The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com November 24, 2008 - 3B After upset of UCLA, 'M' falls in championship round Duke just one more testfor Blue this season Wolverines bested by experienced Duke in 15-point loss By RUTH LINCOLN Daily Sports Writer NEW YORK - The odds stacked against the unranked Michigan men's basketball team were hard to ignore considering the number of players with NCAA tournament experience. Duke: 10 UCLA: 7 Michigan: 0 Expected to finish third at best, Michigan found itself in the final round of the 2K Sports Classic. Less than 24 hours after their thrilling win over No. 4 UCLA, the Wolverines couldn't rally for a second upset, falling 71-56 to No. 10 Duke on Friday at Madison Square Garden. "It would've been a great week- end if we came out on top, but there's 16 teams in the whole tour- nament, and we came out second," said sophomore forward Manny Harris, who led Michigan with 25 points. "It's not bad, but you always feel better when you're No. 1." Many imagined Friday's cham- pionship game would preview a potential Final Four matchup between Duke and UCLA. The Wolverines (3-1) didn't enter the finals with the same national hype as the Bruins, but Michigan remained competitive against the Blue Devils' talented, veteran team. Sparked by junior forward DeShawn Sims and sophomore point guard Kelvin Grady, who contributed 11 first-half points off the bench, the Wolverines went into the locker room down 39-31. Harris opted to pass rather than finish his drives in the first half. But he looked more like himself -after the break, scoring 17 points. Several times, he diced through the lane into the out- stretched arms of the tournament MVP, Duke's Kyle Singler. As the beneficiary of all three of Singler's fouls, Harris kept the Wolverines in the game, going 11-for-12 from the charity stripe. NEW YORK - Michigan coach John Beilein loves calling each game a "measuring stick." Usually, an early season game doesn't mean much over the course of the year. But Thursday JASON KILER and Friday's games against N MI" UCLA and Duke show just how much Michi- gan has improved since the start of the Beilein era. Last season, Michigan lost to both teams by an average of 21.5 points. Already this season, Michigan shocked No. 4 UCLA and stayed closeto No. 5 Duke, eventu- ally losing by 15 points. The Wolverines will have anoth- er chance to measure their growth when the Blue Devils roll into Cris- ler Arena on Dec. 6. It's rare for ateam to play a non- conference opponent twice in a season, especially one as talented as Duke. "It's like we're in the same league," Duke coach Mike Krzyze- wski said. "But playing against John's teamswill always make us better. One of the reasons we sched- uled Michigan was because playing them will make us better, win or lose." Michigan coach John Beilein is also focused on improving. Before the season started, he said every game would be aboutgetting bet- ter, and if his players get better, the wins eventuallycome. And Beilein's players have bought into his phi- losophy of constant improvement. "I like the way thatinctimeouts or whatever, even when we've been instructional or harsh on them at times, they're eagerto learnright now," Beilein said. For the Wolverines to measure up and beat Duke in less than two weeks, they will have to get better in a few areas: Shooting: It's hard to ask ateam to shootthe ball better, but Michi- gan shot just .352 from the field and .273 from downtownFriday night. The Wolverines had open oppor- tunities from outside, but shot after shot went off the back of the rim. They never hit a big, team-igniting shot, likethe one freshman Stu Douglass provided to start the sec- ond half against UCLA. Once the early shots didn't fall, the Wolverines began rusliing, and when shooters hurry attempts, the teaimis less likely to win. More points in the paint: Except for sophomore Manny Harris, the Wolverineswere ineffective at driv- ing to the post, so they forced up shots from outside the paint. One reason for Michigan's suc- cess against UCLA was that the team's big men, like junior forward DeShawn Sims, successfully moved from outside to inside and slashed to the post for easy baskets. But against Duke, Sims moved from inside to outside, shooting long two- pointers instead of cutting into the. paint. Simswas 9-of-15 against the Bruins, but just 5-of-13 against the Blue Devils. 1-3-1 zone: Michigan's 1-3-1 zone was effective against the Bruins, but Krzyzewski showed why he's one of the bestcoaches inthe coun- try with his gameplancto attack the zone. The Blue Devils constantly pushed the ball into the paintto split the zone, leading to easy bas- kets downlow or wide-open shots fromthe perimeter. Some Michigan players didn't adjust properly in the zone. Duke often forced Wolverines out of position and took advantage of mismatches. Beilein said after the loss that his team didn't make the proper adjustments and that he hasn't had time to coach the defen- sive changes to combatthe Blue Devil offense. The Wolverines, who had less than 24 hours to plan for Duke on Friday night, will no doubt be bet- ter prepared for December's game, and will also have the advantage of playing athome. Although Crisler isn't the best arena in the nation, it sure beats having to play at Duke's raucous Cameron Indoor Stadium. No matter what happens in two weeks, it willbe just anothermea- suring stick for the Wolverines. I n Junior forward Delhawn Sims stoned 10 points and had 3 :ebounds in Michigan's 71-56 aoss to Duke an Friday. "We fouled him - it wasn't like he was getting calls," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Harris. "He has the ability to get fouled. A kid like that, that can shoot and get fouled ... that's a guy to center in a room." , Last December, the Wolverines were blown out 95-67 in Dur- ham, N.C. With almost the same roster as last year, Michigan was much more patient against a quick defense, committing just 12 turn- overs compared to 15 last year. It held Duke (5-1) to 3 for 13 from behind the arc when the Blue Devils shot over 40 percent in the game last season. Where they would have forced shots last year, the Wolverines took good looks and made sharp passes. Despite some missed layups and a 35.2 field-goal per- centage, Michigan coach John Beilein said he was happy with his team's shot selection. "To be 3-1 at (this) point, we have to be pleased," Beilein said. "We've learned a lot about our team - throwing our young guys in there, just letting people play. I'm pleased at this point, but we have to get better, a lot better." The Wolverines' 1-3-1 defense, which halted UCLA on Thursday couldn't attack as quickly Friday. The Blue Devils' size and speed broke the zone as they drove through the lane and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, resulting in 32 points in the paint. Freshman guards Stu Douglass and Zack Novak didn't have the experience to stop Duke veterans like Gerald Henderson and Nolan Smith, who finished with 12 and 16 points. Last Tuesday, when asked if he had considered the prospect of playing Duke twice in a season, Beilein said with a laugh, "As little as I can." With the Blue Devils coming to Crisler Arena on Dec. 6, the Wol- verines have a rare chance to play Duke twice in a single season. The game will be Michigan's last big- time matchup before the start of conference play. "They're a great teamto prepare for," said Douglass who was held to just three points after scoring 14 against UCLA. "They're going to be a team in the (NCAA) Tour-. nament definitely, or so it looks like. Just to have those games is an opportunity for us." Sims sees opportunity in bench role after starting every game last season THINK YOU KNOW A LOT ABOUT MICHIGAN SPORTS? PROVE IT.' JOIN DAILY SPORTS. By ANDY REID Ines'most consistentcontributorson Daily Sports Editor offense and defense. Even if he's not starting, the NEW YORK -- To be a starter Detroit native is almost always the every game one season and come off first player to sub in each game, As the bench the next a key piece of Michigan coach John would be a tough NOTEBOOK Beilein's rotation, Sims is second transition for most. behind Harris for minutes (27.8) For junior forward DeShawn and points (14.3) per game. He's also Sims, it has been a welcome change. averaging seven rebounds per game, He views it as an opportunity more the most on the team. than a hindrance. But after this weekend, Beilein "Sometimes when you start, you may have to rethink his starting get lax," Sims said last Tuesday. "It's lineup. The Wolverines were held the same process, You know you're without a field goal in the first four- going to start every game. So it's plus minutes against both Duke and kind of like getting into the game. UCLA. The game's already going when "We got off to another bad start in you're on the bench. So you have to (against Duke)," Beilein said. "And come in ready." we just felt we couldn't come out and His numbers this year may be down again." r be overshadowed by sophomore Because he's been so good off the Manny Harris's 24 points per game, bench, Beilein decided that Sims but Sims has been one of the Wolver- would start the second half against the Blue Devils. His presence pre- nament team along with UCLA's vented a blowout loss. Darren Collison, Duke's Kyle Singler If the energy and skill Sims ,and Gerald Henderson and South- brought to the court in New York is ern Illinois's Kevin Dillard. any indication, cquld start tomor- DUKE 2.0: The Wolverines row against Norfolk State. haven't seen the last of the Blue Dev- MANNY FRESH: Ina tournament ils. On Dec. 6, Duke will travel to full of college basketball all-stars, Ann Arbor. including UCLA's Darren Collison "We got them at home, and I and Duke's Greg Paulus, Harris think we know (Crisler Arena) made the biggest splash. and little bit better than (Madison He scored 96 total points in the Square Garden)," fifth-year senior four games the 2K Sports Classic, David Merrit said. "So, hopefully setting a tournament record. The that will help, and we'll have more record was previously held by Chris preparation time than one day." Douglas-Roberts, who scored 92 for The game is already sold out, Memphis last year. which is quite a surprise, considering "They have one of the best play- the trouble Michigan had of selling ers," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski studentticketsbefore the season. said of Michigan. "Harris is a really "Playing up there in their food player forthem." environment will be a heck of an After Saturday's loss to the Blue environment," Krzyzewski said. Devils, in which he tallied 25 points, "Michigan's got a chance to have a Harris was selected for the All-Tour- . very good year." E-MAIL ANDYREID@UMICH.EDU. e M*.: "- 17 Full-length CBTs All of AAMC's Features 1 800-2Review I PrincetonReview.com Corner of S. University and S. Forest --'HOd Seniors salvage split in Keystone State matches By MICHAEL FLOREK Daily Sports Writer After a. tough, eight-point loss to No. 22 Lehigh on Friday, the Michigan wrestling team stayed in the Keystone State. for a shot at redemption. They got it the next night with a commanding 22-15 win over No. 21 Penn, spurred b7y two impres- sive victories by Wolverine seniors, Michael Watts (125 pounds) and Tyrel Todd (197 pounds). Even though both won their matches against Lehigh, neither was happy with their matches. Todd said he diverged from his techniques and instead, was out on the mat "brawling." Michigan coach Joe McFarland said Watts didn't wrestle a complete match against Lehigh. "(Watts) wrestled hard for two periods and then shut it down," McFarland said Saturday. "Today, he stayed on that kid the whole time and he came up with another big win." Against Penn, Watts improved his record to 6-0 and set the tone early. In the first match, he scored three points for his team in a 10-4 upset 'of junior Rollie Peterkin, who was ranked seventh in the country at 125 pounds. Watts was up by eightcpoints late in the match, which would have been a major decision and earned an extra point for his team, but at the end of the match Peterkin scored a reversal to keep it at aregular decision. "He was ranked high, but I had beaten him a couple of times before," Watts said. "The rankings did not have to do anything with the way I wrestled." Todd followed Watts' lead, throwing his Penn opponent around before scoring a pin just two minutes and 44 seconds into, the first period. The wins put Michigan up four points with just one match remaining, and put Todd just two victories shy of 100 for his career. "Being part of the 101-win club is a prestigious thing," Todd said. "It was one of my goals coming in here." The night before, against the Mountain Hawks, the Wolverines won two of the first three matches, but then dropped five of the last seven, losing their first dual meet of the season, 20-12. Michigan started off against Penn in similar fashion, winning the first two out of three, but also won the last four matches to keep their strong lead. "Guys were wrestling through positions we weren't wrestling through before," Watts said. "A lot of the guys were coming off strong early and then kind of fad- ing towards the end of the match against Lehigh." The second part of the Wol- verines early-season road stretch startd next weekend when they head to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Invitational on December 5-6. There, they will be focusing on wrestling the whole match and scoring the first takedowns. "I didn't sleep well last night," McFarland said after Saturday's win. "We didn't really show every- body who we are (Friday) night, and I thought we did a better job of that today. We came back today with a lot of fire. Our guys were not happy. They came back and wres- tled really hard and showed what they are capable of doing."