Just 
10 
days 
ago, 
the 
Michigan 
men’s 
basketball 
team faced Illinois and suffered 
a humiliating 16-point defeat in 
Champaign, 85-69. Michigan 
coach 
John 
Beilein admitted 
Friday that the 
Fighting 
Illini 
opened up a “can 
of whooping” on 
the Wolverines, 
as it was the only 
Big 
Ten 
game 
that they were 
really out of by 
the 
halftime 
break this year.
Illinois’s trio of big men — 
center Maverick Morgan and 
forwards Kipper Nichols and 
Leron Black — did most of the 
damage that night, scoring 16, 
13 and 10 points, respectively. 
After 
the 
game, 
Morgan 
added insult to injury, calling 
Michigan 
a 
“white-collar 
team”.
In the time since, Michigan 
defeated Nebraska at home and 
nearly upset Wisconsin on the 
road. Meanwhile, the Fighting 
Illini have been on the ropes, 
losing a close home game to 
Maryland and then getting 
blown out at Purdue.
On Saturday afternoon, the 
two teams were set for 
a 
highly-anticipated 
rematch at Crisler 
Center. Before 
the 
game, 
senior 
wing 
Zak 

Irvin approached the team 
equipment manager and asked 
if the Wolverines could don 
their blue away jerseys instead 
of their traditional home white.
While redshirt sophomore 
forward 
DJ 
Wilson 
took 
Morgan’s 
comments 
in 
stride 
Friday, 
asserting 
that 
Michigan didn’t 
feel 
the 
need 
to 
prove 
that 
it was a tough 
team, even he 
admitted 
after 
the game that 
the slight put a 
“chip on their 
shoulder”.
That chip was 
clearly evident Saturday, as 
the Wolverines took the court 
in 
their 
“blue-collar” 
uniforms and sent a 
very clear message 
to Illinois (2-5 Big 
Ten, 12-8 overall). 
Adopting 
the 
aggressive 
defensive 
mindset 
Morgan claimed 
they 
lacked, 
Michigan 
(3-4, 
13-7) avenged its 
blowout loss and 
earned 
a 

66-57 victory.
While the Fighting Illini 
went off, shooting 64 percent 
from both the floor and from 
three in the first contest, 
the Wolverines held Illinois 
to 45 percent shooting from 
the field and just 28 percent 
shooting 
from 
distance 
Saturday. Instead of allowing 
49 first-half points like it did 
in game one, Michigan kept the 
Fighting Illini under 25 points 
at the break. 
With a strategy centered on 
physicality and help defense on 
the low block, the Wolverines 
shut down Illinois’ three big 
men who had been so dominant 
in Champaign. While the trio 
racked up 39 combined points 
that night, they amassed just 14 
on Saturday.
“I 

thought we were really much 
more aggressive than we were 
at their place in guarding the 
post,” said Michigan coach John 
Beilein. “… When they went in 
there, they did get some shots, 
but we made them earn them.”
Keeping the Fighting Illini 
out 
of 
their 
sweet 
spots, 
especially the mid-range jump 
shot, Michigan turned Illinois’ 
big men into liabilities, as 
they turned the ball over six 
times. The Wolverines also 
forced them into foul trouble, 
limiting their minutes on the 
court. Morgan, Nichols and 
Black played just 22, 17 and 13 
minutes, respectively.
Nichols, 
in 
particular, 
terrorized Michigan on the 
offensive glass in Champaign, 
pulling down five boards as the 
Fighting Illini 
scored 
10 
second-
chance 
points. 
But 
Wilson 
assumed 
that role 
in 
the 

rematch, notching six offensive 
rebounds which the Wolverines 
used to gain a 14-6 edge in the 
second-chance points battle. 
During a 13-3 run from the 
14-minute mark to the six-
minute mark of the first half 
— in which Michigan opened 
up a nine-point lead and began 
to pull away from Illinois — 
Wilson scored 10 points, all of 
which came off 
offensive boards.
He kicked off 
the stretch by 
grabbing a long 
rebound 
and 
knocking down a 
3-pointer, before 
adding a couple 
of putback layups 
in 
traffic 
on 
which he drew 
fouls. His most 
impressive points, though, came 
when he threw down a massive 
putback slam that surely belongs 
on the highlight reel.
“I thought they beat 
us up pretty good on the 
glass, and obviously DJ 
Wilson 
spearheaded 
that,” 
said Illinois coach John Groce. 
“I thought he was absolutely 
terrific today. ... His energy 
level on the backboard (and) his 
willingness to make the extra 
pass and make his team better.”
By the end of the first half, 
the Wolverines had officially 
turned 
the 
tables 
on 
the 
Fighting Illini, taking a 34-24 
lead into the break. Michigan 
never looked back from there. 
The Wolverines could have 
taken their foot off the gas, 
but they kept it on full 
throttle.
Irvin 
and 
senior 
guard 
Derrick 
Walton Jr. 

carried 
the 
scoring 
burden 
alongside 
Wilson’s 
19-point 
performance, tallying 11 and six 
points, respectively, in the second 
half.
The 
duo, 
who 
also 
took 
Morgan’s dig personally, made 
Illinois look silly on a couple 
of possessions. First, Walton 
crossed over Morgan before 
laying it up and drawing a foul, 
and then Irvin 
drove down the 
baseline with a 
stop-start move 
to blow past his 
defender 
and 
convert 
at 
the 
rim.
By that point, 
Michigan 
had 
a 21-point lead 
with six minutes 
remaining. 
Though the Wolverines gave 
up 18 points while sinking six 
free throws down the stretch, 
the Fighting Illini never posed a 
serious threat.
Michigan entered the rematch 
eager to make a statement, 
and that’s exactly what the 
Wolverines did.
As Wilson made clear after the 
game: “We weren’t the white-
collar team today.”

B
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | January 23, 2017

Michigan 66, Illinois 57

Time is short 
 After failing to sweep 
a series once again this 
weekend, the Michigan 
hockey team is being 
presented with the reality 
that things may not get 

better. » Page 4B

Follow the leader 
Zak Irvin has always been 
an emotional force for the 
Michigan men’s basketball 
team, but the Wolverines are 
going to need him now more 

than ever. » SportsMonday 

Column, Page 2B

I thought they 
beat us up 
pretty good on 
the glass

We weren’t the 
white collar 
team today

PAYBACK

BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor

