4B — Monday, April 2, 2018
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

‘M’ embraces underdog role again

SAN
ANTONIO,
Texas
—

The Michigan men’s basketball
team is playing in the NCAA
Championship game against No.
1-seeded Villanova on Monday
Night.

No need to go to check your

glasses, you read that correctly.

The Wolverines (33-7 overall)

have
juggled
elite
defensive

performances, scattered offensive
spurts and a dash of luck to get to
this point. But on paper, Michigan’s
performance isn’t an accident
— it’s been the favorite in all five
tournament games its played in
thus far.

But now, the Wolverines come

in as the underdog, and even
that’s an understatement. Some
media members have asked if the
championship trophy can be gifted
prematurely to the Wildcats.

The overreaction is baseless

but unsurprising. Villanova (35-4)
rained 13 3-pointers just in the first
half as part of a 95-79 walloping
against Kansas on Saturday. It was
a game that Michigan coach John
Beilein said he was glad he didn’t
have time to watch. The Wildcats
are led by guard Jalen Brunson —
who averages 19.2 points per game
— on an already-complete roster.

“As a point guard, and one who

wants to be elite at the next level,
who wouldn’t want to look forward
to a matchup like Brunson (who
is) a National Player of the Year?”
questioned
sophomore
point

guard Zavier Simpson. “They’re
a great team. They aren’t No. 1 in
the country for no reason. We have
to come ready to play, or we’ll get
embarrassed.”

Added assistant coach Saddi

Washington: “At this point in the
season, you’re not really gonna out-
trick your opponent. You’ve just
gotta be the best version of who you
are and hope that’s good enough.”

So yes, Michigan is the clear

underdog. But that’s right where
this team wants to be.

“When
you’re
the
favorite,

especially playing against lower
seeds in the NCAA Tournament, it
just adds more pressure,” said senior
guard
Muhammad-Ali
Abdur-

Rahkman. “You just don’t want to
be that team that gets upset. I think
our identity from the beginning has
been being underdogs throughout
the season.”

Michigan coach John Beilein

said that the Wildcats have many
similarities
to
Loyola-Chicago,

with more size and another
shooter at the “5” spot. Villanova’s
frontcourt of Omari Spellman
and Eric Paschall not only brings
athletic shot-blocking prowess, but
the duo has also combined for 100
triples this season.

The Wildcats’ strategy isn’t new

to the Wolverines. But Villanova
spaces the floor well and knocks
down shots at a higher clip than
anyone Michigan has faced this
year.

“We’ve faced some shooting

post
players
like
Nebraska,

Michigan State when they would
go with a smaller lineup with Jaren
Jackson Jr., those types of teams,”
Washington
said.
“Spellman,

Paschall — those guys are playing
at an unbelievable level right now.
What they did last night (against
Kansas) was impressive.”

For a team as volatile as

Michigan, it knows not to get

intimidated by how the Wildcats
breezed through the tournament to
get to this point. It’s another chip on
the Wolverines’ shoulders, who are
comfortable “getting in the mud,”
according to fifth-year senior point
guard Jaaron Simmons.

But they will have their work

cut out stopping Villanova’s 3-point
shooting. The Wildcats have made
the most treys in the country, ahead
of the second-place team by 1.6
threes per game. In the tournament,
Michigan has held opponents to
just 24 percent on 3-pointers, while
Villanova has converted on 42.3
percent of their attempts.

If
the
Wildcats
can’t
hit

their threes, it could turn into a
rockfight — a type of game that
the Wolverines are accustomed
to playing. It’s not flashy. Perhaps
it’s why Michigan was hardly on
the national radar before the Big
Ten Tournament. But now the
Wolverines are here in the title
game, and they don’t care how they
are being labeled.

“Very few people have been

paying attention to us all year.
That’s fine with us,” Washington
said. “We just go about our
business each and every day. That’s
the beauty of athletics — one day
you’re the darling, one day you’re
the hunted and one day you’re the
hunter.”

Wolverines recognize role of luck

SAN ANTONIO, Texas —

Before Saturday’s game, the
Michigan men’s basketball team
huddled around Jordan Poole
just outside its tunnel.

The fiery freshman is adept

at hyping up his team, and he
looked around before giving a
galvanizing message.

“We’re not supposed to be

here.”

Poole was almost definitely

referring to how the Wolverines
have been doubted all season.
Nobody expected them to be in
the Final Four.

But there’s an underlying

message that comes with Poole’s
statement.
Along
Michigan’s

run to this point, it needed some
lucky breaks to stay alive. Poole’s
buzzer beater to beat Houston,
even with the preparation to
make it possible, needed some
luck to go down. The Wolverines’
path to the NCAA Championship
game, littered with lower-seeded
teams, needed a bit of luck to
materialize.

Those
are
fortunate

happenings that could have gone
either way. Perhaps Michigan
isn’t supposed to be here.

That’s not a slight. Michigan

coach John Beilein recognizes it’s
necessary to have some luck this
time of year.

“It’s been an incredible year

for Michigan with very few
injuries, a ton of breaks to be to
this point,” Beilein said. “And I
feel guilty sometimes about some
of the games we won because we
just had this grace fall on us all of
a sudden. But at the same time it’s
gone the other way many times
for some of our teams and you
beat yourself up as a coach, and
what could I have done. But as I
get more experience in this game,
I realize that’s what it’s about,
and you can’t do anything about
those things.”

Fifth-year
senior
forward

Duncan Robinson understands
this balance too. The year he
redshirted, after transferring to
Ann Arbor, the Wolverines went
16-16. His next three seasons,
they barely made the tournament,
lost in the Sweet Sixteen and now
have made it to the title game.

Robinson

has seen things
break both for
and against him
and his teams. It
helps him value
just how tough
it is to get to this
spot.

“I would just

say
you
learn

very easily not
to take things
for granted, in particular in that
Houston game,” Robinson said.
“You know, Jordan doesn’t hit
that miraculous shot, none of us
are sitting here. ... So, I mean,
when you think about it like
that, the only thing you can do
is just be appreciative that, for
whatever reason, it’s you and it’s
your team.”

For Beilein and Robinson,

experience
has
given
them

perspective. For the younger
Michigan players, the perspective
hasn’t come yet.

It’s easy for them to take it for

granted, because this is the only

thing they’ve experienced. The
veterans try to let them know
how lucky they are, though.

“Moe was telling Jordan and I,

I think we were like traveling and
we said something (that) doesn’t
really matter,” said freshman
forward Isaiah Livers. “And Moe
was like, ‘What? Do you know
how hard we’ve worked to get
to the place we are at right now?
You guys are spoiled.’ Moe was
saying, ‘You’re spoiled. You’re
spoiled.’ I said, ‘Hey, I guess we’re
just lucky to be spoiled people.’ ”

Added Robinson: “It’s hard

because you can say that, but
they’re just words. You’ve gotta
experience it for yourself. Like
I try to tell the freshmen, ‘The
next three years here, you could
have a team that’s far better than
us, and you still won’t get to this
point.’ And I’m not saying that
won’t happen for them, but it
very well could. Getting here
is obviously, it’s so tough to do.
And really good teams and really

good
coaches

and really good
players
haven’t

gotten
to
this

point
in
their

careers.”

Whether
by

luck or skill or
more
likely
a

combination
of

both,
though,

the
Wolverines

are
here
now.

They’ve used their underdog
feeling as motivation. Now, their
ability to stay alive is fueling
them.

Michigan
will
play
in

Monday’s NCAA Championship
Game for just the seventh time in
program history, so close to a goal
that’s almost impossible to reach.

With one game left, Michigan

could be a few good bounces
away from winning it all.

“Sometimes I feel like we’re

not
supposed
to
be
here,”

said sophomore guard Zavier
Simpson. “So we’ve got to give it
our all.”

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Jaaron Simmons and Michigan enter the national championship game as the clear underdog to Villanova.

MIKE PERSAK

Managing Sports Editor

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — John

Beilein looked despondent.

The Michigan head coach was

unhappy with the result, an 86-71
throat-slashing at the hands of
North Carolina, and even less
happy with the effort.

“(North Carolina) might be

that good,” Beilein said after that
Nov. 29 contest in Chapel Hill,
“but we’re definitely not that bad.”

Then he added a remarkably

confident quibble about his young
team, one that aged quite well in
hindsight.

“Just watch this team grow.

You’ll like what they do.”

Fast forward five months,

and the Wolverines are on the
doorstep of a national title —
assistant coach Saddi Washington
says he can hardly remember
the last time they lost. But these
staggering peaks didn’t come
without deep valleys.

That
defeat
that
slipped

Washington’s mind came 56 days
ago, a 61-52 loss at Northwestern
that
saw
Michigan’s
offense

wither at the feet of the Wildcats’
sprawling
zone.
Since,
the

Wolverines have won 15 games
in a row. A 16th would bring a
national title back to Ann Arbor.

And ask anyone in Michigan’s

locker room: the turning points
of the season didn’t come in big
wins, but in those stinging lossess.

Just
24
hours
from
the

Wolverines’ biggest basketball
game in five years, and the
biggest of each player’s life, the
athletes and coaches were able to
appreciate the depths that helped
them reach these heights.

“(Northwestern) played this

really crazy matchup zone,” said
freshman guard C.J. Baird, on
the last time his team lost. “That
threw us for a loop. We were
definitely wondering, ‘Where do
we go from here? What’s our next
step?’ ”

Since then, Michigan has faced

several zone defenses, including
Texas A&M’s in the second round
of the NCAA Tournament, one
the Wolverines torched to the
tune of 99 points and 14 made
threes.

Less than a month prior to

the loss to the Wildcats, the
Wolverines went to Lincoln and
were dealt their worst loss of
the season, a 72-52 shellacking
at the hands of the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska notoriously switched
every ball screen in that game,
a strategy that held Michigan
center Moritz Wagner to just two
points. The loss sent shockwaves
through a team whose offensive
flow hardly resembled Beilein’s
trademark offenses.

At the time, it seemed to be a

team more likely destined for the
NIT than the Final Four.

“That was definitely a turning

point with the coaching staff,”
Baird said, “because they noticed
teams would do that now and
follow suit. I mean, we lost by 20.”

Instead
of
praying
teams

wouldn’t
mimic
Nebraska’s

formula, Beilein and his staff
devised a plan to beat it.

Nearly
every
team
since

then has tried to reenact the
Cornhuskers’
success,
and

guided by increasingly aggressive
guard play, the offense has
made the necessary adjustment.
Resoundingly.

Monday
night,
Michigan

will invariably see it again, as
Villanova thrives on defensive
versatility
and
athleticism.

It’s only right that the truest

measuring stick of growth will
come on the sport’s biggest stage.

“I think our losses have shown

through really throughout the
entirety of our season — just with
handling adversity, also with
handling success,” said fifth-year
senior Duncan Robinson. “With
us, it’s all about growing through
everything, victory (and) defeat.
That’s something Coach Beilein
stresses with us, the good teams
grow from both.”

Added Washington: “I think

that speaks to the genius of Coach
Beilein. Whether you win or lose
a game, it’s an opportunity to
grow. It’s an opportunity to learn
something new about yourself.”

“Growth” for Beilein’s squad

doesn’t
come
in
heaps
and

mounds. He’s not big on “rah-rah”
speeches or big-picture turning
points. It comes in incremental,
day-to-day dedication. As cliche as
it may sound, there was no magic
elixir that transformed an early
season pretender into a national
championship participant.

“It’s just one of those things

Coach has been saying lately,”
Washington
recalled
Sunday

afternoon. “‘You don’t try to eat
the whole elephant, you just take
a bite at a time.’ ”

That
elephant
has
been

reduced to a morsel. There’s only
one more bite left to take.

The losses that shaped a contender

SAN ANTONIO, Texas —

Standing against a ten-foot
mural of Moritz Wagner, John
Beilein spoke to a herd of
reporters with a pleasant tone.
The Michigan men’s basketball
coach had just earned the
second
National
Semifinal

victory of his career, largely due
to Wagner’s historical showing
of 24 points and 15 rebounds.

But
when
probed
to

articulate his starting point
guard’s performance, the mood
shifted.

“Zavier (Simpson) did not

have a great day with the
ball,” Beilein said. “A couple of
(turnovers) were just careless.”

Though
the
Wolverines

managed to escape Loyola,
Saturday was one of Simpson’s
worst
performances

of
the
season.
He
was

uncharacteristically
sloppy

with four turnovers, and his
shot was well off the mark,
finishing scoreless on 0-of-6
shooting.

“You
cannot
play
that

way,” Beilein said. “Michigan
basketball cannot win if we’re
careless with the ball.”

Though it was indeed a

blanket
statement,
Beilein’s

comment
carries
serious

weight
as
the
Wolverines

get set for Monday’s title
matchup.
Against
Villanova

— the country’s most efficient
offensive team — Michigan
can’t afford as many miscues
from Simpson.

Yet, that’s not even the

sophomore’s most prominent
obligation. Simpson will be
tasked with defending Jalen
Brunson, the AP Player of
the Year who averages 19.2
points per game on 53-percent
shooting.

Simpson, of course, is known

as a shutdown defender. He
has forced elite point guards
like Houston’s Rob Gray, Penn
State’s Tony Carr and Michigan
State’s
Cassius
Winston
to

substandard nights. A week
ago, Simpson made T.J. Starks
— Texas A&M’s self-described
“unstoppable” point guard —
look foolish.

But Brunson is a different

animal. He can ball-handle
defenders into submission. He
can shoot, he can pass. He can
even post up.

“You got two pitbulls playing

against each other, that’s what
it’s going to be,” said assistant
coach DeAndre Hayes. “He’s
gonna do some things we
haven’t seen out of a guard.”

But Simpson has two things

working in his favor.

For
one,
Saturday’s

performance is already behind
him. Players make statements
about amnesia and how they’re
not thinking about this or that.
But when the no-nonsense
Simpson says it, it feels more
truthful, and that’s evident to
those around him.

“One thing about X is that

he’s strong-minded — he doesn’t
dwell on the past, he always
moves forward,” Haynes said.
“When I played in college, my
coaches they made me write on
my shoe, ‘Short-term memory.’
I tell all my guards that now.”

When
it
comes
to

understanding his opponent,
however, Simpson’s memory
is indelible. On Sunday, he
and the Wolverines will go
through a rigorous preparation

routine
—
one
that
has

endured throughout Beilein’s
tournament runs.

First, Simpson will read the

scouting report on Brunson,
which is usually prepared on a
white board in the team locker
room. Then he’ll watch film,
with each clip corresponding to
a certain aspect of the Wildcats.

It’s all taken to practice,

where it’s the scout team’s
responsibility
to
mimic

Brunson’s game.

That
responsibility
falls

on freshman Luke Wilson,
Michigan’s
walk-on
point

guard. His job won’t be easy.
Both
are
left-handed,
but

Brunson posts up like a big
man. Wilson’s post moves …
well, let his teammates assess
them.

“(Luke) can’t post up,” barked

Eli Brooks in the Wolverines’
locker room.

“I’ll make him turn red

today,” Simpson added.

“You’re
all
talk,
dude,”

Wilson responded.

“Alright, say that for 40

minutes.”

The
back-and-forth,
right

in front of a media scrum, is
emblematic of the everlasting
intensity Simpson carries.

A month ago, he and Wilson

nearly fought in practice. In one
drill, Simpson was guarding
Wilson, denying consistently
and pushing the ball out of
bounds. When Wilson finally
caught the ball, Simpson got in
his face — so close that Wilson
pushed him over.

“Everyone was like ‘Oh my

gosh,’
”
recalled
freshman

guard C.J. Baird.

That’s
just
the
type
of

competitor
Simpson
is.
It

doesn’t matter if he’s facing a
walk-on or star. He’s not in it
to lose.

On Monday, in the biggest

game of the year against the
country’s best player, that’s
what Simpson will attempt to
prove once again.

“Definitely a matchup that

I’m looking forward to. Who
wouldn’t?” Simpson said. “In
order to be the best, you have to
compete with the best.”

Simpson’s ultimate test: Jalen Brunson

MAX MARCOVITCH

Daily Sports Editor

MARK CALCAGNO

Daily Sports Editor

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Zavier Simpson will most likely be tasked with guarding Jalen Brunson, Villanova’s star point guard.

“Sometimes I
feel like we’re
not supposed to

be here.”