Michigan Wolverines Basketball: Ignas Brazdeikis Would Love To Play Duke
While Michigan is about to face its biggest road test since early in the season, the talk about the chance to become the No. 1 team in the country was on the mind of freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis.
No. 2 Michigan heads to Wisconsin Saturday looking to get to 18-0 and if the Wolverines are able to emerge from the Kohl Center victorious, they would be right in the running for the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll Monday.
“It excites me a lot,” Brazdeikis said. “That’s crazy being the No. 1 team in the nation. Obviously, it depends on how Virginia does. It’s just exciting knowing that we’ve worked so hard and now it’s starting to show across the nation and everyone is taking notice.”
Duke is currently No. 1 this week, but the Blue Devils lost at home to Syracuse on Monday night and face Virginia at home Saturday.
Brazdeikis isn’t afraid of Blue Devils.
“I would love to play Duke,” Brazdeikis said. “Along with a bunch of our teammates because they got that No. 1 team and that No. 1 hype and we feel like we’re definitely better than them. We’re just looking forward to playing every single team and we’re not scared of no competition.”
Brazdeikis greatly desires to be No. 1.
“I always want to be No. 1 all the time no matter what I do,” Brazdeikis said. “Getting that opportunity and that respect would be huge for us and I feel like it would even boost our confidence even more. At the end of the day, we don’t care about what other people think, it’s about how feel about ourselves. We felt like we were number one when we were not even ranked high.”
Wisconsin will prove to be a big hurdle for Michigan to clear to possibly become No. 1. The environment at the Kohl Center is difficult to play in and the Wolverines have prepared as such.
“Coach B has been amping it up on his little soundtrack thing he’s got going out there during practice when we’re shooting free throws,” sophomore forward Isiah Livers said. “He said it’s a tough place to play and keeps repeating it. So if Coach B keeps repeating something, it has to be true.”
Wisconsin’s fifth-year senior Ethan Happ will be one of the best players the Wolverines will face in the conference. Livers said he’s never seen a player like Happ.
“Over here, we have high praise for him. We’re watching his film and it’s like, ‘Wow, this dude is really dribbling it up the court. He’s initiating offense and he’ll even isolate, bringing the ball up.’ Once I kept watching more of his film, I understood he has a bright career ahead of him because he can dribble to ball at 6’10’’ and he can guard bigger defenders.”
Wisconsin will be another big test for the Wolverines who have aced the test every single time a big moment has arrived this season.
“We’re taking this like a regular game,” Brazdeikis said. “We take every single game the same way. I don’t know what it’s like. I heard it’s really big…..That’s more fuel for me. I love playing in front of big crowds especially on the road.”
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @Balas_Wolverine, @DrewCHallett and @Qb9Adam.
• Like us on Facebook