NEW YORK –- The man whom teammates sometimes refer to as the “Big Sleep” was wide awake Sunday night at center court in Madison Square Garden. Jon Teske, Michigan’s soft-spoken 7-footer, pounded his chest and hollered at a crowd chanting his name after a thunderous dunk that served as the emphatic climax of his team’s second consecutive Big Ten tournament championship.
Teske’s two-handed finish gave the Wolverines an 18-point lead over Purdue with six minutes to play in the title game. For Teske, it capped a 14-point performance in the 75-66 win for a sophomore who is typically content to linger in the shadows of a team full of burgeoning personalities.