8A — Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

in a 61-56 win against Purdue. 
LeVert was expected to play in 
his final regular-season visit to 
his home state but was instead 
forced to watch his former high 
school 
teammate, 
Jae’Sean 

Tate, account for the margin of 
victory and then some with a 
13-point effort.

Beilein 

reiterated 
after the game 
that 
“pain 

is 
(LeVert’s) 

guide,” 
and 

said 
LeVert 

was too sore 
to practice in 
the 
wake 
of 

the 11 minutes 
he 
played 

against 
the 

Boilermakers. The Wolverines 
had hoped the two days between 
the Purdue win and the trip to 
Columbus would have allowed 
for some sort of continuity, but 
they found no such luck, as 

LeVert once again was unable to 
play after giving it a try during 
shootaround earlier in the day.

“There’s been an effect (from 

the absences of) him and Spike 
all year,” Beilein said, asked if 
LeVert’s absence changed his 
game plan. “No. Ohio State had an 
effect on our game plan today.”

Michigan fell into a hole with 

Abdur-Rahkman on the bench, 
and its foul troubles came back 
with a vengeance in the second 

half. 
The 

Wolverines 
recorded 
six 
team 

fouls 
in 
the 

period’s 
first 

five 
minutes, 

including 
two 
in 
a 

four-second 
stretch 
from 

sophomore 
guard Aubrey 

Dawkins. Redshirt sophomore 
guard Duncan Robinson and 
Dawkins also finished with four 
fouls apiece, limiting Beilein’s 
options in the game’s final 
stretch.

It may not have mattered, 

as Michigan’s shooters went 
a 
combined 
5-for-24 
from 

3-point range, including a 1-for-
5 performance from Robinson, 
who has struggled as of late.

Junior 
forward 
Mark 

Donnal proved Michigan’s only 
consistent source of scoring, as 
Michigan’s 
backcourt 
juniors 

— forward Zak Irvin and guard 
Derrick Walton Jr. — shot a 
combined 10-for-28 from the 
field. Donnal did well to score 
in the paint and finished with 
17 points, but his performance 
wasn’t nearly enough as the 
Wolverines’ 
perimeter-centric 

offense sputtered around the 
3-point arc. Irvin finished with 
15 and Walton finished with 13.

The 
loss 
cuts 
deep 
into 

the 
Wolverines’ 
margin 
for 

error as they vie for an NCAA 
Tournament bid.

With the loss, Michigan likely 

needs a win at home against 
Northwestern as well as one out 
of three versus No. 4 Iowa, at No. 
6 Maryland and at Wisconsin to 
be secure in its standing for the 
68-member field.

BASKETBALL
From Page 1A

“Ohio State had 

an effect on 

our game plan 

today.”

Fatigue plagues Michigan in Columbus

Foul trouble, LeVert 
injury force Walton, 

Irvin to play 75 
total minutes

By JACOB GASE

Daily Sports Editor

COLUMBUS — Down the 

home stretch of the Big Ten 
men’s basketball season, it seems 
averaging nearly 36 minutes 
per conference game has finally 
caught up with junior guard 
Derrick Walton Jr. and junior 
forward Zak Irvin.

Walton already fell victim to a 

cold spell just three days ago in 
Michigan’s victory over No. 18 
Purdue, a game in which Irvin 
played the hero with 22 points 
and the go-ahead basket. But 
Tuesday at Ohio State, neither 
player could get a rhythm going, 
and each finished 5-for-14 from 
the floor in the 76-66 loss.

The Wolverines’ two on-court 

leaders did reach double-digit 
scoring 
with 

some 
late 

baskets in the 
second 
half, 

and 
junior 

forward Mark 
Donnal tallied 
a 
team-high 

17 
points 
of 

his own. But 
Michigan consistently struggled 
to keep up with the Buckeyes, 
who made 54 percent of their 
shots and caused the Wolverines 
to commit several quick fouls, 
especially in the second half, 
while also holding them to 
39-percent shooting.

“Derrick was still fatigued from 

the Minnesota game on Saturday, 
and now (he had to) go back (and 
play) again,” said Michigan coach 
John Beilein. “They did almost 
nothing on Sunday, so we could 
really get some rest for them, 
but there’s a lot of minutes being 
logged out there.”

Continuing a common theme 

from 
Michigan’s 
losses 
this 

season, the Wolverines found 
themselves unable to solve an 
opposing defense that imposed 
its length on them, forcing 
them to take low-percentage, 
contested shots. Walton and 
sophomore 
guard 
Duncan 

Robinson 
— 
two 
generally 

prolific 3-point shooters — shot 
just 2-for-12 combined from 
beyond the arc, and tired legs 
certainly didn’t help.

“When an elite shooter like 

Derrick 
goes 
2-for-something 

the last couple games, it’s a bad 
number,” Beilein said. “Duncan as 
well. Ohio State’s defense is really 
good. We’ve played four or five 
teams in this league (like that).”

The most tangible evidence of 

Michigan’s fatigue didn’t even 
come from the players on the 
floor — it came from the notable 
face missing.

Senior guard Caris LeVert, 

who made his return and played 
11 minutes Saturday after being 
sidelined for six weeks with a 
lower-left leg injury, was unable 

to 
practice 

yesterday after 
feeling 
sore, 

leaving him out 
of the lineup 
for 
Tuesday’s 

game. 
Beilein 

declined 
to 
specify 

whether 
it 

was the injury flaring up or just 
general soreness; LeVert hinted 
toward the latter when he spoke 
with reporters Monday.

Slowly working LeVert back 

into the lineup was supposed 
to be a major focus for Beilein 
over the final few games of the 
regular season, but with so 
much uncertainty surrounding 
his status, the Wolverines have 
been unable to settle on a plan of 
attack or establish clear depth in 
the rotation.

“We were very hopeful that 

with those two days in between, 
we’d be able to do some things to 

give us some type of continuity of 
what we’re going to run against 
these guys in the future,” Beilein 
said. “We couldn’t dummy with 
(LeVert) or anything yesterday, 
just because we want to be 
so cautious knowing we have 
another game Sunday.”

And that game Sunday won’t 

be a picnic either — Michigan 
will travel to College Park to face 
No. 6 Maryland, which has only 
lost one home game this season 
despite being upset in Ann Arbor 
in January.

Having a few more days off 

should benefit the exhausted 
Michigan 
team, 
but 
no 

matter what Beilein says, the 
Wolverines themselves refuse 
to acknowledge their weariness 
down the stretch as they battle 
for an NCAA Tournament berth.

“I think every team goes 

through this, three games in seven 
days,” Irvin said. “I don’t really 
want to use fatigue as an excuse.”

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Junior forwards Mark Donnal (top) and Zak Irvin (bottom) combined for 32 points at Ohio State on Tuesday night.

“There’s a lot of 
minutes being 

logged out there.”

