Zavior

Senior point guard Zavier Simpson saves Michigan in a double-overtime thriller against Purdue.

It's only fitting Zavier Simpson was added the Wooden Award list as a national player of the year candidate earlier on Thursday, because it was his All-American performance that carried Michigan to a 84-78 double-overtime victory over pesky Purdue later on Thursday night.

Simpson took over the game down the stretch in regulation, including the bucket that tied the game. He made a big three-pointer to put the Wolverines in control in the decisive double overtime. He finished with a team-high 22 points to go along with nine assists. He also made clutch basket after clutch basket when called upon to help Michigan get back to .500 in the Big Ten (2-2). Oh, and he was an iron man, too, playing 49 of the game's 50 minutes.

Simpson's clutch gene seemed to grow contagious as the battle with the Boilermakers wore on.

Franz Wagner made what could go down as the defensive play of the year, depending on how this season turns out, rejecting a potential game-winner at the rim by Trevion Williams on the final possession of regulation. One of the few times all night the Wolverines stopped Williams, who finished with a career-high 36 points. And David DeJulius came off the bench to provide a pivotal boost down the stretch. He finished with six assists, including a nifty drive and dish to Wagner in the second overtime for a three-pointer that mortally wounded Purdue.

And in the end, with Simpson leading the way, Michigan managed to beat the defending Big Ten co-champions despite being minus-12 on the boards, just 63% from the free throw line, and a pitiful 7-of-29 (24%) from three. That's a stat line that should lose you a game against a quality foe almost every time. Instead, the Wolverines got the win. And in this league this season, you take every win you can get, regardless of what it looks like.

Perhaps that makes Simpson the perfect leader for this team this season. It's not just his dogged determination and his skill, but his resourcefulness as well. He doesn't mind doing it ugly or unorthodox, and in the Big Ten this winter you're going to have to be able to win a lot of games with your opposite hand. The league, which could end up with as many as 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament, is so deep and so talented you're going to face an opponent almost every night who can take your comfort zone away.

So if it's going to be a street fight almost every night, who else would you rather have on your side than Zavier Simpson?