8 - Friday, March 14, 2008 4 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom 4 WATER POLO Wolverines on a roll heading into crucial early matchup Michigan could extend winning streak against rival Indiana if offensive fireworks continue By RYAN KARTJE Daily Sports Writer At the beginning of the season, Michigan water polo coach Matt Anderson had one goal for the squad: be the best in the East. And on Sunday, in a picture-perfect old- school matchup, the 12th-ranked Wolverines will get the chance to prove they're exactly that. Michigan is riding an 11- Indiana at game winning streak into this weekend against No. 15 Indi- Michigan ana, and Anderson expects Matchup: that momentum to give the Indiana 9-7; Wolverines a boost. Michigan 17-9 "Having won all those When: Sun- games, we're in a better frame day, Noon. of mind," he said. "Our aches Where: don't hurt as much, we're Canham shooting better, and we're just Natatorium on right now." Even though the teams are foes in the CWPA Western Division instead of the Big Ten, senior Michelle Keeley said the Wolverines see the matchup as if it were a Big Ten Championship. "In rivalry games like this, the Michigan tradition just gets me pumped up," sophomore Leah Robertson said. "We get a chance to show that we're the leaders and best." Robertson has established herself as a leader on the squad, stealing 66 balls this year, already the second-highest single-season total in pro- gram history. If Michigan is going to stop Indiana this weekend, defense willbe the difference. In nine of their last 10 games, the Wolverines have held their opponents to single-digit scores, so it's clear that the Wolverine defense is clicking at just the right time. "Anyone can play offense," Anderson said. "It's playing hard-nosed defense that wins the game." But the offense has also been nothing short of spectacular. The Wolverines scored 96 goals in just five games last weekend at the CWPA League Games in Erie, Pa. Michigan's real challenge will be to catch the Hoosiers off guard. Indiana has already seen the Wolverines play at both the Michigan Kick-Off and the Elite Six Tournament this season. "It's all about ball control this weekend," Anderson said. "They know what's coming, so we have to do our best not to turn the ball over." Anderson is no stranger to the Hoosiers style either. While serving as an Indiana assis- tant coach in 2001, he helped the Hoosiers to a school-record No. 14 ranking. "I'm at Michigan, and they are Indiana," Anderson said. "That's all that matters tome now in this rivalry." For the Wolverines, anything less than an undefeated record in the East would be a disap- pointment. "This is why I came to Michigan, for games like this," Keeley said, "There aren't many rival- ries like this in women's college sports." And with the title of "The Best in the East" on the line, there won't be many water polo match- es as hard-fought as the one on Sunday. MICHIGAN 55, IOWA 47 NOT DONE YET 'M'finally makes the most of talent INDIANAPOLIS - Michigan coach John Beilein had a sly grin on his face as he gave his final pregame instructions yesterday - as if he knew something the fans in the crowd didn't. It's been a well-kept secret, but the truth is emerging. The Michigan men's basket- ball team has talent. The Wolverines may not be the most talented team in the conference, but they have much more skill than they've gotten credit for. Numerous ill-advised shots and a scoring drought of more than 10 min- DAN utes against Iowa show Michi- gan still has much to learn FELDMAN about Beilein's offense. But the game was never in doubt after the first 10 minutes. The Wolverines have enough talent to make mistakes and still win, as long as they put out maximum effort. Good defense, more than good offense, depends on effort and hustle. Sophomore center Ekpe Udoh freely admits those elements were lacking earlier in the year. But Michigan's dominant defense yesterday, which held Iowa without a field goal for more than 16 minutes, was a key to the win when the offense failed. The victory wasn't pretty to most observers, but I saw the Wolverines play a nearly perfect game - nearly perfect because their approach to it was nearly perfect. For the last few weeks, the players have talked about the Big Ten Tournament. And Beilein has talked about the tournament to the media just as much. I've never seen a team successfully veer from the one-game-at-a-time approach so much. But it worked yesterday. Michigan badly wants to prove it can compete with anybody. The team wasn't going to allow itself to lose yesterday. Conseco Fieldhouse is the Wolverines' stage, and they've been planning the performance for weeks. But why couldn't Michigan put on a show at Crisler Arena or the Bryce Jordan Center? Mich- igan wasted the last two weeks of the season. Sure, the Wolverines made some progress, but not nearly as much as they could've. For the most part, that's been the story of this season. The Wolverines have learned Beilein's sets, but they haven't learned how to approach games with a winning attitude, which is much more important. I don't know what will come from this semi- wasted season. Beilein said he has treated this season like his first year at every other college where he has coached, except Richmond, where he said he focused more on winning. Beilein's winning percentage in his first year coaching a school:.558. Take out Richmond: .525. His winning percentage after his inaugural year on a job: .642. So even if his first-year strategy is flawed,.it's hard not to give him the benefit of doubt that he will turn the Wolverines around. This tournament gives Michigan the perfect chance to work on its mental strength. "We just wanted to win," sophomore forward DeShawn Sims said. "Whoever was in our way, we are trying to advance and go to the promised land. Whoever is in our way, we just have to play with that chip on our shoulders." Michigan plays regular-season conference champion Wisconsin at noon. Take that attitude and a win is possible. Take that attitude into each game next year and an NCAA Tournament berth might not be the pipe dream it is for this year's squad. - Feldman can be reached at daneld@umich.edu. a I CLIF REEDER/Daily Sophomore Deshawn Sims guarding Iowa's Tony Freeman in yesterday's win over Iowa. Sims had his first career double-double. Defense key in first-round win To qu ag IN] has b athlet Mo But Big T Michi learne won Tourn Sacrec 9W were DeSho that if get it some I into th they s Th lar po By they s game, most day, Blue will play of the season and lived to play another day, beating Iowa, 55-47, arterfinal Match at Conseco Fieldhouse. . . g In many ways, it was the type of ;ainst Wisconsin ame Michigan (5-13 Big Ten,o10- 21 overall) had lost all season. By IAN ROBINSON The scoring droughts that Daily SportsEditor have repeatedly spelled disaster. reappeared. But the Wolverines DIANAPOLIS - Michigan weathered one of their longest een a trendsetter in college droughts of the season (10:06) by ics. nearly eliminating the Hawkeyes' unt St. Mary's has not. offense., Michigan held Iowa (6- preparing for yesterday's 12 Big Ten, 13-19 overall) without en Tournament game, the a basket for 16 minutes in the set- gan men's basketball team ond half. ed from the Pioneers who Earlier this season, when the a Northeast Conference Wolverines struggled to score, ament title with a win over they carried that frustrationto the d Heart yesterday. defensive end, allowing easy bas- e saw the enthusiasm they kets and magnifying the impact of playing with," sophomore the dry spells. awn Sims said. "Knowing But yesterday, that mentality they could win, they would changed. Sims and fellow sopho- nto the tournament. And more Ekpe Udoh were so focused teams have no chance to get on each possession they didn't he (NCAA) Tournament, and even realize how long their own ecure their bids." scoring drought had lasted. e Wolverines were in a simi- "You got to forget about shots sition yesterday. notfalling because you can always capturing the enthusiasm control how you play on defense," aw in the Mount St. Mary's said Sims, who put up his first Michigan came out with its career double-double (14 points aggressive defensive effort and 10 rebounds). Defensively, Michigan correct- ed its biggest problem: the perim- eter. Throughout the season, teams had picked Michigan apart from beyond the arc. Yesterday afternoon, Beilein's strategy focused on stopping the 3-pointers while allowing some inside baskets. The result was Michigan's best perimeter defense performance of the season. Iowa made just two 3-pointers in 17 tries - the lowest percentage of any Michigan opponent this year. Trying to erase a nine-point halftime deficit, Iowa missed all 10 of its second-half 3-point attempts. The Hawkeyes shot just 20 percent from the floor in the frame and 31.9 percent for the game. But the Wolverines don't have too much time to celebrate yes- terday's win. They will play regu- lar-season conference champion Wisconsin today. The Wolverines last played Wisconsin on Jan. 22 in Madison and lost by just three points. In the game, freshman Manny Har- ris set a then-career high with 26 points. Kolarik expects to return this weekend Junior forward brings offense, leadership to team By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN Daily Sports Writer With senior alternate captain Chad Kolarik likely to return to the Michigan hockey team lineup this weekend, it seems the UNO at nation's top- scoring line will Michigan be back at full Matchup: strength for the U NO 17-17- CCHA quarter- 4; Michigan finals. 27-5-4 Kolarik brings When: Tonight 43 points back 7:35 p.m. into the Michi- Where: Yost gan lineup, as Ice Arena well as key lead- ership on a freshman-heavy team preparingto face Nebraska-Omaha in this weekend's best-of-three series, which starts tonight at Yost Ice Arena. "You can't replace a player like Chad," Michigan associate head coach Mel Pearson said. "It's not just his skills and his goals and everything (but) his leadership, his senior leadership. It's especially (important) with a lot of young guys and this will be a new experi- ence for them." On the other side of the ice, the story sounds much the same: The nine-freshman deep Mavericks return senior Bryan Marshall, their captain and leading scorer with 43 points. Marshall leads the country in assists per game and has been Nebraska-Omaha's lone bright spot after the Mavericks finished eighth in the CCHA. "I guess in a way they kind of cancel each other out," senior cap- tain Kevin Porter said. "They have their top player coming back, we have our top player coming back, so it's going to be a good battle." Marshall, who warmed up but didn't play in last week's triple- overtime win over Alaska, is con- sidered a quieter, "by-example" leader. Kolarik in contrast, is one of the most passionate Wolverines and more of a goal scorer. He has notched two four-goal games this season. "Because he's such an emotional player, he does get on guys and give them a lift," Pearson said. "I think just even for that line, for Max (Pacioretty) and Kevin (Porter) it's huge having him back, and obvi- ously emotionally its huge having him back." Both returns should make Friday a more spirited night than usual. "It's goingto get everyone going, get everyone really excited and ready to go," Porter said. Aside from boosting their respective teams, Kolarik and Mar- shall have something else in com- mon - they lead two of the CCHA's best offenses. Michigan's offense, ranked, second in the nation, lit the lamp five times in one period when the Mavericks hosted the Wolverines earlier this season, and Porter has tallied two hat tricks against them in his career. Nebraka-Omaha's 12th-ranked offense managed just five goals during a relatively slow weekend. Even though Michigan is net- ting almost four goals a game and Nebraska-Omaha boasts the most efficient power play in college hockey, in a playoff atmosphere, no one is expecting a big offensive weekend fromn either team. "I think the wheel turns from more offense early in the year to more defense this time of year," Michigan coachRed Berensonsaid. "Your offense is still important, but your defensestill has to shut them down." Pearson added: "If I was a bet- ting man, you'll see some goals. But at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 2-1 game, a 3-2 game." NOTE: According to Berenson, freshman Matt Rust suffered a hairline fracture to his fibula, a non-weightbearing bone. Rust suf- fered the injury in a knee-to-knee collision with defenseman Eric Elmblad at practice yesterday dur- ing a drill. The second-line center will be out on a "week-to-week" basis, and is currently wearing a walking cast. In practice yesterday, junior Tim Miller replaced Rust alongside freshmen Carl Hagelin and Aaron Palushaj on the second line. How- ever, Hagelin will move to center in place of Rust. Miller was replaced by freshman Ben Winnett, who skated with Louie Caporusso and Travis Turnbull on the third line. 0 Senior Chad Kolarik skates against Miami (Ohio) Feb. 9. Tonight will be his first game back in the lineup since suffering a hamstring injury Feb.16.