BSportsMonday
Michigan State outlasts
Michigan with 10-0
overtime spurt at Breslin
By LEV FACHER
Managing Editor
EAST LANSING — Last year, it was
Derrick Walton Jr., then a freshman, who
rose to the occasion for the Michigan men’s
basketball team at Breslin Center, leading
the Wolverines to an 80-75 victory on
January 25, 2014. This year, with Walton
on crutches and confined to the bench, it
was another freshman guard who took the
reigns in an attempt to will Michigan to
victory: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman.
But
Abdur-Rahkman’s
career
day
wasn’t enough to get the job done for the
injury-plagued Wolverines, who dropped
a 76-66 decision in overtime, falling to 6-4
in the Big Ten and 13-9 overall.
Making just his third career start,
Abdur-Rahkman scored 18 points on 8-for-
13 shooting from the field, easily eclipsing
his previous career high of nine.
“I think you’re seeing that great growth
from Muhammad right now,” Beilein said.
Beilein added that he “saw a little bit
in video when we recruited him,” though
Abdur-Rahkman was added to Michigan’s
recruiting class too late for the coaching
staff to witness his in-game abilities in
person.
“I think we’re starting to see it,” Beilein
said. “You saw it in the month of January,
now let’s hope it continues in the month of
February.”
Junior guard Spike Albrecht also scored
18 points, while sophomore forward
Zak Irvin added 11 on 5-for-14 shooting,
converting only one of his six attempts
from 3-point range.
But while Michigan State (5-3, 14-7)
scored 10 points in the overtime period,
the Wolverines couldn’t score at all. The
final score of 76-66 belied the game’s
back-and-forth nature, a trend that
disappeared quickly once the first 40
minutes were up.
The
Wolverines
stayed
in
the
game throughout despite being easily
outmuscled on the glass — the Spartans
pulled down 43
team rebounds
to Michigan’s 29,
including a 13-7
disparity on the
offensive end.
Michigan
State
shot
just
6-for-11
from the free-throw
line in the half, but
their presence on the
offensive glass allowed
them to enter the locker
room with a halftime lead.
The
Spartans
recorded
26 team rebounds in the
frame, 10 of which came on
the offensive end.
Michigan jumped out to
an early 8-3 lead on the back
of four points from Abdur-
Rahkman, who converted on all
three of his first-half field-goal
attempts. But Michigan State
quickly muscled their way back into
the game, thanks in large part to 14
first-half points from junior guard
Denzel
Valentine.
A
thunderous
finish by Branden Dawson on an alley-
oop lob from Valentine punctuated the
comeback and gave the Spartans a 20-19
lead.
“I was really impressed today with
Valentine,” said Michigan coach John
Beilein. “No matter what we threw at him
… he sees the floor well, he rebounds well,
he shot the ball well.”
Valentine finished with 25 points, seven
rebounds and seven assists, including
another lob to Dawson to tie the game at
61 in the final minutes of the second half.
“I thought (Valentine) really stood out,
in that he was able to just pick us apart
with different things we did, one-on-one,
zones, everything,” Beilein said. “So when
you have a tall guy that can really see like
that and can shoot, it really makes your
team go.
“I didn’t like his game, but I’ve got to
respect his game a ton today.”
Despite Valentine’s continued efforts,
Michigan found momentum early in
the second half, beginning with a well
executed,
back-and-forth
fast
break
between Abdur-Rahkman and freshman
guard Aubrey Dawkins.
After a Dawkins layup in Michigan’s
ensuing offensive sequence, Irvin stole
the ball along the right flank and found
himself with enough open space to attempt
a thunderous one-handed jam and give
Michigan a 34-33 lead.
The momentum shifted back and forth
throughout the half, with the Spartans
eventually gaining a four-point lead in the
game’s final minute before a heroic tip-in
from Max Bielfeldt tied the game at 66.
Though the Wolverines forced an extra
five minutes, they simply couldn’t muster
any additional productivity beyond the
two regulation periods.
“We probably panicked when we got
down by six,” Beilein said. “We took an
ill-advised 3. Your jump shot shouldn’t get
blocked. You should shot fake and go to the
basket. Those types of things changed the
E
AST LANSING —
Michigan State forward
Denzel Valentine waved
his arms to
pump up the
Breslin Center
crowd, then
he fired some
words toward
the Michigan
men’s
basketball
team’s bench.
Aubrey
Dawkins rolled
his eyes.
The freshman guard had
been in the in-state rivalry game
for less than a half, and he was
already fed up.
On the road, in likely the
loudest atmosphere of the season
so far, Michigan didn’t flinch for
40 minutes.
Then, with 3:59 left in overtime,
junior guard Spike Albrecht found
himself all alone at the top of the
key, but his potential go-ahead
3-pointer rimmed out. Michigan
drew up the play perfectly, as it
had several times before, and got
everything but the finish.
Albrecht muttered something
and backpedaled down the court,
and the Wolverines never scored
again, losing in overtime, 76-66.
Sunday morning, they trudged
through the snowy weather, sent
an undermanned team against
Michigan State and withstood
everything the crowd had to offer.
And they did everything but
finish.
* * *
L
ate in the first half, just
after Valentine shouted
at the Michigan bench,
the Spartans started to pull away
for the first — and, really, only —
time. Valentine knocked down
a 3-pointer in the final minute,
and there was the slightest sign
of a smirk on Michigan coach
John Beilein’s face as he hit it.
Perhaps it was out of frustration
or dejection, but perhaps it was
because he had the Spartans right
where he wanted them.
Seconds later, Valentine hit
another, giving Michigan State
its largest lead of regulation. But
even then, the Michigan coach
had confidence in his team. Even
then, as the crowd noise notched
up and Michigan State could
have taken advantage, he knew
there was a lot of basketball left.
Even then, he knew the Spartans
couldn’t keep up their 3-point
shooting.
The last points of the first half
were Albrecht hitting a pair of
free throws as the crowd chanted
“Just-in Bie-ber!” at him. The
Wolverines pulled within five
after a lackluster first half, and
they weren’t going away.
At halftime, it seemed
Michigan had played as well as it
could have played. It mustered up
some offense, and though it was
beaten on the glass, it played well
defensively.
But in the second half,
somehow the Wolverines
played even better. They started
building a lead, to the disbelief
of the crowd. Albrecht drove
SNOW
CLOSE
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | February 2, 2015
ICE COLD
n The Michigan hockey team
cooled off and lost to Michigan
State, 2-1. Page 4B
SALES PITCH
n Just two days remain
until National Signing Day.
SportsMonday Column, Page 2B
JAKE
LOURIM
Everything but
the finish
See MICHIGAN, Page 2B
See STATE, Page 2B
Michigan State 76,
Michigan 66 (OT)
RUBY WALLAU/Daily