The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com February 3, 2014 - 3B Defensive lapses lead to loss as Wolverines falter again By MAX COHEN Daily Sports Editor Kim Barnes Arico shed her jacket just 26 seconds into the Michigan women's basketball team's loss against Minnesota. For much of the second half, the Wolverines' defense put up about as much resistance as the jacket did. The Golden Gophers attacked, attacked and then attacked some more to turn a Wolverine halftime lead into an 85-69 loss. Minnesota shot 17-for-22 from the field in the second half, ensuring Michigan would lose consecutive games for the first time this season. The Golden Gophers used a multitude of different looks in their outburst, and each look was met without much of an attempt to stop it. The loss was a part of a difficult stretch of four games in 10 days for the Wolverines, Junior Stacey Ervin celebrated in style after a solid showing in the parellel bars as Michigan easily defeated Ohio State. Proars to triumph By ALEX TAYLOR Daily Sports Writer On a day when it raised its 2013 NCAA National Championship banner, the Michigan men's gymnastics team showed why it's once again the favorite to repeat. Playing host to No. 4 Ohio State, the Wolverines won handily, 444.75-440.80. Though using a more forgiving scoring system than is used at the national championship, 444.75 is higher than the score that won Michigan the title last year. Saturday, like throughout most of the regular season, the contest used the 6-up 5-count scoring system, which often results in higher scores. The championship-winning score of 443.20 and last year's team were honored before the meet as the banner was unveiled by the captains, graduate student Syque Caesar and senior Matt Freeman. "It's very special," Caesar said. "We fought very hard for that championship last year and we've put a lot of work in this year to hopefully repeat at home in front of the home crown. Raising that banner to a home crowd makes it a little more BASKETBALL From Page 1B handled the way he was being defended, Morgan paused before saying, "He kind of stepped up a little bit towards the end and wanted to get a little more involved, but it's tough when guys - they were bent on not letting him get shots and making everyone else score." Michigan coach John Beilein called the Hoosiers' defensive game plan "outstanding," noting that it was one he has never seen since arriving to Ann Arbor. Indiana pitted a smaller defender on the Wolverines' big man, allowing its four other defenders to switch on every ball screen, stifling the pick-and-roll sets that Michigan - particularly Stauskas - loves to operate out of. The plan worked against all facets of Stauskas's game, limiting him not just in the scoring column, but holding him to only one assist - nearly three below his average. "They took their quickest player and don't let Nik get the STAUSKAS From Page 1B their 10-game winning streak. "Defense wasn't the issue today," Beilein said. "Our offense has got to get better and that falls with me." Ferrell's offense wouldn't have been nearly enough for the high- powered Michigan attack that had been scoring 77 points per game. He also guarded Stauskas all day, denying him from catch- ing passes and limiting him to six points on 1-for-6 shooting. But Ferrell's defense was a product of the bigger defensive scheme that Indiana cooked up, one Beilein said he had never seen since he's been at Michigan. The way Indiana switched on screens baffled Michigan, and Beilein credited that strategy in removing the Wolverines from special and motivation for us to put another one up there." With that extra motivation, No. 2 Michigan started off the match on one of its best events, floor exercise, and gained the early lead on the Buckeyes (2-3- 1 Big Ten, 3-3-1 overall). Led by senior Sam Mikulak with a score of 15.85 and Caesar with a 15.30, the Wolverines gave themselves a nice cushion over Ohio State for the rest of the meet. "Floor is tricky," Caesar said. "We have really high-level gymnasts on there so hitting the event is good, but hittingthe event as well as we did is really great." Parallel bars, usually a staple in Michigan's arsenal, proved to be a different story as it struggled on that event. While Caesar and junior Stacey Ervin registered a 15.60 and 15.40 respectively, their fellow gymnasts didn't fare as well due to misses and low start values. "We got off to a great start at p-bars, but then the middle and the end of our lineup we had some trouble, and that's traditionally our best event," said Michigan coach Kurt Golder. "Hopefully, we will get it straightened out soon." Caesar earned the Newt Loken ball," Beilein said. "He's seen that before, but we haven't seen when they put our primary screen with a switch guy.... That's what changed a lot of things. Drawing that up in the huddle and in practice is two different things." Indiana coach Tom Crean said that after his assistants crafted the scheme, his team began working on ita week ago. "All I'll really say about the game plan is we couldn't guard them conventionally," Crean said. "We had tough matchups, so we had to overcome that a little bit." Freshman point guard Derrick Walton Jr. led the Wolverines with 13 points, but just five came after halftime. Sophomore guard Caris LeVert chipped in with 12 but was held to an inefficient 5-of-13 shooting mark. No other Michigan player scored in double digits. Despite playing one of its worst halves of the season, Michigan went into the break trailing just 25-22. The Wolverines offense sputtered to a 7-of-20 field-goal mark in the period, missing on each of its four 3-pointers. To their element. The Indiana game plan was one the Hoosiers had been work- ing on since last week, and one that Crean said was designed to limit Michigan's explosive scor- ers, though he wouldn't elabo- rate on the specifics. "I just think you've got to be conscious of where Stauskas is at all times," Crean said. "You've got to make his catches hard, but you've got to make his ability to get free looks even harder." Michigan then devolved into freshman point guard Derrick Walton and sophomore guard Caris LeVert running the offense from the top of the key, but with- out much success. Walton scored a team-high 13 points, though eight of those came in the first half and six came from free throws when he was fouled twice shooting 3-pointers. LeVert's 10 points after the break accounted for a third of the team's second- Award, given to the gymnast with the best performance of the day, for his parallel bars routine. But, as the season progresses he will look to improve not only his performance but the assigned difficulty as well. "I've been doing the same structure of the routine for a long time but have upgraded it each year, and I've upgraded it about three tenths since last year," Caesar said. Though the Wolverines (5-0, 9-0) held the lead going into the last event, the high bar, the meet was far from over given last week's performance on the event. After an unusually low score of 64.35 in last week's match, Michigan . posted a respectable 72.75. "High bar is probably the highlight this week, because last week at Stanford, we had a meltdown," Caesar said. "So coming back going 6-6 on high bar is huge for us and shows that we are a good team on that. That's a good sign, and we can do a lot better." At full strength for the first time all season, Michigan gave a glimpse of its true potential - andhowthatmay meanunveiling yet another banner next year. compound the poor first-half shooting, Michigan turned the ball over eight times before the break for the second time in as many games - an anomaly for a team that entered the game averaging fewer than 10turnovers per game. By time Stauskas connected on a field goal, more than 18 minutes had evaporated from the clock. Thanks to two trips to the foul line on 3-point attempts, Walton picked up the offensive slack, as the freshman scored a team-high eight points in the first half, Ferrell opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, and his touch never cooled. The sophomore led Indiana with 12 first- half points thanks to four 3-pointers. A layup and ensuing and-1 free throw from sophomore forward Glenn Robinson III narrowed Michigan's deficit to four with fewer than two minutes to play, but that was as close as it got. Indiana converted its free throws and a tip-in with time winding down gave the Hoosiers a somewhat misleading 11-point victory. half output. "We were trying to get some mismatches through switches," Beilein said. "I thought we could do a better job there. Obviously we tried to get Nik the ball or just let Yogi guard him (in the corner), and we'll play four-on-four." The Wolverines' 52 points were nine fewer than the team's previous season-low, and though they shot a mediocre 40 percent from the field, the slow pace and lack of transition opportunities contributed to the low number. "We just got to be able to get spacing," Beilein said. "I gotta look atlit on film, figure out what they're gonna do. I don't have all the answers. Obviously if I had the answer, we wouldn't have scored 52 points." And after Ferrell dominated offensively, that wasn't nearly enough. Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico had few answers after the Wolverines' loss. and the grind of manifested itse defensive effort half. Michigan c defensive stops it to give it a 38-34 lead going into the half, but stops were few and far between early in the second half. "A lot of it might have to do with fatigue," Barnes Arico sa only physical fatig fatigue. We've ju better at playing f and not for 20 or 2 Minnesota star half gunning1 the arc. The Go consistently foun from deep in t minutes of the he guard Mikayla B 3-pointer with 12 her team a 59-5 marked the sixth Golden Gophers f the schedule second half on seven attempts. lf in their "We weren't checked in the second in enough," said Michigan reated enough freshman guard Siera Thompson. n the first half "We weren't too focused on the game plan." After "We've justgotMinnesota g exposed the to get better at Wolverines' defense on the playing for 40 perimeter, it went to work minutes." on finishing Michigan off inside. The Wolverines id. "And not had few answers for Golden gue but mental Gopher center Amanda Zahui, st got to get who got every look she wanted or 40 minutes, to inside. Zahui scored six 5, or 30 or 35." straight baskets to push the ted the second lead to 12 with 10:45 left in the from beyond game. Zahui finished wi th 24 lden Gophers points and 16 rebounds, but id open looks her 13 second-half points wore he first eight down Michigan. aif. Minnesota The Wolverines were never Bailey made a able to get the stops they would :38 left to give need to get back into the game.. 3 lead, which Minnesota continued bruising 3-pointer the Michigan's porous defense, made in the despite the Wolverines' efforts to cut into the lead. Michigan cut the lead to seven after Zahui's run, but its defense couldn't string together enough stops for it to matter. "The wear and tear is kind of wearing on our team at this point of the year," Barnes Arico said. "We've got to find a way to get ourselves back." The Wolverines allowed more than 80 points for the second straight game. After allowing 11 3-pointers against Nebraska on Wednesday night, the Michigan defense did the same against the Golden Gophers. Though the game was closer than its final score indicated, the Wolverines' lack of game experience prior to this season is beginning to rear its head on the defensive end. "They've gone on trips, but they've never had to play, then come back and then play again," Barnes Arico said. Michigan better hope its defense adjusts to the grueling Big Ten schedule, so that its recent blips don't mar what has otherwise been a season full of positive developments. Michigan coach Bev Plocki thought sophomore Austin Sheppard deserved a perfect score, but judges gave her a 9.975. Almost perfect, 'M'tops MSU By CHLOE AUBUCHON Daily Sports Writer Near-perfect scores, falls, career bests and floor mishaps summed up the No. 4 Michigan women's gymnastics team's 196.800-193.900 win over Michigan State at Crisler Center on Fridaynight. One of the night's biggest successes was senior Joanna Sampson. She tied her career- high all-around score with a 39.650, previously set at last year's meet against the Spartans. Sampson also earned career- high scores on balance beam (9.925) and uneven bars (9.975), receiving a 10 from one judge for her bars performance. "Bars was always one of my stronger events before college," Sampson said. "But I feel like I've stayed the same since I've been here, so (to get a 10) was just really cool. I wasn't expecting it at all." Sophomore Austin Sheppard started the meet off strong on vault for the Wolverines. The height, rotation and landing on her Yurchenko full - a round-off onto the springboard into a back handspring and full twist - also earned her a career-high 9.975 and a 10 from one judge. "I have no way to know how anyone could have found a deduction on Austin's vault," said Michigan coachBevPlocki. "That was a 10 overall if I've ever seen a 10 overall. It was gorgeous." Sampson tied with a Spartan gymnast for second on the vault, with Michigan taking the next four spots. The Wolverines, led by Sampson, dominated on bars with a season-high 49.475. All six gymnasts scored at least a 9.800 to take the top six spots. Sampson, Sheppard, senior Shelby Gies and fifth-year senior Natalie Beilstein all stuck their landings cleanly. While strong routines on vault and bars - along with several falls and mishaps made by the Spartans - salvaged the win for Michigan, Friday's meet exposed areas of weakness. The overall score was below the team's average of 196.883 in the first three meets. After solid leadoff routines by freshmen Nicole Artz and Talia Chiarelli, the Wolverines faced their first major difficulty on beam this season. Struggles followed Michigan into the floor exercise, where missteps and stumbles plagued the first half of the rotation. Sheppard's power got the best of her as she went out of bounds on one of her tumbling passes, and junior Sachi Sugiyama was forced to touch the floor after stumbling on her landing. "We had a fantastic meet going, and it's disappointing when you have something like that going and then you take your foot off the gas," Plocki said. The meet was Michigan's first- ever Autism Awareness Meet. A win against its in-state rival, all while promoting awareness about a serious and relatively low-profile disorder, capped a rewardingweekend for Michigan despite its weaknesses.