It seems that Michigan has found its go-to man at the end of games.
Struggling from the free throw line, the Wolverines needed someone to step up and save the day — and looked to senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who did just that.
With the game tied and less than 10 seconds to play in overtime, Abdur-Rahkman drove into the lane, spun and finished at the rim for the go-ahead score while being fouled. He knocked down the free throw, Minnesota missed a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer and Michigan escaped with a 76-73 win at the Crisler Center.
“I just looked up the floor, surveyed the court and saw there was nobody under the basket,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “I knew if I could get downhill there wouldn’t be a help defender, once he cut me off, I just thought ‘I should probably spin’ and since there was nobody there, that’s what I did.”
No. 24 Michigan moved to 19-6 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten with the win.
Abdur-Rahkman scored a team-high 17 points — 12 of which came in the second half or overtime. He’s embraced being the leader at the end of games.
“I feel pretty comfortable,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “When you shoot foul shots with barely any time on the clock, that’s one of the most pressured feelings in basketball. It’s easier when you dribble down the court and have a couple seconds left, there’s not as much pressure. I’m a little more comfortable in those situations since I’ve experienced them.”
He noted that due to his prior experience in the NCAA Tournament, other close games and of course, most recently, his clutch free throws the win the Maryland game, he’s continued to grow as a late game closer. He says he isn’t quite there yet, but is learning how to best handle those late game situations.
His late-game heroics have earned him praise from his teammates.
“He deserves a pretty high trust level at this point,” Michigan junior forward Moritz “Moe” Wagner said. “He’s also very fast, so it’s his advantage to just catch the ball and go to the basket in two and a half seconds I feel like. It was a great move. That’s what we expect, or need from our leader and I’m very happy with the way he stepped up.”
While the outcome ended up positive, it wasn’t all good for the Wolverines. The team shot 43 percent from the free throw line (12-for-28) — the second worst percentage of the season.
Redshirt sophomore forward Charles Matthews missed seven of his 12 attempts.
“It’s all mental,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “People get up there to the line and think too much. You have to clear your head, we literally do this every day. Guys shoot good percentages in practice. So, it should translate to the game, but some guys still have a mental block, even myself, I think I had one too.”
Abdur-Rahkman himself missed four of his seven free throws — something not normal considering he entered the game shooting 91.5 percent from the free throw line. That average has now dropped to 85.2 percent.
“[Missing free throws] hurts,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “It’s basically like a turnover when you miss two free throws. You don’t get that possession.”
Michigan had a difficult time defending Minnesota guards Nate Mason and Isaiah Washington. The senior and freshman respectively, combined to score 48 points. That included a game-tying three-pointer with five seconds left in regulation by Mason, which followed a controversial fifth-year senior forward Duncan Robinson travel.
“They made some tough shots that were hard to guard,” Wagner said. “We gave them too many drive opportunities. … They made tough, tough shots. Have to give credit to them.”
Around the midway point in the second half, Michigan assistant coach Luke Yaklich called for a shift to a zone defense — and it worked. While not completely slowing down the Gophers, it did, as Wagner said, give them something to think about.
U-M had worked on the zone in practice, but players said they never expected to need it in a game — but were glad they practiced it.
“We just know there are going to be games where we don’t make shots, free throws anything like that,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “Everybody has them. We know we can always depend on defense.”
Miscellaneous Notes:
· Saturday’s game marked Abdur-Rahkman’s 100th career game started. It’s the second time this season that he has reached a major career milestone and won the game for his team in the final seconds. Against Maryland, his last second free throws were his 999th and 1,000th career points.
“It definitely feels good, it was a hard-fought game,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “To get the last shot like that and win is one of the best feelings.”
· Michigan only turned the ball over six times — tied for the second lowest amount the team has had in a game this season.
· Wagner recorded his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
· Matthews also had a double-double, his third of the season. He scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds.
· It’s the second time this season that both Wagner and Matthews have had a double-double in the same game. The first was against UC Riverside.
· Robinson and sophomore guard Zavier Simpson were the other two players that scored in double figures, with 10 and 15, respectively.
· The game featured seven ties and 10 lead changes. Michigan did not lead at all during the first half. The game was tied at 63 at the end of regulation.
· After the game, Michigan coach John Beilein said the “Poole was closed today” after freshman guard Jordan Poole failed to score. It was “Poole Party Day” at the Crisler Center.
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