8 — Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

The reality that will haunt Michigan

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — 

As with everything in the 
Michigan 
men’s 
basketball 

program, John Beilein preaches 
a precise routine. For freshman 
forward 
Isaiah 
Livers, 
that 

means talking to his dad prior to 
every game.

So on Monday, Livers told 

his dad how he needed to 
be aggressive, how he could 
attempt to stifle his matchup, 
how 
he 
wanted 
to 
take 

smart shots on offense. And 
naturally, 
Livers 
articulated 

his excitement to play in the 
national championship game 
— a dream for every college 
basketball player but a reality 
for a select few.

Yet there was a sobering tone 

of realism in his words.

“We’ve got to play like our 

old self,” Livers told his dad. 
“We got to pick it up. We haven’t 
played our best basketball in a 
while.”

When Michigan took the floor 

in San Antonio, it’d been exactly 
30 days since it won the Big Ten 
Tournament 
Championship. 

There, 
it 
looked 
nearly 

unbeatable 
with 
convincing 

victories over Michigan State 
and Purdue.

But the Wolverines would 

soon begin to flirt with death 
like a bad habit. They were 
dreadfully 
sluggish 
in 
the 

opening round of the NCAA 
Tournament. Jordan Poole saved 
them with a miracle in the next 
round. A less-talented Florida 
State club nearly bit them in Los 
Angeles. Moritz Wagner needed 
the game of his life to knock off 
Loyola-Chicago.

Excluding 
an 
anomalous 

barrage against Texas A&M, 
Michigan had been shooting 
3-pointers at just 25 percent 
during the tournament. Defense 
and luck — having playing no 

team seeded higher than sixth 
until 
Monday 

— had carried 
the 
Wolverines 

through 
their 

rough 
shooting 

performances.

“We’ve 

noticed that our 
shooting 
was 

not to where it 
normally is, that 
was 
clear 
the 

last two games 
especially,” 
said 
freshman 

guard C.J. Baird.

All of this, of course, is part 

of basketball. No team is always 

going to play its best.

But Monday’s 

20-point loss to 
Villanova 
was 

one 
that 
was 

coming.

The 

Wolverines had 
another dreadful 
shooting 
performance, 
going just 3-of-
23 from beyond-
the-arc. 
Their 

offense settled far too often. 
The rim was rarely kind.

“I couldn’t tell you (why),” 

Baird said. “I mean every day, 

those guys are raining 3s on us 
in practice.”

And yet, there were aspects 

of 
Michigan’s 
game 
that 

unexpectedly underperformed.

Michigan’s perimeter defense 

had been exceptional all-season 
long. 
On 
Monday, 
Yaklich’s 

magic number was eight — 
that, or less, was how many 
3-pointers he told his defense it 
could allow to win.

The 
Wildcats, 
even 
after 

starting 1-of-9, hit 10. 

“We 
(knew 
we 
had) 
to 

be 
incredibly 
connected 

defensively, the whole night,” 
Yakich said. “You can’t let your 

guard down.”

Villanova ran 

the 
definition 

of a blitzkrieg 
offense. 
Even 

when 
the 

Wildcats 
seem 

off-base like they 
did early, they 
strike before you 
know it. It’s what 
led 
Villanova 

to one of the 
most 
dominant 

tournament runs of all time, and 
it’s what led them to a 17-point 
win over Michigan on a night 
when its best player in Jalen 

Brunson struggled immensely.

That’s 
why 
defensive 

rebounding, a significant source 
of improvement this season, was 
so critial for Michigan. But the 
Wolverines allowed 12 offensive 
boards, killing any momentum 
and hope they had at coming 
back.

“The biggest surprise was our 

lack of defensive rebounding,” 
Yakich said. “That was just 
surprising. 
… 
If 
you’d 
had 

said we’d give up 12 offensive 
rebounds tonight I’d probably 
have said we’re in trouble.”

But perhaps what nobody 

could 
have 
expect 
was 

the 
performance 
of 
Donte 

DiVincenzo. 
He’s 
the 
sixth 

option in Villanova’s offense, 
averaging 13.5 points per game. 
He lit up Michigan for 31.

“He killed us for sure,” said 

redshirt 
sophomore 
guard 

Charles Matthews. “He wasn’t 
their main option, but he showed 
up on the big stage, and I got to 
say I respect it.”

Added 
Livers: 
“When 

someone’s on fire you got to deny 
him. I know we tried our best, 
but I don’t think we did what 
we’re capable of shutting a player 
down. That doesn’t happen a lot.”

What had been happening a 

lot, however, were Michigan’s 
sub-par 
offensive 
showings. 

And when those are combined 

with rebounding 
lapse, 
a 

DiVincenzo 
blaze 
and 
an 

overall 
brilliant 

Wildcats’ 
team, 
they’re 

compounded into 
the blowout you’d 
expect.

Of course, it 

was a blowout 
that 
the 

Wolverines weren’t expecting. 
And that’s the reality that they’ll 
have to deal with as they turn the 
page on this season.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Fifth-year senior forward Duncan Robinson was held to 0 points in his final game at Michigan.

MARK CALCAGNO

Daily Sports Editor

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman’s final exit

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — 

The walk between the bench 
to the Alamodome tunnel is 
as lonely as it is visible. After 
stepping up to the court and 
walking across it, it takes 
another 70 steps to leave — an 
expansive walk on the carpet 
with an unobstructed view 
around the arena until step No. 
71.

That 
was 
the 
route 

Muhammad-Ali 
Abdur-

Rahkman 
took, 
jogging 

behind his teammates as they 
exited. In the final game of 
the senior guard’s career — a 
79-62 drubbing at the hands 
of Villanova in the National 
Championship game — all he 
could do was stroll, stone-
faced, off the court for the last 
time in a Michigan uniform.

Nobody imagined his team 

would make it this far. The 
team’s 
accomplishments, 

including a program-best 33-8 
record, didn’t make the defeat 
any less painful.

“You don’t think about it 

much right now because of the 
way we lost,” Abdur-Rahkman 
said. “But nobody had us here. 
Lost a couple guys to the NBA, a 
lot of new faces and we weren’t 
picked to be one of the top 
teams in the Big Ten. We went 
out there and proved them 
wrong from the beginning of 
the season to the end.”

Despite the results, Abdur-

Rahkman did what a senior 
and team captain should do 
on the biggest stage — the 
perfect goodbye to one of the 
quietest players to rank in 
Michigan lore. In the first 
half of Monday night’s tilt he 
finished a transition layup, 
knocked down a 3-pointer and 
finessed his way to two more 
easy layups and a free throw 
for 10 points. The captain 
even showed uncharacteristic 
emotion, hoisting up three 
fingers and pounding his chest 

after his triple.

Then he was substituted out 

after earning his second foul 
with 4:07 remaining, and the 
wheels came irreversibly off 
for 
Michigan. 

Wildcat 
guard 
Donte 

Divincenzo 
exploded for 31 
points, draining 
shots 
every 

which 
way. 

When Villanova 
wasn’t scoring, 
the Wolverines 
committed 
one foul after 
another.

Abdur-Rahkman 
was 
the 

lone 
constant. 
The 
6-foot-

4 guard stayed aggressive, 
driving to the rim for points 
three 
separate 
times 
and 

hitting one crossover trey as 
part of his team-high 23 points 
on 8-for-13 shooting. The game 
was out of reach, but Abdur-
Rahkman played like someone 

who knew it was 
his last game.

“It’s 
a 

testament to his 
heart, the type 
of person he is,” 
said sophomore 
guard 
Ibi 

Watson. 
“Unfortunately, 
it 
was 
kinda 

overshadowed 
by our loss. But 

it just shows how he is as a 
person. He never gives up and 
he has such a great will.

“It’s something that’s rubbed 

off on all of us, and he’s a great 
example of what it’s like to be a 

Michigan man.”

With 1:10 remaining, Abdur-

Rahkman checked out for the 
final time and embraced John 
Beilein. It wasn’t long after 
he lined up last for post-game 
handshakes 
and 
made 
his 

contemplative jog out of the 
arena. But he wasn’t thinking 
about the future — it was time 
to be a captain one more time 
and impart his wisdom on his 
teammates.

“I just wanted to say how 

proud I am of this team,” 
Abdur-Rahkman said. “Being 
the captain, I had my hand 
in a lot of things and a lot of 
people’s growth. We wanted to 
see people grow and pass stuff 
on to the younger guys.”

Added 
freshman 
guard 

Jordan Poole when asked about 
Abdur-Rahkman’s leadership: 

“That’s big bro, straight like 
that. We done been through 
so much. I didn’t really talk 
to him at the beginning of the 
year because I was tryna feel 
him out, but now 
we talk everyday. 
Being 
able 
to 

be 
around 
that 

type of guy — he 
just has so much 
knowledge, 
he’s 

like 27 years old.”

So what comes 

next for the senior, 
who 
is 
actually 

just 23 years old?

Earlier 
in 

the 
season, 
Beilein 
called 

Abdur-Rahkman a guy who 
practices solely to improve, 
not to make the jump to a more 
competitive league. Pursuing a 
professional basketball career 

is not something that he’s ever 
spoken about publicly. Not 
even his teammates know.

“Muhammad’s not like that,” 

said freshman forward Isaiah 
Livers. “He’s gonna make a 
decision on his own and that’s 
what I like most about him. 
But he hasn’t told me about 
it. … It’s not (his) last game of 
basketball, I do believe that.”

The 
“silent 
assassin” 

as 
assistant 
coach 
Saddi 

Washington calls him, is just 
that 
— 
Abdur-Rahkman’s 

quiet imprint includes one of 
the most polished resumes in 
program history. A national 
championship appearance, two 
Big Ten Tournament titles, 
a Sweet Sixteen finish, 1,283 
career points and a program 
record for most games played. 

Abdur-Rahkman was never 

one to make light of that, of 
course. It’s not in the DNA 
of someone who came in as 
a two-star recruit and who 
was thrusted into the starting 
lineup his freshman year to do 
that. His legacy is as powerful 
as it is predictable.

“Do your work in silence,” 

Livers 
remarked 
of 
what 

Abdur-Rahkman 
taught 

him. “You don’t see Duncan 
(Robinson) and Muhammad 
flaunting about all the work 
they’ve put in. They don’t say 
anything about that at all. 

… 
I 
haven’t 

told 
them 

this yet that 
I 
appreciate 

how 
much 

work they’ve 
put 
in 

even 
when 

nobody’s 
looking.”

But 
after 

Monday 
night’s 
loss, 

Abdur-Rahkman 
couldn’t 

escape the 67,831 person crowd 
as he walked off the court for 
the final time. He’s now a 
part of Michigan basketball 
history.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman embraces Michigan coach John Beilein as he leaves the court.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor

Villanova ran 
the definition 
of a blitzkrieg 

offense.

“The biggest 

surprise was our 

lack of defensive 

rebounding.”

The senior guard put on a show in his final game at Michigan, leading the team with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting

“He never gives 
up and he has 
such a great 

will.”

“He just has so 

much knowledge, 

he’s like 27 years 

old.”

There were aspects of the Wolverines’ game that unexpectedly underperformed in their 17-point loss to Villanova

