2B - Monday, January 14, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
For Michigan, a long fall down to Earth
Nobody is perfect.
Arizona and then
Duke, the teams sand-
wiched around No.2 Michigan
atop the national rankings last
week, finally fell in last-minute
thrillers over
the weekend
to crescendo
into the Wol-
verines' date
with Ohio
State on Sun-
day.
This early STEPHEN J.
in the sea- NESBITT
son, a win or
loss means
little. But
for Michigan, the last unbeaten
team standing, a victory over the
Buckeyes would have definitively
marked the Wolverines' long-
awaited return. It would have
meant a No.1 ranking for the first
time since 1992. Itwould have put
Michigan at 17-0 for the first time
in program history.
It would have...
But the Wolverines hurtled
back to Earth.
They fumbled and flopped out
of the gate, looking very much like
a team playing on the road in one
of the fiercest environments in
college basketball. They suffered
lengthy scoring droughts in the
first half and failed to register
a two-point field goal until 11
around the rim and out.
Michigan lost, 56-53. No longer
perfect.
Nobody is.
In the end, it was the type of
battle everyone expected between
two top-20 teams. It'sjust hard
to win that battle when you spot
the opponent a double-digit lead
before you get your second bas-
ket. It's hard to win when your
3-point specialist, Stauskas, goes
cold and finishes 0-for-3 for zero
points. It's hard to win when your
starting five, which averages 65.7
points per game, gives you just 40
- and when your leadingscorer
for much of the game is a little-
used backup point guard.
And it's darn near impossible
when all that happens against
your bitter rival, on the road in
the toughest conference in Amer-
ica. But Michigan nearly pulled
it out.
And that is the difference
between this Michigan team
and the ones of the last 15 years.
This team has the talent to hang
around even when the shots
don't fall. It has the coaching to
recognize the weaknesses and
the hot hands, the know-how to
precipitate swings in momentum,
the smarts to leave a hot Albrecht
in. Ohio State did everything
it needed to win and Michigan
gave far from the effort it would
have liked, but it came down to a
one-possession game, far from an
embarrassment.
The No.1 ranking will have to
wait. Michigan will fall a hand-
ful of spots, but it has still proven
to be a top-flight program with
serious staying power. It's bard to Y
overstate the strength of the Big
Ten this season, with No. 2 Michi-
gan, No. 5 Indiana, No.12 Illinois,
No.15 Ohio State and No. 22
Michigan State leading the way in
the national rankings.
They're going to beat up on
each other. It's already happening,
just look back on the weekend.
Ohio State was embarrassed by
Illinois, then beat Michigan. the
FightingIllini came off their
rout of the Buckeyes and were
thrashed by unranked Wisconsin.
Minnesota rallied from a 23-point
halftime deficit to nearly sneak
past Indiana.
There's not much Michigan
can do except swallow the sting
of defeat and get back up for the
next one - the high-flying Golden
Gophers play host on Thursday.
The Wolverines weren't going
to carry the label of "undefeated"
for too long. Not in this confer-
ence, not with the parity ofcol-
lege basketball. And that's OK.
Nobody is perfect.
- Nesbitt can be reached
at stnesbit@umich.edu or on
Twitter.@stephenjnesbitt
Michigan coach John Beilein and the Michigan basketball team were three points away from the No.1 ranking Sunday.
minutes had ticked off the clock - verines down 21 points with six college basketball's banner con-
and not until they had racked up minutes remaining in the half and ference, can be proud of.
eight turnovers. lit a fire under a stagnant offense. You remember how things
The sparkplug wasn't Trey Albrecht got to the line, twice, ended by now. Michigan clawed
Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr. or and added a 3-pointer. Michigan back to tie the game, 46-46, with
Glenn Robinson III. It wasn't Nik coach John Beilein couldn't take six minutes remaining in regula-
Stauskas, Jordan Morgan or even him out, so he played Burke and tion then crippled itself with a
the fiery Mitch McGary. No, it Albrecht alongside each other four-minute scoreless drought.
was little Spike. at guard for the remainder of Still, the game was within reach
Spike Albrecht, a freshman that the half. The deficit shrunk to 12 were it not for a crucial Buckeye
chose Michigan over other block- points by halftime. offensive rebound and a Burke
buster programs like Appalachian Just like that, it turned from a 3-point shot that was halfway
State, spelled Burke with the Wol- laugher into a game the Big Ten, down before it swung back
0
M' swims in short pool for first time since 1967
By ZACH SHAW Led by senior Sean Fletcher and
Daily Sports Writer sophomore Richard Funk with
three wins each, the Wolverines
Senior Miguel Ortiz wrapped cruised to win 16 of the 18 events
his fingers around the starting and defeat the Eagles, 196-133.
block, ready to begin the open- Though no NCAA race had
ing backstroke leg of the 160- been swum in a 20-yard pool in
yard medley relay. Ortiz and the nearly half a century, the Wolver-
No. 1 Michigan men's swimming ines were actually very familiar
and diving team (4-0 Big Ten, with the difference. Michigan
6-0 overall) were hosting nearby coach Josh White explained that
Eastern Michigan (2-2) in a non- the idea stemmed from a team tra-
conference dual meet at Canham dition at practice.
Natatorium. "One of the things we do every
A Friday night meet against Friday is move the bulkhead clos-
the Eagles is plenty normal for er to create a 20-yard pool," White
Ortiz. But if he had looked at the said. "It gives us a great opportu-
pool behind him, normal would nity to work on starts, turns, fin-
be hard to find. The lane lines ishes and tiny details like that."
always by Ortiz's side - were The Michigan coaching staff
coiled up on the walls at the other brought the idea of competing
end of the pool. The walls them- in that style to Eastern Michi-
selves appeared bigger. This was gan. The Eagles enthusiastically
no accident, but rather a creation agreed, and the idea was born.
of the eccentric mind of Michigan In addition to a convincing vic-
coach Mike Bottom. For the first tory, the Wolverines also man-
time since 1967, an NCAA swim aged to grab eight U.S. records
meet took place in a 20-yard pool, in the process. Since races are no
as opposed to the traditional 25. longer done in 20-yard pools, the
The relay began, and Ortiz was records are more than 45 years old.
off. 17.10 seconds and just five "It was fun to see just how
strokes later, .he was done. Such much the sport has developed
was the theme for the meet - a in the last 50 years," White said.
shorter pool meant faster times, "That just in an average meet all
fewer strokes, and turns that these records can fall."
could make or break a race. Less than 24 hours later,
Any changes in layout failed the Wolverines were back in
to slow the Wolverines down. the water, this time competing
against Big Ten foe Purdue (1-1,
3-2). The return to a regular-
length pool was well-received
by the Wolverines, as they won
the first seven events and 10 of 13
overall en route to a 153-90 vic-
tory.
The Wolverines were once
again led by Fletcher, whose vic-
tories in the 400-yard medley
relay and 200 butterfly gave him
five wins total on the weekend,
tops on the team. While always
focused on winning, Fletcher was
particularly pleased with his per-
formance this weekend.
"The turns, counting my kicks,
all the tiny details become very
important," Fletcher said. "Espe-
cially as we head towards the end
of the season. (This weekend) was
a really good meet to help focus on
that."
The wins over Purdue and
Eastern Michigan mark the
return to competition after win-
ter break for Michigan. After end-
ing 2012 by winning the Hawkeye
Invitational on Dec. 3, the Wol-
verines wanted to keep their
momentum going through finals
and the break.
"It's a difficult time for them,"
White said. "They're swimming
and doing finals, and then they
go home to see their family, but
still have to get out and get to a
pool. I think they did a great job
of (training over break) because
when we came back to training,
they picked it up without missing
a beat."
After a few days at home, the
Wolverines regrouped and took
their traditional training trip to
Florida. Both Fletcher and White
believe this trip was their best in
recent memory, citing nicer facili-
ties and a team-first atmosphere
as reasons for the success. '
"Every group was just killing it
every day," Fletcher said. "Every-
one was just really supportive of
eachsother and that's helped push
us to where we are now."
Before the break, Bottom
viewed the break as an indica-
tor of what the rest of the season
would bring, From what White
saw this weekend, that indication
is good.
"We saw a lot of great things in
all facets," White said. "Being in
great shape, having good speed,
and just feeling good. I don't think
we need to make many adjust-
ments, we're right on track and
where we expect to be.
This team is more internally
motivated than any other team
I've seen. They work hard to swim
fast because they want to swim
fast. It doesn't require being in a
tight race or having things on the
line, which I think will help them
a lot down the road."
of the easiest teams in the CCHA
HISTORY in Bowling Green and Alaska.
From PagelB So what's leftto playfor? Well
pride, for one.
only the second time the team If the season came to a merci-
has been swept twice in a season ful end today, the Wolverines
in the last 15 years. And it's the would travel to Michigan State
first time ithas been swept twice for a best-of-three playoff series.
at home in the same season since And that's not necessarily a bad
1986-87 - Berenson's third sea- thing.
son inAnnArbor. Home-ice advantage is sup-
And there will almost certain- posed to be a boost - it's even ,
ly be more history to be made. right there in the name. But if
The 22-year NCAA Tournament I'm in the Michigan locker room,
streak is no longer in jeopardy - I'm not sure how much weight
it's on life support. that carries with me right now.
For this team to make the When the tournament streak
NCAA Tournament, it's goingto comes to its seemingly inevitable
have to win the CCHA playoffs, end in the league playoffs, I
which is about as likely as Shawn wouldn't want to be left skating
Hunwick coming back for a sixth off the rink where the 22-year
year. For clarity's sake, and so run was built.
Michigan fans don'tgettheir Yost was Alaska's last frontier.
hopes up about Hunwick, that John Zarling, a former professor
means not at all likely. at Alaska and Fairbanks resi-
And if it seems like this team dent, flew down to Chicago then
can't buy a win at home, wait drove to Ann Arbor. It was the
until it packs its bags. Not since third time he has made the trip.
the 1972-73 season has Michi- But this one felt a little different.
gan gone this long into a season To him, the arena has lost its
without a road win. The eight vicious bite. He described the
games the Wolverines have lost atmosphere as less hostile than
at Yost Ice Arena this season on either of his two other trips to
already are the most since 1988- Ann Arbor. But that didn't make
89. the history-making sweep of the
Take aglance at the upcoming Wolverines any less sweetto the
schedule, and show me where Michigan Tech graduate.
the wins will come from. I sim- "I'm pumped right now," said
ply can't find them. It's ludicrous Zarling, smiling from earto ear.
to consider that this team will go This is what history looks like.
winless the rest of the way - it
won't - but the Wolverines did Slovin can be reached at
just get spanked by arguably two mjslovin@umich.edu
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