8 -- Friday March 21, 2014 The Michigan Daily -- michigandailycom 8 - Friday, March 21, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom PAUL SHERMAN/Daily PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Redshirt junior Jon Horford goes up for a shot during Michigan's 57-40 win over Wofford in the NCAA Tournament. A Michigan fan holds up a sign in support of sophomore guard Nik Stauskas during Michigan's first-round game Thursday. After win, limelight shines on assistant coaches Jordan, Meyer start prep for Texas By NEAL ROTHSCHILD Daily Sports Editor MILWAUKEE - LaVall Jor- dan and Jeff Meyer walked off the court after Michigan's 57-40 win over Wofford Thursday night, spent time with the team in the locker room and walked right back on the court, iPads in hand. The assistant coaches were delegated as the scouts for the Wolverines' game on Saturday - Meyer chosen to study Arizona State, while Jordan was assigned Texas. Much is made of the physical rigors of the NCAA Tournament, with teams playing games in shorter spans than in the regular season, but it's just as much an exercise in study. Instead of hav- ing weeks to get to know a Big Ten opponent, inside and out, there's just about 40 hours to get ready for a team in the Big Dance. "It's a challenge," Jordan said. "But that's why we have smart guys. I think our guys embrace that challenge. They like trying to be the smartest team." It's not that the coaches are try- ing to formulate offensive sets and inbounds plays from watching the games live as much as they're trying to get a feel for their future opponent. Sometimes a player is listed as 6-foot-11 when he's closer to 6-foot-9. Coaches also pick up on play calls signaled on the fly, which are either not audible, not visible or both in film. "Our job is to take what we see, information we gather metri- cally and then be able to give them exactly what they can absorb," Jordan said. "You've got to give them a great idea of what they're going to face." But while the coaches are charged to take in all the informa- tion they can, they need to pick and choose what to relay to the players. "You always try to give them a Reader's Digest version of prepa- ration," said assistant coach Bakari Alexander, who was in charge of scouting Wofford. "I think it's anchored in strengths, weaknesses, top three scorers, high-minute guys." Freshman guard Zak Irvin likes to know the opponent's style of play, who the key players are and what theylike to do. For sophomore guard Nik Stauskas, it's important to know how they defend ball screens. He's had to deal with Big Ten teams spending weeks concocting game plans to limit his production, so it's a relief for him that in the NCAA Tournament, teams are too wor- ried with their previous matchup to spend much time on that. As Texas opened up a sizable second-half lead on Arizona State Thursday night, Jordan and Meyer sat in the scouting seats, tapping away at their Apple devices and exchanging observations. The Sun Devils mounted ; a comeback and led in the final minutebut itwas tied with 16 sec- onds left. Longhorn center Cam- eron Ridley scooped an offensive rebound off the floor and laid in a buzzer beater in prime March Madness dramatic form. With the Texas win, Jordan would have the preparation ready to give to the team Friday. Though the focus was solely on Wofford in the preceding five days, he made sure to know a bit about the Long- horns beforehand. "They've got size, a couple big guys, alot of height," Jordan said. "If we do end up seeing them, that'll be something we gotta adjust." The coaches enter scouting with more or less a blank slate. The first thing they consider when they know an opponent is connec- tions on the coaching tree, such as Wofford assistant coach Dar- ris Nichols being a former point guard of Michigan coach John Beilein's at West Virginia. Then, they'll look at the team's last five games and try to pick up on tendencies. "Who are their main scorers, where do shots come from, how do they exploit other teams' defens- es?" Alexander said. "All of those different things are ingredients that lead into preparation." More than any other time in the season, the fate of a team is in the assistant coaches' hands in the NCAA Tournament. Much else about a game has been made neutral - the teams are physically tired, they're on a neutral court and emotional intensity is peak- ing. What differs between teams is how much one knows about the other, and how they recalibrate in response. Michigan players and staff took the team bus back to the hotel shortly after the game Thursday, but Meyer and Jordan remained on the sidelines. Like synchro- nized studiers, they watched the game with their heads perched atop their right hand. The players' days were done, but it was crunch time for Meyer and Jordan. SOFTBALL From Page 7 their own schedule, Hutchins has to trust her squad to main- tain that focus up until they gather three hours before game time. Beyond the matter of focus, Michigan will be getting adjust- ed to its notably fast outfield after practicing inside for six weeks. "Our goal in practice today was to not let the ball touch the fence," Hutchins said Wednes- day. "We have to make sure we're taking deep angles on the ball." The Wolverines' veteran out- field, anchored by senior center fielder Lyndsay Doyle and senior right fielder Nicole Sappingfield, will be used to the adjustment period. Sappingfield thinks this team could be farther along going into conference play than in years past, and that bodes well for a team looking for its seventh straight Big Ten title. The other member of the out- field, sophomore Sierra Law- rence, hassbeen one of Michigan's strongest presences at the plate this spring, hitting .355 with three home runs and 27 RBI. In the circle, junior pitchers Haylie Wagner and Sara Dries- enga will continue to lead the Wolverines, though freshman right-hander Megan Betsa has gotten significant innings in recent weeks as Driesenga works out some control issues. Wagner has led the pack at 13-0, with a 0.93 ERA in 75 innings pitched. While Indiana figures to be a bottom-dwelling Big Ten team, Hutchins insists that the Wol- verines' focus remains on their own performance. "We've spent a lot of time seeing what kids are capable of," Hutchins said. "But the game hasn't changed. The game doesn't know we're in Big Ten season and I don't think we'll do much differently." IS YOUR BRACKET BUSTED? THEN STOP WATCHING BASKETBALL AND PICK UP A DAILY. ATHLOCKM @MICH IGA NDAILY Junior foward Cyesha Goree is second in program history in rebounds by a junior with 289 this season. 'M'set for WNIT opener at home By SHANNON LYNCH Daily Sports Writer The first round of the WNIT begins this week, and the Michi- gan women's basketball team will kick off its postseason play at Crisler Arena Friday night against Stony Brook. The Wolverines received an at- large bid Mon- S Brook day after losing StOny to No. 19 Michi- at MiChigan gan State in the M second round Stosy Brook of the Big Ten 24-8; Michi- Tournament. gan 18-13 Michigan (8-8 When: Fri- Big Ten, 18-13 day 7 P.M. overall) finished tied with Min- Where: Crisler Center nesota for sixth place in the Big TV/Radio: Ten. This is the MGoBlue.com first time since 2010 that the Big Ten has sent nine teams to the postseason. For the Wolverines, this is the fifth straight year the program has earned a postseason bid. Friday, Crisler willhostthe Sea- wolves forthe programs' first-ever matchup. Stony Brook (13-3 Amer- ica East, 24-8) finished second in its conference, earning a DivisionI postseason appearance for just the second time. Forward Sabre Proctor, who reached double figures in scoring 26 times during the regular sea- son, leads the Seawolves, but two of Stony Brook's guards, Jessica Ogunnorin and Chikilra Good- man, could pose the biggest threat to the Wolverines. Each was named to the America East All- Championship Team, and Good- man was named the conference's ,Defensive Player of the Year. Junior guard Shannon Smith is one of the Wolverines' biggest offensive weapons. She's averag- ing a team-leading 14.1 points and recorded five 20-point contests duringthe regular season. "Shannon's probably going to have the other team's best defend- er on her - they're going to be denying her the ball," said Michi- gan coach Kim Barnes Arico. "They are probably going to be trying to double team her at times, so we need to use her sometimes as a decoy." In its first-round matchup, Michigan's focus will be on finish- ing the full 40 minutes without faltering and relying on a number of different people to make critical plays. "Every day, we've been spend- ing time on end-of-game situa- tions - up a point, down a minute, a minute left, 30 seconds, three seconds left in the game - and really just working on our confi- dence," Barnes Arico said. With late-game control in mind, Michiganwill need astrong free-throw percentage - this season, the Wolverines are 13-4 when making more free throws than their opponents. Other keys include 3-pointers and rebounds. Junior forward Cyesha Goree is second in program history for rebounds as a junior (289) and put up 13 per game at the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan led the Big Ten in rebounding during the regular season. With the goal of opening up the court and using different rota- tions, the Wolverines will look to rely on sophomore guard Madi- son Ristovski and freshman guard Siera Thompson for consistent free throw shooting. Ristovski is shooting46.2percentfrombeyond the are, while Thompson, who set the record for most 3-pointers for a freshman in a single season, has increased her total to 69 this year. "It shows our growth as a team," Barnes Arico said. "We're trying to get better at having everyone be able to make the play late in the game." I I