8 — Thursday, February 20, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

WITH LIVERS OUT, MICHIGAN RIDES 
ZAVIER SIMPSON’s 16-6-5 TO 60-52 
WIN OVER SCARLET KNIGHTS

ALEC COHEN / Daily

RAC
ATTACK

Design by Jack Silberman

‘M’ tops Rutgers, 60-52, on the road

PISCATAWAY — Prior to 
Wednesday’s night-matchup, the 
Michigan men’s basketball team 
had never lost to Rutgers — 12-0, 
to be exact. The Scarlet Knights 
meanwhile, currently tied for 
third in the Big Ten, were a 
perfect 17-0 at home. Something 
had to give. 
The process of breaking that 
standoff wasn’t pretty, but even 
without leading scorer, Isaiah 
Livers, 
the 
Michigan men’s 
basketball team 
(17-9 overall, 8-7 
Big Ten) held on 
to beat Rutgers 
(18-9, 9-7), 60-52, 
undaunted 
in 
a 
hostile 
environment. 
It didn’t take 
long 
for 
the 
Scarlet Knights 
to get the Rutgers Athletic 
Center riled up. Down Livers — 
who’s now missed 10 games this 
season due to injury — and facing 
a talented backcourt, Michigan 
had to dig in. 
Unsurprisingly, that grit came 
from their catalyst, senior guard 
Zavier Simpson. Simpson shot 
out of the gate with a pair of 
3-pointers and his patented hook 
shot en route to 16 points. The 
Wolverines fed off their leader. 
Amidst recent struggles, senior 
center Jon Teske even nailed a 
3-pointer. 
“It’s nothing new,” Michigan 
coach 
Juwan 
Howard 
said. 
“(Zavier’s) a smart enough player 
to know where the reads are. Any 
time a guy steps off you and you’re 
able to line it up, massage the ball, 
line the seams up and shoot it, it’s 
great. He was confident enough 

to take the shot, the ball went in.”
As the half progressed, sloppy 
possessions and turnovers — 
six for Michigan and five for 
Rutgers — were a more frequent 
occurrence than scoring plays. 
Still, Rutgers’ own energizing 
presence, guard Geo Baker, sent 
the Scarlet Knights into the 
locker room with a 31-28 edge 
after drilling a buzzer-beating 
triple. 
With the Wolverines’ rotation 
thin in Livers’ absence, Howard 
needed someone from his bench 
to step up. 
Sophomores 
Colin Castleton 
and 
David 
DeJulius 
answered 
the 
call. 
Castleton, 
who had played 
a total of five 
minutes in the 
last three games, 
converted 
an 
and-one layup to 
halt a 6-0 Rutgers run. Moments 
later, 
the 
6-foot-11 
forward 
plucked an offensive rebound out 
of nowhere, drawing a foul in the 
process. 
“Not only the big bucket that 
came in the second half, but the 
energy he gave us on the court.” 
DeJulius said. “When you’re on 
the road you’ve got to bring your 
own energy. We were just so 
happy for him because he works 
so hard, and he deserves this and 
much more.”
Confident as usual, DeJulius 
knocked 
down 
consecutive 
jumpers — culminating in a 
3-pointer from the corner — to 
hand the lead back over to the 
Wolverines with 9:14 to go. 
Solitary 
spurts 
from 
the 
Scarlet Knights were quelled 
immediately by Michigan. Every 
time fiery Rutgers’ coach Steve 

Pikiell pumped his arms in 
encouragement, every time the 
crowd rose to their feet raising 
the decibel level to absurd 
heights, the Wolverines had an 
answer.
What did those answers look 
like? Junior guard Eli Brooks 
hitting a deep 3-pointer to 
extend Michigan’s lead to nine; 
sophomore 
forward 
Brandon 
Johns Jr. and DeJulius sinking 
three 
throws 
late; 
Brooks, 
catching a lead-out pass from 
Simpson and flushing it coolly on 
the other end. 
“It comes from within your 
heart and within your mindset,” 
Howard said. “I think our guys 
displayed a lot of grit. When you 
talk about Rutgers, a very tough 
team who plays well at home, 
they put a lot of pressure on the 
rim, and today we protected the 
paint very well. … That’s part of 
the grit that I see from this group 
and I’m actually happy I’m able to 
coach it.”
In the end, it didn’t matter 
where they were or who they 
were without, the Wolverines 
stood tall in the face of adversity 
— 
something 
Howard 
says 
they’ve learned over time. 
“I see a lot of growth in this 
group,” Howard said. “... Each 
and every guy in that locker room, 
on this team has always been 
positive about the process and 
now we’re improving. Obviously 
today we didn’t have one of our 
best player, but our guys did a 
terrific job of staying locked in 
and figuring it out. At times, it’s 
not always going to be pretty.”
Sure, Michigan extended its 
winning streak over Rutgers to 
13-0, but more importantly, its 
victory over the much-improved 
Scarlet Knights on Wednesday 
indicates that the Wolverines 
have bought in, undaunted. 

Castleton makes his presence known

PISCATAWAY — For Colin 
Castleton, Wednesday’s success 
began 72 hours before the 
Michigan men’s basketball team 
tipped off against Rutgers.
During 
the 
Wolverines’ 
24-point win over Indiana on 
Sunday, the sophomore forward 
played just two minutes, a 
brief stint when the game was 
already well out of reach. As 
some of his teammates hit the 
showers and made their way 
back to university dorms after 
the game, Castleton remained 
on the Crisler Center hardwood 
— basketball in hand — putting 
up extra shots.
No student managers, no 
rebounding 
machine. 
Just 
Castleton, the rim and the ball.
Leading up to Wednesday, 
Castleton had played just five 
minutes over the Wolverines’ 
last three games. But when 
Michigan needed a second-
half spark against Rutgers, 
coach Juwan Howard called 
his number. Castleton delivered 
a timely and-one layup and 
a 
much-needed 
defensive 
presence, 
propelling 
the 
Wolverines to a 60-52 victory.
“It’s a big thing in basketball. 
People hold their head down if 
they’re not playing,” Castleton 
said. “But I just get told every 
day, and coach Juwan preaches 
to me every day, ‘Just stay ready.’ 
“His big key word is just 
being positive. You never know 
when your name is going to 
get called. So when your name 
does get called, you’ve got to be 
ready.”
In Castleton’s case, there 
were reasons why he could’ve 
lost sight of that mindset. 
After showing promise as a 

backup center in November at 
the Battle 4 Atlantis, he was 
ultimately surpassed by senior 
center Austin Davis in Howard’s 
rotation.
Minutes became hard to come 
by as he fell in the pecking order, 
and he struggled to capitalize 
on limited opportunities. From 
Dec. 11 to Jan. 25, Caslteton shot 
a dismal 20 percent from the 
field.
But through it all, one thing 
never wavered.
“You never know when your 
name’s 
going 
to 
be 
called 
on,” 
Howard 
said. “But when 
you 
have 
that 
positive mindset 
and 
you’re 
staying 
ready, 
staying locked in, 
feeding 
energy 
and cheering for 
your teammates, 
knowing what’s 
happening on the floor, buying 
into film, coming in on off-days, 
getting shots up for yourself, 
I feel comfortable with going 
with (Caslteton).”
On Wednesday, the odds 
were stacked against Castleton. 
Lack of recent playing time took 
him out of a rhythm he couldn’t 
seize in November. He was 
forced to deal with the raucous 
crowd 
that 
had 
propelled 
Rutgers to a 17-0 home record. 
He was cold after spending the 
entire first half on the bench. 
He was forced to play the ‘4’ due 
to junior forward Isaiah Livers’ 
absence, even though it’s not his 
natural position.
Still, he made an immediate 
impact when Howard looked his 
way. His driving and-one layup 
gave Michigan its first points 
of the second half, halting the 

Scarlet Knights’ six-point run 
before they could pull away.

Castleton 
celebrated 

by 
marching 
over 
to 
the 
Wolverines’ bench, where he 
promptly went down the line 
to claim a high-five from every 
teammate.
“Colin’s a guy that everyone 
likes,” 
senior 
point 
guard 
Zavier Simpson said. “When 
he comes in the game, it shows 
his emotion, shows the winning 
positive spirit when he gets the 
and-one by just dapping the 
bench up. Being 
encouraging, 
being 
energizing, that 
means a lot.
“Because 
some guys get 
in 
the 
game, 
get an and-one, 
haven’t 
played 
the whole first 
half, they just 
think, 
‘Ah, 
it’s alright.’ … When we see 
someone on the court being so 
energized and energetic coming 
in, just giving us that boost that 
we need.”
The and-one marked the 
beginning of a 10-minute stretch 
in which Castleton changed the 
game’s landscape. He scored 
five points without missing a 
field goal, but his biggest impact 
was felt on the other end of the 
floor. He grabbed four rebounds 
when 
his 
teammates 
were 
struggling to keep the Scarlet 
Knights off the offensive glass 
and used his length to alter 
shots in zone defense.
In 
Piscataway, 
Castleton 
reaped the benefits of season-
long perseverance — the same 
characteristic that fueled his 
postgame solo shootaround just 
three days prior.

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer

CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

You never know 
when your 
name’s going to 
get called on.

(Simpson) 
was confident 
enough to take 
the shot.

