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.

