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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