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.”