Series Split

 The No. 20 Michigan hockey 

team split a pair of games 

against No. 18 Wisconsin 

this weekend

» Page 4B

Free Falling

The No. 13 Michigan 

women’s basketball team 

had a rough week, dropping 

a shocker at home to Purdue 

and losing at Rutgers
» Page 4B

It was deja vu all over again 

for the Wolverines.

A stodgy first half. A second-

half spurt. A collapse at the 
end. A three to tie it.

Against Maryland, guard 

Kevin Huerter drained a cold-
blooded three to tie the game, 
with the Terrapins smelling 
a potential upset bid. On that 
night, the Wolverines executed 
their last-second play to 
perfection, finding a charging 
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman as he bullied his 
way to the hoop. On that night, 
Abdur-Rahkman drained both 
free throws to escape with a 
win.

On Saturday, Abdur-

Rahkman caught the inbounds 
pass with 3.3 seconds left, 
found a wall of Minnesota 
defenders, and hurled up 
something resembling an off-
balance three. Needless to say 
it didn’t fall.

But once again, Michigan 

(19-6 overall, 8-4 Big Ten) 
escaped with a win in a game 
filled with self-inflicted 
wounds. Once again, Abdur-
Rahkman would be the hero.

With 3.8 seconds left, 

Abdur-Rahkman made up for 
his end-of-regulation miss with 

the decisive moment of the 

game, as he attacked the 

hoop, spun to his left 

and made the layup 

with a foul.

“I just looked 
up the 
floor and 
surveyed 
the floor, 
and saw there 
was nobody 
under the 
basket,” Abdur-
Rahkman said. 

“So I knew that if 

I could get downhill 

there wouldn’t be a help 

defender. Once he cut me off I 
just thought I should probably 
spin.”

Once again, the Wolverines 

pulled a rabbit out of their 
hat in a game they tried 
desperately to lose, topping 
Minnesota (14-11, 3-9), 76-73, 

in a bewildering back and forth 
slugfest.

For much of the night, 

though, Gophers’ guard Isaiah 
Washington imposed his will. 
Washington came into the 
game averaging 6.9 points per 
game on 32 percent from the 
field, and left Crisler with a 
26-point outburst on 11-of-16 
from the field.

While Michigan struggled 

to contain Minnesota’s guards 
on one end, the offensive 
struggles remained an equally 
persistent problem for a team 
that has taken a propensity to 
slow starts. The Wolverines 
shot just 34 percent from the 
field and 29 percent from three 
in the first half, heading to the 
locker room down 34-32.

Michigan 

has now shot 
37 percent 
or below 
and scored 
32 points or 
fewer in five 
of its last six 
first halves.

And as 

bad as things 
may have 
gotten from 
the field, 
the most 
alarming statistic came at the 
free-throw line. Michigan shot 
just 12-for-28 on the night.

“It’s all mental,” Abdur-

Rahkman said. “You get up 
there to the line, people think 
too much. You get a clear 
head. We literally do this 
everyday and guys shoot good 
percentages in practices.”

Added Beilein: “It’s not 

mechanical right now. They’ve 
got to go up there with some 
confidence. We’ve got to get 
them right. That’s my job.”

Yet as things remained grim 

the Wolverines somehow found 
a way to stay competitive.

In need of a pick-me-

up in the second half, the 
Wolverines turned to their 
star center to turn the tide. 
First, Wagner drained a 
3-pointers from the corner 
to close the gap to two 
points. Then, he corraled 
two consecutive offensive 
rebounds to keep possessions 
alive. The majority of second-
half offensive possessions 

centered around pick-and-
roll action with the German 
center. He scored 16 points on 
the day.

And, perhaps most 

impressively, Wagner stared 
one of his most physical one-
on-one matchups of the season 
in the face and overpowered 
him. 

Minnesota forward Jordan 

Murphy came into the game 
averaging 18 points and 12 
rebounds per game, fourth 
in the nation in the latter 
category. Not only did Wagner 
dazzle offensively, but he 
topped Murphy on the boards 
— with 10 to Murphy’s 6 — and 
held the Gophers’ star in check 
offensively. Wagner called that 
“the key to winning this game.” 

Murphy would 
later foul out in 
overtime with 
just 12 points.

Despite 

Murphy’s 
struggles, 
though, 
Washington 
and Mason 
continued to 
wreak havoc 
on Michigan’s 
defense. They 
combined 

to score 48 of the Gophers’ 
73 points, with an array of 
offensive moves and tough 
shots. The guard tandem was 
effective enough to force the 
Wolverines into a zone midway 
through the second half, a 
rarity in assistant coach Luke 
Yaklich’s man-centric defense. 
It was Yaklich who decided the 
zone would be the only way to 
combat the dynamic duo.

“That was Luke Yaklich 

all the way,” said Michigan 
coach John Beilein. “We felt, 
when you get a guy like Mason 
and Washington — they were 
15-for-22 at that time — they 
have what we need to go 
recruit: guys who can make 
tough twos. They were making 
tough twos. They were making 
them. We said, ‘Well, the only 
way we can possibly stop this is 
change what we’re doing.’ ”

As the clock began to wind 

down, Michigan appeared 
headed toward a close victory. 
Up three points with 20 
seconds left in regulation, 

Robinson caught the ball in 
the corner, as two defenders 
tried to wrestle the ball from 
him. While a foul appeared 
immiment, the referees instead 
blew the whistle for a travel, 
handing possession back 
to Minnesota with one last 
chance.

“I have no idea what 

happened on that play,” Beilein 
said. There’s a cylinder when 
you’re pivoting, they can’t be in 
your cylinder. If he walked I’m 
sure it must have been blatant 
for the officials. If not, that’s 
really a bad call.”

Mason took that break and 

snatched the momentum right 
back.

With just five seconds left, 

Mason drained a 3-pointer 
to send it to overtime after 
Michigan missed a switch on a 
screen.

In overtime, the free-throw 

disaster continue to plague the 
Wolverines. Sophomore guard 
Zavier Simpson missed two key 
attempts to potentially extend 
the lead to three. Washington 
answered on the other end, 
making two free throw to take 
back the lead. On the next 
possession, Matthews barely 
clanked home the first and 
missed the next.

Tied at 71. One minute left.
As the teams traded buckets 

in the final minute, Abdur-
Rahkman got his chance 
at redemption with nine 
seconds left. For a senior just 
starting to develop into the 
go-to option late in games, 
every opportunity is a work in 
progress. He made the most of 
this one.

“I wouldn’t say that I’ve 

been in that position before,” 
Abdur-Rahkman said. “But 
I’ve been in games, tight 
games, NCAA Tournament and 
stuff like that. It’s definitely 
something that’s developing. 
I’ve just got to continue to 
grow.”

It was an emphatic finish to 

a most uneven performance. 
There was as much 
exasperation as enthusiasm 
after the game.

“I’ll take the W,” Beilein 

muttered as he walked off the 
podium after his postgame 
press conference. “I need a 
nap.”

MAX MARCOVITCH

Senior Sports Editor

U-M tops Minnesota in wild finish

SAM MOUSIGIAN/DAILY

B
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | February 5, 2018

the sweet

ESCAPE

DESIGN BY JACK SILBERMAN

MICH 76 - MINN 73 (OT)

“I just looked up the
floor and surveyed the

floor, and saw

there was nobody
under the basket.”

