8A — Thursday, February 23, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines survive on the road against Rutgers

After a tough loss in overtime 

to Minnesota on Sunday, the 
Michigan men’s basketball team 
had the opportunity to bounce 
back at Rutgers — by any metric 
the worst team in the Big Ten.

Not only was it a chance for 

the Wolverines to recover from 
a crushing loss, it was a virtually 
a must-win game against a team 
outside the Rating Percentage 
Index top-100. With Michigan on 
the NCAA Tournament bubble, a 
loss would’ve been a big blow.

The 
Wolverines, 
despite 

the 
high-pressure 
situation, 

prevailed, winning 68-64 in 
Piscataway.

It 
wasn’t 
a 
dominating 

performance for Michigan (8-7 
Big Ten, 18-10 overall) — not 
even close. While the Wolverines 
jumped out to multiple double-
digit leads, the Scarlet Knights 

continued to claw back, even 
taking a four-point lead with 
6:46 left in the game.

But a 10-0 Michigan run late 

in the game proved to be too 
much for Rutgers (2-14, 13-16), 
and the Wolverines escaped with 
a victory. 

“There was nothing pretty 

about this game,” said Michigan 
coach John Beilein on Michigan 
IMG Sports Radio Network. 
“This was all gritty. We just got 
enough done.”

Added redshirt sophomore 

forward DJ Wilson on Michigan 
IMG Sports Radio Network: 
“(The key) was we stayed locked 
in for all 40 minutes. We knew 
they were a gritty team, and they 
fight to the end, and they did 
today. We fought to the end too, 
and when it came down to the 
end to get crucial stops, we did.”

The 
Wolverines 
had 
to 

overcome some early ailments, 
though, as they struggled early 

with turnovers. They would 
commit 11 in the game, mostly 
the result of sloppy passes, 
coming in nearly two above their 
season average of 9.4 per game.

Michigan also shot just 40.7 

percent 
from 

the field, a far 
cry from their 
season average 
of 47.5 percent.

But — perhaps 

unexpectedly 
— what kept 
the Wolverines 
in the game was 
their 
offensive 

rebounding. 
Michigan 
finished 
the 
game 
with 
12 

offensive 
rebounds, 
scoring 

seven second-chance points.

It was an especially impressive 

performance 
given 
Rutgers’ 

pedigree on the glass. The 
Scarlet Knights, coming into the 
game, were No. 4 in the NCAA 

in rebounds per game with 
41.1. Rutgers was held to just 33 
boards in the game.

“In the first half they had 

one offensive rebound,” Beilein 
said. “I think in the second half 

they probably had 
more during that 
time, they got all 
those at the end 
there. 
We 
just 

had to scrap and 
continue to scrap 
and just see what 
we could do to find 
a way to win that 
game.”

Wilson 
led 

the way for the 

Wolverines with 11 rebounds, 
including six offensive boards. 
He also finished with 10 points 
for the fourth double-double of 
his career.

“Coach 
emphasized 

rebounding because I haven’t 
been on the boards these last few 

games,” Wilson said. “I think I 
only had two offensive rebounds 
in the last five games. So I tried 
to get there as much as possible 
today.”

While senior guard Derrick 

Walton Jr. finished with 13 
points, he shot just 3-of-10 from 
the field, with nine of his shots 
coming from beyond the arc.

“Everybody did it,” Beilein 

said. 
“Don’t 
forget 
(junior 

guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman), he did a tremendous 
job as well. (Sophomore forward 
Moritz Wagner) made a big play 
down the stretch. We still had 
some lapses. I think we’re really 
tired right now, I mean really 
tired. We had to gut that one out, 
and we did.”

On the other side of the court, 

Rutgers put up a valiant effort 
led by guard Corey Sanders, 
who had 15 points in the game. 
The Scarlet Knights also got 
contributions from guard Mike 

Williams, who put up 14 points 
and grabbed 8 rebounds.

“(Rutgers) showed a lot of 

fortitude by being able to stay in 
there when nothing could go our 
way down the stretch,” Beilein 
said.

While the victory didn’t come 

in the most impressive fashion, 
Michigan stays on the right side 
of the bubble, something that 
wouldn’t have been certain had 
the Wolverines lost.

It was crucial for Michigan 

to get a win at Rutgers, and now 
with that done, the Wolverines 
will need to elevate their game 
as their matchup with No. 15 
Purdue looms on Senior Day.

“This is definitely a learning 

experience for us,” Wilson said. 
“We’ve been in a lot of close 
games that we’ve kind of just 
gave up at the end, but today, 
we fought hard and we stayed 
consistent on defense, and it paid 
off.”

CAROLYN GEARIG/Daily

Redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson recorded the fourth double-double of his career with 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Scarlet Knights.

With time running out, Kile has a shot to salvage senior season

Expectations were high for 

Alex Kile entering this season, 
and deservedly so. The senior 
forward was the Michigan hockey 
team’s returning leading scorer 
and had increased his offensive 
production between every season 
of his career. 

Kile first earned consistent 

playing 
time 
his 
freshman 

year before breaking out as a 
sophomore whilst on the same 
line as two future NHL forwards 
in Dylan Larkin and Zach Hyman. 
He began his junior year playing 
with Tyler Motte and JT Compher 
— another pair of future pros — 
before settling onto a line with a 
pair of experienced seniors in Boo 
Nieves and Justin Selman.

By all accounts, this was 

supposed to be his year. As 
a captain and one of the few 
holdovers from last year’s NCAA 
Tournament team, Kile was as 
close to a sure thing as possible.

“I 
think 
the 
expectations 

for him were higher than (for) 
the team,” said Michigan coach 
Red 
Berenson. 
“The 
team’s 

expectations had a lot more 
question marks. There weren’t 
many question marks around Alex 
Kile. He was experienced, he was 
a senior, he was a captain, he was 
our returning leading scorer. So 
there was no doubt that he was 
going to have a great year.”

But with just six games left in 

the regular season, that hasn’t 
been the case — or even close to 
it. In 21 games played, Kile has 
tallied just six goals and four 
assists. He struggled through a 
six-game pointless streak earlier 
this year. He was ejected from the 
Wolverines’ 7-4 loss to Wisconsin 
on Dec. 9. And then, just as he 
was starting to heat up following 
the series against the Badgers — 
which he deemed a ‘wake-up call’ 
— Kile suffered an ankle injury in 
practice. 

It took him nearly three and 

a half weeks before he could 
practice again. He returned to the 

ice Tuesday and Wednesday, but 
but still hadn’t been cleared for full 
contact. Kile won’t be traveling to 
Columbus this weekend either, 
marking the seventh and eighth 
consecutive games that he will 
miss. Even then, there is still no 
guarantee that he will return 
before the Big Ten Tournament, 
despite his best hopes.

“I’m not the best right now,” Kile 

said. “I’m just trying to get through 
(the injury). I’m not going to play 
this weekend, and hopefully (I’ll) 
get ready for my last four games at 
Yost. That’s the plan.

“I don’t think I’ll be full 

strength by the end of the year. 
It’s unfortunate, but I’m a senior, 
so I’ve just got to play through 
the pain. It’s my last three weeks 
at Michigan. I’ve just got to take it 
all in.”

He has dealt with the injury in 

different ways. Rehab has been 
the one constant — a daily regimen 

of physical therapy, stimulation, 
icing, and a couple of things even 
Kile doesn’t know how to describe. 
Before he was cleared to practice, 
he would sit in the bleachers 
at times, a lonely figure in an 
otherwise empty 
Yost Ice Arena 
silently watching 
his 
team 
on 

the ice below. 
And when the 
team 
traveled 

without him, he 
would 
kill 
all 

the downtime he 
never expected 
to have, waiting 
patiently for the 
games to come on TV.

“You know, the last couple 

weekends at Yost have been 
emotional for me, realizing that 
my time is coming to an end,” Kile 
said. “We’ve got two weekends 
here left. Just got to make the most 

of it. Being out and watching the 
team play while you’re a senior is 
tough. ... It’s probably the toughest 
thing I’ve gone through as a player, 
knowing it’s coming to an end. So 
I’ve just got to get through it.”

Added 

Berenson: “I think 
it really hit (Kile) 
hard. He expected 
he was just going 
to be a dominant 
player, and I was 
hoping he would be 
a dominant player, 
everyone thought 
he would be a 
dominant 
player, 

and it didn’t work 

out that way. Maybe it was without 
Cooper, and too much onus was on 
Alex and then he gets injured, and 
now he’s looking at the end of his 
career facing him in the upcoming 
month.”

Kile, it appears, is in an 

unexpected position as the clock 
on his career winds down. He may 
have envisioned himself as the 
lynchpin of a team still fighting 
for the Big Ten at this point of the 
year, and Berenson likely did too. 
Instead, Kile has been confined to 
the sidelines, while Michigan sits 
just two points ahead of last-place 
Michigan State.

“It sucks that our team isn’t 

doing as well as we’d like,” Kile 
said. “My linemates last year were 
two seniors. One of them played 
in the NHL this year, one of them 
in the AHL, so it’s just different 
transitioning 
from 
that 
high 

offensive group to this year. It’s 
tough, and it’s not what I expected 
of my individual success. But 
we’re a team, and it’s not about me. 
It’s about the team, and we’ve got 
to try to turn things around right 
now.”

With any chance of punching a 

ticket to the NCAA Tournament 

in 
the 
regular 
season 
long 

expired, Kile and the Wolverines 
are now focusing on the Big Ten 
Tournament, where just three 
wins stand between them and a 
guaranteed postseason bid.

Just how much of a long shot 

that may be depends on whether 
Kile can make an impact, injured 
ankle and all.

“He’s got a chance to jumpstart 

our 
offense,” 
Berenson 
said. 

“He’s been out for awhile, and he 
can’t wait. It’s his senior year. It 
should be no question about his 
inspiration to this team.

“You look and see who’s our 

leading 
scorer 
against 
Ohio 

State, and it’s Alex Kile. And to 
no surprise, that would probably 
be true with most teams, but 
particularly Ohio State. So yeah, 
it’s a big loss but we can’t dwell 
on the loss. We’ve got to dwell on 
what we have, and who’s playing 
and how hard they’re playing … 
but we know we aren’t as good 
offensively without Alex Kile, so 
we’ve got to be better defensively. 
Somebody’s got to pick up the 
slack.”

One thing is clear, though: Kile 

has come to terms with how things 
have gone this year. What matters 
now is the opportunity to leave 
the trainer’s table, reclaim a lost 
senior season and attempt to push 
his team back into the postseason 
— no matter how unlikely that 
may be.

“My individual success is a 

big part of this team,” Kile said. 
“If I can get rolling and get some 
confidence going into the Big 
Ten Tournament, it’s only going 
to help. All it takes is one good 
weekend, and that’s what we need 
to do. I don’t like to say it, but 
we’re not going to win the Big Ten. 
We’re probably going to be a fifth 
seed, so (we) gotta focus on the 
Big Ten Tournament, upset some 
teams and be the underdog.”

Added Berenson: “No question. 

If Alex gets hot — just like our 
team if our team gets hot — then 
you forget about how you started. 
You just remember how you 
ended.”

JEREMY MITNICK/Daily

Senior forward Alex Kile’s final season has taken an unexpected trajectory, but he is still relishing the opportunity to spark life into the Wolverines.

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

“There weren’t 
many question 
marks around 

Alex Kile”

MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Editor

“This was all 
gritty. We just 

got enough 

done”

