8A — Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

At the buzzer

Charles Matthews nails floater as time expires to stave off late upset bid from Minnesota

MINNESOTA
MICHIGAN 
57
59

Michigan stood on the cusp 
of disaster, and Ignas Brazdeikis 
started 
a 
drive. 
When 
he 
finished it, things hadn’t gotten 
much better — a layup attempt 
falling short, the game still tied, 
a double-digit lead still blown, 
overtime still waiting with two 
seconds to go.
Amid the ensuing scramble, 
the ball found its way to Charles 
Matthews. The redshirt junior 
hung in the air, releasing a 
desperate floater. As the buzzer 
sounded, it somehow found 
nylon, and after a lengthy 
review, it somehow stood.
“I know Iggy. That’s my little 
brother,” a subdued Matthews 
said after the game. “He’s like 
a bull in the china shop when 
he’s going to the rim. So he ain’t 
looking to kick out. So I just said, 
‘You know what, he might miss 
this one, let me try to just go get 
the rebound.’ And thank god I 
was in the right position for it.
“Gotta know your teammates. 
Know your personnel.”
This was as close to a 
catastrophe as you could have 
gotten. But thanks to Matthews’ 
buzzer-beater, No. 5 Michigan 
(18-1 overall, 7-1 Big Ten) left 
Crisler Center with a 59-57 win 
over Minnesota (14-5, 4-4) on 
Tuesday, narrowly avoiding a 
second-straight loss.
Thirty 
seconds 
before 
Matthews ended the game, the 
Gophers’ Gabe Kalscheur tied 
it with a 3-pointer. Minutes 
earlier, the Wolverines held a 
double-digit lead.
And, even after Minnesota cut 
a 10-point lead to six with 2:22 
to go, it sent sophomore guard 
Jordan Poole to the free-throw 
line with a chance to put any 

worry to rest. He proceeded to 
miss two free throws, setting the 
stage for a near-collapse.
“Usually, we all have a saying,” 
Matthews said. “We usually 
come out to the game looking, 
we be like, ‘Alright, let’s run ‘em 
out the gym.’ And we usually put 
our foot on their neck and touch 
it to the floor. But this game, they 
made some big shots.”
After 
a 
poor 
offensive 
showing on Saturday, things 
weren’t much better on Tuesday, 
as the Wolverines shot just 3-of-
22 from deep and 33.9 percent 
from the field. Brazdeikis and 
junior center Jon Teske, who 
finished with 18 and 15 points, 
respectively, were relied upon to 
carry the load, as no other player 
had more than seven.
And still, earlier on in the 
second half, the game seemed all 
but over.
After 
Minnesota 
took 
a 
three-point lead into halftime, 
Brazdeikis broke 
out of his slump, 
keying a run that 
saw him score 
eight of his 18 
points on the day. 
The 
Wolverines 
proceeded to take 
their first lead of 
the game, 39-37, 
on 
a 
running 
sky-hook 
from 
sophomore guard 
Zavier Simpson.
That 
lead 
would grow as 
high as 13 points 
with 
under 
10 
minutes to go — 
and 
Michigan 
seemed 
on 
its 
way to a relaxing 
home win.
Far from it.
“We’ve 
got 

to grow a 
lot,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach John 
Beilein. “13-point lead late, and 
how many times do you see that 
happen at Michigan where we 
let it go like that? Continue to 
teach these guys what it takes to 
win games like that because that 
could’ve went the other way.
“I mean, that wouldn’t have 
been a devastating loss, but 
you’re up by that amount and 
we don’t make foul shots and we 
also don’t execute on offense, we 
don’t share the ball the way we 
need to share it, you can get beat. 
Defensive transition, everybody 
watching, those are tough things 
for us.”
A few minutes later, Beilein 
was asked if he expected more 
growth after the Wolverines 
suffered their first loss.
“I was,” he said. “I’d be lying 
if I said I’m not disappointed.”

ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor

Despite inefficiency, Brazdeikis provides spark with aggression

Ignas Brazdeikis stood in 
front of reporters last Friday 
with 
Michigan’s 
showdown 
against Wisconsin looming.
Holding an undefeated, 17-0 
record and a No. 2 national 
ranking, 
the 
Wolverines 
were riding high, and so was 
Brazdeikis. Nothing out of the 
ordinary, though — if one thing 
defines the freshman forward 
besides scoring in bunches, it’s 
an exuberant self-confidence 
and air of swagger.
A win over the Badgers had 
the potential to push Michigan 
to No. 1 overall, its first such 
ranking in five years. So it’s 
understandable that Friday’s 
conversation eventually turned 
to then-No. 1 Duke and its own 
star freshman forward, Zion 
Williamson. How would the 
Wolverines fare against the 
Blue Devils? Would Brazdeikis 
guard Williamson?
What do you think he said?
“I would love to play Duke. 
… They’ve got that No. 1 team, 
that No. 1 hype, and we feel 
like we’re definitely better 
than them. We’re just looking 
forward to playing every single 
team, and we’re not scared of no 
competition. … I would love to 
guard Zion. I’ll guard anyone.”
Less than 24 hours later, 
Brazdeikis and his teammates 
quietly slumped away while 
Wisconsin fans stormed the 
floor of Kohl Center, fresh off 
a 64-54 upset that knocked 
Michigan from the ranks of the 
unbeaten. The loss was a gut-
punch, and probably even more 
so for Brazdeikis, who was 
averaging 15.6 points per game 
coming in — for the first time in 
his college career, he was held 
scoreless.
Then Brazdeikis missed his 
first seven shots on Tuesday 
against 
Minnesota. 
The 
narrative looked to be in full 
force — the Wolverines and 
their 
swaggering 
youngster 
humbled at last; the freshman 
finally 
figured 
out. 
Maybe 
Brazdeikis was an ordinary 
rookie after all.

Not to his teammates.
“I 
told 
him 
to 
stay 
aggressive,” said redshirt junior 
guard Charles Matthews. “I 
told him, I kinda 
went 
through 
the same thing 
last year, where 
you might not 
be as productive 
as you once was. 
I just told him 
stay aggressive 
at all costs, I 
believe in you, 
keep going.”
Added junior 
center Jon Teske: “He’s a great 
player. Shooters gonna shoot, 
and he’s going to do that. He’s 
going to get to the paint, he’s 
going to attack.”
With 1:45 before halftime, 
Brazdeikis spun past a defender 
and banked home his first 
basket since Jan. 13. He added 
a left-handed layup a minute 
later, giving him momentum 
into intermission.
“I 
was 
just 
like, 
thank 
goodness I got something to 
go for me,” Brazdeikis said. 
“I’m obviously not going to lose 
confidence in myself, that’s 
definitely something that’s not 
going to happen with me. But 
my teammates just trusting 
me and the coaches trusting 
me to keep going, keep playing 
— that’s the only reason why I 
could do this.”
“This” was Brazdeikis nearly 
single-handedly 
putting 
the 
Wolverines in control of the 
game with eight points in the 
span of three minutes. Two 
minutes into the second, he 
knocked down a 3-pointer to 
cut a seven-point deficit to four. 
After a defensive stop on the 
next possession, he grabbed the 
rebound, rushed up the court 
and turned a head of steam into 
an and-one layup.
Brazdeikis yelled and flexed 
his arms as Teske gave him an 
enthusiastic chest-bump. Back 
was his signature celebration. 
Back was the intensity and the 
fire that defines his game. Back 
when Michigan needed it most.
“He’s not a guy that carries 
a lot of baggage around with 

him,” said Wolverines coach 
John Beilein. “ … He’s pretty 
good at moving on to the next 
play. He was the only one that 
was 
making 
plays 
at 
times 
this game.”
It 
was 
that 
kind 
of 
night 
for 
Michigan. 
It shot just 34 
percent from the 
field and 3-of-
22 from outside. 
Brazdeikis 
put 
up an 18-point 
and 
11-rebound 
double-double, but on an ugly 
4-of-18 line. Still, he never 
stopped attacking, resulting in 
a 9-for-11 showing from the foul 
line.
And so it was Brazdeikis who 

the Wolverines put their trust 
in to ice the game.
On their last possession, he 
caught the ball at the top of the 
key. Off a Jordan 
Poole 
screen, 
Golden Gopher 
defenders Gabe 
Kalscheur 
and 
Jordan Murphy 
both hedged on 
Brazdeikis as he 
powered to the 
hoop.
“It shows that 
Coach (Beilein) 
has 
confidence 
in him and so do we,” Teske 
said. “You know he’s going to 
make the right play. He drove 
and he had a good look at the 
basket.”
Brazdeikis’ 
layup 
was 

blocked, but that’s beside the 
point.
“We were trying to get Iggy 
isolated and get something 
in the lane so 
we had enough 
time 
to 
get 
an 
offensive 
rebound, 
don’t 
rush 
a 
3,” 
Beilein 
said. 
“(Brazdeikis 
is a) great foul 
shooter and guy 
that could finish 
at the rim, you 
don’t 
want 
to 
settle in that situation.”
Added Brazdeikis: “It means 
the world to me. I’m not going to 
shy away from moments like that, 
that’s just not who I am.”
None of this is to sugarcoat 

a 4-for-18 shooting night. After 
the loss to Wisconsin, Beilein 
noted that the Badgers were able 
to slow Brazdeikis by putting 
6-foot-10 Ethan Happ on him and 
flustering him with length. It’s 
clear that after 19 games, teams 
are beginning to develop adequate 
scouting reports on Brazdeikis, 
and Michigan will need him to 
adapt to them to continue his 
same level of success.
But even though Tuesday was 
far, far from Ignas Brazdeikis’ 
finest performance, it was one of 
his most defining.
Any player can have an off-
night, and Brazdeikis is hardly 
immune. But the confidence that 
sets apart the most elite scorers; 
the confidence that Brazdeikis 
has in droves?
It’s not going anywhere.

JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Editor

Minnesota was one second 
away from taking the No. 5 team 
in the country to overtime on its 
home court.
Then, 
a 
shot. 
A 
buzzer. 
Pandemonium. And a wait.
A 
long, 
excruciating 
wait 
for the Golden Gophers as the 
officials looked at every frame 
of redshirt junior wing Charles 
Matthews’ midrange jumper as 
time expired.
For four minutes, Minnesota’s 
fate hung in the balance.
“We thought we was going 
to overtime,” said Minnesota 
forward 
Eric 
Curry. 
“ 
… 
Everybody thought we was going 
to overtime.”
The decision came, and the 
referee originally signaled no 
basket. Boos rained down on the 
floor as the Golden Gophers had, 
briefly, a gasp of life. Until the 

officials corrected themselves.
Call stands. Michigan wins.
Before that, the Wolverines 
had gone four minutes and 51 
seconds 
without 
scoring 
as 
Minnesota whittled away at a 
10-point deficit. As Michigan had 
empty possession after empty 
possession, the Golden Gophers 
found their guys, chipping at 
what had seemed like a safe lead 
until suddenly, the game was tied.
“I think it was more of just 
catching them off guard,” said 
Minnesota 
forward 
Jordan 
Murphy. “And making sure that 
we were getting baskets and 
buckets when we could and 
making sure we stayed composed 
down the stretch.”
It wasn’t as tough a task as it 
may have seemed — the Golden 
Gophers, after all, led for the 
first 25 minutes of the game. 
Shots weren’t falling for the 
Wolverines, 
and 
Minnesota 
disrupted them enough inside 
to 
keep 
them 
from getting too 
comfortable. 
When 
the 
shooting 
once 
again went cold, 
the 
Golden 
Gophers 
took 
advantage.
With 31 seconds 
left in the game, 
Minnesota passed 
the ball around 
the 
perimeter, 
desperate 
for 
a good look for 
three. Finally, it 
was guard Gabe 
Kalscheur 
— 
a 
freshman 
who 
had never been in 
a situation this big 
— who took it.
The 
Golden 
Gophers had all 

the momentum. The shot seemed 
destined to go in, and it did. The 
game was tied.
“Gabe obviously is a very 
professional type of guy,” Murphy 
said. “Keeps his composure, 
keeps very poised, so definitely a 
really good shooter.”
Michigan’s first attempt at the 
win was from freshman forward 
Ignas Brazdeikis, who tried a 
layup under the basket. Curry got 
the block.
This wasn’t the first time 
Curry was in a similar situation. 
Two years ago, Minnesota was 
facing Indiana, down one with 
just three seconds left. Curry, 
as a freshman, tipped a rebound 
right to a teammate, who hit a 
jumper for the win. Curry knew 
what the Golden Gophers had to 
do — get the rebound, finish the 
possession.
Instead, Matthews got the ball, 
and the rest was history.
“We’re not gonna put anything 
on the refs,” Curry said. “ … 
We should’ve got the rebound, 
finished 
the 
possession, 
we 
always preached it all year long. 
Finish the possession.”
As those four excruciating 
minutes passed, with the refs 
reviewing every angle of a slowed-
down Matthews releasing the 
ball, all Minnesota could do was 
stand and wait and hope.
A few milliseconds made the 
difference between what could 
have been one of the Golden 
Gophers’ biggest performances in 
years and just another game that 
ended in heartbreak.
When 
Minnesota 
coach 
Richard Pitino was asked if he 
thought the call was correct, he 
couldn’t bear to deal with the 
what-ifs. Instead, he offered up 
eight words.
“Doesn’t matter. It was close. It 
doesn’t matter.”

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer

NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Sophomores Jordan Poole and Isaiah Livers combined for just 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting in Tuesday’s win.

NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis fought through shooting struggles on Tuesday night, compiling 18 points and 11 rebounds in the 59-57 win over Minnesota.

“I’m not going 
to shy away 
from moments 
like that...”

“Shooters 
gonna shoot, 
and he’s going 
to do that.”

