8 - Friday, February 4, 2011 Th Mchga Dil -mihianaiy Io Blue will catch Ohio State soon enough CHRISDZOMBACK/aily Freshman guard Tim HardawayJr. led the Wolverines with his 15 points on 3-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Michigan's upset bid falls short against top-ranked Buckeyes By BEN ESTES try and take our shooters away Daily Sports Writer from it, and (to) try to sag off our big men," Morris said. "(Fresh- COLUMBUS - The scene was man forward Jared) Sullinger all too familiar. was at the hole justwaiting for me For the second straight Thurs- if I did break down the defense ... day, the Michigan men's basket- They really wanted to take our ball team found itself in a hated shooters out of the game and rival's arena, clinging to a lead make us dribble drive. That's why and hoping to outlast the more sometimes our offense was just at powerful home team. a standstill." But this time - unlike in East Michigan did most of its dam- Lansing - the Wolverines fell age in transition in the first short. frame, capitalizing on 10 Ohio No. 1 Ohio State recovered State turnovers and plenty of from a three-point halftime defi- missed shots -'the Buckeyes shot cit to defeat Michigan, 62-53, at just 9-for-25 from the field in the Value City Arena. Similar to the first half. two teams' previous matchup this Ohio State had open shoot- season - a 68-64 Buckeye victory ers on the wing often in the first - play was evenly matched for half. The Wolverines sent help most of tiegame. against Sullinger in the post, and Ohio State (10-0 Big Ten, 23-0 the freshman easily passed out of overall) opened the game on a 7-0 double teams to feed the shooters run, and the skittish Wolverines on the perimeter. But the home looked like they would be run out team hesitated on some opportu- of the gym. But Michigan stayed nities and missed several more, composed, despite the raucous going just 2-for-8 from 3-point crowd, quieting it with bucket range in the half. after bucket and prevented the But after the break, Sullinger Buckeyes from going on a run. went back to work down low. Sophomore point guard Darius "We just took our intensity Morris created his own offense to another level," Sullinger said. when the Wolverines (3-7, 13-10) "We know that it's Michigan, went stagnant in their sets, which and they were going to give their happened often against Ohio toughest game. We knew about State's tough defense. the rivalry, and we just had to "They had a great gameplan to take it to another level." Michigan quickly got into foul trouble, with Morris, junior guard Zack Novak and freshman forward Evan Smotrycz picking up their third fouls with 14:20 still left in the game. The Wolverines had to reign in their aggression defending the post, allowing Sullinger to easily score over the guards who came down from the perimeter to help hinder him. After the game, Michigan coach John Beilein compared the freshman superstar to former Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin, who dominated the Wolverines in the NCAA Tournament two sea- sons ago. "When you're guarding the length and the quicknessthat they have, and when you're guarding Jared Sullinger, it is very hard to guard him and stop him without fouling," Beilein said. "You're looking at the No. 1 team in the country. You're looking at a team that really has a great plan, (and) they're trying to get the ball to the right people." Though Michigan managed to hold Sullinger to just 12 points in Ohio State's win at Crisler Arena on Jan. 12, this time around the forward exploded for 19 points and 15 rebounds. And Ohio State quickly reached the bonus in the second frame. The Buckeyes went just 15-for-25 from the foul line for the game, while the Wolverines had just four attempts. Guard William Buford's 3-pointer with 11:34 left in the game capped another 7-0 Ohio State run and allowed the Buck- eyes to firmly establish momen- tum after an up-and-down start to the second half. "We knew they were going to come out with a momentum shift," freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said. "It was just how we could (respond to) it. (Against) Michigan State, we did a great job capitalizing on it and weren't getting discouraged. But things go that way." Michigan - hampered by its inability to execute its gameplan on defense - found itself stum- bling yet again on thesother end. Redshirt freshman forward Jor- dan Morgan had 10 second-half points, but more often than not, the Buckeyes stymied the pick- and-roll attack that they forced the Wolverines into. "We tried to make more adjustments about how they were playing us," Beilein said. "They did a great job. They took us out of some things that more experienced players would be able to adapt to. We did not do it well." COLUMBUS - f only John Beilein had a fast forward button. Thursday LUKE night's PASCH matchup between the On Men's Wolverines Basketball and the top-ranked Buckeyes was yet another sign that it just isn't Michigan's year to shine onthe hardwood. Beilein's squad didn't play a polished game of basketball - not even close. In Michigan's 62-53 loss to Ohio State, the Wolverines were just 6-for-19 from beyond the arc. They lost the rebounding battle yet again. They finished with more turnovers than assists. And they picked up a whopping 23 team fouls - the team's Achil- les heel all'nightlong. Butcould you have really expected anything different? The man-to-man matchups in this game were justosilly - it was hard not to laugh outloud during the team introductions. Redshirt freshman forward Jordan Mor- gan on senior Dallas Lauderdale. Freshman Tim Hardaway Jr. on senior David Lighty. Freshman forward Evan Smotrycz on fresh- man center Jared Sullinger. I'm not kidding - that last one actually happened. The slow-footed, relatively unathletic Smotrycz was expectedto lock down 6-foot-9, 280-pound player- of-the-year candidate Jared Sull- inger. Yeah, likethatwas goingcto happen. It didn't matter much when Smotrycz had help either. Late in the first half, Sullingerstreaked to the hoop, and senior William Buford lofted an alley-oop pass from the perimeter. Michigan junior guard Zack Novak eased off his man to step in front of the play, onlyto getposterized and have Sullinger's feet dangling in his face as the Columbus native hung on the rim for what seemed like ten seconds. I know you'rectired of hearing this. In fact, I'm tired of saying it. And I'm tired ofgBeilein saying it. But itsjust the fact: Michigan is young - too young to beat the Buckeyes this year, along with a number of other experienced Big Ten teams. But here's something different, something constructive. In Beilein's eyes, and in mine, the Wolverines are built to win this battle inthe long run. I'm telling you this because it's hard to see it without going into the locker room after games. It's not something you notice from a baseline seat in the Maize Rage, or from your couch as you watch Sullinger rack up 19 points against Michigan on ESPN. One year from now, the Wol- verines will winthis game. After this season, Ohio State will bode farewell to an incred- ibly talented senior class. Bye-bye Lauderdale. Bye-bye Lighty. Bye-bye Jon Diebler. And at that point, why would Sullinger stay? Bye-bye Jared Sullinger, have fun in the NBA. That'snot to saythe Buck- eyes are going to be pushovers, as freshmen forward Deshaun Thomas and point guard Aaron Craft are well on their way to becoming premiere Big Ten tal- ents. But all of a sudden,cthey'll only have one senior in Buford (There are two, actuallybuthave you ever heard of Lenzelle Smith Jr.? Yeah, me neither). Then, you look at the Wolver- ines, who will do nothing but welcome new faces to next year's squad. Everybody will be a year older. Nobody is leaving. Here's what will happen next winter: Michigan's young front- court defense will learnto be in the right position more often, so Smotrycz and Hardaway won't combine for nine fouls. Morgan will learn that he's too under- sized to go straight up to the hoop, so he'll show offsome more polished post moves to score. Sophomore pointguard Darius Morris will learn that he can't always score by dribbling into traffic, so he won't turn the ball over six times. Oh, and something you may not have seen on ESPN - Michi- gan commitTreyBurke, one of the nation's top point guard recruits, was decked out in maize and blue at a hostile Value City Arena. When Iasked Beilein about his conversation with Burke after the game, he didn't tell me much. But the ear-to-ear grin on his face was all I needed to see. Michigan's future is bright. Beilein knows it. Ohio State coach Thad Matta knows it. I know it. And soon, everyone will know WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Penn State overwhelms Michigan lacks aggression, 'M'to stay in first place offense struggles in loss v i By EVERETT COOK Daily Sports Writer Late in the firsthalf, the Mich- igan women's basketball team trailed Penn State by just three points despite PENN STATE 81 being rid- MICHIGAN 63 died for 15 minutes with lethargic play. Sophomore guard Jenny Ryan had just hit a 3-pointer, and the Wolverines seemed to be right back in the game, their early struggles notwithstanding. 110 seconds later, they were down by 10. It was that kind of night for Michigan. The Wolverines took a beat- ing from Penn State on Thurs- day night, losing 81-63 in a game where they looked stagnant from the opening tip. Michigan (6-4 Big Ten, 13-9 overall) had an outside chance to pull into first place in the Big Ten with a vic- tory, but instead fell into atie for fourth with Purdue. Apart from their 3-point shooting, the Wolverines played a solid game on offense. They shot a dismal 27 percent from downtown in the first half, but were able to find easy shotsunder the basket. Michigan's back- court of junior Courtney Boylan and senior Veronica Hicks each scored 10 points on the game, even with intense defensive pressure from the Nittany Lions. Sophomore forward Rachel Sheffer led the team in scoring for the third straight game with 13 points-most of those coming off close shots on dishes from Ryan. She finished with seven assists and eight points, freeing up an abundance of open perim- eter shots. The issue, however, was that Michigan wasn't mak- ing them. "I honestly just think we couldn't hit shots," Boylan said after the game. "It just seems like we hit those shots on a regu- lar basis, and in the games we're winning, we seem to hit them and tonight, it just didn't hap- pen." Offense wasn't the most glar- ing issue for Michigan, though. Penn State (8-2, 19-5) and its vaunted offense came into the contest averaging 80 points per game, and it was clear why from the get go. When Michigan scored or gained momentum, Penn State often responded with a bucket of its own. "It seemed to me like we were stuck in the mud," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. "They just did whatever they wanted to on the offensive end of the floor." Penn State shot 57 percent from the floor, including an astounding 68 percent in the sec- ond half to put the game away. Even in the rare occasion that the Nittany Lions missed, their post players still did a good job of cleaning up the boards, scoring 14 points off offensive rebounds. Five Penn State players scored in the double digits, but none was more impressive than freshman guard Maggie Lucas. She scored agame-high 23 points, punishing the Michigan defense any time it made even the tiniest mistake. "We flew at (Lucas) probably more times than we wanted to," Borseth said. "Every time we flew at her, she did one dribble, pulled up and boom. They can really pull up and shoot, that's what they're good at." The Nittany Lions proved they are in first place for a reason. "They hit a lot of shots obvi- ously; we gave them a lot of shots," Borseth said. "But they're really good." Michigan has a quick turn- around, playing Illinois at home on Sunday, in a game that will be very important for the Wolver- ines' Big Ten standing. "We just need to go back in the gym, get our confidence back and work at it," Hicks said. Michigan shot just 44 percent against Nittany Lions By CAITLIN SMITH Daily Sports Writer Sophomoreguard Kate Thomp- son went to the line to shoot two free throws with 0.1 seconds left on the game clock. She hit both, but the two points were a mere dent in the Wolverines' then-20 point deficit. Her last second freebies were two of just four free throw attempts in Michigan's 81-63 loss to Big Ten leader Penn State. The negligible amount of the Wolverines' trips to the charity stripe could easily be explained by a lack of aggression. Michigan could've used those extra points at the line; it just didn't have the opportunity. "It can be taken a bunch of dif- ferentways," seniorguardVeroni- ca Hicks said after the game. "Maybe it's lack of aggression, maybe it's notgettingtwofeetand making the refs call the foul. It's somethingwe'llhave tolook at the film more and see what we could do better in that area." The Wolverines were stagnant on offense all night. Junior guard Courtney Boylan made the first shot oft only tin the lead TheI nexttw to exten gin fror As t from th Wolver by their the boa cY be si Mich offensi in a me Penn S haven't reboun the sea and Xa the tim TheI off Mic lying 14 and o Penn S percent the game, but that was the game. me Michigan would hold Credit should be given to Penn . State, though, for being the top Nittany Lions sunk their team in the Big Ten - leading the ofieldgoals and continued conference in scoring, field goal nd their comfortable mar- percentage and steals, and boast- m there. ing a freshman guard in Maggie hey shot just 44 percent Lucas, who made 23 points in the he floor on the night, the contest and dominated the Wol- ines were hurt even more verines. Michigan couldn't keep rlack of aggressive play on up with Lucas simply because it rds. missed its open shots and didn't display its usual aggressive spunk that draws the fouls. .ou ye ott iBut in all reality, the Nittany Lions did not out-play the Wol- able to make verines. Michigan just simply didn'tshow up. hots and we "(Penn State) didn't do any- thing defensively to disrupt didn't." us, the only disruption we had is what we caused ourselves," Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. igan grabbed just four "In a game like this you've got ve rebounds, culminating to be able to make shots and we re 22 boards compared to didn't make them." tate's 39. The Wolverines The Wolverines struggled in displayed such a poor numerous aspects of the game, ding game since early in but the fact that they couldn't hit a son against Texas A&M shot - or get to the charity stripe vier, who were ranked at - handed Michigan its second e. straight Big Ten loss. Nittany Lions capitalized "We want to get to the free higan's stagnant play, tal- throw line obviously," Borseth points off both turnovers said. "We want to put the ball on ffensive rebounds. And the floor and get there, but it's a tate shot an outrageous 68 physical game and you need to I in the second half of the create some ofthatto getthere."