The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, March 22, 2019 — 8
For Charles
Matthews,
it’s back to
normal
DES
MOINES,
Iowa
—
Charles
Matthews ran down the floor with some
urgency, shooting the moment the ball
came to him. He heard the buzzer sound,
saw the basket light up red and the ball roll
around the rim with the guise of a shooter’s
bounce, before falling out. Then he smiled.
There was no reason for frustration.
Matthews, at that point, already had 11
points on the night, more than he scored
in the last two combined. He finished with
22 on 8-of-12 shooting with 10 rebounds,
which wouldn’t be particularly notable
for him in a 74-59 win over Montana that
defined routine, if the redshirt junior’s last
month had gone normally.
But 25 days ago against Michigan State,
Matthews got hurt and decided to play the
second half through it. He finished that
game with four points on 1-of-8 shooting,
too hobbled to guard Cassius Winston or
Matt McQuaid. Then he sat the next three.
“Dumb,” Matthews said of that decision
last week in Chicago. “But you just get lost
in the game sometimes. And I know I’m a
competitor. I don’t think I’m much like no
macho man or anything like that. I’ve got
some toughness to me. It wasn’t the best
decision at the time.”
When he said that, it was in Michigan’s
locker room after a similarly nonchalant
Big Ten Tournament win over Iowa.
Matthews donned a brace in his first game
back, played well enough on defense to
mask any hurt but shot 1-of-9 from the
field. That would have been an admission
that he wasn’t 100 percent if Matthews
didn’t make the confession himself.
Instead of being a part of the stretch
run, and a second loss to the Spartans in
which the Big Ten title was in the balance,
Matthews sat on the bench. Instead of
being able to give his best in the Big Ten
Tournament, Matthews played with that
brace, struggled, and the Wolverines lost to
the Spartans again.
This came after a period in which
Matthews played some of his best
basketball and spoke at his loudest, publicly
admonishing his team after a loss at Penn
State and earning the full trust of his
coaches in the process.
“When you got a player-led team this
time of year, they’ve been through the
ways,” said assistant coach DeAndre
Haynes. “They’ve been on the floor. So
they see some things that we don’t see. I
was like that as a player, too. You see things
like, ‘Hey, coach, we should do this.’ And if
they feel like it’s gonna work, we trust them
that it’s gonna be the right thing.”
On Thursday night, the brace was off
and Matthews was every bit himself, and
maybe a little more.
“I was happy just to be out there the
last few games,” Matthews said. “It’s still a
different atmosphere when you go, feel like
yourself a little.”
Early in the game, as Grizzlies point
guard Timmy Falls took what appeared
to be an uncontested layup, Matthews
swooped in over him, forcing a miss and
prompting one member of Montana’s
traveling party sitting on press row
to exclaim, “Jesus.” The lone time the
Grizzlies seemed to pull themselves within
arms length, cutting the Wolverines’ lead
to eight early in the second half, Matthews
followed a Jordan Poole 3-pointer with a
long two from the corner. Then he drifted
into space beyond the arc off a Zavier
Simpson drive and found bottom on a
three.
Michigan’s lead never dipped below
14 again. And if the Wolverines are to do
more this month than beat up on a 15-seed,
that’s the type of game they need from
Matthews.
“It means everything for us, because
when he’s able to play at this level, it opens
up so much more for us offensively,”
said assistant coach Saddi Washington.
“Because it’s another guy in our arsenal to
have to take account for.”
It’s more than that, though. Matthews is
one of the most forceful voices in the locker
room, one of the driving forces behind this
team’s success on both sides of the floor. He
and John Beilein agreed that they wouldn’t
go over the top in rehabbing to get back
for the postseason. Matthews was, by all
accounts, as much a coach on the bench
as any of the actual coaches. He still hated
sitting.
Through all of that, though, the goal
stayed the same. It still does. Matthews
remembers the feeling of sitting in
the locker room last year as Villanova
celebrated down the hall. He wants to
avoid it. “We really just, will feel empty if
we don’t take it all this year,” he said.
So, as Matthews walked through
the tunnel, slapping hands and signing
autographs after an NCAA Tournament
game in which he was the star — a moment
in which he could have revelled — he had
just three words.
“Let’s get it.”
DES MOINES, Iowa — Last year,
when Michigan played Montana
in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament,
the
Grizzlies
got
out to a quick 10-0 lead before the
Wolverines found a groove and won.
Watching film of that game ahead
of the rematch, Michigan players
cringed. This time, they knew
they would allow no such thing.
Sure enough, this time it was the
Wolverines (29-6) who started the
game off on a 10-2 run.
It
seemed
that
every shot Montana
took
—
threes,
layups,
even
a
fast-break
dunk
attempt — missed.
The
Wolverines’
shooting
wasn’t
particularly potent,
either,
but
their
defense
clamped
down, holding the
Grizzlies
to
33
percent from the field.
“We were really ready for them,”
said
freshman
forward
Ignas
Brazdeikis. “And our intensity — I
felt like we were really connected.”
Montana (26-9), a No. 15 seed
out of the Big Sky Conference
that doesn’t start anyone taller
than 6-foot-7, had no answer for
Michigan’s relentlessness.
It was a microcosm of everything
Michigan has been all season. Lots
of defense, just enough offense,
loads of personality and — when all
was said and done — a 74-55 win.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said freshman
forward Ignas Brazdeikis. “When
we play good defense it turns into
offense for us I feel like. When we’re
playing on defense then offensively
we play good and we made stops, we
got rebounds, we went out and run,
we just had a lot of fun out there and
I think it showed.”
Montana, which won the Big
Sky thanks in large part to its
3-point shooting, missed its first
nine attempts from deep, clanking
shot
after
shot.
The
Wolverines
struggled
from
three, too, hitting
just 5-for-17. But the
difference was that
they found passing
lanes and got to the
basket.
Michigan
had four dunks in
the first half alone —
including one where
Brazdeikis knocked
the ball away from Montana guard
Donaven Dorsey and took it down
the court for the slam, drawing a
foul in the process. Junior guard
Zavier
Simpson
finished
with
10 assists, creating looks for the
offense all night. He frequently
found Brazdeikis and junior center
Jon Teske for open alley-oop layups
and dunks, introducing a new hook
shot-style pass in the process.
And in a size mismatch, the
Wolverines’
forwards
shined.
Redshirt
junior
wing
Charles
Matthews got a double-double —
scoring 22 points with 10 rebounds.
Teske finished with double digits
with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Brazdeikis and sophomore guard
Jordan Poole were also in double
digits, with 14 and 10 points,
respectively.
At the beginning of the second
half, Montana briefly cut its deficit
to eight with buckets on two
consecutive possessions — including
just its second three of the game —
but Michigan responded with a 10-0
run spurred by two consecutive
Matthews triples and an alley-oop
dunk by Teske.
“Right away, we responded,” said
Michigan coach John Beilein. “So it
was huge. Some of those points, if I
recall, were not pretty points. We
just got points.”
From there, the Wolverines kept
rolling. They took a 20-point lead
with 8:29 remaining and led by
at least that much until the final
seconds, when the freshmen and
walk-ons got their time on the
court.
As with many of their previous
games against inferior opponents,
the Wolverines didn’t always look
their best, shooting 49 percent
from the field and committing 10
turnovers. But every time one of
the Grizzlies tried to wiggle his
way around a much bigger and
more physical Michigan player,
it was clear that Montana was
overmatched.
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Redshirt junior wing Charles Matthews scored a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday night’s opening round win over Montana.
‘M’ relishes
‘boring’ win
in Tourney
opener
DES MOINES, Iowa — As Michigan
stormed out to an early but indestructible
lead Thursday night against Montana,
the word of choice across social media
was “boring.” By the time the Wolverines
jogged down the tunnel at halftime with a
34-21 advantage that felt more comfortable
than that, many back at home had already
flipped to the evening’s more competitive
action. Those inside Wells Fargo Arena
surely wished they could do the same.
But in the moments after the eventual
74-55 win, when a reporter began to relay
that description to assistant coach Luke
Yaklich, he interrupted midway through
the question:
“Nah, I freaking loved it.”
The thing is, Michigan likes it this
way. Eventually, the reporter finished his
question. Yaklich, in typical form, followed
with a minute-long response detailing
the minutiae of the Wolverines’ defensive
performance — a smile glued to his face the
entire time.
Eventually, he got to his defense’s
contest rate — 90 percent — and had to
pause. His smile had become too wide to
speak through.
Elsewhere in the Michigan locker room,
Yaklich’s energy wasn’t quite mirrored,
but the attitude was. No one, not even this
Wolverines team that ranks second in the
country in adjusted defensive efficiency,
shares Yaklich’s childlike joy for defense,
but they respect it. Even if that means
winning “boring.”
“I don’t take this as a boring win,” said
junior guard Zavier Simpson. “I actually
take this as an exciting win. We got an
opportunity to win the first game. That’s
something that can be hard, especially
with a team that doesn’t have as much
hype that can be difficult to play.”
Throughout the locker room, the
mood wasn’t celebratory as it was after
blowout wins over Iowa and Minnesota
in Michigan’s first two games of the Big
Ten tournament. There was no distracting
players as they answered questions or
posing for triumphant pictures. But, unlike
Sunday in Chicago, there were smiles and
chatter.
It may not be an attitude that feels
befitting of an NCAA Tournament win,
but these Wolverines don’t need it to be.
They know what comes next. Last year’s
second-round matchup with Houston
earned thousands of adjectives; boring was
not among them. They also know what
came before — a titanic, back-and-forth Big
Ten championship game against Michigan
State — and how that one ended.
“The Michigan State game was the
Michigan State game,” Yakich said. “It was
over. The NCAA Tournament for our guys
who are used to making deep runs and
having success in these type of games. It’s
kind of tabula rasa there and we wiped the
slate clean.”
This, a 15 vs. 2 game whose biggest
storyline was that the same matchup
happened last year, didn’t need any
extraneous excitement. Within minutes,
Michigan raced out to a 10-2 lead. By the
8:25 mark, it was 21-6. Montana didn’t hit
double digits until 6:09 remained.
So when the Wolverines re-emerged
from halftime, there was no need for
a spirited team talk. Jordan Poole and
Jon Teske shared a relaxed smile before
dapping up and going to defend their
respective assignments. Beilein paced the
Michigan sideline, arms crossed, before
clapping in his team’s direction. “Let’s go,
let’s go, let’s go.”
For a few minutes, the Wolverines failed
to heed their coach’s advice. Montana, on
a pair of baskets that were far easier than
Beilein would have liked, cut the lead to
eight. Then, the Michigan team of the first
half returned. On a quarter of unanswered
Simpson assists, the lead was back to 18.
“When you got a point guard who can
just find your shooters, like (sophomore
guard Jordan Poole), who, he didn’t have
it going,” said assistant coach DeAndre
Haynes. “So (Simpson) will tell him, ‘Hey,
be ready, I’m gonna find you.’ And then
those guys are locked in, ready to shoot.
Same thing with (sophomore forward
Isaiah Livers). Isaiah was open in the
corner, he said, ‘Hey, be ready, I’m gonna
find you.’ And that’s the type of point guard
you want to play for.”
The rest of the night was back to
boring, even if the Wolverines’ coaching
staff refuses to view any game that way.
On offense, coach John Beilein aired
frustration. But on defense, it was Yaklich’s
voice filling the air.
But back in the locker room, there was
no displeasure to be found. This — a win,
regardless of style points — was all that the
Wolverines wanted.
“We’re trying to do something a lot
bigger than just the first game,” Simpson
said. “But we can’t accomplish that without
winning the game in front of us.”
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Editor
taking care of Grizz-ness
Michigan jumps all over Montana, advances to round of 32
DES MOINES, Iowa — Jon Teske
crashed to the floor under the basket,
hit from behind by a Montana defender.
On the Michigan sideline, John Beilein
turned to assistant coach Luke Yaklich.
“That’s
a
cheap
shot!”
Beilein
exclaimed in disbelief.
If Beilein was right, maybe the
Grizzlies just didn’t have another choice.
If that’s the conclusion they came to, no
one could really blame them.
Basketball, in its crudest form, is a
game of height, and the Wolverines’
NCAA Tournament opener against
Montana on Thursday was far from
the most refined version of the sport.
Michigan committed 12 turnovers and
shot 29 percent from 3-point range.
Montana was even worse, hitting just 20
of 60 field goals and scoring 0.81 points
per possession.
Ultimately, what gave the Wolverines
a 74-55 win was just enough scoring and
a defense as stingy it has been all season.
And as usual, the defensive performance
was anchored down low with Teske.
Teams from the Big Sky don’t usually
match up physically with No. 2 seeds
from the Big Ten. The Grizzlies are no
exception — and that was before their
regular starting center, Jamar Akoh,
was lost for the season due to injury. In
Akoh’s place, they’ve been forced to start
Bobby Moorhead, a 6-foot-7, 192-pound
shooting guard by trade, in the middle.
Against the 7-foot-1 Teske, this went
about how you would expect.
Teske had 11 points and nine rebounds
in his 23 minutes on the court, Michigan
outscored Montana by 25 points. The
junior center constantly impacted shots
around the rim, and on offense, the
Grizzlies simply couldn’t deny him.
“He’s a mismatch problem,” said
freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis.
“They’re all really short, so just get him
the ball. He can make plays, he can kick
out, he can score.”
While the Big Ten has no shortage
of physical beasts down low, the
Wolverines
spent
most
of
non-
conference play dealing with smaller
teams — Teske said Thursday reminded
him of Michigan’s 56-37 win over
Holy Cross in November, in which the
Crusaders caught the Wolverines off-
guard at first with a series of small-ball
centers.
This time, Michigan was ready.
“Just throw it up top,” Zavier Simpson
told The Daily. “This guy is big — go up
top and have him go get it. They wanna
score, make a play, he’s gonna get it.”
Montana threw a twist in, however.
It knew the Wolverines would be able to
easily run offense through Teske, so its
defensive strategy focused on denying
him the ball in the first place. The
Grizzlies tried to trap Simpson on the
perimeter and switch on screens, just as
many of Michigan’s Big Ten opponents
have done.
Simpson said that he was impressed
with Montana’s ball-screen coverage.
But in a manner exemplary of the
mismatch in sheer talent and physicality,
the junior point guard still ended up
with 10 assists — four of which Teske
finished off.
“In the Big Ten, any time a team
switches, now you got a 6-7, 6-8 guy
switching on (Simpson), which makes
that post entry pass a little bit tougher,”
said assistant coach Saddi Washington.
“They were 6-(foot)-3, 6-4, 6-5, and so
we just basically had a jump ball-type
pass that only Jon can get.”
Defensively, Teske although he didn’t
record a blocked shot — altered the
flow of the Grizzlies’ normally effective
downhill
penetration.
Montana’s
guards found their lanes to the basket
completely shut off. As a result, the
Grizzlies’ outside shooting suffered —
they hit just five of 19 from beyond the
arc.
Wolverines’ size overwhelms Montana
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Editor
When we play
good defense
it turns into
offense for us...