2B - Monday, January 27, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN What do you think of Michigan basketball now? wo dramas played out Saturday night, both varying degrees of enthralling. There was the game, of course, a meeting between the Big Ten's best, Michi- gan and Michigan State. Then there was ZACH the perfor- HELFAND mance of the Michigan men's basketball team's sideline, which, as time wound down, boiled into an excited mess each time play stopped. The two routines were wonderfully mismatched, as if the team was under a trance, each whistle snapping the Wolverines from peace to rage, coolness to madness, poetry to absurdity, until, after approximately forever, the final two minutes of play ended, at which point all that gave way to rapture. Disclaimer: The 80-75 Michigan victory came over a significantly hobbled Michi- gan State team. But this was a deeply satisfying victory for the Wolverines, the capstone to a deeply impressive three-game stretch, and about as fun as reg- ular-season college basketball gets. Teams are supposed to get a chance to breathe during timeouts. But Michigan was so wound up it looked more com- fortable on the floor. The fervor began with 4:01 remaining in the game. John Beilein had said on Friday that he just wanted his players to keep it close, then maybe they'd have a chance to steal the game late. Well, now it was close, and they had a chance to steal the game late, and Beilein was yell- ing like a maniac. Nik Stauskas had to hold his coach back to the starting lineup by the end of last year, would probably be the Big Ten Player of the Year if the season ended today. Albrecht, the Justin Bieber lookalike (who has just four inches on the 5-foot-7 pop star), always seems to be at the right place at the right time and has just one turnover in Big Ten play. Beilein's best coaching gift may be his eye for undervalued talent and his trust in that talent. When the players start to understand what Beilein saw in them in the first place, that's when the Wolverines become dangerous. Take Derrick Walton Jr., the freshman point guard. Beilein was under pressure to replace him with Albrecht in the starting lineup, but Beilein stayed the course. So it was fitting that the dagger came from Walton. With 2:29 remaining, he slashed to the basket on a fast break, drew a foul and flicked up a graceful. spinning finger roll. It stayed there right above the net for a moment, bouncing off the front rim, rolling around to the back, ricocheting once more between the front and back... If Michigan could hold on, it would mean three straight wins against top-1O teams. This was a March-like slate of games, if slightly out of order. North- western, Nebraska and Penn State compare well to low seeds in the opening rounds. Minne- sota was the Sweet 16 and Iowa the Elite Eight. Wisconsin and Michigan State on the road? Final Four caliber. There had been anxiety in the Michigan fan base after McGary's injury, but on the court, Michigan had already started its second act. The ball dropped in. The sideline erupted. Helfand can be reached at zhelfand@umich.edu and on Twitter: @zhelfand. PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Freshman guard Derrick Walton Jr. and the Michigan men's basketball team stayed cool under pressure, making 14 of 16 late free throws to top Michigan State. prevent a technical, first with Stauskas's turn to fume. A an arm on Beilein's shoulder, moment ago, he had attempted then with his palm in Beilein's a layup and appeared to get chest. The fouled. The assistant officials called coaches hur- it clean. Jor- ried to calm Beilein's best dan Morgan him down. and McGary On the bench, coaching gift and assistant the injured coach LaVall Mitch McGary may be his eye Jordan calmed rubbed his Stauskas eyes and for undervalued down with an looked as if he impromptu might yawn. talent. group therapy Whistle, session. timeout Whistle. over. Glenn Two Robinson III sank two free possessions later, Stauskas throws to tie the game, 60-60. splashed a 3-pointer on a At the next timeout, it was behind-the-back toss from Caris LeVert to break the tie. It was the decisive basket. Michigan won the game. The Spartans extended the For the Wolverines in 2014, all game with a spate of fouls, but the worry, all the anxiety, all Michigan didn't blink. The the questions have been on the Wolverines made 10 foul shots sidelines. in a row, and 14 of 16 overall. This shouldn't surprise Each stoppage, the team anyone anymore. Beilein has returned to the sideline, which always shown an ability to had begun to compose itself, adapt. His teams are always but Spike Albrecht still grew among the Big Ten's most- animated talking over the dry improved. erase board with Beilein. On a And look at what he's done different board, on the outside it with. LeVert has gone from of the team huddle, McGary a lanky, braces-wearing, deer- scribbled something down. in-the-headlights freshman He raised his hand to offer his to a lanky, braces-wearing thoughts, written in black ink: sophomore capable of putting WIN THE GAMEt up 17 points and eight rebounds against Michigan State. *** Stauskas, the fifth-best player in The anatomy, implications and effects of a goal AST LANSING - A winning streak starts with one game. And a win starts with one goal. To call the Michigan hockey team's series d against A ALEJANDRO Michigan ZUNIGA State last weekend crucial would be an understatement. Once ranked No. 3 in the nation, the Wolverines had lost four straight games and compiled the program's longest winless streak since 2011 before Thursday's matchup in Detroit. Anything less than a sweep of the Spartans would've been devastating. A split would put Michigan on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. Two more losses to a rival with few quality wins would've been nothingshort of embarrassing. The week before the series, sophomore forward Andrew Copp said the Wolverines were "confident that we can beat those guys every night." But it's one thing to talk bravado and another to play with it. For the greater part of two months, Michigan had been playing on its heels, and because of the sparse schedule, it had little opportunity to break the freefall. "We had all this time to think about our last four games," said Michigan coach Red Berenson. Each of those was a loss, increasingly worrisome results from a team with Frozen Four aspirations. Against the Spartans, the Wolverines needed a win. They needed a spark. They needed a goal. Thursday, Michigan had what appeared to be the elusive tally when junior forward Phil Di Giuseppe received a pass in the slot and rocketed a shot just over goaltender Jake Hildebrand's left shoulder. It was sure to pull at the twine, except Hildebrand reached up with his glove and snagged the puck while falling backward, and the goal that was, wasn't. at the puck just outside the That shot goes in, unless crease. you're on a team that's winless Di Giuseppe finally managed in 52 days. It's a shot that gave to make contact with his stick. Di Giuseppe and the Wolverines Like all the shots Michigan that much longer to consider had so desperately needed to their continuing futility. pull itself out of freefall in the "We haven't played many previous month and a half, it games, so it's hard to get out of was blocked. a slump once you get in it," Di But the puck skittered Giuseppe said. "I thought it was back to Di Giuseppe, and his going to go post-in for sure." next effort lifted the puck With 2:18 treacherously remaining close to the in a 1-1 game crossbar but and Michigan "W e can beat low enough needing a to enter the positive result, those guys goal. freshman e y h"I thought defender every night. it was going Nolan De Jong over the net," did exactly he said. what coaches But when preach when their teams can't the final horn blew 138 score: throwa shot at the net. seconds later, the junior's It didn't even reach Hildebrand goal had ended 1,248 hours of because sophomore forward futility. And the celebration Andrew Copp deflected it, but was 52 days in the making. then Di Giuseppe and linemate "You saw me jump out there Boo Nieves took turns slicing like an idiot," Giuseppe said. The following night in East Lansing, Michigan showcased the dominance it's displayed for much of the season, combining skill with grit and a couple of lucky bounces to blow out Michigan State, 5-2. It was a win reminiscent of the Wolverines' 5-1 and 5-3 victories at Munn Ice Arena in the 2010 CCHA Tournament, which were so convincing that Michigan fans drowned out their counterparts with cheers by the end of the series. Friday, there weren't as many supporters in maize and blue. But after the Wolverines asserted their will and the arena had emptied, the team gathered in the locker room and belted a euphoric rendition of 'The Victors" that echoed down the hallway. And that doesn't happen without a goal. JAMES COLLER/Daily Sophomore forward Andrew Copp backed up his confident talk by helping the Michigan hockey team sweep the Spartans.