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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — After leading their team to a 89-65 drubbing of Indiana at the Crisler Center, Michigan captains Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske stand alone as the winningest men’s basketball players in program history.
Sunday’s victory marked the duos 105th win of their careers.
“Looking at Zavier as well as Jon, I’m seeing the two players who broke the record for most wins in Michigan history,” said head coach Juwan Howard after the win. “That’s says a lot about their body of work and what they’ve done as far as representing that Block M.”
Teske had somewhat of a quiet afternoon offensively, scoring just 6 points on 2-of-5 shooting. However, the senior center made an impact elsewhere with 7 rebounds and an impressive 4 blocked shots.
Simpson, meanwhile, put on a masterful performance while orchestrating Michigan’s offense. He had 12 points of 4-of-7 shooting, and handed out 11 assists while turning the ball over just once.
“He made some great decisions with the basketball,” Howard said of Simpson. “He did a really good job of controlling the tempo of the game. One thing was critical — his decision-making — you saw him hunt for singles. He wasn’t trying to make the home run play. Finding guys that were open, being patient with the basketball, reading what the defense gives him. And guys were able to catch, either for a shot, or getting some opportunities [to] catch and go. So, it was a very solid game for him.”
Entering Sunday’s contest, Simpson was third in the country in total assists, and second in assists per game. After his performance against the Hoosiers, the senior is now just on off the lead in total assists (196), trailing Pepperdine University’s Colbey Ross. Simpson edges Ross in assists per game by a mere tenth of an assist (.116).
As freshman, Teske and Simpson had to wait their turn behind players such as Moe Wagner and Derrick Walton Jr., and as seniors they’ve had their highs and lows this season. But it’s inarguable that the two captains will finish their careers amongst the best this program has put on the floor, and their names are now in the record books to back the claim.