The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, November 23,2011 - 7A MAUI MALAISE: DUKE DOES IT AGAIN Fast start paces Blue Devils Guards Rivers and Curry shine, By DANIEL WASSERMAN Daily Sports Writer LAHAINA, Hawaii - Mike Krzyzewski and his record- breaking 903rd win has been the nation's biggest college basket- ball story early this season, but in Maui, the talk has MICHIGAN 75 surrounded DUKE 82 around his losses - or lack thereof. Of the Duke men's .basket- ball coach's 283 losses, none have come in his previous four Maui Invitational appearances. And just moments after tipoff, it, became evident that Michigan wouldn't give him his first. Despite two furious second- half Michigan rallies - with freshman point guard Trey Burke taking over the game each time - the Wolverines (4-1) failed to pull their deficits within five, falling 82-75. "It mirrored a little bit of our game last year in the NCAA Tour- nament, where they got off to a quick start with us," said Michi- gan coach John Beilein. "We were chasing them the whole time and they're not a great team to chase. They really know how to control the ball." Burke followed up an impres- sive showing against Memphis with 17 points and eight assists against the Blue Devils. Just two and a half minutes into the game, starting sopho- more forward EvanSmotryczwas already bench-ridden after pick- ing up two early fouls, and Duke took a commanding 9-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. "I thought the way we defend- ed was probably a little differ- ent than what they would have expected," Krzyzewski said. "(Beilein) had counters, but to start off with, it's something they haven't seen." Redshirt sophomore forward Jordan Morgan finally put the Wolverines on the board four minutes in with an electrifying transition dunk, sparking a 9-0 Michigan run that drew the Wol- verines within two. But the Blue Devils (6-0) proved to be too much to handle. Despite forcing eight first-half turnovers, Michigan entered halftime trailing 34-22, thanks largely to sophomore guard Tim Hardaway Jr.'s absence. Hard- away shot 0-for-6 - including two open 3-pointers towards the end of the half - and was held scoreless in the first stanza. outplay Wolverine backcourt ByBENESTES Daily Sports Editor TEUGENE TANNER/AP Duke guard Austin Rivers scored a game-high 20 points on Tuesday. The Wolverines shot just 2-for- 10 from behind the arc in the first half. The beginning of the second half was all about Burke and his matchup with lastyear's heralded high school recruit, point guard Austin Rivers. Seconds after the half started, Burke penetrated the Blue Devil defense and found a wide-open Morgan for a layup. Moments later, Smotrycz corralled a defen- sive rebound and took the ball coast to coast for a layup, forcing Duke to call a timeout. After a Blue Devil 3-pointer, Burke again drove through the paint, collapsing the Duke big men, and found Morgan for a dunk. Hardaway then blocked back-to-back 3-point attempts, leading to a Burke layup and a 3-pointer of his own - his first points. In the next four minutes, the Burke-Rivers show really got going. Rivers scored eight points, including two 3-pointers, while Burke added five points, a steal and an assist to Novak, whose 3-pointer cut the Blue Devil's lead to six. Burke came through with another steal and dish to Novak, but the senior couldn't knock down the 3-pointer and Duke stayed hot from 3-point land, converting on 11-of-22 of its shots from deep. "Their perimeter played very, very well," Beilein said. "I'll have to watch film again to see how much of that was us and how much of that was Duke, but I assume a lot of it was Duke." Rivers and guard Seth Curry each scored a game-high 20 points. Curry shot 7-for-8 and made all four of his 3-pointers. "We hit some amazing three's, but they were good shots," Krzyzewski said. "We attacked their 1-3-1 (zone defense) well. "That's a weapon for us. ...I think it's difficult for somebody to play zone against us, because the three guys that we start on the perimeter can all shoot." Michigan's 75 points are a season high and its 53 second- half points almost matched the 61 points per game the Wolver- ines averaged before coming to Maui. "I like the way our kids adjusted in the second half, offense wasn't the problem" Beilein said. "Duke came out with a great plan and that's a lit- tle bit of why (Krzyzewski) has 900-some wins. "Obviously, there's not a kid here that didn't want to win or didn't think we could've won that game if we played a little better." LAHAINA, Hawaii - If Mon- day's matchup against Joe Jack- son and Will Barton was the midterm for the Michigan bas- ketball team's backcourt, then Tuesday's meeting with Seth Curry and Austin Rivers was the final exam. Freshman Trey Burke and sophomore Tim Hardaway Jr. aced the test against their fellow guards from Memphis, but the Duke duo proved too much for the Wolverines in the Blue Dev- ils' 82-75 win. Rivers and Curry certainly had the pedigree advantage coming in. Rivers - the son of Doc, the Boston Celtics coach - is one of the top freshman in the nation, ranked the No. 1 overall recruit for the class of 2011 by Rivals.com. And Curry - the brother of Stephen, the star guard for Golden State, formerly of David- son College - entered Tuesday averaging 16 points per game as his team's leading scorer. By the end of their Maui Invi- tational win, the pair of Blue Devils had proven their domi- nance. Curry and Rivers com- bined for 37 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including a 5-for-8 performance from 3-point range. "They're both natural scor- ers," Duke coach Mike Krzyze- wski said. "They're not (point guards), but they're very gifted. And if they learn how to use their gifts together, then we're goingto be better. "And we saw that a little bit more today." Hardaway Jr. and Burke came up just short in trying to match their counterparts. They com- bined for 36 points while shoot- ing 14-for-31 from field - good' numbers, but not quite as good as the Duke duo. The Wolverine backcourt struggled just a bit more than the Blue Devil backcourt. And in a game that came down to the final few possessions, that was one reason Duke prevailed. It was especially big given Michi- gan's opponent's performance from deep - the Blue Devils shot 52.4 percent from distance for the game, leaving little margin for error. Hardaway Jr., especially, had difficulty getting into an EUGENETANN Duke guard Seth Curry made all three of his 3-point attempts yesterday. offensive rhythm. Early on, the Miami, Fla. native couldn't get any open looks. When he did shoot the ball, he missed every time, going 0-for-6 from the field in the first half. Michigan coach John Beilein credited Krzyze- wski's game plan in stifling his sophomore. "They completely shut down Tim," Beilein said. "They wouldn't let him get the ball. They played four on four on one side. We tried to draw some things up in the huddle, (but) until we got to halftime we couldn't make an adjustment on that the way we wanted to." Burke, meanwhile, fared bet- ter, leading the Wolverines in scoring in the first half with eight points. But he took it up a notch in the second. The Blue Devils were deter- mined to cut off all back screens and other off-the-ball action. Michigan was forced to play a two-man game, where Burke typically just worked off a ball screen given by a teammate at the top of the key. Beilein said he was happy with the way Burke dealt with Duke "locking the rails" on the offense. Though Burke improved in the second half, and Hardaway Jr. exploded to shoot 6-for-8 and scored all of his 19 points after the break, the Blue Devils had an answer every time. If Hardaway Jr. knocked down a jumper, then Curry would answer with a 3-pointer on the other end. If Burke drove the lane for a nifty layup, Rivers would do the same the very next possession. For most of the action out of the break, each team's backcourt dominated the scoring. The teams' four guards combined to account for 65 percent of the scoring, notching baskets one after the other on many occa- sions. The problem for the Wol- verines was that the Blue Devils scored more in that stretch, 18 points to 12. That run was punctuated by a play that illustrated just how deadly the Duke pair was. Against man defense, Rivers quickly drove into the lane, caus- ing Curry's man to collapse into the paint to help. Rivers then easily dished to the open Curry, who nailed a 3-pointer. The shot put Duke up 63-48 with just over eight minutes left, and though it didn't ice the game, it made it near impossible for Michigan to come back. "Basically, we were just try- ing to be aggressive," Rivers said. "Our teammates did a great job of finding us ... from there we tried to push it and run offense." With another game left in Maui, Beilei, just hopes that Burke and Hardaway Jr. can apply the lessons from the loss going forward. "(Duke) answered, didn't they?" Beilein said. "What hap- pens is Rivers was so good with the ball, just creating... (having) good patience. They made some tough shots, and thenthey creat- ed some opportunities for (open) threes, which were a killer." 'M' to play UCLA for third place in Maui By BEN ESTES can focus on." Daily Sports Editor UCLA has a record 11 NCAA basketball championships, but LAHAINA, Hawaii - Another this season hasn't exactly lived up day, another matchup with one to that legacy so far. The Bruins of college basketball's elite pro- dropped their first two games of grams for the the season to less-than-inspiring Michigan bas- competition, falling to Loyola ketball team. Marymount and getting blown The Wolver- Michigan out by Middle Tennessee State. ines will square The team was able to rebound off against -3. against Maui weakling Chami- UCLA (1-3) on Michigan 4-1 nade, and did come back in its Wednesday in When: semifinal against Kansas on the third-place/ Wednesday Tuesday to make the game com- fourth-place 7:30 P.M. petitive, despite losing 72-56. game at the Still, nobody knows quite what to Maui Invita- Where: expect from the Bruins. tional, as Mich- Lahaina Civic Junior forward Reeves Nel- Center igan looks to son symbolizes those question leave paradise TV: ESPN marks. UCLA's leading scorer and with a winning rebounder a year ago, Nelson was record in the preseason tourna- suspended earlier in November ment. for a series of missteps. Tuesday's loss to another bas- The ban was lifted after just ketball titan, No. 6 Duke, removed two days, but then Nelson missed any hope for a Maui title. The the team bus to the flight to Maui Wolverines will have to bounce last week. back quickly in order to come UCLA coach Ben Howland away with the win over the Bru- suspended him for the first half of ins. the Chaminade game, but Nelson . "We'll go back and watch the did have 12 points in the Kansas film quickly to learn things to loss. make Michigan basketball bet- In his absence, guard Jerime ter," said senior guard Zack Anderson (13.7 points per game) Novak after the Duke loss. "It's a has taken over the scoring load, quick turnaround. There's a rea- with forward Travis Wear and son everyone's saying this is one guard Josh Smith also scoring in S of the best fields that's ever been double figures. The Bruins hope in this tournament. their early-season shooting woes "We've got a chance to get improve against Michigan on third here, and that's really all we Wednesday. "(Michigan's) a very hard team Trey Burke has emerged as a .1 to prep for in a few hours because playmaker in Maui. The Colum- For [he veggie foodie in you! they have so many things in their bus, Ohio native has averaged 15.5 Present valid student ID and get offense," said UCLA coach Ben points in the two contests and has Howland. "We haven't spent consistently knocked down out- enough time working on our side shots. Plus, he has generally 1 5 % o ff zone (offense).... They're going to shown solid decision-making, any entrce' be playing that 1-3-1 that they're "Especially when you have a, Dine-in/Carry-out only. Notvalid with other promotions famous for, so we're going to new 'quarterback,' it takes time ***Cal734-557-35ford ryt** have to handle that zone and play to get things going, understand- well. ing how these things work in a game," said Michigan coach John Beilein. "We're throwing a* f lot at (Burke) and, gradually, he's "(Vichigan's) a absorbing as much as he can, but it takes time. very hard team "So it's encouraging we're get- ti nancr "E PR to prep for in a few hours." "We're going to have to play very smart (on Wednesday)." For their part, the Wolver- ines are riding their first wave of sustained offensive success so far in the early part of the season. After scuffling often in wins over Ferris State, Western Illinois and Towson, Michigan scored consecutive season highs against Memphis and Duke, pouring in 73 and 82 points, respectively. The offense stagnated too much in the team's first three wins, lacking the flow it had developed in the second half of last season. But freshman guard Ting closer. Defensively, the Wolverines slipped against the Blue Devils, giving up the most points they've allowed all year (82) and allowing Duke to shoot 56.5 percent from the field. Michigan's guards struggled with the quickness of Duke's backcourt, allowing far too many open 3-pointers. But the team should have an easier time defending the Bru- ins, who have averaged just 60 points intheir three losses - even though, if prior games are an indication, they probably won't play as much zone as Howland expects. "I really like the way we're competing," Beilein said. "You watch your own team. You don't know what the other peope have out there, (but) I do like the way we're competing."