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

