4B - Monday, March 3, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Defensive letdowns continue to plague Wolverines 6 STATE COLLEGE - hen John Beilein came to Michigan from West Virginia, Wol-' verine fans had visions of players routinely draining clutch shots from downtown. Catch-and-shoot, pro-range, he-shouldn't- shoot-from- that-far distance. They've seen those shots fall, all right. The prob- IAN lem is, those ROBINSON buckets have been made by opposing teams. This season, the Wolverines have made 17 fewer 3-pointers than their opponents, despite attempting 80 more. For a stretch in the second half Saturday, Penn State knocked COULDN'T WATCH YOU R FAVORITE TEAMS OVER BREAK? CATCH UP ON OUR BLOG. www.michigandaily. com/thegame down five straight 3-pointers. Michigan tried to respond with its own deep shots. Three times, the Wolverines tried a trey to stop the run. None of them fell. "It just shows you the value of having a good shooting team," Beilein said. That's not something Beilein has right now. Two of Michigan's top perim- eter shooters, Anthony Wright and DeShawn Sims, went a com- bined 0-for-tO from beyond the arc against Penn State. Penn State's two top shooters went 12-for-20 from downtown. There's not much more Beilein could have done about his own players. He put a special emphasis on shooting during summer work- outs and has continued with that focus. It's the other team's shooting that's been the real problem. It's no coincidence the Wol- verines have repeatedly allowed RATKOWIAK From page 1B bottom-feeder Ohio State, right after the Wolverines won the College Hockey Showcase for the first time in recent history. Its unacceptable two-point weekend against Northern Michigan came a week before the most hyped series of the season, against then- No. 1 Miami (Ohio). I'm not implying Saturday's game had any clout in the stand- ings, because it didn't. But Michigan did itself a disservice by skidding into the postseason with an overtime loss to a.500 team. The top-ranked Wolverines were a minute and 38 seconds away from leaving with a tie, but that's still better than skating off the ice to the sound of Ferris State fans pounding on the glass and "over- rated" chants. And in the first round of the CCHA playoffs, Michigan will be playing another basement-dwell- opposing players to have career nights from behind the arc. The perimeter defense has been porous, and opponents have exposed those gaps. ' After 29 games, Michigan still struggles toeffectively communi- cate on the perimeter and switch on screens.After Penn State's Talor Battle and Mike Walker torched the Wolverines for 36 points from the outside, freshman Manny Harris said he thought the team shouldn't still be strug- gling this mightily guarding the perimeter., The Nittany Lions looked like they were on fire, NBA Jam-style, but they were left open. This late in the year, routinely leaving guys open shouldn't be a problem. By now, Michigan primarily plays a man-to-man defense - not a very complex system. Guard your man. If there is a switch, pick up your new guy. er. The highest possible seed it will face next weekend is eighth. While looking ahead to an almost- inevitable semifinal matchup the following weekend at Joe Louis Arena, Michigan could fall back into the same lazy mindset. The Wolverines could have made excuses Saturday. Sauer was resting for the playoffs. Forward Louie Caporusso was sick. But the rest of the lineup was the same as the night before, and it just looked like they didn't care. After Michigan's 3-3 tie against Northern Michigan Feb. 1, Kolarik said, "We took it for granted, and they took it to us." Exactly a month later, their lack of desperation and intensity were the same. . This season, the Wolverines have emphasized improvement in every series. "We've been playing better as of lately," defenseman Mark Mitera said Friday. "It's one of our goals we can check off this year." Not yet. The penalty-killing Stick with him. It's not a skill issue, not some- thing that has to wait for next season. Defensive mentality can change. While Beilein couldn't turn Sims into Kevin Pittsnogle over- night;he could've transformed his team's defensive mentality. But he hasn't. He could've lit a fire under his team to get out and attack on the perimeter, but the results aren't there. Michigan continues to allow the deep shots and struggles to make its own ones. Beilein didn't inherita roster of snipers. The Wolverines' skill set might not match what he wants to do on offense. But that's no excuse for not stopping what opponents want to do on offense. SAID ALSALAH/Daly - Robinson can be reached Redshirt freshman Anthony Wright passes toa teammate against Penn State on Sat- at irobi@umich.edu. urday. Michigan has struggled on defense, allowing almost 69 poirts per game. a unit took a giant step back this weekend, allowing three power- play goals Friday and two Satur- day. Yes, the offense was still impressive. Michigan's stilla great team. But it better hope Saturday's game was its last lack- luster effort. "We're not going tobe a good playoff team based on that game, so you know, we've got a little bit of soul searching to do," Berenson said Saturday. Michigan will find that talent won't push it through the post- season. Heart and grit will carry this team, just like they have all season. The Wolverines showed neither in Big Rapids. They need to have both every night, or they're going to choke in the playoffs. And that's why Saturday was a big deal. - Ratkowiak can be reached at cratkowi@umich,edu. NITTANY LIONS From page 1B losses in a season - done. "It can't get no worse," sopho- more forward DeShawn Sims said. Penn State (6-10 Big Ten, 14-14 overall) has had a tough year, too. After playing well early in the sea- son, the Nittany Lions lost their best player, senior forward Geary Claxton, for the season after he tore his ACL in mid-January. Saturday, both teams suffered through a frustrating, unspectac- ular opening frame in which both coaches picked up technical fouls. As the Nittany Lions were blowing an 11-point lead midway through the second half, their fortunes worsened. Freshman point guard Talor Battle (19 points, nine rebounds and four assists at the time) drove to the hoop, but fell hard on his tailbone after sophomore Ekpe Udoh blocked his shot. As the Bryce Jordan Center crowd chanted "Talor Battle,' he went to the locker room with the help of a trainer. Battle retuned to the game four minutes later, and the Nittany Lions promptly went on a 15-0 run with five 3-pointers. Senior Mike Walker hit three, and Battle made two and assisted two of Walker's. On the final triple, Battle got caught in the air at the top of the key and threw the ball to the right elbow in the direction of Walker. Walker, who said he didn't know where he was on the court, circled the bouncing ball and shot almost as he picked it up. "Oh, that was drawn up," said Battle, whose 28 points, 13 rebounds and six assists overshad- owed Michigan freshman Manny Harris's career-high 29 points. As Penn State pulled away in the second half, Beilein shuffled Sims (1-for-10, three turnovers) and senior Ron Coleman (2-for-6, two turnovers) in and out of the lineup, looking for a contribution from either. It never came. By the time it was all over, Penn State's 3-point-field-goal percent- age was 20 points higher than Michigan's overall field-goal per- centage. "They're home and we're away," Sims said, explaining the Wolver- ines' shooting woes. "Guys hit shots. Everybody can't be on." The defeat, which gave Michi- gan its second-ever 20-loss season (1959-60) dragged out its misery, ending two hours and 14 minutes after the scheduled tip. "It was a unique game," Beilein said. "Let's just say that." T1E New LNe c ese cutSNe LE Hai Garden speciaLtzmnq im aurTennse cOs-mese cutsme "Scored 9 out of 10 for food" MenMe l akan makanan Ann Arbor News Cina yang terbalk Restaurant Review 116 S. Main Street di seluruh Michigan 995-1786 JMMon-Tue: H1am - I8pm A 1 Fri-Sat: Ham - Ipm Sun: 12 noon -apmP x * Fruit, To-fu and Vegetarian Dishes * Strawberry with Beef * Papaya with Prawns * All dishes cooked in vegetable oil * Now serving assorted beer, wine, liquor & cocktails Carryout and reservations accepted * We Accept All Major Credit Cards rE REMINDER!!! Applications to run in the MSA Winter Term Elections are due tomorrow (March 4, 2008) at 5pm in the MSA Office (3909 Michigan Union). Applications can be found in the MSA Office or on our website, www.nisa.Umich.edu. TAGLTIT- n L'3n 00, BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL www.birthrightisriel.com 6 9 Jennifer Crocker Claude M. Steele Collegiate Professor of Psychology The Costly Pursuit of Self Esteem 1Student Experiences at U of M I I I 9