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6A — Thursday, February 4, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines suffer 
worst loss of year

No. 17 Michigan 
State overpowers 
‘M’ in East Lansing

By TED JANES 

Daily Sports Writer

EAST LANSING — If the 

Michigan women’s basketball 
team planned on being the 
“hardest-working 
team 
in 

America” 
— as the 
2015-16 
squad’s 
bold slogan goes — it first needed 
to be the hardest-working team 
in the state of Michigan.

Wednesday, 
that 
wasn’t 

the case, as No. 17 Michigan 
State dominated the in-state 
showdown and powered through 
the Wolverines, 85-64.

The 
21-point 
defeat 
was 

Michigan’s worst loss of the 
season.

The hardest-working player 

at the Breslin Center wasn’t a 
Wolverine, but rather Spartan 
forward Akyah Taylor, who 
spent what seemed like half 
of the game on the hardwood, 
drawing charges and diving after 
loose balls wherever she could.

“We’ve had kids step up and 

get a little more focused,” said 
Michigan 
State 
coach 
Suzy 

Merchant. “Some that is the 
insurgence of playing (Taylor) 
more in the starting lineup. I 
think she took four charges 
tonight. She is the glue that 
nobody really talks about.”

Taylor — who finished with 

four points, eight rebounds, four 
assists — wasn’t the Spartans’ 
leading scorer, but her gritty 
presence fired up Michigan State 
(8-2 Big Ten, 17-4 overall) for the 
team’s fifth straight win in the 
only matchup between the two 
schools this year.

Taylor 
stepped 
up 
to 

command the Spartans’ defense, 
but Michigan State guard Tori 

Jankoska also earned praise 
from 
Merchant. 
Jankoska 

bore the burden of guarding 
Michigan 
sophomore 
guard 

Katelynn Flaherty.

“I 
thought 
(Jankoska’s) 

mindset was great,” Merchant 
said. “Coming in, she really 
wanted to challenge herself and 
guard Flaherty.”

Flaherty put up a team-

high 18 points as well as four 
assists. Freshman guard Boogie 
Brozoski 
aided 
Michigan’s 

backcourt with 13 points, but at 
just 5-foot-6, she couldn’t help 
the Wolverines (4-7, 12-10) where 
they were struggling most. 

That location was under the 

basket, where the Spartans’ size 
gave them a huge advantage.

Michigan freshman center 

Hallie Thome had eight points 
and just four rebounds.

Michigan State outrebounded 

the 
Wolverines, 
38-23. 
The 

leading rebounders were Taylor 
and Spartan forward Aerial 
Powers, who both had eight.

The matchup between the 

centers, Thome and Michigan 
State’s Jasmine Hines, wasn’t 
critical to the outcome, as 
the Spartans’ backcourt did 
everything its team needed.

The trio of Powers, Jankoska 

and 
guard 
Branndais 
Agee 

combined for 63 of Michigan 
State’s points.

“Powers played like the All-

American she is,” said Michigan 
coach Kim Barnes Arico. “She’s 
tough. I can’t wait ’til she 
graduates.”

Powers — who had a team-

high 27 points — drove to the 
basket the entire first half and 
managed to get both Michigan 
senior forward Kelsey Mitchell 
and Thome in foul trouble early. 
And for every foul Michigan piled 
up, the Spartans capitalized.

Michigan State knocked down 

all of its 19 free-throw attempts.

The Wolverines still have yet to 

beat a ranked opponent this year, 
and their NCAA Tournament 
hopes continue to dwindle.

Breaking down the PairWise

By MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Editor

The Michigan hockey team 

was expected to face an uphill 
battle on its quest to make it back 
to the NCAA Tournament from 
the get go.

Why?
There’s really only one reason: 

the PairWise Rankings.

Many experts believed the 

Wolverines’ weak non-conference 
schedule — which featured only 
one team in the NCAA’s Top 20 
preseason ranking (No. 8 Boston 
University), coupled with a weak 
Big Ten — would be Michigan’s 
biggest downfall.

But with six weeks before 

NCAA Tournament teams are 
chosen on March 20, Michigan 
currently sits at No. 4 in the 
PairWise Rankings. 

So, how did this happen?
Well, for one, the Wolverines 

have won games and continue to 
win games.

More importantly, though, the 

teams Michigan played have fared 
better than many have expected.

* * *

But let’s backtrack for a second.
What 
are 
the 
PairWise 

Rankings?

The PairWise Rankings were 

first instituted in 2001, when the 
NCAA moved to the computer 
formula 
after 
many 
experts 

around the country called for it.

How the PairWise Rankings 

work is that three different 
variables 
(RPI, 
head-to-head 

results and common opponents) 
are used to compare every team 
in the NCAA.

For example, since Michigan 

matches up well against 56 
other teams in the NCAA, the 
Wolverines have 56 PairWise 
Ranking “points,” which puts 
Michigan at No. 4 in the rankings. 
(A full grid of PairWise Ranking 
comparisons for each team can be 
found here.)

Along with the three variables 

described, there are also bonuses, 
such as a quality-win bonus, 
which is given to any win against a 
top-20 team, and weights given to 
different wins and losses, such as 
home losses and road wins.

Of course, no new system is 

perfect — tweaks and changes 
need to be made to make it fit in 
with what the formula was meant 
to do.

“(The NCAA) explained that it 

would start off being 75-percent 
win-loss record and 25-percent 
strength of schedule,” Berenson 
said. “Then they kept tweaking it 
until they found the right system.

“There was a point where if you 

won a game against a bad team, 
your PairWise could drop. Now, 
how can that be? You shouldn’t 
be able to go down if you win the 
game, so they’ve had to tweak the 
percentages, and I’m sure there’s 
more to it than that.”

The biggest problem with the 

PairWise Rankings is that while 
we can talk about the variables 
that determine a team’s rankings, 

the NCAA keeps the formula, and 
the math behind it, a secret.

The PairWise Rankings are also 

very elastic. For example, while 
Michigan may be No. 4 now, it isn’t 
out of the realm of possibility for it 
to drop outside the top 10, even if 
it loses only one game the rest of 
the season.

For the most part, most people 

around 
college 
hockey 
have 

enjoyed the change and the fact 
that the NCAA Tournament teams 
aren’t chosen by a committee of 
people.

It is important to note that 

the PairWise Rankings only pick 
the 16 teams in the tournament. 
However, there is a committee 
that 
determines 
the 
NCAA 

Tournament matchups according 
to seeds, proximity to home and 
attendance, among other various 
factors.

* * *

With an explanation of the 

PairWise Rankings out of the 

way, let’s talk about Michigan’s 
opponents this season. Most 
importantly: 
Dartmouth, 

Rensselaer and Robert Morris. 
None 
of 
those 
teams 
were 

expected to make noise in the 
NCAA this season.

Despite this prediction, the 

complete opposite has happened.

The 
Big 
Green 
— 
whom 

Michigan beat, 7-1, before tying, 
1-1, the next night — have played 
well since the New Year. With 
just two losses in 2016 (one came 
against No. 1 Quinnipiac, in which 
the Bobcats needed a six-goal 
third period to come back and win, 
7-5), No. 15 Dartmouth has strung 
together impressive victories over 
then-No. 10 Cornell, then-No. 18 
St. Lawrence and Holy Cross.

The Engineers — whom the 

Wolverines beat, 5-2, back in 
October — started off the year 
with a bang after a win over then-
No. 1 Boston College. Rensselaer 
has collected victories over Yale, 
Miami (OH) and Cornell, along 
with a tie against No. 1 Quinnipiac.

The 
Colonials 
— 
whom 

Michigan beat, 5-3, before losing 
to them, 4-0 — have also played 
well down the stretch. Robert 
Morris currently sits in first place 
in the Atlantic Hockey standings 
and has wins over Penn State and 
UMass-Lowell.

All those teams, along with 

the Big Ten playing a little 
better 
than 
many 
experts 

expected, have helped boost 
Michigan higher in the rankings. 
But at the end of the day, 
Michigan 
will 
continue 
to 

climb the PairWise Rankings 
if it continues to win, plain and 
simple. 
The 
Wolverines 
can 

play hypotheticals about what 
happens if X team loses or Y team 
wins against a top-ranked team, 
but the fact of the matter is that 
if Michigan keeps winning, they 
will be in the tournament.

And the Wolverines know that.
“It’s the idea that we want to 

win all of our games, especially in 
the Big Ten because we know we 
can win the Big Ten,” Nieves said.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Red Berenson’s team has benefited from its opponents’ success this season.

Thome shut down 
in loss to Spartans

By LELAND MITCHINSON

Daily Sports Writer

EAST LANSING — Hallie 

Thome’s first point in Thursday’s 
game came on a free throw just 
three minutes into the half.

The only problem? It was the 

second half.

After a 31-point performance 

Sunday, the freshman center 
was shut down in the Michigan 
women’s 
basketball 
team’s 

86-64 loss at Michigan State on 
Wednesday.

In the first half, Thome largely 

limited herself, earning two fouls 
and playing just eight minutes. 
But even when she was on the 
court, the Spartans had an answer 
for her.

“Hallie 

gets bumped 
around all the 
time,” 
said 

Michigan 
coach 
Kim 

Barnes Arico. 
“She 
doesn’t 

really go to 
the foul line 
as many times 
as 
she 
gets 

bumped, and 
then she gets fouls called against 
her that are ticky-tack fouls. So I 
think experienced players learn 
how to use their body and not get 
fouls called against them, and I 
think that’s an area Hallie has to 
get better at.”

With Thome on the bench 

more than she was on the floor 
in the first half, the Wolverines 
found themselves down, 48-28, 
at the game’s midway point. 
Michigan State was able to gain 
a 19-12 advantage on the glass in 
the first half, with Michigan’s No. 
1 post player out of the game.

Many 
of 
those 
Spartan 

rebounds quickly became points 
on the other end as Michigan 
State used its speed to push the 
fast break, holding a 31-4 edge on 
the break for the game.

Michigan 
State 
relied 
on 

a 
three-player 
rotation 
to 

keep Thome in check, cycling 

through centers Jenna Allen 
and Jasmine Hines and forward 
Kennedy Johnson. Each of the 
Spartans possessed a strength 
advantage over Thome and used 
it to full effect, keeping her from 
consistently 
establishing 
her 

position on the block.

Whenever Thome found room 

down low, the Michigan State 
defense was quick to send the 
double team. But Thome has not 
yet developed the instinct needed 
to sense when the double team is 
coming and pass out to her open 
teammates.

“They pushed us around,” 

Barnes Arico said. “Hines really 
is physical; she’s physical in the 
post. (Guard Ariel Powers) is 
physical, (guard Tori Jankoska) 

is 
physical. 

So 
that’s 

something 
that 
our 

younger 
kids 

really 
aren’t 

accustomed to, 
and they have to 
adjust to, and I 
think that their 
pressure 
and 

that physicality 
really affected 

us.”

The fouls weren’t the limiting 

factor for Thome in the second 
half, as she only committed one 
more in the game. What was truly 
the issue for Thome was the way 
her defenders were willing to stop 
her. The triumvirate of Hines, 
Allen and Johnson combined for 
nine fouls on the night, with some 
even occurring when the ball was 
well away from Thome.

Thome finished the game 

2-for-4 from the field for eight 
points, and she collected three 
rebounds before she was subbed 
out for the final time with 2:25 left 
in the game.

“She needs to bend and she 

needs to use her body more,” 
Barnes Arico said. “Her lower 
body needs to get stronger, and 
these are all things that we 
are going to spend time in the 
offseason working on.”

Spartans make 
rivalry personal

By KELLY HALL

Daily Sports Editor

During Big Ten Basketball 

Media Day last October, Michigan 
State coach Tom Izzo was fired up. 
The event just happened to be the 
same week as the in-state rivalry 
football game between Michigan 
and Michigan State, and the hype 
surrounding the two football 
teams made its way to Chicago, 
where the two schools’ basketball 
coaches addressed the media. 

It was also the same day a 

statue of Magic Johnson in East 
Lansing was spray-painted maize 
and blue. 

“First, I’ve gotta say that this 

is rivalry week, and you’re not 
supposed to like your opponent,” 
Izzo said in October. “There’s a lot 
of great Michigan kids, but there’s 
some idiots. There’s some idiots 
on our side, too, that do crazy 
things. Messing with Sparty is a 
bad thing, like messing with their 
‘M’ is a bad thing. But messing 
with Magic, that’s the worst 
thing. I’ll make sure that, from 
now on, maybe the basketball 
team will sleep (out there).”

This 
week, 
football’s 

excitement has once again seeped 
into basketball. Saturday, the 
two basketball teams will meet 
at Crisler Center for their one 
scheduled contest this year, and it 
just happens to be the same week 
as football’s National Signing Day. 

Forward 
Matt 
Costello 

wouldn’t want it any other way.

“The last couple of years, 

Michigan 
hasn’t 
really 
been 

competitive 
in 
football, 
just 

because they’ve had down years, 
but this year, I think it has 
everyone hype all year round 
for that rivalry,” Costello said 
in October. “I think that will 
definitely spill over (to basketball) 
because we’ll have Jim Harbaugh 
at our games and coaches like 
Coach Dantonio. It’s going to 
make the rivalry a lot of fun.”

Costello, a Linwood, Mich., 

native who grew up a Spartan 
fan, thinks his in-state status 

heightens his enthusiasm toward 
the rivalry. The starting center 
isn’t the only one from Michigan 
either. Fellow starters Denzel 
Valentine — whose father played 
at Michigan State — and Bryn 
Forbes both went to Sexton High 
School in Lansing, Mich. 

All three grew up Spartan fans, 

and it gives the trio a lot of fodder 
for conversation.

“We talk about watching the 

games (growing up),” Costello 
said. “Denzel was obviously a 
State fan because of his dad, and 
Bryn (was a fan), so we just talk 
about the different fans and how 
they react to things.”

Michigan’s top talent didn’t 

just land in Izzo’s lap, though. 
He specifically recruited the kids 
from Michigan for a purpose. 

“It’s the whole reason I recruit 

geographically,” Izzo said. “I’ve 
always believed in the state 
of Michigan, and I’ve always 
believed in recruiting in a Big Ten 
area because then those rivalries, 
Michigan (vs.) Michigan State, 
they should know about that. 
They should grow up not liking 
them. That’s kind of what you do. 
And that makes it more fun.”

In-state status may be fueling 

the Spartans on Saturday, but it 
certainly won’t be the Wolverines’ 
main source of energy. Michigan 
has just two players from the 
state of Michigan, junior guard 
Derrick Walton and freshman 
forward Brent Hibbitts.

Part of that reason is because 

Beilein picks up players to fit his 
system rather than making it 
personal. On his current roster, 
he has players from Portland, 
Ore., to Allentown, Penn., to 
Berlin. Next year, only one player 
from the Wolverines’ four-man 
recruiting class is from the state 
of Michigan.

“I think having kids from in 

state make it better,” Izzo said. 
“There’s more passion to it. They 
know their mother is going to be 
at work, their dad is going to sit 
around the drinking fountain, 
and that’s what you play for.”

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Kim Barnes Arico’s team lost for the fourth time in five games Wednesday.

MICHIGAN
MICH. ST. 

64
85

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

“I think their 
pressure and 
physicality 
affected us.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

