2B — Monday, March 5, 2018 SportsMonday The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com A mad start to Michigan’s March M arch is just four days old. It has already been full of mad- ness. The Michi- gan women’s basketball, men’s bas- ketball and hockey teams all played in the Big Ten Tournament over the weekend, and all three punched their tickets to the NCAA Tournament in the pro- cess. In Indianapolis, the No. 6 seed women’s basketball team set out to correct course after a late slide characterized the end of its regular season. A 2-4 record in February wasn’t a good look for a Wolverine team once ranked as high as No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25, even if one of those wins came against then-No. 13 Maryland. In its first contest on Thurs- day, Michigan breezed past No. 11 seed Penn State to earn a 77-48 victory, as its star duo of senior guard Katelynn Fla- herty and junior center Hallie Thome came within six points of outscoring the Nittany Lions on their own. Thome poured in a game-high 22 points and fell one rebound shy of a double-double, while Flaherty was right behind her with 21, including five triples. But in the quarterfinal round Friday, even the trusted hands of Flaherty and Thome failed the Wolverines, as turnovers in transition on two consecutive possessions in the final 2:30 cost them dearly in a 61-54 loss to the third-seeded Cornhusk- ers. Despite the disappointing tourney finish, with a 10-6 con- ference and 22-9 overall record, Michigan is still projected to be a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tour- nament according to ESPN’s most recent Bracketology report. After missing out on the Big Dance in infamous fashion a year ago, the Wolverines seem poised to return for the first time since coach Kim Barnes Arico’s debut season at the helm of the program in 2012-13. Back in Ann Arbor, the hockey team hosted Wisconsin for a best-of-three series in the first round of its conference tournament. Michigan wouldn’t need all three games — though that was in question at certain points of Friday’s opening period. Michigan scored first just 1:40 into the game, but the Badgers roared back with three consecutive goals, jumping out to a 3-1 lead and silencing the crowd at Yost Ice Arena. By the end of the period, though, the Wolverines would be back on top. With three straight goals of its own off the power play, Michigan took a 4-3 lead into the first inter- mission. Senior for- ward Tony Calderone com- pleted his hat trick to open the second period, but Wisconsin came up with a pair of power play goals as well to tie the game at five. It took a fourth goal from Calderone halfway through the third period to seal a 6-5 win. There was less drama Sat- urday night, but no shortage of goals, as the two teams com- bined to find the back of the net another 11 times. It was the Badgers who opened the scor- ing and the Wolverines who answered back with three goals of their own this time around. But Wiscon- sin couldn’t match Michi- gan’s offensive firepower two nights in a row, and the Wolver- ines earned a 7-4 win to advance to a second- round matchup against No. 6 Ohio State next Saturday. Perhaps more importantly, Michigan is sitting comfort- ably at No. 8 in the Pairwise rankings, which means a near- certain return to the NCAA Tournament in Mel Pearson’s first year as head coach after a disastrous 2016 season. That brings us to New York City, the ‘Mecca of basketball’ and Michigan’s second consecu- tive Big Ten Tournament cham- pionship. Four games in four days isn’t easy any way you slice it, but as far as luck of the draw is concerned, the fifth-seeded, 15th-ranked Wolverines weren’t dealt the easiest hand. First up was Iowa, a team Michigan had swept but couldn’t afford to look past. Whether the Wolverines or the officials were more to blame, Thursday’s opening game did not bode well for their tourna- ment chances. As foul trouble hindered all three captains, the Hawkeyes pushed Michigan to overtime, where the Wolver- ines finally pulled themselves together to take a 10-4 edge in the decisive period. Then came Nebraska, which had embarrassed Michigan in a 20-point win in Lincoln. But Friday, the Wolverines gave the Cornhuskers a taste of their own medicine. Michigan went 11-for-13 from beyond the arc, and four players hit double figures en route to a nearly 20-point victory of its own. After that, a date with No. 2 Michigan State awaited. The Wolverines had beaten the Spartans by 10 points at the Breslin Center in January, and Michigan State was eager for revenge. But Michigan was hav- ing none of it Saturday, riding a 49-point second-half outburst to another double-digit victory. And finally, the Wolverines would have to play a champion- ship game against the only team in the Big Ten they had yet to beat in No. 8 Purdue. And not only had they lost to the Boiler- makers, they had lost to them twice. While Purdue was a top- five team in the country on both of those occasions, Michigan lost by just five points com- bined. Sunday, the Wolverines ran away from the Boilermakers — opening up a lead as large as 18 points late in the second half — and right to another Big Ten Tournament title. Michigan may not have won the most games, but it certainly looks like the best team in the conference. Now, the Wolver- ines have the trophy to prove it. With another automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, Michigan can make that point even stronger by outlasting its familiar foes in the Big Dance. That makes three Wolverine teams all seemingly destined for NCAA Tournament runs. Brace yourselves, Michi- gan fans. This could be a mad March. Ashame can be reached at ashabete@umich.edu or on Twitter @betelhem_ashame. KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily The Michigan men’s basketball team kicked off what should be an excitement-filled March with a Big Ten Tournament Championship. Teske’s grand slam NEW YORK CITY, NY — It felt like a scene out of a movie. Jon Teske — the Michigan men’s basketball team’s placid, soft-spoken center — gathered his momentum outside the block, leapt and threw down an emphatic, and-one dunk. Put on a poster was Purdue’s Isaac Haas, a seven-foot-two, 290- pound behemoth who makes a living bullying others in the paint. But here was Teske, the polar opposite of his demonstra- tive teammate Mortiz Wagner, doing the bullying on the big- gest, tallest player in the Big Ten. And it happened on the biggest stage nonetheless; the lights of a championship game at Madison Square Garden can melt the composure of even the most poised players. Teske doesn’t ooze that type of swagger. His teammates and coaches have publicly noted his “quiet” demeanor and need for more confidence on the floor. But after Teske generated one of the most shocking high- lights of the Big Ten Tourna- ment, he looked like he was born for it, vaulting down the floor with a thunderous scream that was drowned out by the roar of the crowd. Duncan Robinson, meanwhile, jumped twice in jubilation. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman first-pumped like he was throwing a punch. The bench exploded like a fire had been lit under the chairs. “I’m a quiet guy,” Teske said. “That passion, my love for the game kind of all spilled out.” Added freshman forward Isa- iah Livers: “Oh my. Even though my ankle was hurt, I shot up as fast as I could and was grabbing my head like, ‘Did he really just do that?’ Because usually he’ll go up, do a little layup, get fouled. But he was thinking dunk the whole time. He was hunting.” Hunting is not Teske’s M.O. His influence isn’t typically reflected in the box score, even though he’s been an essential part of Michigan’s defensive turnaround this season. He came into the tourna- ment averaging just over three points and three rebounds per game. But on Sunday, Teske got a vote of confidence from one of his teammates, and it might’ve been the difference. “Today’s your day, man, ” Livers recalled telling Teske. “It’s a great matchup today so if you want to be a dog, I got you today.” Haas was too much for Wag- ner early. He scored Purdue’s first seven points and forced the eventual tournament MVP to the bench just over two min- utes in. At that point, Michigan coach John Beilein yelled down his bench. He and the Wolver- ines needed Teske more than ever. The backup center came through. Just moments after he’d subbed for Wagner, Teske cleaned up his own miss for his first bucket of the afternoon. Then he and Abdur-Rahkman executed a pick-and-roll to per- fection, diving into the lane for a dunk that eliminated the Boil- ermakers’ final lead of the eve- ning. And with the Wolverines nursing a one-point lead late in the first half, Teske and Robin- son ran the pick-and-roll again, but this time Teske stopped and popped a 10-footer. Less than a minute later, he a took a pass from redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews and hit from just inside the arc — no hesita- tion involved. Chants of “Teske! Teske! Teske!” filled the Garden. The pair of connections were emblematic of Teske’s growth since the start of his collegiate career. Teske played just 60 minutes all of last season. It was spurt here, a spurt there, never having the chance the make an impact. He looked uncomfort- able — even timid — on his rare chances. But on Sunday, he would let it fly on a shot he’s only attempted a handful of times this season — part of a career- high 14-point effort on 6-of-9 shooting. “It’s been an ongoing thing throughout the year, pushing him to play big- ger than his quiet voice kind of allows him to sometimes,” said assistant coach Saddi Washing- ton. “I’m just so happy for Jon because in this moment, when we really needed him to step up, he did it in a major way.” Added Livers: “I think he needed the confidence, he need- ed the ‘go.’ He was waiting on the ‘go’ from coaches, but we’ve got his back so whatever he chooses to do, we’re right there with him.” Beilein has attached pictures of dogs to the Wolverines’ lock- er room whiteboard at various point over the past two champi- onship seasons. It’s a mentality he desires his each of his players to carry — one that defies Mich- igan’s historical reputation as a skill-based, finesse team. Teske is no finesse player. He’s a Midwest-born bruiser. But Teske hasn’t adopted that “dog” mindset like some of teammates — at least until Sun- day. Repeatedly, he frustrated Haas and center Matt Haarms defensively, offering resistance that few opponents have been able to match this season. “I’m just happy he chose the dog route today,” Livers said, “rather than the old Jon.” Nothing embodied that more than Teske’s dunk over Haas. It was a moment that sur- prised many, carried the arena into near-pandemonium and made the championship’s result clear with the Wolverines grip- ping an 18-point lead with just over six minutes to play. And for Teske, it was a moment two years in the mak- ing. Finally, he’d broken out of his shell on the floor — on the biggest stage against the one of the coun- try’s best cen- ters. “Our play- ers were like in awe,” Wash- ington said. “It was almost like he had elevated himself to that next level. The challenge for him will be, ‘You set a new level for yourself, now play at that level.’ ” KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily “Did he really just do that?” said Isaiah Livers in reference to this rim-rattling dunk from Jon Teske during the final minutes of Michigan’s 75-66 win over Purdue. “I’m just happy he chose the ‘dog’ route today.” “That passion, my love for the game kinda of all spilled out.” Michigan’s sophomore center scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in Michigan’s 75-66 win over Purdue MARK CALCAGNO Daily Sports Editor BETELHEM ASHAME March has already been full of madness.