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The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | March 13, 2017

Next tourney up

The Wolverines earned a

No. 7 seed in the NCAA

Tournament and a Friday

matchup against Oklahoma

State in Indianapolis

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A long time coming

Behind its seniors, Michigan
finally finished the job
and won its first Big Ten
Tournament since the title
that was vacated in 1998
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A little over a month ago,

Michigan hit rock bottom.

The Wolverines had just lost

to Big Ten bottom-dweller Ohio
State, and looked completely
shook while doing so.

But following the game, senior

guard Derrick Walton Jr. stood in
the corner of the Crisler Center
pressroom looking as poised as
ever.

He knew his team had just

hit its lowest point, but realized
things could only get better.

“If
what
we’re

going
through

at this point

spearheads a run and us taking
the next step in some places we
lagged in, then I’m all for it,”
Walton said following the Ohio
State loss. “I’m more so excited. I
think it’ll make it a better story.”

And what a story it has

become, as the Wolverines have
done what looked impossible
over a month ago and improbable
just four days ago.

They’ve
won
a
Big
Ten

championship.

There were a lot of questions

asked of Michigan following
that Ohio State loss. Could
Walton and senior wing Zak
Irvin
put
together

complete

performances in the same game?
Could the Wolverines’ defense
get out of the basement of almost
every statistical category of the
Big Ten? Did Michigan players
overall
have

a
winning

mentality?

“The loss at

home to Ohio
State
really

opened
our

eyes,”
Walton

said on Sunday.
“I
think
we

played well but
we
just
layed

down and that was the biggest
moment for us as a team. I knew
after that very moment guys took

it to heart, and really wanted to

make the key adjustments to
be successful for the rest of
the season. We did that, and
that’s why I was so confident
going into the rest of the
season.”

Over the past four days,

the Wolverines have turned

the weaknesses present against

the Buckeyes into strengths.
And that all culminated in

Michigan’s
title-winning

71-56
victory
over

Wisconsin.

The
most

suspect
of
all

those
questions

was
Michigan’s

defense,
but

after watching
today,
one

would
never

know
the

struggles the
Wolverines
once
faced

while
defending.

Michigan opened the second

half on an 11-2 run to get out
to a 10-point lead. That stretch
included
a
5:19
Wisconsin

scoring drought and denying the

Badgers
from

getting
points

from the field
for over eight
minutes.
The

Wolverines also
were struggling
to find points
as the second
half
wore

on,
but
their

defense helped

Michigan maintain a comfortable
lead over that period.

“Especially
in
the
second

half, we all came together and
connected well on all cylinders on
the defensive end,” said redshirt
sophomore forward DJ Wilson.
“Even when they brought
in within six, we were
able to get crucial
stops and crucial
rebounds. I think
that’s really what
sealed the deal.”

But if there was

ever a team built to respond
to those types of runs, it’s the
Badgers. Guard Bronson Koenig
and
forward
Ethan
Happ

combined to score Wisconsin’s
last 12 points of the half, reducing
the Wolverines’ lead to only one
heading into intermission.

Again in the second half, the

Badgers began chipping away
at an 11-point Michigan lead
slowly but with the sort of poise
their core group of seniors have
become known for over the past
few seasons. The Badgers would
get within six of the Wolverines,
but Michigan had a response

every time they were closing in.

Irvin
and
redshirt
junior

wing Duncan Robinson each
hit
massive
three-pointers

when Wisconsin looked like it
had found the slightest bit of
momentum to get on a run.

“I just feel lucky my teammates

had that sort of confidence in
me,” Robinson said. “I hadn’t
really gotten any clean looks in
the game. But to get that shot
and knock it in was a special
moment.”

When the Badgers put on a

full-court press for the final
three minutes of the game,
Wilson found junior guard
Muhammad-Ali
Abdur-

Rahkman for a slam that
brought the fans at the
Verizon Center to their
feet and all but shut
the door on Wisconsin.

Wilson
was

essential

in
the

Wolverines
maintaining
their
lead

down
the

stretch,
scoring
12

of
his
17

points
in

the second
half, while
shutting
down
a

first team all-Big Ten player in
Happ defensively too.

Walton
and
Irvin
were

Michigan’s primary drivers on
both ends all game long. Irvin
was efficient scoring points early
on, mixing up cuts to the hoop
through the Wisconsin defense
and his signature mid-range
jumper. He’s put together one of
the most consistent runs of his
career through the conference
tournament, and finished Sunday
with 15 points, seven rebounds
and five assists.

But no performance could

compare to what Walton was

doing
single-

BRANDON CARNEY

Daily Sports Writer

“That’s part
of their legacy

together, all 16 of

those guys.”

‘M’ survives plane crash, rolls to Big Ten tourney title

See CHAMPIONSHIP,

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‘THOSE FIVE DAYS’