W hen Danielle Williams was announced in the starting lineup for the Michigan women’s basketball team back on Dec. 19 at Crisler Center, more than a few fans scratched their heads. The sophomore guard had played just 81 minutes her freshman season, with only one start under her belt. Days earlier, Williams wasn’t even practicing alongside the starters — she was on the scout team, trying to simulate Canisius players. Williams herself was surprised when Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico gave her the starting nod. “I think I surprised everyone,” Barnes Arico said then. “I told (assistant coach) Joy (McCorvey) and (assistant coach Megan) Duffy, ‘You guys are going to have to get her off the prep team — she’s going to start today.’ And they both looked me like, ‘What?’ ” The surprise move was just the most notable example of something Barnes Arico has shown all season: She’s not afraid to tinker with the starting lineup if she doesn’t like what she sees on the court. Three seniors — forward Cyesha Goree, forward Nicole Elmblad and guard Shannon Smith — have their places in the lineup secured, and so does sophomore guard Siera Thompson. But the fifth spot hasn’t been set in stone all season. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a defensive specialist like Williams, a lights-out shooter like freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty or a more experienced long-range threat like junior guard Madison Ristovski. On Barnes Arico’s team, everyone is weighed equally. For a team that currently sits in the middle of the pack in a talented Big Ten, that constant reevaluation could be the key to staying on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. “I think sometimes kids get complacent,” Barnes Arico said. “It’s our job as coaches to continue to challenge them to improve. When we see that other kids are really improving, we want to reward them and give them an opportunity for pushing themselves and doing the things we ask.” In December, it was defense the Wolverines were lacking. Coming off blowout losses to Princeton and Notre Dame with the Big Ten season on the horizon, Michigan desperately needed a spark to stop falling into early deficits. Enter Williams. Despite averaging just 11.3 minutes while making 11 straight starts, she picked up 19 steals — including six in one game against Eastern Michigan — and 32 rebounds. With her on the floor in the early minutes, the Wolverines’ defense thrived in victories over Penn State, Michigan State and Ohio State. Most Big Ten squads wouldn’t start a player who only plays a quarter of the game, but in Barnes Arico’s system, any hard- working player can step into a starring role, depending on the team’s needs. Which is why, in Sunday’s tough loss to No. 15 Nebraska, Ristovski found herself back in the starting lineup for the seventh time this season. After first-half offensive droughts plagued Michigan in all six of its previous road games, Barnes Arico decided her team needed a fast start. The new lineup delivered, jumping out to a 20-9 run on the strength of five points and two assists from Ristovski. The Wolverines went stagnant on both offense and defense in the second half and let the upset slip away, but yet again, the new lineup did what it was supposed to. Much like Williams’ defensive presence, Ristovski’s experience on offense brought an edge that looked like it might be enough to give Michigan its first road win against a ranked opponent. That experience is the same reason Barnes Arico is keeping one of her best pure shooters on the bench. After starting the first three games of the season, Flaherty was relegated to sixth-man duties after showing her inexperience and turning the ball over six times in a loss at Pittsburgh. She hasn’t made a start since, but the freshman has excelled in her new role, scoring 14.5 points per game and shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc. “I fit in well (in that role),” Flaherty said. “I’m just happy that they have confidence in me to do that, and that’s what they want me to be. I think I’ve been successful at that, and I’ve helped the team, which really is the most important thing.” Flaherty’s prolific scoring ability — with her signature moment being a late game-tying 3-pointer in the Wolverines’ overtime victory over Ohio State — has made her a fixture in Barnes Arico’s late-game lineup, yet another alternative to the offense-first and defense-first squads. But for Michigan, it’s not about searching for one perfect starting lineup. Barnes Arico cares more about evaluating things game by game, rewarding players who improve and making changes to the lineup whenever necessary. The fact that Flaherty is still fifth on the team in minutes without making a start since November shows that Barnes Arico doesn’t use the fifth lineup spot as a permanent solution — she uses it as a tool to address whatever problem Michigan is facing lately. Future success won’t come from finding one solution — it’ll come from finding the perfect offensive and defensive balance from the Wolverines’ many options. And if that means throwing a scout-team player with limited minutes into the starting lineup, so be it. Jacob Gase can be reached by e-mail at jgase@umich.edu and on Twitter @JacobGase. ‘M’ gets fresh air at outdoor rink By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Writer For the Michigan hockey team, there was a different feeling in the air Monday afternoon. A cooler one. Five days away from a rematch against Michigan State at Chicago’s Soldier Field, the 14th-ranked Wolverines got a taste of what hockey is like in the elements. The team trekked down Packard Road to nearby Buhr Park, where it had its first exposure to outdoor hockey this season. The change of pace and return to hockey’s roots was a welcome one for a team in midseason form. “It was a lot of fun,” said junior forward Andrew Copp. “Getting back to where it all started, I’d played at that rink a few times growing up, so it was cool to go back.” The coolness stayed throughout practice. Temperatures were hovering in the teens, but for Michigan coach Red Berenson, it doesn’t get much better. “It was perfect,” Berenson said of the conditions. “It was a bit on the cool side, but once the players get going, they warmed up pretty good.” Located in the middle of the 39-acre park and covered with an aluminum canopy, the rink is far from the fanfare of Yost Ice Arena. The video scoreboard, speaker system, championship banners and grandstands are replaced by fresh air, calming trees and sunshine. While children took advantage of Monday’s snow day by sledding down a nearby hill, the Wolverines made sure to get a thrill of their own. “Once things got going, we had a lot of fun out there,” Copp said. “There was a lot of hooting and hollering, there was a lot of energy. It was good to get out there.” Added Berenson: “They liked it, and it gives them a bit of a taste of what it can be like, too. Whether it’s windy or sunny or cold, rainy, I’m just trying to help our team understand that no matter what it’s like, we’re going to make the most of it.” Michigan is also looking to make the most of its 2-1 loss to the Spartans in Detroit on Friday. Though the Wolverines hung tight for the entire game, the team couldn’t muster up the extra urgency to make a big play and tie the game. With another big game ahead, and a chance to respond to a loss for the first time since December, Berenson anticipates excitement all week, no matter the location. “We need more of that,” he said. “We need everyone to play with that fire. We’re not good enough to have passengers and expect to win. These games are going to be close, these goals are going to be precious and we need to take care of the puck.” The long season can grow old quickly if things start to go awry. Rather than sit back and wait for it to happen, Michigan looked to get some fresh air Monday. “It’s something that can bring the guys together, bring the team together and get us heading back in the right direction,” Copp said. “I think we’re all really looking forward to it.” Big Ten’s NCAA Tournament outlook: Wisconsin, Maryland, OSU only locks Michigan on the outside looking in with six weeks left By JAKE LOURIM Managing Sports Editor The Michigan men’s bas- ketball team’s game Sunday at Michigan State was the first in a brutal stretch that includes four of seven games on the road and five of seven against teams in the top half of the Big Ten. In the end, the Wolver- ines dropped a heartbreaker in overtime, 76-66, falling to 6-4 in the Big Ten and 13-9 overall. As February begins and the clock starts ticking on the regular season with under six weeks until Selection Sunday, Michigan’s NCAA Tournament chances will start to move to the forefront of the conversation. The Wolverines are on the out- side looking in right now, project- ed as the eighth team out of the field in ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s lat- est Bracketology update. Though their strength of schedule is solid at No. 19, their RPI sits at a below- average 70, and they still have to weather trips to Maryland and Indiana as well as home games against Michigan State and Ohio State. The other games are at Illi- nois and Northwestern and home dates with Iowa and Rutgers. The March matchups with North- western and Rutgers are close to must-wins, and Michigan would be well served to pick up another road win at Indiana, Illinois or Maryland. One of those, plus the two March wins, a home win over Iowa and a split of Ohio State and Michigan State would put the Wolverines at 18-12, 11-7 in the Big Ten. That would probably leave it up to the Big Ten Tournament. Anything less would make for a very anxious Selection Sunday. In six tries, Michigan still does not own a top-50 RPI win — the closest was against No. 59 Illi- nois. The Wolverines are also still hurting from two ugly losses — No. 150 Eastern Michigan and No. 183 New Jersey Institute of Technology. Elsewhere in the Big Ten, No. 5 Wisconsin, No. 17 Maryland and No. 20 Ohio State are likely the only three locks at this point, barring something catastrophic. At the bottom, Rutgers, North- western, Minnesota, Nebraska and Penn State are well outside the field. The Daily breaks down the chances for everyone in between: Indiana (6-3 Big Ten, 16-6 overall, RPI No. 34, SOS No. 43): The Hoosiers are about as close to a lock as it gets, but things could still go awry. They struggle playing away from home and play at Wisconsin and Maryland in the next three games. Lose both of those, and slip up at home against Michigan on Sunday, and Indiana is at .500 in the Big Ten. Things could get dicey at that point. Still, the Hoosiers are prob- ably safe. They boast nice non- conference wins over RPI No. 17 Butler (at a neutral site), No. 22 Southern Methodist and No. 67 Pittsburgh, and their worst loss is at No. 78 Purdue. If they escape with road wins over Rutgers and Northwestern later this month, they should be OK. Michigan State (6-3 Big Ten, 15-7 overall, RPI No. 36, SOS No. 30): The Spartans are play- ing well and staying healthy, but they still need a few more wins to feel secure. After they missed out on three big-time chances in the non-conference season against Duke, Notre Dame and Kansas, their lone top-50 win is over Indi- ana at home. Michigan State has already lost to Maryland twice and only plays Wisconsin on the road, which would be a tough win to get. The Spartans could use a home victory over Ohio State. Other than that and a trip to Indiana, there aren’t a lot of opportunities on the table, and the Dec. 20 loss to Texas South- ern was a setback. But Michigan State is a No. 8 seed in Lunardi’s latest projection, and would need to slip up several times to play its way out. Iowa (4-4 Big Ten, 13-8 over- all, RPI No. 51, SOS No. 10): Lunardi has the Hawkeyes as a No. 10 seed in his latest bracket, eight spots from the bubble. Strength of schedule has Iowa in good shape, as does a sweep of Ohio State and a big road win at North Carolina, which is ranked No. 10 in the RPI. Moreover, the Hawkeyes’ worst loss is at Pur- due, far from the Incarnate Word or NJIT debacles their Big Ten counterparts suffered. Plenty of minefields are still there: a home game against a dan- gerous Minnesota team, a trip to Penn State and a home-and-home versus Northwestern, any of which would be Iowa’s worst loss of the season. A home win over Maryland would be helpful, but not necessary. Because the Hawk- eyes have taken care of business so far, they should be alright. Purdue (6-3 Big Ten, 14-8 overall, RPI No. 78, SOS No. 72): The Boilermakers are Lunar- di’s sixth team out of the field as of Monday, two spots ahead of Michigan. They clubbed Indiana at home Wednesday and boast a decent non-conference win over North Carolina State, but they’ll have to overcome some ugly losses: No. 110 Vanderbilt, No. 129 Gardner-Webb and No. 198 North Florida. As a result, their strength of schedule is low and their RPI even lower, and they don’t have anoth- er chance to knock off Wisconsin, the Big Ten’s premier team. At least a split of road games at Ohio State and Michigan State later in February would be nice, plus the Buckeyes come to town Wednes- day. A sweep of Rutgers is likely necessary as well, but even then, Purdue is squarely on the bubble. Illinois (4-5, 14-8 overall, RPI No. 59, SOS No. 63): Quite simply, the Fighting Illini just need wins — lots of them. They’re not saddled with a terrible non-conference loss, and they picked up a nice win over Baylor in November. But they sit cur- rently at 4-5 in the Big Ten, and this year, even a .500 conference record is cutting it close. Illinois has four tough road games remaining: Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Purdue. At least one would be nice. The Illini also have five very winnable home games in Michigan, Michi- gan State, Rutgers, Nebraska and Northwestern. If they avoid a bad loss there, they’ll have the oppor- tunity to play their way in during the Big Ten Tournament. Sports 8 — Tuesday, February 3, 2015 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com The search for the perfect lineup “We need more of that. We need everyone to play with that fire.” LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily Andrew Copp and Michigan practiced outdoors at Buhr Park on Monday. Big Ten Standings 1. Wisconsin 2. Maryland 3. Ohio State 4. Indiana 5. Michigan St. 6. Purdue 7. Michigan 8. Iowa 9. Illinois 10. Nebraska 11. Minnesota 12. Penn State 13. Rutgers 14. N’Western JACOB GASE RITA MORRIS/Daily Madison Ristovski made her seventh start of the season Sunday at Nebraska. MEN’S BASKETBALL