John Beilein insisted Michigan State wasn’t on Michigan’s mind one bit in the lead-up to his team’s 69-60 win over Minnesota.
It’s safe to say the Spartans are firmly affixed there now, like a migraine demanding relief.
On Thursday night at The Barn in Minneapolis, the Wolverines continued demonstrating they feature the proper medications for all unwanted ills.
Sophomore guard Jordan Poole delivered a reminder of his potential for powering Michigan, nailing five three-pointers on the way to a game-high 22 points. That’s precisely the sort of slump-snapper he needed, following a recent string of sub-par shooting efforts.
“I don’t really get guys out of slumps,” Beilein contends. “They get themselves out of slumps by keep taking good shots. It’s going to happen.
“You’re going to have shots that go in and out. A great hitter is going to hit the ball on the screws right to the shortstop, right to the center fielder, hard. You don’t tell him, ‘Hey, you’ve got to change your swing.’”
Junior guard Zavier Simpson’s floor game — 12 assists, three steals, a half-dozen rebounds and a heavy dose of defense — helped turn trap-game talk into a runaway win. Michigan led by as many as 21 in the second half.
There’s another element that could cause a Spartan shiver. While MSU’s best big man, Nick Ward, is sidelined by a recently broken hand, U-M’s center continues breaking hearts.
Junior Jon Teske set the dominant defensive tone against the Gophers, who didn’t break the 50-point mark until 2:29 remained in the game. The 7-1 Teske blocked five shots and altered countless others, acting as big-time basket barrier for the Wolverines.
“Our defense was so good, it allowed us to score 28 points in the first half and still have an 18-point lead,” Beilein said afterward.
Teske stood at the heart of it, the head coach noted.
“It’s huge,” he said. “There was one time in the game where they just kept taking it at us, and nothing was happening. It’s not only the five blocks, but the ones he affected … it’s just huge what he’s doing for us, and not fouling at the same time.”
It didn’t stop there.
Teske made 7 of 11 shots, 3 of 6 from three-point range, including late back-to-back threes that blew up the Gophers more effectively than Carl Spackler at his finest hour.
Teske scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds, tossed off two assists and reserved himself a prominent place on Tom Izzo’s scouting report.
Former Wolverine and college basketball analyst Tim McCormick insists Michigan remains in a good position, despite arguably the toughest schedule down the stretch.
“Nick Ward’s injury makes a huge difference,” McCormick said. “With Michigan’s talent, they are capable of getting hot, just like they did last year.”
The Wolverines reeled off 14 straight wins a year ago, after dropping a disappointing Feb. 6 game at Northwestern. The streak carried them to a Big Ten Tournament championship, through the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament, past the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, and into the Final Four and ultimately the national championship game.
Those heights remain a long way off, but Michigan play-by-play radio announcer Matt Shepard saw it unfold a year ago, and knows it could happen again.
“Look, this is a national championship-contending team, there’s no doubt about that,” Shepard said. “They have to stay healthy, and they’ve got to make some more shots…
“But when we look at staffs, or Coach of the Year, who immediately comes to mind? You see what Matt Painter has done at Purdue — a pretty darned good job. But you look at what Michigan lost last year. They lost a guy who played more games in Michigan history than anybody else [Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman], one of the best three-point shooters in Michigan history [Duncan Robinson], and a first-round draft pick [Moe Wagner].
“You’re asking guys like Jordan Poole to elevate his game, Jon Teske to elevate his numbers, Zavier Simpson to elevate his numbers. That’s not easy to do, and you’re doing it with a trimmed bench. This is as good a job by the staff as I’ve ever seen them do.”
The job gets tougher now. Beilein already has Michigan in tournament-mindset mode. It’s a good thing, too, what with four games left in the regular season, two of them against the cornered, wounded animal that is MSU.
There’s a title on the line, and a banner to be hung. That begins with turning a serious wound into a lethal one.
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