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.