The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, December 5, 2013 - 7A
Lots of potential, but
'M' couldn't fulfill it
ADAM GLANZMAN/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein said, "Maybe we should have run our late-game offense the whole time."
Ianemic night, some
oi i
of1eslVe o 1 i'es
By NEAL ROTHSCHILD
Daily Sports Editor
If it wasn't so painful, it'might
have just been called odd.
The No. 22 Michigan men's
basketball team's offensive per-
formance in Tuesday night's
79-69 loss to Duke was by far the
worst of the season, never mind
that the Wolverines have also lost
games scoring 70 and 61 points.
With 119 seconds remaining,
Michigan trailed 68-50. To that
point, it had shot 18-for-46 and
only 1-for-9 on 3-pointers.
Down 18 with two minutes to
play, Michigan (5-3) got a layup
from sophomore forward Mitch
McGary, and then the hacking
commenced. The Wolverines
fouled the Blue Devils to send
them to the line, prolonging a
contest that was well out of hand.
Michigan fouled nine times in
the final two minutes to manu-
facture nine more possessions,
in which the Wolverines drained
two 3-pointers and scored 19
points to bring the score totals
to a respectable level. Those 19
points accounted for 28 percent
of Michigan's scoring.
McGary led the garbage-time
parade, padding his stats with
eight points and three rebounds
to complete a seemingly impres-
sive 15-point, 14-rebound game.
Ultimately, the Wolverines
boosted their field-goal percent-
age from 39 percent to 45 percent
and their 3-point rate from 11 per-
cent to 23 percent in that span.
Though the outcome was never
threatened, Michigan cut the def-
icit to 10 by game's end.
"We didn't get some threes
until the end," said Michigan
coach John Beilein. "Maybe we
should have run our late-game
offense the whole time, and we
could have scored some points."
Beilein's teams have tradition-
ally been prolific at perimeter
shooting, so Duke's game plan to
limit opportunities in transition
- and from sophomore guard Nik
Stauskas in particular - put the
Wolverines in an untenable situ-
ation.
"You gotta go two at a time,
and you gotta get stops at the
other end," Beilein said about
adjusting to the 3-pointer being
taken away. "And then you gotta
make runs coming out of that, but
we weren't able to do that. But
(overcoming) 12 points anywhere
is hard to get."
The only player able to carry
the scoring burden was sopho-
more guard Caris LeVert. After
he scored just four points in the
first half, LeVert went off for 20
in the second half, almost strictly
on dribble penetration and almost
strictly to the left side.
"They were having a hard time
scoring, and LeVert just kind of
put them on his back and was
terrific," said Duke coach Mike
Krzyzewski."We kept telling (the
Duke players), he goes left more
than right, but he went left real
hard, and he's very good."
Try as they might, the other
Wolverines were unable to gener-
ate anything. Drive attempts were
forced off balance, and the shots
were off target. Until the final !19
seconds, aside from LeVert, the
rest of the Wolverines scored just
13 points in the second half. The
first 20 minutes were even worse,
with the Blue Devils heading into
halftime with a 32-22 lead. For
Michigan's starters, the points
on the first-half score sheet read:
four, three, five, three, four.
"We dialed (LeVert) up like
crazy in the second half," Beilein
said. "We played through him
the whole second half. That was
something that we saw from the
game, and we just went with him.
Knowing that they were going
to deny Nik as much as they can,
we went in a different direction
and it worked. Unfortunately
we already buried ourselves in a
hole."
Indiana forward Dylan Mares
collected the ball outside the
18-yard box and weaved by
two defenders before slotting it
into the back of the net. As the
Hoosiers celebrated, the Michi-
gan men's soccer team sullenly
walked off
the field. M
Mares's MINH
goal had DOAN
sent the On Men's Soccer
team pack-
ing from
the Big Ten Tournament, virtu-
ally ending its season. A cam-
paign filled with such promise
was over, and many team goals
were left unchecked.
"A Big Ten Championship
and an NCAA Tournament bid
were our two major goals," said
redshirt junior midfielder Tyler
Arnone last week.
The 2012 season was Wol-
verines' coach Chaka Daley's
inaugural year and included
appearances in the Big Ten
Championship and the second
round of the NCAA Tourna-
ment. Michigan hoped to build
off those accomplishments
heading into this year.
But instead of improving on
last season's achievement, the
Wolverines (3-3 Big Ten, 8-7-3
overall) regressed.
"One of the major disappoint-
ments was this team had so
much potential," Arnone said. "I
don't think we reached our high
point at any time."
Finishing scoring chances
became Michigan's biggest
Achilles' heel.
Early in the season, the Wol-
verines took on South Florida in
a non-conference battle. Michi-
gan outshot the Bulls, 15-7, and
dominated most of the second
half and overtime periods, but
the Wolverines could not pre-
vail, tying the match, 1-1.
The same issue was prevalent
in many other games, such as
one against then-No. 7 North-
western, when the Wolverines
outshot the Wildcats, 15-5, but
couldn't come away with a goal
in a 2-0 loss.
The highlight of the season
was a three-game winning
streak at home in which the
Wolverines were lifted by timely
goals.
Against then-No. 12 Creigh-
ton, Wisconsin and defending
NCAA champion Indiana, late
second-half goals by freshman
defender Lars Eckenrode, red-
shirt junior Tyler Arnone and
junior midfielder TJ Van Slooten
gave Michigan a chance to cel-
ebrate and pushed it into second
place in the Big Ten, placing it
in a good position for an NCAA
Tournament at-large bid.
"Beating two teams that were
in the Final Four (Creighton and
Indiana) last year on national
TV was certainly encouraging
for our group," Daley said.
To secure the at-large bid, the
Wolverines needed to go into
East Lansing and beat No. 18
Michigan State.
The game started off well
for Michigan, but its recurring
theme of deficiencies in front of
goal hurt the Wolverines once
again. The Michigan offense
rattled off 10 shots to the Spar-
tans' zero but could not come up
with a goal. In the second half,
sophomore defender Jack Brown
was sent off with a red card, and
Michigan State scored two goals
on its way to taking back the Big
Bear Trophy in a 2-0 win.
"We took it to Michigan State
before the red card," Arnone
said. "We showed we could com-
pete against the best teams in
the country."
That loss, coupled with a
first-round exit in the Big Ten
Tournament, only reinforced
the disappointing reality that
the Wolverines would not make
the NCAA Tournament.
"We were essentially one and
a half games from making the
NCAA Tournament." Arnone
said.
While the season did not turn
out the way Michigan would
have liked, there were many
bright spots on the team.
The freshmen played excep-
tionally well and stepped up
in bigsituations when needed.
Eckenrode and fellow fresh-
man defenders Rylee Woods
and Andre Morris played big
minutes when their numbers
were called upon. Woods and
Michigan coach Chaka Daley's sec-
ond season was a slight regression.
Eckenrode received All-Big Ten
freshman team honors, and the
three will be the foundation of
the Wolverine defense for sea-
sons to come.
Arnone was another highlight
for the team. His work as a box-
to-box midfielder and hustle led
to his recognition as the Big Ten
Midfielder of the Year. Heled the
team with five assists and put
away two goals on the season.
"My goal was to be an influ-
ence in every game," Arnone
said. "I wanted to perform well
throughout the year and have a
level of consistency."
Michigan will say goodbye to
six seniors: midfielders Dylan
Mencia and Fabio Pereira,
defenders Tyler Leppek and
Ezekiel Harris and forwards
Malcolm Miller and TJ Roehn.
All six have left their mark on
the program and they serve as
the last players on the team from
the Wolverines' run to the Col-
lege Cup in 2010.
But with the freshmen, a slew
of key position players and both
captains - Arnone and red-
shirt junior goalkeeper Adam
Grinwis - are coming back for
another season, so Michigan's
goals remain the same.
Heading into next season, the
young team will have experi-
ence behind it and will look to
replicate the success the depart-
ing seniors brought.
"We're certainly excited
about where we're going as a
program," Daley said. "The
future is looking very bright."
WOMLN'S BASKETBALL
Surprising Michigan brings
red-hot shooting to Virginia
U.S. Under-18 foe is young,
hungry and capable of upset
By MAX COHEN The coach hopes the team's
Daily Sports Writer shooting prowess displayed last
weekend was no accident.
The Michigan women's bas- "We made shots, which is
ketball team hit its 3-pointers something, in the games that we
left and right in the second half lost earlier this year, we weren't
of its near-upset against No. 15 able to do," Barnes Arico said.
LSU last weekend. The Wolver- "They're spending a lot of extra
ines went 8-for-13 from beyond time in the gym getting up
the arc in the shots."
half, helping Mihigan Against the Lady Raiders, the
them keep the Wolverines shot a blistering 59.3
competition at Virginia percent from the field. The next
close. Matchup: day facing LSU, Michigan bare-
This marks- Michigan 5-3. ly missed out on eclipsing the
man-like Virginia 3-4 50-percent mark for the second
shooting has When: Thurs- game in a row, making 47.1 per-
continuously day 7 P.M. cent of its attempts.
aided Michigan Effectiveness in shooting has
in its surpris- ure: John been the difference between
ing start. Arena wins and losses for the young
The Wolver- team. In the team's other two
ines (5-3) enter TV/Radio: losses, it made less than 36 per-
this yer's B' Virginialyorts.ls hn 6pr
this year's Big orn p($) cent of its attempts.
Ten/ACC Chal- The recent lights-out shoot-
lenge game ing has continued a trend for
at Virginia looking to build the Wolverines. Despite its low
momentum after their two most percentage in those two early
impressive performances of the losses, Michigan enters its game
season. At the Barclays Invita- against the Cavaliers ranked No.
tional last weekend, Michigan 27 in the country in field-goal
beat Texas Tech in convincing percentage at 46.5 percent - a
fashion and nearly pulled off the significant accomplishment for
upset over the Lady Tigers. a team that didn't know who its
Historically, Michigan has primary scorer would be enter-
fared well in the Big Ten/ACC ing the season.
Challenge compared to its fel- Junior guard Shannon Smith
low Big Ten programs. Since the emerged early as a key offensive
Challenge's inception in 2007, presence for the team and leads
the Wolverines are 4-2, while the Wolverines in scoring. But
their conference has not yet won Smith's status is still up in the
the overall title. air for Thursday's game. She
"Any time we have an oppor- injured her back late in Friday's
tunity to play against another victory and missed Saturday's
conference, it's our job to repre- contest against LSU as a result.
sent," said Michigan coach Kim Smith has participated in
Barnes Arico. some activities in practice
this week but will be a game-
time decision. If Smith isn't
in the lineup, senior forward
Val Driscoll will likely take
her place, as she did Saturday
against LSU.
Driscoll played her best game
of the season against the Lady
Tigers, going toe to toe with
talented LSU bigs and coming
away with 11 rebounds and six
blocked shots.
Virginia (3-4) hasn't experi-
enced as much recent success.
The Cavaliers come into the
game fresh off of a weekend trip
to the Bahamas, where they lost
both of their games in the Junk-
anoo Jam Tournament.
One of the losses was a blow-
out at the hands of No. 3 Tennes-
see.
In the second game of the
tournament, center Sarah
Imovbioh and guard Kelsey
Wolfe combined to score all but
eight of the team's 46 points in a
narrow loss to Kansas State.
Generally, the team has a
more balanced scoring attack,
led by Imovbioh, guard Ataira
Franklin and guard Faith Ran-
dolph, who all average between
11 and 13 points per game.
Last season, the ACC won the
Big Ten/ACC Challenge, 7-5. But,
it's new year, and the new-look
Michigan team hopes to help
the conference notch its first
win.
"We feel so fortunate to be at
Michigan, but also to be a part of
the Big Ten conference, which I
believe is the best conference in
the country and is just going to
get better and better in years to
come," Barnes Arico said.
By JEREMY SUMMITT
Daily Sports Editor
Exactly 11 months ago, a sul-
len Michigan hockey team skat-
ed off the rink at Yost Ice Arena
after suffering a 5-3 defeat. At
the other end of the rink, cur-
rent Wolver-
ine freshmen
Tyler Motte,
JT Compher
and Evan Allen
were more
than satisfied.
The trio
played for the
U.S. Under-18
National Team
Development
Program last
season before
enrolling at
Michigan, and
combined for
five points -
U.S. NTDP
at Michigan
(ex.)
Matchup:
NTDP 0-0;
Michigan
10-2-1
When: Thurs-
day 7 P.M.
Where: Yost
Ice Arena
TV: Fox Sports
Detroit
everyone," Compher said. "Since
we're in Ann Arbor for two years
(with the NTDP), a bunch of guys
come see Michigan games, and
for me it was a little more impor-
tant."
Since the NTDP plays locally
at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, the
high anticipation surrounding
the game is somewhat expected.
Motte went as far as saying the
annual matchup is progress-
ing into a rivalry, and Michigan
coach Red Berenson has grown
to appreciate it, too.
"We've got to play that pro-
gram," Berenson said. "It might
not help us, necessarily, but it's
the right thing to do. That's why
we play them."
But the game is an exhibition,
and Berenson will use it as a
chance to experiment with lines
and give some upperclassmen a
night off. Specifically, junior for-
ward Derek DeBlois and senior
defenseman Mac Bennett will be
out of the lineup for the first time
this season. According to Beren-
son, Bennett has some "bumps
and bruises" after last weekend's
series sweep over Ohio State.
Filling in for Bennett, junior
defenseman Brennan Serville
will return to the ice for the first
time since sustaining a head
injury against Niagara on Nov.
22. Berenson also confirmed that
junior Andrew Sinelli would be
a mainstay on the blue line after
the coach saw some positives in
his game the past two weeks.
Sinelli is typically a forward.
"I like his quickness," Beren-
son said. "He's agood skater, and
he goes back to get the puck and
he'll win that race. He'lltake a hit
to make a play, and he's a defen-
Motte with two goals, Compher
with two assists and Allen with
one assist - in the NTDP's vic-
tory over the Wolverines.
"With the national team, it's
one of the biggest games of the
year," Motte said. "You look for-
ward to it all year."
On Thursday, the scene will be
very different. Motte, Compher
and Allen will line up in maize
and blue when No. 3 Michigan
hosts their former team in an
exhibition.
Looking back, Compher most
vividly remembers a jam-packed
crowd hovering over him last
January. He got the starting nod
that day since Yost would soon
be his home arena, making the
night that much more special.
"It's a really exciting game for
Vis
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Freshman forward Tyler Motte beat
Michigan last year with the NTDP.
sive forward, so he's got good
defensive instincts in our zone."
Thursday's game will also be
the first opportunity for many
Michigan fans to see Dylan Lar-
kin, a Wolverine commit for the
2014-15 season. He has tallied 22
points (14 goals and eight assists)
in 23 games this year with the
NTDP. Berenson cited his skat-
ing, spirit and strength on the
puck as some of his most promis-
ing traits.
Even in an exhibition with
multiple lineup changes, Michi-
gan will still look to spoil Lar-
kin's night. Motte called last
year's loss an upset for the Wol-
verines and said a similar result
this season would be "devastat-
ing."
"Guys on this side are hungry
for it," Motte said. "For us, this
year, I think it's about more of
keeping our momentum, not tak-
ing it lightly and moving forward
into the rest of our season."