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DES MOINES, Iowa – The Michigan Wolverines came out of their locker room and regrouped in a tight circle. The players then found their arms crossed at the entrance of the Wells Fargo Arena.
"Breathe!" Abocked Zavier Simpson.
They did as said. Simpson has that kind of power of this team. The players looked at each other, taking a deep breath before playing in Florida on Saturday afternoon. And you could feel the calm around them.
Then they circled the circle, each player saying out loud what they would give to that team in that match.
"Play defense," Zavier Simpson said. "Shoot down the shots."
"Play in defense," said the next player. "Shoot down the shots."
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Michigan's Zavier Simpson steals the ball from Andrew Nembhard of Florida in the first period. (Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press)
That turned into a mantra, repeated in a beat: "Play defense, shoot down the shots."
Now the circle was starting to collapse into a tangle of screams, thrusts and excitement.
"Breathe air from Cali," someone shouted.
"Cali air!", Repeated someone.
"Sweet 16 out of three!" Shouted someone. "Sweet 16 out of three!"
"One two Three!"
"Sweet 16!"
And it was the perfect mantra for this game. A team effort to travel to the Sweet 16 in California for the third year in a row.
But the problem was there: Florida started playing an excellent defense and shooting down. Florida opened the game by making 6 of its 12 shots at 3 points. And it was not just a guy. Four different Gators made triple in the first half.
But once these shots stopped falling, Michigan took control, respecting his mantra, playing a good defense game and just doing enough shots, while winning a 64-49 victory, he moved to Sweet 16 for the fifth time in seven years.
"I'm extremely lucky to be part of a team made up of three players under 16," Simpson said. "Now the key is to win, we just want to win."
[ Michigan basketball can get to the Final Four: 16 reasons why ]
"It does not matter what it takes"
Inside this group, I heard one of the players shouting another thing: "Do what's right".
And that too was the perfect mantra for this game.
Jordan Poole scored 3 points, Jon Teske was rebounding and Isaiah Livers had ripped a dunk that seemed to put a point of exclamation on the win. Ignas Brazdeikis did not look like a freshman, crushing a dunk and shouting, "Let's go!"
"Few people have had the experience," said Brazdeikis. "For me, to experience it in my first year, it's really special."
But it was not the most impressive performance.
No, it was that of Charles Matthews, who was assigned to the defense by Florida senior guard, KeVaughn Allen, who entered that match as Florida's top scorer with 12 points per game.
With less than 10 minutes to play, Allen had zilch.
He finished with eight points, but Matthews bleached him for most of the match.
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Message from the general
Simpson did as he had promised: he came out and played an excellent defense and reversed the shots, making his first three 3 points.
But he did a lot more.
He was the general, putting everyone in the right place, especially against that complicated defense of Florida. The Gators passed from man to man to zone, sometimes in the same possession.
But Simpson was the soothing influence, making incredible passes. Hit this hook from the sky. Put everyone in the right places.
But his pre-match message was just as important: "Play the defense, destroy the shots."
They did it.
And now, wolverines will breathe the air of Cali before heading to Sweet 16 in Anaheim, California.
Contact Jeff Seidel: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, visit freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.
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