Michigan picked up a 74-55 victory over 15-seeded Montana last night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but the story of the game surrounded redshirt junior guard Charles Matthews.
After missing the final three contests of the regular-season with an ankle injury, Matthews hadn’t looked like himself in the three affairs since his return, scoring eight points or fewer in each of them.
He exploded for 22 points and 10 boards last night against the Grizzlies, however, and finally looked like the Matthews of old.
“Any injury can be tough, and I understood it was a process to get back,” he explained after the victory. “Our athletic trainer and coaching staff were both tremendous, and allowed me to take my time to get back to where I needed to be.”
Junior guard Zavier Simpson did an excellent job of consistently finding the veteran, dishing out 10 assists on the evening.
“Our coaching staff puts us in great position to find others, and Charles was open early and hitting shots,” Simpson explained. “It was nothing special about Charles — I just try to find everyone.”
Just as he has done all year, Matthews also played a huge role in Michigan's stifling defensive effort, helping hold Montana to just 33.3 shooting from the floor.
His teammates explained that simply having him back on the floor provided a huge boost for the entire team's morale.
“It meant so much having him out there,” junior center Jon Teske exclaimed. “He’s worked hard to get back to this point, and showed offensively how he can get himself buckets. Just his leadership and presence out there is huge for us. He’s put so much time into getting back to this point and deserves a lot of credit for it.”
“He was aggressive and attacked the rim, and when he does that it opens up a lot for everyone else,” freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis chimed in. “He’s definitely back [to the point he was at prior to the injury] and had no hesitation, and was just playing his game.
“I actually never noticed much of a drop off with him — we saw it in practice and he just had to get back into the rhythm of games. He never let it get to his head though.
“When he plays like that, we can win the whole [darn] thing and that’s not an understatement. We say ‘National Champs’ on three after every single huddle, and it’s instilled in us.”
Brazdeikis hasn’t been afraid to say what’s exactly on his mind all season long, and hasn’t shied away from the immense expectations that Michigan brings.
The freshman has often backed up his lofty words (14 points and seven boards last night), which is one of the reasons he has quickly become a fan favorite in Ann Arbor.
“I embraced every second of the [NCAA Tournament] atmosphere,” he revealed. “At the same time, I play every game like it’s my last, so this wasn’t much different in terms of my intensity.
“I also loved the fact that it was a late game, because I have all day long to get excited for it. If we could play at midnight, I’d love it.”
The first round of the NCAA Tournament can often be a struggle when a high seed goes up against 15 or 16-seed, for example (No. 1-seed Virginia getting blown out by 16-seeded UMBC last year, No. 2-seeded MSU losing to 15-seed Middle Tennessee State in 2016, etc.), but the Wolverines were determined not to let a similar result happen to them last night, Teske explained.
In fact, he admitted it a relief more than anything.
“This can be one of the hardest games sometimes, especially for the younger guys,” he noted. “We’ll be ready for Florida on Saturday now that we have this first one under our belts.
“Our heads were low after MSU, but we knew we had to pick them up — having a 2-seed is special and doesn’t happen to a lot of teams.”
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