Michigan Basketball: Top 3 players who got Wolverines to Sweet 16

The senior guard did just enough to win

If you look what Rahkman did over the two games against Houston and Montana and just looked at his stats, you might not say he was one of the three most important players, but you would be wrong.

Rahkman was just 3-of-11 from the field against Montana and 4-of-15 vs Houston. Both games were rough shooting nights for the whole team. Yet, the senior guard scored a combined for 23 points, second in the two games behind Matthews and was 4-of-4 from the free line throw. In both games, he was 8-of-11.

Rahkman also helped Michigan avoid turnovers. His 3-point shooting (1-of-12) was atrocious, but still found a way to execute on the most important play of the season. After barely missing a few attempts to win or take the lead, Rahkman got the inbound pass on the final play near mid-court.

Normally, he is supposed to get as close to the basket and shoot. However, he knew that would be tough to do with two guys on him. Then, he noticed Poole. He said he knew Jordan could make the shot, so he dished out a perfect pass, which allowed Poole to catch-and-shoot perfectly in rhythm.

It’s not the kind of play people will talk about, but it was huge. Many times in that situation, guys throw up a half-court shot well before they need to. Essentially, they lose their cool and don’t get how much time a few seconds can be.

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But Rahkman kept his head. He didn’t force a bad shot, instead, he registered the most important assist of his career and that’s why MAAR has to be listed among important players who got Michigan to its fourth Sweet 16 in the past six years.