Wolverines Played Physical, with Great Energy to Win First-Place Battle with Purdue

Players credit "Maize Rage" student section for stoking their fire, and congratulated them in high style before leaving the court following 75-73 victory

Photo Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography

Wolverine guard Rubin Jones had a pair of dunks against Purdue, and Coach Dusty May said of Jones, getting his second start: “He’s really, really finding his way.”

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Will Tschetter led the team on its joy run past the front row fanatics of the “Maize Rage” student section. One by one, the Wolverines followed him – Danny Wolf, Vlad Goldin, Tre Donaldson, Rubin Jones, Roddy Gayle, Jr., Nimari Burnett and the others – to slap fives while bounding through the line after a 75-73 comeback win over No. 7 Purdue.

“Of course – it was a big win,” said Wolf, who had team-highs of 15 points and 9 rebounds. “Half way through [the line] I realized we hadn’t done this yet. We hadn’t beaten a Top 10 team, and not many teams do that.”

Some games are worth more than other games.

Tuesday night’s faceoff between first-place Purdue and No. 20 Michigan was for sole possession of the top spot in the Big Ten.

It also was a save face game for the Wolverines (19-5, 11-2 Big Ten), who had been dominated in a 91-64 road loss to the Boilermakers (19-6, 11-3) on Jan. 24.

Michigan coach Dusty May noted that his players always thank the Maize Rage fans with a similar handshaking run following pre-game warmups, but added, “We asked them to go through and thank them again. That could be a heck of a tradition for us because those students on top of us have a big impact.

“Our guys started doing that before we came back for our last huddle – going through the student section and kind of dapping them. That’s one of the great things about our guys. They are humble, normal guys. They’re college students; they’re not siloed over here on the athletic [campus] side. So, they appreciate it.”

Wolf said it was “without a doubt” the loudest he’d heard the fans during this 12-0 home season, which is at seven consecutive Crisler Center sellouts and counting.

“We’d been through a lot over this last month,” added Wolf. “With the Minnesota game [a shocking 84-81 overtime road loss] and the Purdue game. We have to win these close games and we just stuck together. It’s a step in the right direction, and I’m so proud of my teammates and coaches.”

They overcame an 11-point deficit in the early going, and only led the game for 17 seconds before a pair of Goldin free throws with 5:33 remaining gave Michigan a 2-point lead. But the Wolverines then fell behind by 4 points before taking a 6-point lead with 39 seconds left on a dramatic put-back dunk by Jones.

What was the graduate transfer from North Texas feeling on that memorable play?

“Energy – that’s all,” said Jones, a wide grin crossing his face. “On the last one, I was so tired I couldn’t think right. But everybody else picked me up, and I was good.”

Jones played suffocating defense at times and had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. May started him for the first time in the last game at Indiana, and he got the call again against the Boilermakers — with Gayle coming off the bench.

“I thought he was everywhere,” said May of Jones. “His quickness, his anticipation. I feel bad for our fans – I don’t want to say ‘bad’ – but we haven’t seen the real Rubin Jones. I mean, he is an irritant. He is a pest on defense. And he’s a really good shooter.

“…He’s really, really finding his way. Same thing with Roddy Gayle. I’m proud of Roddy. In the first half [scoring 12 points], he kept us within striking distance. His defense was equally as good.”

The entire team played with great fire down the stretch run.

“It all starts with the fans,” said Wolf. “We were able to build off that. We were able to build off their energy. I mean, you look at Roddy Gayle, who’d had a rough two games. But he was the MVP of this game [with 14 points and 7 rebounds]. And Rubin Jones had that put-back dunk.

“Guys were just stepping up left and right until we sealed it.”

Wolf made two big free throws for a 5-point lead with 16 seconds remaining. But then Purdue point guard Braden Smith hit a must-have three-pointer just eight seconds later. Wolf was fouled in the backcourt, but missed two free throws to keep the door open for the Boilermakers with six seconds to go.

It wasn’t until Smith missed a running shot from behind the arc as the buzzer sounded that victory was secured.

Tschetter was handed the microphone after the game and said over the public address system: “Shout out, Maize Rage! You guys have been loud all night. We really appreciate you!”

Later, I asked him about getting mobbed and nearly tackled at the end of the fan celebration line.

“It was a bunch of my friends who I’ve been friends with since my freshman year,” said Tschetter, a red-shirt junior from Stewartville (Minn.) High. “In years not going how we wanted, they’d always been there in support.

“And to be able to share that moment with them was huge. They’d been there from day one.”

Jones added, “We love what the students bring every night, and that energy carries us through some games. And games like tonight show us what we’re really capable of.”

Wolf said, “Just an awesome win…We know what we’re capable of, and I still don’t think we’re playing as well as we can. That’s the exciting thing.”

Michigan had a 21-0 scoring edge off the bench and Tschetter (5 points, 4 rebounds) said the Wolverines “have a ridiculously deep bench” led in this game by Gayle and himself. Freshman guard L.J. Cason also scored 2 points by making both free throws, and drew high praise from May for playing a tough eight minutes.

May challenged his team to be much more physical after that 27-point loss in West Lafayette.

“When you get knocked down like we did – that was a big game, nationally televised,” said May. “A lot of eyeballs were on that, watching Michigan basketball…And so for us to perform like that – them, me, everyone. No, we weren’t happy.

“We weren’t blaming each other. I thought we had great personal accountability, and we just kept battling and battling…You bounce back, dust yourself off, and keep fighting.”

And that physicality was most prevalent when the game was there to be won or lost at the end.

“We’re the hammer on some of these [late game] possessions as opposed to being the nail,” noted May.

Tschetter, as physical as anyone, said it didn’t just happen Tuesday night. He said they ramped it up in each of the five consecutive wins since getting demolished at Purdue.

“But we kind of had those guys in the back of our minds,” Tschetter said of the Boilermakers. “We needed to match them.”

And so now the Wolverines are in first place with seven games to play. They’ll host No. 11 Michigan State (19-4, 10-2) Feb. 21 and play in East Lansing to close the regular season March 9. Those are the biggest games remaining, but the ‘w’ opportunity each and every game presents is just as big.

“Right now,” said Tschetter, “we can’t be complacent. We’ve been complacent before coming off that big Cali trip [with convincing wins at USC and UCLA]. We kind of plateaued and had a bad run at Purdue.

“So, we have to stay locked in. Success isn’t just this…”

He stopped and pointed directly upward before continuing, “It’s a gradual incline and we just have to make sure we keep turning in the right direction.”

May replaced Juwan Howard after last year’s 8-24 season and last-place conference finish, and didn’t want to take credit at this point. He stressed that it was too early for that.

“We’ve got some big games in front of us,” said May, “but this is exciting to be in mid-February playing extremely meaningful games, competing for a championship with programs, coaches and players that are at the top of college basketball.”

Going from last place to first place in one short season has been quite an experience. The Wolverines should be something special to see the rest of the way. They’ve become all the “Rage” to their fans.

On taking off after Goldin (12 points, 5 rebounds) on the sideline after taking him out of the game: “I’m not taking any credit for the way Vlad played. He performed at an extremely high level down the stretch…Vlad and I, we go way, way back. So, there’s times when Vlad doesn’t like me, and I don’t like him. But the love is real and we both are fighting for the same things – which is to compete for championship.”