8 Tuesday, January 11, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 0 Against Jayhawks, Beilein's 1-3-1 zone scheme effective JAKE FROMM/Daily Freshman defenseman Mac Bennett has been in and out of the lineup all season. Bennett scores first- career goal in 'M'win CASANDRA PAGNI the rush." Daily Sports Writer Joining the rush is one area of Bennett's game he looks to With the No. 7 Michigan hock- improve on in the second half of ey team up 3-0 on Michigan State the season. late in the third period on Sat- Although he needs to make urday, the victory - and series sure to take care of his defensive split - looked secure. Less than responsibilities first, Bennett saw five minutes remained, and the the outcome of being aggressive Wolverines had already given on the offensive end first-hand on the 6,842 fans in attendance at Saturday. Yost Ice Arena three goals to add "I want to see myself jump up to their traditional goal-count in the play like (in that goal) lit- chant. tle bit more often," Bennett said. It was definitely icing on the "I'm a lot more comfortable skat- cake, but freshman defenseman ing with the puck now than I was Mac Bennett gave the fans at Yost in the beginning of the season." one more thing to cheer about. Michigan (10-4-1-0 CCHA, Senior forward Scooter 13-6-4 overall) carries eight Vaughan passed from the top of defensemen on its current ros- the right circle to Bennett, who ter, and while only six see game- came from behind and rushed action each night, Michigan to the left faceoff dot. Bennett coach Red Berenson knows how tough it can be for the younger defenders to accumulate any sort of confidence. "Every game he "If you're paired with one guy Friday and another guy Saturday plays, he's (it can be difficult)," Pateryn said. "I've been paired with (freshman playing a little defender Kevin Clare and Ben- nett) a lot this year. (Clare) is a better" stay-at-home guy, and Mac is a run-and-gun guy, so its different to know when to stay back or go. But you just read off each other. roofed the puck blocker-side for Sometimes you just play with his first career goal, cementing players that have different styles." the 4-0 win for Michigan. But Bennett, who has played Bennett was so overwhelmed the majority of his games this that he even didn't hear the Yost season with Pateryn, can play on faithful erupt, but his teammates either defensive side. saved the puck for him. That flexibility gives Berenson After the game, associate head different ways to use the fresh- coach Mel Pearson joked that man. Bennett should, sleep with that "I like (Bennett's) skating," puck - and show off his shot more Berenson said. "He carries the often. puck out of trouble. I like his But his partner, junior defense- passing. He definitely can join man Greg Pateryn, knew Bennett the rush. (His goal) was a classic had the shot all along, example of something we practice Pateryn had an inkling during everyday but we don't see enough the Wolverines' morning skate of it in games. that Bennett was going to catch "I like what he's giving to our fire on Saturday. team. I think every game he plays, According to both Pateryn and he's playing a little better." Bennett, the two were skating In a game where confidence is when Pateryn realized most of everything, Bennett is relishing Bennett's shots were finding the his new-found offensive flair. back of the net. And Michigan will take any "Before the game, it was kind extra offense it can get, as the of funny, I told him 'I think you Wolverines face a home-and- got one today, you're going to get home series with Ferris State this one. I feel it,' " Pateryn said after weekend - asteam that ranks first practice on Monday. "And sure in team defense, allowing an aver- enough, he went down and joined age of just 1.96 goals per game. Michigan's youthful defense forces powerhouse Kansas to shoot 35 percent LUKE PASCH Daily Sports Writer Michigan men's basketball coach John Beilein wins basket- ball games two ways: shooting and masterful defensive zones. Well, it doesn't always work - the Wolverines still lose games. But on Sunday afternoon, there was a definitive reason that Beilein's team - one of four in Division-I without a single fourth-year player - pushed No. 3 Kansas to the brink in a 67-60 overtime loss. And even a seven-year-old with the most rudimentary knowledge of basketball could have told you that Michigan didn't keep it close because of shooting (the team fin- ished with a miserable 4-of-28 per- formance from 3-point range). The Wolverines (1-2 Big Ten, 11-S overall)tied the game with seconds left in regulation because their defense kept them close throughout the second half, par- ticularly when Beilein deployed his notorious 1-3-1 zone. As Michigan finally started to find its groove on the offensive end, the shutdown zone allowed the Wolverines to outscore the Jay- hawks 33-26 in the second frame. "I really can't explain it," Beilein said on Monday. "Sometimes, it just happens. And whether it's a UConn, a Georgetown, a Villa- nova, a Duke, there's things that happen in a game, and it gets into a flow when things don't go well, and it starts to get a little mental." And Beilein was right - it was a bit mental, and Kansas came really close to beating itself at Crisler Arena. Kansas coach Bill Self's squad shot just 35.7 percent from the field, and some of his more experi- enced players turned the ball over more than usual - especially in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Beilein may be good, but he still needs some luck on his side to coach such an inexperienced team to a near victory over a top- 10 offense. Illinois coach Bruce Weber may have dubbed him the "mad scientist" of college hoops at Big Ten Media Day in November, but Beilein doesn't have mythical abil- ities. Self admitted after the game that his team played about as poorly as they possibly could have against the zone, even though it had pre- pared for it in practice all week. But whether Kansas beat Kan- sas in the second half or whether C Freshman gaurd Tim Hardaway Jr. is positioned at the top of Beilein's 1-3-1 zone and plays an important role Michigan beat Kansas in the sec- ond half, the bottom line is that the 1-3-1 was incredibly effective, and fans shouldn't be surprised if Beilein starts running it more often as the season progresses. On Monday, Beilein came close to alluding to one of the reasons why the zone works for his team before retreating and remember- ing that he doesn't reveal that type of information to the media. "The thing about the 1-3-1 is that it's not as schematic as people think," he said prior to the John Beilein Radio Show. "It can be a gimmicky thing at times, where it just works. And then there's other times where you really can apply some strategy ... I can't speak too much about it, but if it works, we'll use it more." Basically, the 1-3-1 is relatively easy to coach and manipulate, which Wolver Beil with T gin at it top of court l other Morgai paint,' take th And is essential for the youthful dribble around the perimeter, ines. Hardaway floats laterally, look- ein typically runs the zone ing to trap the ball with one of his rim Hardaway Jr. at the wingmen. When the ball goes to the cor- ner, Douglass looks to trap the ball with one of his wingmen, and the 'It can be a rest of the zone rotates to make up for Douglass fleeing the baseline. mmicky thing It's truly a team defense - two players go to trap the ball, and the times, where rest of the defense needs to move as a unit to cover the gaps created just Works." bythe shift. And so far, the Wolverines have proven they could do just that against one of the top offenses in the diamond, near the half the nation. ine, and Stu Douglass at the "It's not schematic - it's a feel," end on the baseline.Jordan Beilein said. n or Jon Horford mans the And on Wednesday night, he'll while the other two players see if his team feels it against e wing. . another one of the country's best as the opposing guards offenses - No.2 Ohio State. MILES From Page 1 football coach is going to be," Coleman said. "I can promise you that the athletic director is work- ing very hard and that he will do a good job." Miles was asked about poten- tial contact with Michigan dur- ing a press conference early yesterday afternoon in which his star cornerback Patrick Peterson announced he was leaving for the NFL - Miles confirmed he would be meeting with Michigan at some point. "If anything, we have a very distant conversation with repre- sentatives that would represent the school," Miles told reporters. "I'm told we will speak at that time in a place that has not been identified, and it's hard for me to speculate to the substance of that meeting." Last Friday, LSU trounced Texas A&M 41-24 in the Cotton Bowl, extending Miles's career record in Baton Rouge to 62-17 in six seasons - including a 5-1 record in bowl games. And Michi- gan fans may celebrate the fact that Miles led LSU to a 38-24 win over Ohio State in the 2008 National Championship game. After the Tigers' win in the Cotton Bowl, a reporter asked" Miles if it was his last game as LSU's head man. He paused, then responded: "It's a wonderful place. I love it here." Brandon started his nation- wide coaching search last week after announcing Rodriguez's ter- mination. Rumors have connected a wide range of candidates to the vacant position since then, from ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden to San Diego State's Brady Hoke to Miles. In his MGoBlue.com blog post- ed yesterday, Brandon warned the Michigan fan base to "not believe everything you read or hear" and called some of the reports "simply ridiculous." "I am sure all of the news reports are interesting for our fans," Brandon wrote. "But I am too busy to follow the majority of the news except to hear some pretty wild stories about 'where I am and who I am talkingto.'" Brandon added that the public's expectation of a speedy decision was unrealistic. "Some would suggest we should complete this national search in a matter of hours, but this is a criti- cal decision for Michigan Athlet- icts and it cannot and will nod be made in haste," Brandon wrote. -Daily News Reporter Kaitlin Williams contributed to this report. BRANDON'S CRITERIA: EVALUATING LES MILES "MICHIGAN MAN" t DEFENSIVE COACH , COACHING RESUME RECRUITING Miles played under Bo Schem- bechler. He coached under Bo. Brandon avoided saying that Michigan's next coach needed to be a "Michigan Man." He instead made it clear that the next coach needed to understand what Mich-' igan was all about. Miles is one of the few remaining options for the Wolverines to hire someone who coached under Bo. LSU was one of the top teams defensively in the entire nation this season, ranking 11th in points against. But with the Michigan fan base clamoring for a coach with a defensive emphasis, Miles's success at LSU may not translate into an improved defense, given the lack of talent at Michigan and his expertise on offense. But you really can't argue with a top-15'D.' Miles spent three seasons as There's no doubt Miles's teams the Oklahoma State head coach have been loaded with talent. But before moving to LSU in 2005. some of the talent on the Sugar And in his third season, he led the Bowl and national title teams Tigers to a national title - taking - including JaMarcus Russell, down Ohio State in the champion- Dwayne Bowe and Glenn Dorsey ship game. The Tigers have gone - was acquired during the Nick to a bowl game in all six of Miles's Saban era. Part of Brandon's crite- seasons at the helm, and he has 20 ria was the ability to recruit in the years of experience as an assistant Midwest. Miles hasn't done that coach in college and the NFL. extensively as a head coach. MONEY Brandon made it very clear that he's not afraid to pay top-dollar to get Michigan's next coach. Miles's current deal with LSU runs through 2014 and pays him $3.75 million annually. He also has a reported buyout of $1.25 million. Michigan was paying Rich Rodri- guez about $2.5 million per year. Brandon will probably have to up Miles's salary to lure him away. xN SCHEME His spread offense may not be exactly what Rodriguez ran the past three years in Ann Arbor, but it's close enough to make an easy transition. Jordan Jefferson quar- terbacked the LSU offense this season and he was able to throw for more than 1,400 yards and rush for 450 yards. Denard Robinson could excel with Miles. On defense, Miles runs a traditional 4-3 defense. 0 0 5