8A — Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines brace for Northwestern

By SIMON KAUFMAN

Daily Sports Editor

Before addressing the media 

on 
Tuesday, 
Michigan 
men’s 

basketball coach John Beilein 
lightheartedly 
noted 
that 

with 
spring 

approaching, 
the days have 
been 
getting 

longer.

“You 
know 

we’re getting 11 
hours of daylight 
every day right 
now? You know 
that?” 
Beilein 

said. 
“That’s 

a secret about 
Coach 
Beilein. 

I keep track of 
the sunrise and sunset, because 
growing up in Buffalo, in the long 
winters, you couldn’t wait to have 
that sunshine.”

Outside, the sun may be on the 

rise, but inside of Crisler Center 
— where the Wolverines (9-6 
Big Ten, 19-9 overall) practiced 
Tuesday afternoon in preparation 
for their Wednesday matchup with 
Northwestern — the sun has been 
setting on a season that began with 
unclouded optimism.

Senior 
guard 
Caris 
LeVert 

— who opted to forgo the NBA 
Draft and lead the team in his 
final year — has instead played 
just 11 minutes in 2016 due to a 
lower left leg injury. Senior guard 
Spike Albrecht has joined him 
on the bench after announcing 
in December he would be done 
playing due to his own injuries.

With both of their seniors 

on the bench, the Wolverines’ 
defensive struggles have caught 
up with them during conference 
play. Michigan’s opponents are 
averaging 67 points per game — 
the most opponents have averaged 
against the Wolverines since the 
2007-08 season, Beilein’s first at 
Michigan.

With just three games left on 

the schedule, Beilein said his 
main focus is to emphasize better 

defensive play.

“We still can’t plug the holes 

in our defense right now,” Beilein 
said. “We just cannot do it. And 
we’ve just got to keep working at 
it. We’re going to do some drills 
today — like back to the beginning 
in some things — because we’re 
just having trouble with just the 
idea of guys in the midst of action 
getting into a stance and playing 
really good gap defense or 1-on-1 
defense.”

As a team, Michigan aims to keep 

opponents under 40 percent from 
the field. Lately, the execution has 
faltered. Four of the Wolverines’ 
last six opponents have shot better 
than 50 percent from the field. 
Sunday, Maryland shot 54 percent 
on field-goal attempts, edging the 
Wolverines 86-82 and snapping a 
50-0 mark that Michigan had in 
games in which it scored 80 points 
under Beilein.

“(We need to emphasize) really 

being there,” said junior guard 
Derrick Walton Jr. “Helping the 
next guy, making it five against 
the ball as opposed to — it’s been 
basically just 1-on-1. The focus 
going forward is playing better 
team 
defense. 
I 
don’t 
think 

individually we can point guys out 
and say they’re not doing their job, 
we’ve just got to do a better job 

collectively.”

The Wildcats (5-9, 17-10) will 

be coming off an eight-day break 
after losing to Purdue on the road 
on Feb. 14. Northwestern has just 
five conference wins but has stuck 
around in many of its losses and 
even took a then-No. 7 Maryland 
team to overtime a month ago in 
College Park.

In a low point for the Wolverines 

last year, the Wildcats edged them 
in Evanston in a double-overtime 
thriller. 

Northwestern gets most of its 

offensive production from guards 
Tre Demps and Bryant McIntosh, 
who are averaging 14.9 and 14.3 
points, respectively. McIntosh’s 
6.6 assists per game are second 
best in the conference.

“They really are executing 

well,” Beilein said. “I mean, you 
look at all their games, they’ve 
been out of only a couple games. 
… They’re a good basketball team, 
and I wouldn’t doubt if they’re 
right in the middle of the Big Ten 
based on looking at their schedule 
going forward.

LeVert still out: Beilein said 

that he does not plan on LeVert 
playing on Wednesday.

“Do not expect Caris to be able 

to play,” Beilein said. “I just talked 
with him, and he’s not going to be 

able to practice today, he still has 
some discomfort. Going forward, 
just plan on that he’s not going to 
be playing until he’s ready to play 
again.”

The coach said that he will not 

shut down LeVert permanently 
because the senior guard still 
wants to play. Beilein wants 
to give him the opportunity to 
do so in his final season if he’s 
healthy.

Donnal’s future on hold: 

Before the season started, Beilein 
reclassified forward Mark Donnal 
from a redshirt sophomore to 
a true junior. Donnal has been 
Michigan’s best big man this 
year and is coming off a 25-point 
performance at Maryland. Despite 
his stellar play of late, Beilein 
said that any conversation of 
reclassifying him again in order 
to get four years of play out of 
him would not be an immediate 
decision.

“We probably will have that 

(conversation) ongoing,” Beilein 
said. “He’s really doing a great 
job of earning his scholarship 
this year. He’s doing a wonderful 
job of working hard and doing 
everything. But we’ll meet at 
another time because it obviously 
affects our scholarship situation 
in 2017.”

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Junior guard Derrick Walton Jr. emphasized the need for stronger team defense as the season winds to a close.

Demps remembers 
double-OT thriller

By JACOB GASE 

Daily Sports Editor

If there’s one easy prediction to 

be made about the Michigan men’s 
basketball team’s matchup with 
Northwestern on Wednesday, it’s 
that there’s no way it can top what 
happened in the two teams’ last 
meeting.

When the Wolverines traveled 

to Evanston on March 3, 2015, 
their season was essentially lost. 
Their two best players, then-junior 
guard Caris LeVert and then-
sophomore guard Derrick Walton 
Jr., were done for the year with 
injuries, and Michigan had just 
come off a brutal 1-6 record in the 
month of February.

Facing the Wildcats — who 

were then 5-11 in the Big Ten and 
had already lost to the Wolverines 
earlier in the season — seemed like 
a chance for Michigan to snap out 
of its funk and start a late-season 
push for the National Invitation 
Tournament. But what happened 
instead was a double-overtime 
thriller from which Northwestern 
escaped with an 82-78 victory, 
and the Wolverines missed out on 
postseason play all together.

As Michigan slides closer 

to 
the 
NCAA 
Tournament 

bubble, it faces another must-
win scenario this season when it 
hosts the struggling Wildcats on 
Wednesday.

To secure a win, Michigan 

will have to hold in check the 
hero of last year’s game: senior 
guard Tre Demps, who pulled 
off one of the most improbable 
feats in recent Big Ten memory: 
sinking not one, not two, but 
three late clutch 3-pointers. The 
first came with four seconds left 
in regulation to send the game to 
overtime, and then Demps struck 
twice in the last 10 seconds of the 
first overtime to erase a six-point 
Michigan lead and force double 
overtime.

The Daily caught up with 

Demps at Big Ten Media Day in 
October to discuss that wild game, 
one of the biggest performances of 
his career to date.

The Michigan Daily: Where 

did that game against Michigan 
last year rank as far as the craziest 
games you’ve been a part of?

Tre Demps: It definitely was 

the craziest. I think what a lot of 
people don’t realize is I was really 
struggling in that game prior to 
what happened at the end, and 
(senior center) Alex Olah was 
carrying us throughout the game. 
I just have to give all the credit to 
my teammates and the coaches, 
who trusted me at the end of the 
game to take those shots.

TMD: After a game like 

that, do you start to feel more 
comfortable with the ball in your 
hands in late-game situations?

TD: Yeah, you know, it’s 

actually something I used to 
practice with my dad all the time, 
taking that big shot. We’d play 
1-on-1 and pretend there was a 
certain amount of time on the 
clock. We practiced that from the 
time I was in elementary school. I 
think it gave me the confidence to 
do it at this stage.

TMD: I heard you talking 

earlier about how your team puts a 
lot of emphasis on practicing late-
game situations. With so many 
close Big Ten games last year and 
probably coming up this year, do 
you think that Michigan game is 
a good indicator of how well your 
team can perform in those?

TD: Absolutely. A lot of credit 

goes to one of our assistants, 
Coach (Brian) James, because 
he draws up all our late-game 
plays. He has all the specials, he 
has a lot of plays you didn’t even 
know even existed, to get you 
open opportunities. It’s fun to run 
those in practice, and hopefully 
we’ll get to use them a lot during 
the season.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Wolverines top Wildcats

By LELAND MITCHINSON

Daily Sports Writer

Going 
into 
the 
Michigan 

women’s 
basketball 
game 
at 

Northwestern 
on 
Tuesday, 

freshman 
center 
Hallie 
Thome was 
ranked second nationally in field 
goal percentage. And her offensive 
efficiency was on display once 
again against the Wildcats, as 
the Wolverines raced to a 70-65 
victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

For the second game in a row, 

Thome registered 20 or more 
points. Her 22 points on the night 
led the Wolverines (9-8 Big Ten, 
17-11 overall), and she was joined in 
double-digit scoring by sophomore 
guard Kateylnn Flaherty and 
junior guard Siera Thompson, 
who scored 17 and 13 points, 
respectively.

The Wolverines were slow to 

get going in the first half, scoring 
just 13 points in the first quarter, 
but they went into halftime with 
a five-point lead and never looked 
back.

“We’re a high-scoring team, 

and tonight we couldn’t really get 
the ball to fall in the basket,” said 

Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico 
in a postgame interview with Big 
Ten Network. “We had to grind it 
out on the defensive end and we 
found a way to do that.”

Thome came out of the locker 

room on fire, scoring six points in 
the first 4:28 of the second half, 
and the Wolverines extended their 
lead to 50-39 by the time the third 
quarter came to a close.

Though Michigan has had 

a potent offense all season, the 
Wolverines have struggled on the 
glass. But Michigan didn’t have 
any difficulty grabbing boards 
against Northwestern (4-13, 15-14) 
and, surprisingly, the Wolverine 
guards led the way in that 
category. Freshman guard Boogie 
Brozoski paced the team with 
seven rebounds and Thompson 
added another five to the total.

With just over two minutes left 

in the game, Brozoski drove the 
lane, drawing the Northwestern 
defenders and dishing it to Thome 
for an easy layup. That assist was 
one of Brozoski’s seven on the 
night and slowed the momentum 
the Wildcats had been building.

Northwestern was able to 

come within four points with 39 
seconds remaining and caused 
further concern when it pressed 

the Wolverines and stole the ball 
back. But the Wildcats rushed 
the shot and were forced to foul 
when Michigan collected the 
rebound.

With just 17 seconds remaining, 

Thome picked up her fifth foul and 
the Wildcats were able to cut the 
lead to four once more. However, 
the Wolverines stayed in control 
and made the free throws they 
needed in order to close out the 
game.

“I think we’ve really improved 

(our free throws),” Barnes Arico 
said to MGoBlue.com after the 
game. “The team as a whole, but 
also getting the right people the 
ball at the end of the basketball 
game to be fouled.”

The 
Wildcats 
were 
led 

offensively 
by 
forward 
Nia 

Coffey, who had 22 points while 
also creating problems for the 
Wolverines in the paint, as she 
compiled a career-high six blocks 
on the night. Northwestern also 
benefitted from 14 points from 
forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah 
and 11 assists from guard Ashley 
Deary.

Tuesday’s win puts Michigan 

above .500 in conference play for 
the first time this season, as they 
improved to 9-8.

DAVID SONG/Daily

Freshman forward Hallie Thome scored 22 points in the Wolverines’ 70-65 win over Northwestern on Tuesday.

MICHIGAN 

NORTHWESTERN

70
65

CSG write-in votes could 
elect Jim Harbaugh’s son 

By MAX BULTMAN 

Managing Sports Editor

If 
Jim 
Harbaugh’s 
2016 

Central Student Government 
presidential campaign really 
is conducted with enthusiasm 
unknown to mankind, voters 
may be in for a surprise on 
election day.

Last 
year, 
the 
Michigan 

football 
coach 
made 
waves 

when he placed fourth in the 
CSG presidential election as 
a write-in candidate, with 115 
votes.

At 
the 
time, 
Harbaugh 

tweeted jokingly: “Disappointed 
w/4th place finish 4 @umich 
student body Pres. Competitive 
juices flowing! Hat in the ring 
for 2016 & will campaign w/ 
#EUTM”

Harbaugh’s 
2015 
votes 

ultimately didn’t amount to 
anything, but only because he 
was not enrolled as a student. 
This year could yield different 
results, 
though. 
While 
Jim 

Harbaugh the football coach is 
still not enrolled as a student, 
his son, James Harbaugh, is 
a freshman in LSA. Though 
James Harbaugh is not officially 
running for a CSG position, 
as a student he is eligible to 
be 
elected 
president, 
vice 

president or LSA representative 
as a write-in.

In other words, if students 

write in “Jim Harbaugh” on 
their ballots, Harbaugh’s son of 
the same name could be elected.

According to the election 

results 
available 
on 
the 

CSG 
website, 
45 
votes 

for 
Jim 
Harbaugh 
were 

officially counted in the LSA 
representative 
race 
in 
Fall 

2015, the younger Harbaugh’s 
first semester at Michigan. The 
lowest winning vote total for an 
LSA representative in the Fall 
2015 election was 535 votes.

These figures are from a 

“weighted” 
system, 
which 

awards a certain number of 

votes to candidates based on 
how high they are on the voter’s 
list of preferred candidates. In 
Fall 2015, Harbaugh appeared 
on 24 ballots — 21 as a first 
choice and three as a second 
choice for a final tally of 45 
votes.

There was also a single ballot 

cast for “Jimmy Harbaugh,” 
as well as another stray “Jim 
Harbaugh” ballot, but those 
votes were not counted. CSG 
Elections Director Ben Reese 
told The Michigan Daily this 
week that those votes could, 
and perhaps should, have been 
consolidated with the other 45, 
but since there were two clear 
winners, it would not have made 
a 
difference 

to the election 
results.

“People 

write in Jim 
Harbaugh 
in 
every 

election,” 
Reese 
said. 

“The 
write-

in is going to 
be a write-in. 
There’s 
no 

way I can control what people 
write in there. If it’s clear 
they’re voting the coach, like if 
people write, ‘Coach Harbaugh,’ 
those aren’t going to be counted 
toward (James).

“But if everybody is voting 

for James or Jimmy, I don’t 
know if I’ll combine ‘James’ and 
‘Jimmy.’ It just depends what 
the write-in ballots look like.”

Of course, Harbaugh’s son 

is not required to accept the 
position, even if he is elected. 
In the case he were elected 
as 
an 
LSA 
representative, 

and 
he 
declined, 
the 
LSA 

Student 
Government 
would 

simply 
appoint 
an 
interim 

representative 
to 
fill 
his 

vacancy until the next election.

Reese told the Daily last 

week that James Harbaugh 
would be eligible for election to 

any position in the LSA Student 
Government, as well as for 
president or vice president of 
the CSG Executive Committee. 
He would not, however, be 
eligible as a write-in candidate 
for any position in schools he 
is not enrolled in, such as the 
College of Engineering or Law 
School.

The CSG Election Code calls 

for the dismissal of ballots 
that are inappropriate. But the 
precedent set in Fall 2015, in 
which ballots with Harbaugh 
were counted, suggests votes 
for “Jim Harbaugh” could be 
counted as legitimate votes for 
Harbaugh the undergraduate.

“Given the choice between 

invalidating 
the ballot or 
counting 
the 

ballot toward 
someone who 
can 
actually 

be 
elected, 

I 
would 
be 

inclined 
to 

count 
it 
as 

a 
vote 
for 

someone who 
can actually be 

elected,” Reese said. “I would 
prefer to count more ballots as 
valid ballots than to assume 
that every vote for Jim is a 
vote for the coach. But they’re 
welcome to challenge that in 
(Central Student Judiciary) if 
they disagree with me.”

CSJ hears any cases on 

eligibility, election infractions 
or 
other 
contested 
issues 

surrounding the election.

This year’s CSG elections are 

slated to take place March 23 and 
24. Given past results, it does not 
seem likely that Harbaugh would 
accumulate 
enough 
write-in 

votes to make a serious threat at 
winning a representative seat, let 
alone the presidency. But given 
the coach’s popularity, it’s not 
impossible that, come March 25, 
there could be a Harbaugh ready 
to take office.

“People write in 
Jim Harbaugh 

in every 
election.”

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Northwestern 
at Michigan

Matchup: 
Northwestern 
17-10; 
Michigan 19-9

When: 
Wednesday 
7 P.M.

Where: Crisler 
Center

TV/Radio: 
BTN

