8A - Wednesday, February 5, 2014 S
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Defensive issues lingering
Last two games without a realistic solution to its "She's been incredible,"
most pressing problem. Barnes Arico said. "She's been
mark aggravating But what could've been steady night in and night out.
written off as an isolated She handles the ball for us and
step backward incident against Nebraska she usually guards the other
continued at home against a team's bestguard. We are asking
By ALEXA DETTELBACH struggling Minnesota team. so much of her. ... One thing our
Daily Sports Editor Going into halftime with a team needs to do a better job of
38-34 lead, the Wolverines is finding her and being able to
One similarity transcends allowed the Golden Gophers to get her some easier shots."
the Michigan women's hit 11 of their first 13 shots in the Thompson also hit three triples
basketball team's two-game second half, eventually leading against Minnesota, extending
losing streak - defense. Or, a to a whopping 77.3-percent clip her streak of make 3-pointers to
lack thereof. after the break. 22-consecutive games.But despite
The struggles began against "It was our fourth game in scoring 16 points in the first half
Nebraska on 10 days, and we weren't sure against the Golden Gophers,
Jan. 29, when NOTEBOOK how our kids would respond Thompson was held to just three
the Wolverines to the travel schedule," Barnes in the second half.
put their undefeated road record Arico said. "(Minnesota) was TRAVELING IN STYLE:
on the line and came up well unbelievable in the second half. Following Michigan's win
short. Michigan (5-4 BigTen,14-8 ... We really did play well, but we over Wisconsin on Jan. 26, the
overall) allowed the Cornhuskers can't have lapses against good Wolverines traveled in style,
to score 44 first-half points on teams (because) good teams flying on a Miami Air charter
56.7-percent shooting. will make you pay for those - a plane the defending-
Not much improved after defensive lapses." NBA champion Miami Heat
halftime, as Nebraska ended The Golden Gophers' sometimes use. The plane was
the game with 84 points and productive second half saw two en route to Detroit to pick up
shot 53.3 percent from the field. of their players score 24 points the NHL's Florida Panthers
It was just the second time each in addition to guard Mikayla after their game against the
the Wolverines had allowed Bailey's 17, well above her average Detroit Red Wings.
Sophomore forward Nik Stauskas was held to 1-of-6 from the field and just six points in Sunday's road loss to ldiaoa
Resurgent Cornhuskers
eye upset of Wolverines
Nebraska seeks
revenge for home
loss in January
By DANIEL FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Earlier in the week, Nebraska
men's basketball coach Tim
Miles joked
that the
Cornhuskers Nebraska at
have been Michigan
working "on
our one-inch Matchup:
layups" in Nebraska 11-9;
preparation Michigan 16-5
for Wednesday When:
night's game Wednesday
against 6:30 P.M.
Michigan. Where: Crisler
While the Center -
quip - in TV: BTN
reference to
Michigan's
dramatic 71-70 win in Lincoln on
Jan. 9 - may have simply been a
joke, the Cornhuskers' play is far
from it.
After going 9-27 in conference
play in its first two years inthe Big
Ten, Nebraska (3-5 Big Ten, 11-9
overall) will enter Ann Arbor as
winnersofthreeoutoffourgames,
including wins over Indiana and
then-No. 17 Ohio State.
Playing their best basketball
of the year, the Cornhuskers
will be seeking to move their
success out of the confines of
Pinnacle Bank Arena and earn
their first conference road win
of the season.
"(Nebraska's) always been
talented," said Michigan
coach' John Beilein. "Now I
see a chemistry with them
that they're playing as well
as anyone in the league right
now. (Terran) Petteway might
become the best player in the
league. Then (Ray) Gallegos,
the way he can shoot. They have
a tremendous basketball team."
Petteway, Nebraska's leading
scorer with an average of 18.2
points to go along with 5.4
rebounds, has scored in double
digits in all but one game
this season. He could prove
to be the game-changer for
the Cornhuskers. When the
teams first met, the sophomore
both kept Nebraska in the
game against the 10th-ranked
Wolverines (8-1, 16-5) and
hindered it, committing six
turnovers but countering that by
scoring 16 points.
Pettaway ranks second in
the conference in scoring, and
with the Texas Tech transfer
playing well recently -
averaging 21 points in his last
five games - Nebraska seems
to finally be putting all of its
pieces together.
"They assembled this group
of talent," Beilein said. "Several
transfers, two junior college
players and Gallegos, the New
Zealand young man. When you
throw them together, you have
all this talent, but we all know
that talent is never enough. You
have to have chemistry, you
have to have timing, you have to
have a lot of great things.
"And each game that they
play, all of these great talents
that Tim (Miles) has brought
in have got more and more
comfortable with what Tim's
trying to do. And that's been a
big difference for them."
After losing to Indiana on
Sunday, halting a 10-game
winning-streak, Michigan and
sophomore guard Nik Stauskas
will look to bounce back before
travelingto Ohio State and Iowa
in the next week.
For Stauskas, it will be
important for him to be more
involved on offense after
scoring just six points against
the Hoosiers.
"We've got to do a better
job getting (Stauskas) open,"
Beilein said, listing the three
keys to the game. "He's got to
do a better job getting open,
and his teammates need to do a
better job of getting him open."
I Though Beilein said on
Sunday that the loss would help
the Wolverines in the long run,
another lesson that came out
of Michigan's first conference
defeat was that excuses
shouldn't be made when
Stauskas doesn't get the ball.
"Nik could have done
things and we could have done
things," Beilein said. "And his
teammates could have done
things. None of us say, 'OK,
they're denying Nik, we've
gotta go elsewhere.' There were
opportunities for him to get
the ball and we just didn't get
it to him.... We don't want him
taking six shots a game."
Withdefensesidentifyingand
marking him as the Wolverines'
first option, Stauskas will have
to adjust from his past playing
experiences. Just as Stauskas is
no longer just a shooter, he isn't
just an afterthought.
"When I look back on
his career here, there was
Tim (Hardaway Jr.) and
Trey (Burke)," Beilein said.
"In his career at St. Mark's
(Southborough, Mass.),
there was (Arizona's Kaleb)
Tarczewski and (former Florida
player) Eric Murphy. Now,
there's Nik Stauskas' name out
there as a marked man. That's a
different mentality."
NOTES: Nebraska hasn't
played since Jan. 30. ... The
Cornhuskers are 1-8 in games
away from Pinnacle Bank Arena
this season. ... Nebraska's two-
game conference win streak is
its firstcsince joining the Big Ten.
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their opponents to score more
than 80 points, and was just
the third time Michigan was
outrebounded this season.
"Nebraska was unbelievable,
and they had a special day
there,"said MichigancoachKim
Barnes Arico on Tuesday. "They
were coming off of two really
tough losses, they were ready to
go, and we really couldn't stop
them from scoring.
"Despite everything we tried,
Nebraska kept scoring, and they
have a young lady in Jordan
Hooper ... who was on fire for
them. Everything seemed to be
going right for them."
In just 27 minutes, Hooper
exploded for 25 points and 10
rebounds, missing just four
shots. No amount of varied
defensive looks slowed her
down, leaving Michigan
of three points per game.
Anddespitegrabbingaseason-
best 21 offensive rebounds and
committing a season-low seven
turnovers against Minnesota,
Michigan's defense inhibited its
production and led the team to
drop back-to-back losses for the
first time all season.
22 FOR THE FROSH: For
most of the year, freshman
point guard Siera Thompson
has been on fire from beyond
the 3-point arc.
And nothing changed against
Nebraska, where Thompson
hit two 3-pointers to move her
season total to 50, setting a new
Michigan freshman record.
Amy Johnson held the previous
mark of 49 in 1993-1994.
Thompson is just the eighth
Wolverine to hit at least 50 in
a season.
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Senior defenseman Mac Bennett has been an integral part of Michigan's power play, but it has struggled in the new year
Power play frustrating'M'
ByALEJANDRO ZUNIGA Mac Bennett has proven himself practicing at full speed and
Daily Sports Editor as a legitimate threat on the would have dressed that
man advantage, Berenson weekend if permitted, Lohan
The Michigan hockey team acknowledged that the remains sidelined with a torn
certainly didn't have too much Wolverines are missing a player lateral meniscus he suffered
to complain like former defenseman Jacob Nov. 1. Berenson said Tuesday
about after it NOTEBOOK Trouba, whose blazing slap shot that the defenseman is not
took five of six helped him tally seven goals last cleared to play this weekend,
possible points against No. 12 year. Since opposing penalty- and his status won't change
Wisconsin last weekend. But the kill units don't have to account before next weekend's series
series marked the continuation for such a vicious shot, they can against No. 1 Minnesota.
of a troublesome trend. collapse into the crease. "He's not quite cleared,"
The Wolverines haven't scored "We're constantly changing the veteran coach said. "They
a power-play goal since the first stuff up with the power play," expect to clear him, but it won't
period of a game against the Moffatt said. "It's so much be this week and it won't be
Badgers on Jan. 11. Since that tally, fine tuning, you can change next week."
a shot by sophomore forward one small thing and suddenly Berenson added that Lohan
Andrew Copp that took a sudden everything works." "is on a good path" in his road to
deflection off of senior forward Saturday, Michigan's power recovery.
Luke Moffatt, Michigan has gone play looked deadly, even if just In November, two days after
0-for-18 with the man advantage. for one of its six opportunities. Lohan's injury, Berenson said
And it's gotten exasperating. On its first man advantage of the that the freshman would be out at
"The most frustrating thing night, it ripped five shots and least three months, making early
is just seeing that power-play kept the puck in Wisconsin's February the best-case scenario
percentage number just go down zone. But the Wolverines came for his return.
and down," Moffatt said Tuesday. up empty-handed on their ONE AWAY: Given Penn
The recent cold streak has next five power plays, too, and State's perfectly futile 0-8
dropped that number to just managed just nine total shots. record in Big Ten play this year,
17.24 percent, which has shaken "If you havea good power play, Berenson might expect to pick up
the team's confidence. The you're going to score one out of his 784th victory this weekend,
Wolverines could reach five full five times," Berenson said. "That which would move him into sole
games without a power-play means you've failed four out of possession of fourth place all-
goal if the special teams doesn't five times, but you're supposed to time in the NCAA's wins category
find twine this weekend against feel good about it." for coaches.
Penn State. DON'T CALL IT A But Berenson isn't taking any
"It's a little bit of everything," COMEBACK: Freshman credit.
said Michigan coach Red defenseman Kevin Lohan will "That means I've been around
Berenson. "It's a little bit of our have to wait even longer until he for a long time, and I've had good
confidence, our execution and plays again. teams, and I'm at the right place,"
guys tryingto do too much." Though he told the Daily he said after the Wolverines beat
Though senior defenseman on Jan. 15 that he was nearly Wisconsin on Friday.
r,