SPORTSMONDAY

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor

Slumping

 The Michigan women’s 

basketball team suffered its 

third loss in the past four 
games, losing to Michigan 

State.

» Page 3B

Dueled in the D

The Michigan hockey team 
won the Iron D trophy, 
earning five points over the 
weekend against Michigan 
State.
» Page 4B

Hot first half 

propels ‘M’ to win 

MADISON — On Sunday afternoon, Kohl 

Center had all the makings of a big matchup: a 
raucous crowd, highlight reels on the jumbotron 
and the suspense of an intense rivalry.

And then the game began.
Sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson put his 

finesse moves to good use, bullying his defender 
in the lane for the game’s first two points. Then 
Simpson rifled an outlet pass to Charles Matthews 
for an easy layup — one of six assists on the day for 
the sophomore. A Duncan Robinson 3-pointer 
followed for a 7-0 lead 2:28 into the contest.

It would be that kind of game for the No. 20 

Michigan men’s basketball team — it was bigger 
and better than Wisconsin and could score points 
any way it wanted. The Wolverines (9-5 Big Ten, 
20-7 overall) nearly surrendered their 23-point 
lead when their offense relaxed, but they made 
the necessary stops to get a reprieve from a recent 
offensive slump to trample the underperforming 
Badgers (4-10, 11-16), 83-72. It was just coach John 
Beilein’s second win in Madison in his 11-year 
tenure.

“Our defense in the first half was very, very 

good. Second half, not as good,” Beilein said. 
“(Defense is) tough to play with that type of lead. 
We’ve been in this building before and we got 
up, then they made a run and we did not execute 
down the stretch and melted a little bit. These guys 
would not go away tonight.”

After the first seven points, Michigan hit the 

gas pedal even harder. In a fluid 2:02 sequence, the 
Wolverines recovered from a broken offensive set 
to convert an alley-oop for Moritz Wagner, then 
proceeded to knock down three consecutive deep 
balls.

Two of them came off the hands of Robinson, 

who entered the starting lineup due to an ankle 

injury to freshman forward Isaiah Livers. The 
fifth-year senior was removed as a starter on Jan. 
13 against Michigan State, and he welcomed the 
return with 16 points, hitting his first four threes 
in the process.

And for the first time this season — partially 

a byproduct of Livers’ absence — Wagner and 
sophomore center Jon Teske saw the floor 
together for the first time all year. The added 
height was also a measure to contain Wisconsin’s 
Ethan Happ, the Badgers’ lone source of scoring 
with 29 points.

“A scary few minutes right there, we’ve got this 

guy chasing guys around the perimeter,” Beilein 
joked, pointing at Wagner beside him. “They 
really did good (and) you could see it more. They 
understand that there are some teams — and this 
team is one — where it’s a good matchup for us.

“The whole idea today was “How are we going 

to keep ‘Happ from getting 40?’ and I don’t think 
we did a great job with that. … When we lost Isaiah 
Livers we knew that (Wagner) might have to play 
some ‘4’ and now he’s not getting more rest.”

It was a mish-mash of new lineups and unusual 

scenes in the first 20 minutes, but it amounted to 
a lights-out 17-for-26 from the field and a 44-22 
halftime lead.

In the second half, the onslaught continued. 

While Happ continued to work Michigan’s 
frontcourt, Wagner responded in kind with seven 
of the Wolverines’ first 11 points, including an 
off-balance, shot clock-beating trey as part of his 
20-point, 11-board double-double.

But with 11:46 remaining up 21, a repressed 

memory of blowing a 20-point lead at Ohio State 
resurfaced. Happ and teammate Nate Reuvers 
went on a 10-0 run by themselves, before a layup by 
senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman 
quieted a restless crowd. Wisconsin scored again, 
then Abdur-Rahkman dished a no-look pass to 
Wagner for a dunk. And then it happened once 
more, this time a step-back dagger by the senior. 

Michigan’s 
lead would 
never 
sink 

below 
seven 

for the rest of the 
game.Wisconsin 
tried to continue 
its 
comeback 

efforts with a “hack-
a-Simpson” strategy, 
intentionally fouling 
the point guard with 
3:08 remaining. While it 
worked twice, as he missed the 
front ends of two one-and-ones, the Badgers 
couldn’t capitalize before he was substituted out.

“All programs in the Big Ten are really good 

programs so we know they’re gonna make a run 
late,” Robinson said. “Teams aren’t just gonna 
wilt away. We’ve got to do a little bit better job in a 
couple areas, not fouling 3-point shooters and stuff 
like that. You get experience through games like 
this. Fortunately, we were able to get a win in 
this one, but we’ve gotta continue to tighten 
up our free throw shooting and staying 
connected on defense in those type of 
situations.”

Sunday’s game may have had 

all the reverie of a high-stakes 
contest — a prolific shooting 
display, a valiant comeback 
and a rightful winner. But it 
was truly Michigan’s game 
from the start, and it took 
care of business exactly 
as it needed to to keep 
its NCAA Tournament 
aspirations alive.

Kateyln Mulcahy // Daily
Design by Jack Silberman

The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | February 12, 2018
B

ON,

MICHIGAN

Michigan 83
Wisconsin 72

