Kornacki: Leaders Albrecht, Irvin Finish Off Buckeyes
2/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It got deafening in Crisler Center in the closing minutes of Sunday's 64-57 win over Ohio State.
Michigan had let a 20-point lead dwindle to a precious three points with seven minutes to play. But Spike Albrecht and Zak Irvin weren't going to let this one get away, and they did big things down the stretch to assure victory.
So, it was only fitting that they revved up the crowd to decibel levels that left ears ringing with 55 seconds remaining. Albrecht had just been fouled on a shot attempt near the basket, and he shouted for joy at Irvin, who shouted back as they slapped low fives that had to hurt. Then Irvin stepped back and thrust both fists upward to ask the crowd for even more.
And he got it.
Albrecht then calmly hit two free throws for a 10-point lead, and the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes' half-court press a couple times with precisely timed passes and determination to finish off their arch rivals.
"That was just a lot of frustration let out in the last couple minutes," said Albrecht, alluding to the five-game losing streak snapped.
Albrecht led Michigan with 16 points and five assists. He also grabbed four rebounds -- even scoring on a coast-to-coast play.
Irvin scored 15 and also played hard from one baseline to the other, matching a determined Max Bielfeldt with a team-high seven rebounds and threading the needle with passes for a career-high four assists.
Both of them had a pair of steals, including a big one by Albrecht down the final stretch. They each played 38 minutes of gritty basketball, and their most impressive numbers might very well have been the zeroes both had under turnovers against a team that applied plenty of pressure.
Albrecht came within two points of his career high but had never scored more than 10 points in a game while having at least four assists and four rebounds. So, was this the best all-around game Albrecht had played in three seasons at Michigan?
"I think that's for you guys to decide," said Albrecht. "I just wasn't going to let us lose that game. I didn't want to lose that game."
Michigan coach John Beilein and Ohio State's Thad Matta both were blown away by Albrecht's near-domination of the game.
"Spike was just phenomenal," said Beilein. "He was just absolutely terrific. Who would have thought that four years ago when we recruited Spike Albrecht -- the only team that probably did at this level -- that Ohio State would go almost a box-and-one and not let him get the ball. It wore him out. He just needed a little break and then he kept on coming.
"Who'd have thought that a team as good defensively as Ohio State would be in full denial on Spike Albrecht -- deny Spike Albrecht!"
Matta placed 6-7 forward Sam Thompson on the 5-11 Albrecht, and that allowed OSU to cut into the lead.
"I thought when we put Sam on him late," said Matta, "Sam did a pretty good job. But we're telling our guys, 'He's playing with house money.' He's out there just balling, having the time of his life. He made some tremendous plays, tremendous reads, which he has shown throughout his career. He's a heck of a player."
Albrecht talked about going against an opponent who had eight inches on him.
"He really made it difficult for me with his length and his strength. He did a good job of limiting my touches, and I was just working hard to get the ball."
Then, in the final 60 seconds, Albrecht made all four free throws taken, beat the press by dribbling the ball down court and found Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman for an easy basket. He deflated any hopes the No. 24 Buckeyes had of getting their first win in Ann Arbor since 2011.
"As far as his role in a game," said Beilein, "it was as big as it had to be. For us to win, his role was going to have to be significant. When he was injured earlier in the year and not feeling as good, he had very diminished roles in the games. The injuries caused that. Now that he's healthy again for us; it's huge to have him out there."
The undisclosed injuries that limited his mobility remain, but it's no longer like he's playing in quicksand.
"I've been feeling pretty good," said Albrecht, who credited team trainer John DoRosario and the entire training staff. "I've really been taking care of my body and doing things I need to do to be at my best.
"I'm still very limited in my flexibility. But I'm feeling really good overall right now."
Caris LeVert, who averaged 14.9 points before a broken left foot ended his season, was riding a push scooter that allows him to fully rest the left leg when he met Albrecht outside the locker room along with former Wolverine football wide receiver Devin Funchess, just back from the NFL Combine. The two of them hugged Albrecht and commended him for a great game.
"That's what Spike's expected to do," said LeVert. "He's the oldest guy on the team and has been in big-time situations like this."
Irvin was an able co-star in beating OSU.
"We feed off of his energy," Albrecht said. "And he made some huge rebounds down the stretch."
Irvin hit a pair of early three-pointers to help Michigan pull away and hit a huge trey that got the dwindling lead back up to six points with six minutes to play. But he also hit Biefeldt and Ricky Doyle with passes for easy baskets.
"I tried to find areas for my teammates," he said. "I know I can score the basketball, but I tried to get my teammates open and get on the glass as well. We've been working going into this game on me seeing the floor because I get so much attention, so I just tried to find open guys."
Beilein said, "For him to have the four assists right now is huge for us. He had four assists (total) after the first seven games. He's more into seeing the floor, and that's good."
Michigan got a win that Albrecht and Irvin insisted they would not let get away after recently seeing victories slip away at Illinois and Michigan State.
"We had to stay poised," said Albrecht. "We have been in that situation before where we had big leads -- five or 10 points -- and let it slip away. It cost us some games. But we really locked in during timeouts, just saying that we weren't going to lose this game. We weren't going to let this one slip away."
Irvin said, "When they made that run and cut it down to three we just told ourselves, 'They're not winning this one.' We've had a lot slip through our fingers, and we weren't able to finish strong. But I was just proud of the guys and how hard we competed today."
Coaches can draw up all the plays they want on grease boards. They can run practices John Wooden or Dean Smith would be proud of. But if teams don't make stands when it counts, they lose. And that's what Albrecht and Irvin made happen.
"There's a power of will," Beilein said. "It's called willpower. You have to have an attitude in playing these games that you believe you will win. And our kids came out charged up -- as charged up as we've been all year -- and were really excited about this opportunity to win. It was a great win for us."
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