Wolverines Enjoy the Fruits of Their Labor After Reaching Elite Eight
3/23/2018 10:37:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
LOS ANGELES -- Coach John Beilein rushed into the University of Michigan locker room after his Wolverines completely demolished Texas A&M and looked into the eyes of his players, who were seated on folding chairs in front of him and slapping high-fives and hugging one another.
"That first half was a thing of beauty," said Beilein, the David and Meredith Kaplan Men's Basketball Head Coach. "People will talk about the (14) three-point shots. ... But it was just a great defensive effort. We showed them great Big Ten defense, didn't we?"
Forward Moritz Wagner, who had a monster game on both sides of the court, smiled in the first row and couldn't resist personalizing that thought.
"Michigan defense," added Wagner.
Beilein nodded and agreed: "Michigan defense."
The coach then lauded Duncan Robinson and Zavier Simpson for their exceptional efforts in guarding their opponents and credited the entire team.
No. 3 seed Michigan (31-7) took the will out of the Aggies from the get-go Thursday (March 22), leading by as many as 29 points before establishing a 52-28 lead at the half. The Wolverines never led by fewer than 18 points the rest of the way in a 99-72 triumph that has them headed to an Elite Eight matchup Saturday with No. 9 seed Florida State.
The Wolverines find themselves one win away from the Final Four because they played with the intensity of that pit bull the team has taped to its grease board.
"What does a pit bull say?" asked Beilein, pulling tenacious point guard Simpson up front to do the honors.
Simpson said: "We did play with great intensity today. That was our goal. We just wanted to compete, out of the stance or out of the box. It was as simple as that."
I asked Beilein about the source of this intensity.
"I think they realize right now how special this is," he said. "They have a great appreciation. We haven't had injuries all year. They have togetherness; we haven't had distractions. We know how fortunate we are."
Zavier Simpson
Texas A&M never found a rhythm, getting only three assists while having 10 turnovers in the first half, and Michigan's offense was more than up to completing the dominance.
Wagner scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half and combined with three unstoppable guards to lay down the hammer. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (24 points), Charles Matthews (18) and Simpson, who scored nine of his 11 in the first 20 minutes. Robinson came off the bench to score 10 points in 20 minutes.
It absolutely rained threes, with the Wolverines making 14, the last of which came from freshman walk-on forward C.J. Baird. But they also drove the lane to score with regularity, dunked and hit shots from everywhere to make 62 percent of their shots.
"We really competed," said Robinson. "Especially in the first half. This time of the year, it's pretty easy to play with that sense of urgency."
Offensively, it was a lot like Michigan's game with Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana, back on Jan. 25.
Defensively, it was a completely different story from that 92-88 loss to the Boilermakers.
The Wolverines put the clamps on the Aggies all night long.
And Michigan's offensive efficiency and three-point shooting was off the charts. The Wolverines hadn't scored more points since beating Chaminade, 102-64, in the Maui Invitational, and they made a season-high .583 of 24 treys attempted. They were one off the season-high total of 15 accomplished three times.
"It was incredible," said Robinson. "That was obviously a hot night. We had it going, and it's nice when it comes on this stage."
Was it like that Purdue game -- only with defense?
"You could say that," Wagner said with a smile. "That was special. I mean, we made so many shots and played so well."
Abdur-Rahkman said the offensive struggles in the first two NCAA games -- 61-47 over Montana and 64-63 over Houston, thanks to Jordan Poole's game-winning shot -- provided the impetus for a turnaround game.
"I think the way we played in Wichita really stuck with us," said Abdur-Rahkman. "We didn't play well and needed to come out and play a lot better. We just had a lot of motivation and a chip on our shoulders."
Mathews added, "We're locked in now."
Michigan assistant coach Luke Yaklich, the defensive coordinator, said that getting riddled from behind the arc (11-for-20) by the Boilermakers brought about changes. The Wolverines had to get better, and they did. In the 20 games since, only two teams (Ohio State and Wisconsin) have surpassed 40 percent accuracy, and nobody has done better than 46 percent.
"We had to take more pride in our defense," said Abdur-Rahkman. "We know that we can't always win games with offense. We needed to bring defense every night because sometimes the shots aren't going to fall. We need to bring that intensity and defense every game."
Wagner said: "Our offensive confidence has never been an issue even if we only score 52 points against Northwestern. If we are able to stop their runs, we're all good. We need to build walls and rebound, and everything else will come."
C.J. Baird
The Aggies were 3-for-15 (.200) on treys after going 10-for-24 (.417) in blowing out No. 2 seed North Carolina, 86-65. This was no easy mark that Michigan dominated.
"Our defense has just become real solid," said Beilein. "Just solid. Now, we gave up some twos when they needed threes with us up by 20. But it was just a great effort by everyone, and Zavier Simpson sets the stage.
"He saw the challenge of the Texas A&M guards, who are really good players. He took on that personal challenge."
Aggies guards T.J. Starks and Admon Gilder combined for 15 points and were a subpar 7-for-22 from the field with only one trey.
The feel-good night ended with Baird, who had scored two points all season, nailing a long three-pointer from the top of the key.
"Coach Beliein said, 'C.J., I'm going to get you in,'" said Baird, from Detroit Catholic Central and Novi. "I said, 'Omigosh!' I wiped my hands off because I was getting nervous late in the game.
"The second I touched the ball, everyone's yelling: 'SHOOT IT!' So, I had to shoot. It was great. When it went up, I thought it was good, so I took a couple steps back and I celebrated, even though I probably shouldn't have. But it was pretty cool."
It was a magical night.
Desmond Howard, Michigan's 1991 Heisman Trophy winner and now an ESPN analyst, was among those soaking it all in at Staples Center.
"I tell you what," said Howard, a standout point guard nicknamed "Magic" while at Cleveland St. Joseph, "they did a fantastic job. There was just so much energy and so much hustle out there. They play intense and at a high level. They dominated this game from beginning to end, and there was no doubt which was the best team. I'm coming back Saturday!
"And do you know what I really like about them? They peak at the right time. And this is when you want to peak."
March Madness is the time, and these Wolverines want to make it the time of their lives.
