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UNCASVILLE, Connecticut – After Wednesday's win over Villanova, there were good reasons to believe that Michigan could fall Saturday against George Washington. Villanova, the reigning national champion, filled her gym for a national televised showdown. The Wolverines faced George Washington without a win on a neutral site at 60% capacity, in a game available via an online feed.
John Beilein shared a quote with his team before the match: "The success does not belong to us, it is rented and the rent must be paid every day."
Beilein was not sure of the origin of the quote – it is often attributed to the consultant and author Rory Vaden – but the purpose was clear.
"A good part of the message after Villanova's success," said Beilein. "The teams are struggling with that and it's very natural, Michigan would not fall into that trap."
Michigan started the two strong halves and burned George Washington 84-61 at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Wolverines will play the winner of Providence and South Carolina Sunday (1:30 pm ET, ESPN).
The outdoor shots certainly helped Michigan (4-0). The Wolverines had scored 14 points in their first three games in their first three games, but 15 points on 30 Saturday. Sophomore Jordan Poole scored a career high of 22 points. He did five 3. Junior Zavier Simpson had never made more than two triples in a match before. He made four and almost finished with a triple-double (14 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists).
Poole said that he felt nothing special during the preparatory session. His confidence was the same as it always was.
"I'm going to interrupt you here," Simpson said. The leader explained how he and Poole boasted about the quality of their shots during warm-ups. "I'm not sure what he's talking about, feeling normal, he said that before the game he felt good." Poole knocked over a rider to start the game and took a look at Confirm.
Simpson, meanwhile, changed shoe at halftime – he said the first pair did not provide enough support for the ankle – and achieved his four goals in 3 in the second half. Simpson said his teammates encouraged him to keep firing. Assistant coach DeAndre Haynes took it apart and said the same thing.
George Washington sank off Simpson. "Zavier, what are you going to do?" Beilein asked Simpson. "You have to shoot at it." And he did it. "
The only race of George Washington – apart from the last few minutes, to reduce the margin from 36 to 23 – was late in the first half. Beilein thinks it's because Michigan's offensive has become a little stagnant.
"We did not look for ourselves as we needed to look for us," said Beilein. He challenged his team to further share the ball and the Wolverines responded, totaling 15 assists in the second period.
Of course, Charles Matthews (25 points out of 10 shots out of 13) did not need a lot of help to score Saturday, getting many points thanks to his isolation. Matthews said he played a lot of head-to-head with his teammates – "King of the Hill," as it's called, and that George Washington had no answer for him.
With Michigan assistant Luke Yaklich leading the Wolverines defensively on almost all possessions, it was another great performance for U-M at this location. The numbers – George Washington shot 39% – seem even better to believe that the Colonials scored 16 points in the final at 5:32 against Michigan's deep bench.
The pairing of this defense with reliable outside shots makes Michigan a dangerous confrontation.
"It can take a lot of time considering our team," said Beilein.
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