4B — January 19, 2016 SportsTuesday The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com ‘M’ falls at Iowa By LEV FACHER Daily Sports Writer IOWA CITY — The Michigan men’s basketball team provided further nightmare fodder Sunday for one former secretary of state, proving repeatedly that leads in Iowa are never secure, even for hometown favorites. Twice, the Wolverines allowed themselves to fall behind substantially and seemingly for good in front of 15,400 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. But twice, Michigan brushed its past Hawkeye State woes aside and refused to let the game slip out of reach until the final minutes of its 82-71 loss at No. 16 Iowa. The Wolverines (3-2 Big Ten, 13-5 overall) weathered the Hawkeyes’ 9-0 run to open the game and again recovered from a deficit that ballooned to 12 midway through the first half, even taking a two-point lead with 15:24 remaining in the game. “We were really happy with this (performance),” said Michigan coach John Beilein, citing the daunting road environment, which was impressive especially given the sub-zero temperatures outside. “They did show a lot more than they did in a couple other games.” The third blow, however, proved too hard to recover from, as a 3-pointer from Peter Jok with 8:55 remaining put the Hawkeyes (5-0, 14-3) up by 11. The Wolverines threatened once again, trimming Iowa’s lead to as little as five, but ultimately left their comeback trifecta incomplete. Michigan struggled to contain Jok and Jarrod Uthoff throughout, in no small part due to its shooting ability and knack for consistently finishing in transition. Uthoff finished with 23 points, and Jok added 16. “Transition defense is really hard when you have five shooters (on offense),” Beilein said. “There were a couple of times there when we had bad matchups. (Junior forward) Mark Donnal all of a sudden is over on Jok. That’s bad anyway, let alone if you’re running down the court trying to identify him.” The Wolverines’ transitional woes proved a consistent thorn in their side, but the root of the problem — their inability to handle Iowa’s defensive pressure — seemed to bother Beilein more. Michigan turned the ball over 13 times, including three consecutive possessions once Iowa began applying a 2-3 zone press. The Hawkeyes’ pressure was hardly a surprise, and the Wolverines even used their press break to their advantage in Tuesday’s win over No. 3 Maryland, taking the opportunity to find redshirt sophomore guard Duncan Robinson alone on the perimeter. Robinson even expressed excitement prior to the Iowa game that Michigan could replicate the performance — provided, of course, the Wolverines could get the ball up the court. All in all, the Wolverines did well to pick off one game in their 10-day devil’s row — a visit to then-No. 20 Purdue, a matchup with No. 3 Maryland and, finally, the visit to No. 16 Iowa. Playing without senior guard Caris LeVert, the centerpiece of their offense, the Wolverines nonetheless kept things close in both of the losses and manufactured more than enough offense to finish the upset over the Terrapins. But in January, when it came to Big Ten standings and NCAA Tournament resumes and the harsh reality of back-to-back road losses setting in, Walton provided no excuse. “We didn’t really want to do moral victories,” Walton said. “It’s not what we do.” Lineup changes not enough for Michigan By KELLY HALL Daily Sports Editor IOWA CITY — With Caris LeVert still sidelined with a lower left leg injury, the Michigan men’s basketball team searched hard for a winning combination against No. 16 Iowa on Sunday. At times, the Wolverines even used redshirt freshman forward D.J. Wilson and true freshman Moritz Wagner — two big men who don’t often see the court, let alone see it at the same time — to get some momentum going after falling into an early 11-0 hole. Michigan coach John Beilein’s meddling was to no avail, though, and the Hawkeyes (5-0 Big Ten, 14-3 overall) handily beat the Wolverines, 82-71. “They were the better team than us tonight, without question,” Beilein said. “We fought hard; we had three really bad spurts during the game. At the beginning of the first, three quarters of the way through the first half and three quarters of the way through the second.” Beilein orchestrated multiple comebacks from Iowa’s spurts, including a 13-0 run in the first half that was a result of lineup changes. Redshirt sophomore guard Duncan Robinson started Michigan’s (3-2, 13-5) run by driving to the basket rather than hitting his signature 3-pointer. After Robinson led the way, Wagner and sophomore forward Aubrey Dawkins followed up with inside layups of their own. The run was accentuated further by back-to-back dunks from Wagner and Wilson. Wagner grabbed a defensive rebound after the Wolverines’ nine-point spurt, gave it to junior guard Derrick Walton and ran to the other side of the court. Meanwhile, Walton dribbled it all the way around the perimeter and passed to Dawkins, who dished it back to Wagner in the paint for a two-handed slam. Dawkins did such a good job with his assist that he was beckoned over to the sideline with the clock still running to give Beilein a hug. The play was part of a vital 13-0 run that gave Michigan a one-point lead, 21-20, with 8:11 left in the first half. The lineup for a majority of the run included Walton, sophomore guard Muhammad- Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Dawkins, Wilson and Wagner. “The length that we tried to get to get a bigger hand up on a few of their guys, but they ended up going with four or five shooters out there,” Beilein said. “We’re just trying to find ways to get D.J. on the floor.” Added junior forward Mark Donnal: “Overall, I think they did a good job of playing their role,” Donnal said. “We run (Wilson and Wagner) at that position during practice all the time. It’s not something that we’re not used to seeing, but I guess in games you don’t necessarily see it (often).” Michigan started off the second half with a Robinson 3-pointer less than a minute in. Robinson jumpstarted a 13-6 run at the start of the second that led Michigan to regain a lead after heading into halftime down 38-33. Abdur-Rahkman proved he could work the inside against the Hawkeyes in the second frame, consistently breaking through the zone and laying the ball in while still under the net — sometimes while in reverse and without looking — but also proved himself as a perimeter threat. A little less than four minutes into the second half, he stepped back and hit a three to put Michigan within one point of the Hawkeyes, 47-46. “We saw how deflated (previous opponents’ runs) looked or felt,” Walton said. “We really wanted to make that adjustment that even though teams are gonna make runs, don’t hang your head, the game is full of runs. Today, Iowa made their run and nobody on this team watched. We were just really eager to make the next play for our teammates.” But after the spurt at the start of the second half, it was hard to keep up with the Hawkeyes. Beilein tried the combo of Wagner and Wilson again, along with Walton, Dawkins and junior forward Zak Irvin, but fault lines were more noticeable this time around. Ten minutes into the second half, a ball hovered around the rim, and after Wilson grabbed the offensive rebound, he should have tipped it in but couldn’t. Thirteen seconds later, Beilein pulled Wilson and Wagner. Beilein’s experimenting was over. The missed tip-in was part of a 12-0 Hawkeye run that stretched over four minutes. It ended when Donnal made a layup, but the game was too far gone. Though the contest in Iowa City was full of small Michigan achievements, moral victories aren’t enough anymore for the Wolverines. “Of course, we don’t really want to do moral victories, that’s not what we do,” Walton said. “But as a good basketball team in this conference, we gotta pay homage to this team, it’s really good. This three-game stretch to play some of the top teams in this conference, we stood toe-to- toe some stretches, we never let down, but I think we can only get better from this point.” GRANT HARDY/Daily John Beilein, pictured Tuesday vs. Maryland, saw his team lose to Iowa on Sunday. MICHIGAN IOWA 71 82 SWIMMING AND DIVING Wolverines show depth in the pool By ANNA HARITOS Daily Sports Writer The Michigan men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams opened the semester Saturday with a sweep of the competition at a quad meet against Indiana, Duke and Georgia Tech, held at Georgia Tech. The meet offered the Wolverines a particular advantage for later in the season. The Yellow Jackets will host the NCAA Championships this year, so Michigan will be familiar with the site when the event comes around. “Coach (Mike) Bottom went out of his way to set up a meet at Georgia Tech so we could get a feel for the pool before we went to nationals,” senior Ali DeLoof said. “It’s really great he did that because we can work on turns, starts and really get a feel for the pool before we get to nationals.” The victory was well earned by both teams, as they each kicked off the meet by dominating the 200-yard medley relay. Indiana proved to hold some of the toughest competition, but the Wolverines were better. “Indiana won their share of events, but the events that they won, we were able to take second, third, fourth and add up points that would take away some of their advantage for the overall win,” Bottom said. “It was a great team win on both sides.” On the women’s side, DeLoof and sophomores Clara Smiddy and Gillian Ryan as well as freshman Siobhan Haughey each claimed wins in two events. Smiddy finished with two ‘B’ cut times in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard backstroke. Meanwhile, Ryan dominated the field in the 1,000-yard freestyle, winning by more than 10 seconds. They were not the only ones who led the team to victory, as the Wolverines (4-0 Big Ten, 6-1 overall) showed depth in many events, especially the 200-yard freestyle, in which they took first, third, fourth and fifth. The men’s team continued to uphold its undefeated dual- meet record this past weekend, as it has not lost a dual since November 2010. Much like the women, the men (4-0, 7-0) showed strong depth in their events. Sophomore PJ Ransford won the 1,000-yard freestyle with junior Cameron Stitt taking second and sophomore Ian Rainey placing fourth. The 500-yard freestyle also provided points for the Wolverines. Senior Anders Lie Nielsen took first followed by Ransford in second, while their teammates, Stitt and Rainey, took fourth and fifth, respectively. Among the standouts was sophomore Paul Powers, a Georgia native, who won the 50-yard freestyle. “That was my home pool where all my state championships were,” Powers said. “Along with a bunch of other important meets as well. The pool itself carries a lot of really good memories, and I think just swimming there once before nationals is going to be such a help to the entire team.” Though the scores show Michigan’s dominance, skill and focus, the Wolverines fought hard until the last athlete touched the wall in the 400-yard freestyle to end the meet. Both the men and the women claimed first in the event and the meet overall — but for the men, the final race was a huge determining factor in the outcome. “A lot of times in a dual meet, it comes down to the last race,” Powers said. “That relay carries so many points with the win that it can be a crucial point, especially if you’re a lot closer than you think it is. We were really close with Indiana pretty much the whole meet. Going into the 400- yard relay, we knew that we had to win it in order to win the meet. We ended up pulling through, and that was incredible.” ROBERT DUNNE/Daily Freshman Olivia Karas earned her first all-around title Saturday against Ohio State with a dominant performance and an overall score of 39.425. Newly crowned No. 1 Michigan wins Wolverines top Ohio State in Autism Awareness Meet at Crisler By ETHAN WOLFE Daily Sports Writer In its first meet ranked at the top of women’s college gymnastics, No. 1 Michigan had no problem proving it deserved the ranking. The Wolverines (1-0 Big Ten, 4-0 overall), who hosted their second annual Autism Awareness Meet on Saturday, beat Ohio State (0-1, 1-1) handily, 196.950-195.275. Michigan has lost just once to the Buckeyes in its last 48 meetings. Freshman Olivia Karas headed the Wolverines’ dominant performance with a score of 39.425 and her first all- around victory as a collegiate gymnast. Karas also claimed the best score on the vault, 9.875, and scored no lower than 9.825 in any event. “We put in a lot of hard work this week, and I think it really showed,” Karas said. “It’s great to win all-around, but our team won and that’s the bottom line. We put out a great performance.” Junior captain Nicole Artz continued her fantastic season, winning the floor exercise with a score of 9.900. That, alongside stellar performances in her other events, gave her a score of 39.375, putting her right behind Karas for the best all-around score. But Karas and Artz weren’t the only ones who shined for Michigan. Senior captain Briley Casanova had a career day, tying career highs of 9.825 and 9.850 on the bars and vault, respectively. Freshman Emma McLean tied her career high for the vault with a 9.775. Junior captain Talia Chiarelli received the honor of Big Ten Event Specialist of the Week for the third week in a row. She posted the highest score in any event for the meet, earning a 9.950 on the beam. In all four events, the Wolverines earned more than 49 total points out of a possible 50. Michigan coach Bev Plocki believes the Wolverines’ success is a result of the team becoming more comfortable and confident with each meet. Artz agreed, adding that being ranked first in the country is no surprise to her. “We know that we are where we belong, and that we are No. 1,” Artz said. “To finally have that recognition is awesome.” Added Karas: “I think this is (a championship team). Everyone on this team has what it takes to contribute, and we’re definitely going to be contenders for nationals this year.” Plocki also thinks that Wolverines can win a championship. When asked if Michigan is a national contender, Plocki answered without hesitation. “Absolutely,” she said. “I say that with absolutely no reservation at all. This team has shown so much resiliency and grit. This is going to be a team that will be able to go all the way for sure.” “We know that we are where we belong, and that we are No. 1.” MEN’S BASKETBALL