did he ever in his wildest dreams imagine a moment like he experienced with fans shouting his last name over and over at such a storied arena?

"Nahhh," Teske said, shaking his head and smiling. "I never would've thought that would've happened here today. It's amazing."

And of the dunk and elation that followed?

"I'm a quiet guy," said Teske, from Medina, Ohio. "So, I don't show a lot of emotion. But I got caught up in that. It had been quite a game, and it was real exciting. To be able to do that was awesome."

Teske

He had 15 points and 10 rebounds against the University of Detroit, but this tourney was his coming out party. Teske also contributed nine rebounds against Nebraska.

"It's great what we accomplished," he said. "But for me, personally, we got into a little bit of foul trouble (both Teske and Wagner finished with four fouls), and I just had to do my best to help the team win. We watched a lot of film on them, and knew we had a good game plan. For us to come out on top against a big team like theirs feels real good."

Teske also displayed a nice outside shooting touch, even swishing an 18-foot jump shot.

When asked if he saw this game coming from Teske, Michigan coach John Beilein didn't hesitate in saying, "No, absolutely not. He'll drift around. He and Austin Davis (a redshirt freshman center who also played briefly but effectively), they need some of Moe's energy and they can do it. But it's not expected.

"But to get (Teske) to dunk in practice is difficult to do. But he's worked with Jon Sanderson. We have the greatest strength coach anywhere."

• Watch: B1G Tourney Champions: Coach Beilein 1-on-1

Beilein noted a considerable increase in his vertical jump since coming to school two years ago.

"But here's what you know," said Beilein. "He's so loved by his teammates. 'Big Sleep,' they call him. 'Big Bad Jon,' they call him. He's so quiet, (but) there's nothing quiet about his performance today. He doesn't walk in like Moe Wagner with this personality that just says, 'I'm an alpha dog and I'm going to go out and get it.' No, he's more waiting and waiting for the process to work itself out."

But, as great as they were, there was so much more to the No. 15 Wolverines (28-7) than just Wagner and Teske, who combined for 31 points.

There was Simpson, leading the defense to frustrate Purdue to no end, changing the game with his passing down low that led to five assists, and scoring 10 points, including a hook shot over Haas.

"It happened because of watching film and working with Coach Dre," said Simpson, noting assistant coach DeAndre Haynes. "But what excited me most was Jon dunking on Haas. It's not about me. Jon getting hyped like that got everyone engaged. It was crazy."

There was Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman canning three treys at critical momentum junctures, scoring 15 points, controlling the offense at times, and playing shut-down defense to join Wagner on the all-tournament team.

"We came out aggressive," said Abdur-Rahkman. "We took the fight to them, and they had beaten us both times during the season. So, we really wanted to get this one, and that's what we did. And we're not done yet."

It's worth noting that Michigan, which awaits its NCAA Tournament seeding placement next Sunday (March 11), became the first Big Ten team to beat every conference foe since the expansion to 14 teams five seasons ago.

There was Duncan Robinson, showing leadership and desire, and scoring 6 points while also providing defensive toughness.

"We battled, believed in one another and it just happened," said Robinson. "I'll always remember the pandemonium of the moment we won it and celebrating with all these guys."

There was Charles Matthews, seemingly playing on a pogo stick, scoring eight points with three rebounds and causing whoever he guarded headaches.

Matthews held the silver Big Ten trophy with a basketball atop it in the locker room, placing it in a loving hug. I asked him if he was in charge of the trophy.

"I am," he said with a smile. "Let's go. We've got back-to-back trophies now. The best part of winning is right now. You can't beat this feeling we have together. We're champions."

The Wolverines each grabbed two bottles of water and drenched Beilein but good.

"I think I was doused with a couple gallons of the Hudson River," he said with a smile.

You never know what he will do at such times. Beilein went on the offensive by spraying the players with a super soaker gun after one of 2017's postseason celebrations. This time he danced, letting his entire body move as his arms swayed, and rivaling that victory dance of Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland a few years back.

But Beilein said that what he will remember most about this tournament championship was Moe and Mom, and Teske's dunk on Haas.

"Jon Teske's dunk was something we were trying to get him to do all year long and it was terrific," said Beilein. "And seeing Moe Wagner's mother crying up in the stands when he was getting the trophy. That was as good as it gets."

Beate said she isn't sure if she will make it for the NCAA Tournament, which will begin in a week and half. "But we will think about it for sure," she said. "We have to share time with our second son and can't be gone for weeks. We will have to decide."

The trophy might already be back in Berlin when you read this. It'll always be a symbol of not only Wagner's role in Michigan's championship, but of the love between a son and his mother.

This was some pretty special stuff.