The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
March 25, 2019 — 4B
Wolverines posterize Gators in win
DES MOINES, Iowa — Isaiah
Livers didn’t know the ball went
in until he saw walk-on guard
Luke Wilson gesturing excitedly
on the sidelines, until he saw
his brother and his brother’s
girlfriend standing up to applaud
in the audience.
The sophomore forward had
just received an outlet pass from
junior guard Zavier Simpson,
driven to the basket, elevated
a few feet from the basket and
thrown down a two-handed slam
that put Florida guard Andrew
Nembhard on a poster.
“Oof,” Wilson said later. “Oof.
I mean, oof.”
Two possessions later, Livers
did it again, driving into the paint
and dunking, as if there were
nothing to it.
But
there
wasn’t
always
nothing to it. Livers has struggled
with aggression and on-court
selflessness since his days as a
high school point guard, where
he distributed but didn’t always
shoot. Coming into college, he
was stunned at his coaches’
advice to be more aggressive and
in his sophomore year, it’s still a
process.
Earlier in the game, Livers
had come out, frustrated that his
shots weren’t going in. But he had
been settling for low probability
mid-range jumpers instead of
taking his opportunities to turn
the corner, go downhill and drive.
“Stay aggressive,” assistant
coaches DeAndre Haynes and
Saddi Washington told him,
according to Haynes. “Keep your
head up, don’t carry suitcases
right now, you’re gonna get in and
have a really big game.”
Livers saw the advice as them
ripping on him. It only made him
angrier.
“OK,” he said. “Imma show
you aggressive.”
Now, the only suitcases he’ll
be carrying are those he packed
for Anaheim, Calif. on the way
to the Sweet Sixteen after the
Wolverines’ 64-49 win over
Florida.
But
Nembhard
wasn’t
the only one posterized on
Saturday.
Freshman
forward
Ignas Brazdeikis set the tone on
Michigan’s very first possession
of the game. He drove baseline,
leaving the Gators befuddled,
and slammed. Junior center Jon
Teske got the ball from Simpson
on the next possession and he,
too, drove into the paint and
found nothing but rim. And that
was only his first dunk of the
night — a minute later, he did it
again.
“You forget all about those,”
Livers
said.
“It
was
just
aggressiveness.
Iggy
ripped
baseline.
I
think
the
guy
overplayed him because Iggy,
lefty, baseline with his right, one
up and two, and that’s how you
start a game off right. And Jon?
Jon’s seven foot, he doesn’t count.
He’s gonna go up there and just
dunk it easy.”
Redshirt junior wing Charles
Matthews, meanwhile, dunked
with three minutes left in the
first half, back when the score
was still close, giving Michigan
a three-point cushion. And with
49 seconds left in the game,
Matthews threw down another
dunk, complete with a death
stare, to put the finishing touches
on the win.
Fresh off the rush of jumping
off the bench, again, to celebrate,
the bench players came in to ice
the game.
“It gets contagious after a
while,” Washington said.
The dunks — particularly
Livers’ — got the whole team
rolling with a ferocity it hadn’t
had before, when the Wolverines
went seven minutes without a
field goal and let the Gators back
in the game partway through
the second half. Afterward, they
played like the game, and the
Sweet Sixteen trip, was theirs for
the taking.
A good 30 minutes after the
last dunks had landed, the players
still remembered them in the
locker room, responding with a
chorus of “ooohs” and “oofs” and
speechless head-shakes.
The only person who was
nonchalant was Michigan coach
John Beilein, who saw the dunks
not as a show, but as just another
piece of a win.
“Two points,” he said when
asked his reaction. “Way to go,
man. Get back on defense.”
‘M’ tops Florida, 64-49, advances
to third consecutive Sweet Sixteen
DES MOINES, Iowa — As
Michigan entered the halftime
locker room with a tenuous four-
point lead, John Beilein did not
look like the coach of a team just
20 minutes away from its third
consecutive Sweet Sixteen.
When Jordan Poole sent the
Wolverines into halftime by firing
up a contested three, all Beilein
could do was turn to his bench
— but no one in particular — and
offer up a look of confusion. At the
time, it was justified. Michigan
(30-6 overall) had shot 13-for-30
from the field and 4-for-13 from
three, allowing No. 10-seed Florida
(20-16) to remain within striking
distance.
But as Beilein walked into
the locker room, he carried an
air
of
positivity,
sandwiching
each
criticism
with
positive
reinforcement. And when he and
the Wolverines returned an hour
later, where there had been an
intense half-time team talk, whoops
and hollers filled the air, spilling
over from a celebratory shower
room after No. 2 Michigan’s 64-49
win over the Gators.
“We should be measured by a lot
of things,” Beilein said. “This is one
of them — did we get in the NCAA
Tournament and then did we
advance in the NCAA Tournament?
That’s what my measuring stick
will always be.”
Amid the celebratory postgame,
the Wolverines harkened back to
their halftime adjustments. Beilein
praised his assistants. Assistant
coach Luke Yaklich focused on the
defensive resiliency. Sophomore
forward CJ Baird credited the
positivity Beilein instills.
Whatever the conclusion, the
results were obvious.
As freshman forward Ignas
Brazdeikis fired up a three on the
Wolverines’ first possession out of
the break, it momentarily looked as
if the second half would mirror the
first. His shot clanged off the back
of the rim, then the front, before
popping above the basket as the
heavily maize-and-blue clad crowd
let out a collective sigh.
Then, the ball magically dropped
back through the hoop, turning
that sigh into a raucous ovation.
With the ovation came a return of
Michigan’s swagger.
“At first I thought it was good,
but once it stopped bouncing
around the rim, I was like, ‘Oh no,
this might miss.’ And then I hit it
so that was a bit of a relief for me,”
Brazdeikis said. “… It definitely
helped our rhythm for sure.
Coming out of the half and scoring
a big three is always huge.”
That swagger manifested as
junior center Jon Teske followed
the three by finding his way into
the paint for a layup. Then, Poole
finished through contact and buried
the ensuing free throw, sending the
Wolverines’ bench onto their feet.
When Poole hit a step-back three
30 seconds later, Michigan’s once
fragile lead had grown to 15 on the
back of an 11-0 run.
The Gators’ resiliency, though,
didn’t end there.
They drew back within six with a
9-0 run of their own that sent an air
of palpable tension through Wells
Fargo Arena as the Wolverines were
forced into a 30-second timeout.
Moments later, a whistle came
piercing through the building as
Poole went crashing to the floor
in front of Michigan’s bench. His
3-point attempt had smacked the
front of the rim, but the foul call
gave the Wolverines an opportunity
to expand their lead back to nine.
Poole — the subject of much of
Beilein’s first-half frustration —
calmly stepped to the line and did
just that.
For the next seven minutes,
the teams traded baskets, Florida
wedging its foot in the door but
never daring to enter. On the rare
occasion that the Gators threatened
— they managed just 21 points
after halftime — the Wolverines
responded with some buffer of their
own.
“We hang our hats on defense,”
said assistant coach DeAndre
Haynes. “Coach (Yaklich) does a
great job. All our staff come together
to see how we can stop their offense.
And these guys right here, I give the
credit to our players.”
With Michigan’s lead at 11 and
the game’s final stretch teetering
on becoming a formality, Zavier
Simpson cocked the ball above his
right shoulder and sliced a bounce
pass through the Florida defense
and into the hands of Isaiah Livers.
Between Livers and the basket
stood
Florida
guard
Andrew
Nembhard, but not in Livers’ mind.
The sophomore forward took to the
air just beyond the restricted arc
and delivered a two-hand slam over
Nembhard, sending the arena into
hysteria and — more importantly
— the Wolverines into the Sweet
Sixteen.
An hour later, as Haynes packed
his bags and headed for the team
bus, he, like the rest of the team, was
met with congratulatory greetings
from Kathleen Beilein, John’s wife.
By that point, there was just one
thing left to say.
“Thanks, Mrs. B. We going to
Cali!”
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore forward Isaiah Livers notched the highlight of Saturday’s game, dunking on a Florida player on the fastbreak.
Poole gets another step closer to shedding the stigma of ‘The Shot’
DES
MOINES,
Iowa
—
Jordan Poole walked to the
bench. DeAndre Haynes had a
message.
In the midst of a first half
that defined the two-sidedness
of Poole’s game and his season,
the sophomore guard had just
driven the lane, shot-faked,
then thrown up a floater with
no chance of hitting. Earlier, he
hit two 3-pointers with hands
in his face, one of them while
falling to the floor, helping
Michigan to an early lead
against Florida. Now, that lead
was in jeopardy.
“Hey, take a deep breath.
Breathe,” Haynes, an assistant
coach, recalled telling Poole.
“Just slow down, take the easy
shots that they give you. When
they close out hard, just drive
past, to either take a shot or
make somebody else better.”
So, when the Wolverines
came out in the second half,
Poole looked for Jon Teske
down low, found the right angle
on an entry pass and picked
up an assist. Next time down,
with the lane open, he drove,
winding his body and finishing
through
contact.
Then,
he
swished a step-back three.
Poole, all told, scored 19
points, shot 4-of-9 from 3-point
range and buoyed Michigan to
a 64-49 win over the Gators
and its third-straight Sweet
Sixteen. Last year, it was Poole
who sent them there. The
questions about the shot against
Houston flowed towards Poole
on Saturday. Inevitably, they
always will. Jordan Poole will
never escape it.
One day after the season,
Poole was working with Isaiah
Livers in the gym and stopped
to take a picture. Livers made
fun, saying something to the
effect of, “You made the big
shots, Mr. Big Shots.” Poole
snarled.
“I don’t wanna be known
for only just the
shot,” Poole said.
“Know what I’m
saying?
Being
able to put all the
hard work that I
have in, being
able to start, get
the opportunity.
Last year I think
I
only
played
11
minutes,
something
like
that, in that game.”
On Saturday, Poole played
33 minutes. He took some bad
shots, a whole lot more good
shots, played strong defense
and helped his team win. The
shot
against
Houston
was
great. But performances like
Saturday’s are what Poole cares
about.
He has put in extra time,
over the summer and during
the season, as coaches have
stressed time and time again
to keep things simple, let the
game come to
him.
Those
clichés,
for
Poole, represent
consistency.
Just last week,
on an equally big
stage
against
Michigan State,
Poole tried to
force up shots
and went 3-for-
7 from beyond
the arc, missing a potential
game-tying shot. Consistency
is an elusive ideal — and it’s one
Poole has worked towards in
the good times and bad.
“He just doesn’t show up,
enjoy the bright lights,” said
assistant coach Luke Yaklich.
“He works for the bright lights.”
Poole
will
always
be
recognized for the shot. It will
be on every highlight, every
pregame video at Crisler Center,
every YouTube compilation of
March buzzer-beaters.
Poole is just fine with that.
But the rest is what matters.
“Obviously it’s an amazing
opportunity to make a 3-point
shot, and advance us to the
Sweet Sixteen as a freshmen,”
Poole said. “But I’ve worked so
hard and have so much more
to my game that I’m not able
to show. I am able to show —
to be in a position like this,
spending days, countless hours
and summers in the gym is
just something that I feel like I
work on.”
Games like Saturday, where
Poole leads his team to its
biggest win of the season,
staying alive and getting one
step closer to the ultimate
goal of a national title, are the
reward for those hours, that
time.
He’s had games like this
during the regular season, of
course, and proved himself
beyond the shot before. But
this is on a bigger stage, with
brighter
lights
and
bigger
stakes. To shed that image, at
least as much as history will
allow, these are the types of
games Poole must have.
After
the
reporters
had
cleared
out
of
Michigan’s
locker room and John Beilein
was ready to hop on a plane,
the grace of home beckoning,
he leaned in close with a final
point to make about Poole and
about that goal.
“We’re all working really
hard with him to become a
basketball
player,”
Beilein
told The Daily. “A really good
basketball player. Not just play
basketball. Become a basketball
player.”
On Saturday, that’s what
Poole was. He’d like you to
remember it.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore guard Jordan Poole scored 19 points on 4-of-9 from 3-point range, notching his best all-around NCAA Tournament performance to date.
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
I don’t wanna
be known for
only just the
shot.