Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, December 2, 2016 — 7

What to watch this weekend

When 
the 
then-No. 
3 

Michigan football team lost to 
No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday 
in double overtime, its chances 
of making it to the College 
Football Playoff plummeted, 
but they weren’t completely put 
to rest.

The Wolverines no longer 

control their own destiny, but 
given that the CFP committee 
placed Michigan at No. 5 on 
Tuesday night, there’s still a 
chance the Wolverines will 
crawl into the top four after this 
weekend’s conference games.

With victories over No. 6 

Wisconsin, No. 7 Penn State and 
No. 8 Colorado, Michigan has 
a rooting interest in multiple 
games this weekend. Don’t be 
surprised when players and fans 
cheer extra hard for Colorado 
and Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Assuming the winner of the 

Big 12 Championship won’t 
affect the CFP committee’s 
top four (No. 9 Oklahoma 
and No. 10 Oklahoma State 
look to be just out of reach), 
here’s a breakdown of how 
the conference championship 
games 
could 
affect 
the 

Wolverines’ ranking.

Big Ten Championship: No. 

6 Wisconsin (7-2 Big Ten, 10-2 
overall) vs. No. 7 Penn State 
(7-2, 10-2), 8 p.m. Saturday

This game is less clear-cut 

for Michigan fans. Because the 
Wolverines walloped Penn State 
49-10 back in September and 
cut it close against Wisconsin 
the next week, winning 14-7, 
common intuition would lead 
Michigan fans to believe that a 
Nittany Lions win would hold 
both the Badgers and Penn 
State out of the CFP.

If you take a closer look at 

their records, though, it’s not 
too hard to make the case that 

the Nittany Lions have a better 
resume. They toppled Ohio 
State in overtime, 24-21, giving 
the Buckeyes their only loss of 
the season.

Wisconsin did lose to both 

Michigan and Ohio State, but 
held it close in both games and 
took the Buckeyes to overtime 
as well. Given the Badgers’ 
impressive schedule and tight 
losses, it seems that they’re 
more likely to make it to the 
CFP with a victory. If that’s the 
case, then a Penn State victory 
might give the Wolverines the 
push they need for a playoff 
berth if Washington or Clemson 
loses control.

ACC 
Championship: 
No. 

3 Clemson (11-1) vs. No. 23 
Virginia Tech (9-3), 8 p.m. 
Saturday

The 
Tigers 
have 
looked 

convincing all season, but their 
strength of schedule has also 
been called into question. They 
have wins over No. 12 Florida 
State and No. 13 Louisville 
— which lost last week to 
unranked Kentucky — but also 
had questionable performances 
in some of their victories. N.C. 
State (6-6) battled Clemson in 
overtime, only to fall short, 24-17.

Clemson’s only loss was on 

Nov. 12 after Pittsburgh scored 
nine unanswered points in the 
fourth quarter to win, 43-42.

Despite the worries about 

the Tigers, they still finished 
the regular season 11-1. Virginia 
Tech will have to play its best 
game of the year if it wants to 
beat Clemson, and with losses 
to Tennessee, Syracuse and 
Georgia Tech, it seems unlikely 
that the Hokies will upset the 
Tigers.

If 
Clemson 
fell, 
then 

Michigan would most likely 
compete for its spot with the 
Big Ten Champion.

Pac-12 Championship: No. 

4 Washington (11-1) vs. No. 8 

Colorado (10-2), 9 p.m. Friday

The Wolverines are quite 

familiar with Colorado. The 
Buffaloes 
startled 
Michigan 

in September when they came 
out firing on all cylinders. 
After the first 15 minutes of 
play, Colorado was up, 21-7. The 
Wolverines calmed down and 
gained control in the second 
quarter to go into halftime with 
a 24-21 lead.

Michigan found its groove 

moving 
forward 
and 
won 

convincingly by 17 points, but 
for a few minutes, the Wolverine 
faithful were shaking in their 
boots. Colorado quarterback 
Sefo Liufau was impressive, 
throwing 16-for-25 for 246 
yards and three touchdowns 
before leaving the game in the 

third quarter due to injury.

The Buffaloes suffered their 

only other loss on the road at 
Southern 
California, 
where 

they fell, 21-17.

Washington 
will 
be 

challenged more by Colorado 
than it has been in a while. The 
Huskies also fell to USC, losing 
26-13 after going scoreless in 
the fourth quarter.

The 
Trojans 
were 
the 

strongest 
team 
Washington 

faced this season. Utah (8-4) 
was arguably second-best, and 
the Huskies won, 31-24.

It’s hard to predict what 

will happen in this game, but if 
Colorado wins, it will probably 
knock Washington out of the 
playoffs and give Michigan an 
added boost.

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Jim Harbaugh’s team will be hoping for upsets in the games this weekend.

KELLY HALL

Daily Sports Editor

ICE HOCKEY
Michigan falls to Penn 
State in Big Ten opener

STATE COLLEGE — Last 

season, the Michigan hockey 
team accrued a 5-0 record 
against 
Penn 
State, 
outscoring 
the Nittany Lions by 26 goals. 
In the first meeting between 
the teams this season, that was 
not the case.

After allowing one goal in 

the first period off a scramble in 
front of the net, the Wolverines 
(0-1-0 Big Ten, 6-6-1 overall) 
entered 
the 
second 
period 

trailing. 
And 
with 
15:18 

remaining in the second half, 
the Michigan defense showed 
another sign of weakness.

Sophomore 
defenseman 

Nicholas Boka chased down 
a puck in the defensive zone 
and tried to send a no-look 
pass to a teammate, but was 
intercepted 
by 
Penn 
State 

forward Liam Folkes. Folkes 
then took the puck across the 
crease unimpeded and fired a 
backhanded goal past senior 
goaltender Zach Nagelvoort.

From there, the Nittany Lions 

(1-0-0, 12-1-1) and their nation-
leading offense took over. Penn 
State outshot Michigan, 48-29, 
en route to a 6-1 victory.

“It starts in the offensive zone,” 

said senior defenseman Nolan De 
Jong. “We can’t let them build 
off that speed. We know they’re 
going to be a fast, hard team, so 
we’ve got to be able to forecheck, 
be able to pinch down and kind of 
slow those guys up. That starts 
with fore and backchecking, 
it starts with (defense) having 
better gaps.”

Though Nagelvoort did give 

up four goals before being 
replaced in net by freshman 

Jack LaFontaine, the senior 
was put in tough positions 
throughout the game.

With 1:38 remaining in the 

second period, the Nittany 
Lions cleared a puck all the 
way down the ice for what was 
almost an icing penalty. But 
junior defenseman Sam Piazza 
was unable to get to the puck 
first, as Penn State forward 
Zach Saar maneuvered around 
the Wolverine blueliner and 
fired a pass to forward Ricky 
DeRosa, who buried a one-
timer past Nagelvoort.

“I didn’t think our team had 

a good game in front of our 
goalie,” said Michigan coach 
Red 
Berenson. 
“I 
thought 

Zach Nagelvoort kept us in 
the game. But they got behind 
us, they got through us, our 
forwards weren’t picking up 
men. I mean, give Penn State 
credit. They won all the races, 
and they won all the battles and 
they got all the goals.”

The 
lone 
Michigan 
goal 

came 
from 
junior 
forward 

Tony 
Calderone, 
who 
has 

scored three goals in the last 
three games. But by the time 
that tally came, the game was 
already out of reach, with the 
score 5-1.

Beyond that, the Wolverines 

found it hard to get many good 
chances against Penn State 
goaltender Peyton Jones.

They will take on the Nittany 

Lions again Friday night, looking 
for the answer to Penn State’s 
speed and physicality that they 
couldn’t find on Thursday.

“We have to be a better team 

tomorrow 
night,” 
Berenson 

said. “Now they’re a good 
team — they’re one of the best 
teams in the country right now 
— and we didn’t measure up 
tonight. We’ve got to be better 
tomorrow. Simple as that.”

MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Writer

MICHIGAN
PENN STATE 

1
6

Wolverines blow out 
Georgia Tech on road

Entering Thursday night, the 

Michigan women’s basketball 
team was ranked 27th in the 
coaches’ 
poll 
and 

33rd in the 
Associated 
Press 
poll. 
Georgia 
Tech’s 

respective rankings were 29th 
and 31st.

While those placements would 

suggest a close contest between 
the two teams in Atlanta on 
Thursday night, the Wolverines 
had 
very 
different 
plans. 

Michigan (7-1) rode multiple 
double-digit scoring runs en 
route to a 92-52 victory against 
the Yellow Jackets (6-1). Junior 
guard Katelynn Flaherty led the 
Wolverines with 25 points while 
junior forward Jillian Dunston 
nabbed a double-double with 10 
points and 12 rebounds,

“Definitely didn’t expect it,” 

said Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico regarding the blowout. “We 
came out of the gate and jumped 
on them right away. We never 
really looked back. We kicked 
their butt and I didn’t think we 
were going to do that coming into 
someone’s home court, especially 
a team that was 6-0 and had some 
real quality wins.”

Michigan dominated from 

the start, scoring the first nine 
points. Sophomore center Hallie 
Thome accounted for four of the 
Wolverines’ early points with 
her two layups, while senior 
guard 
Siera 
Thompson 
and 

Flaherty accounted for three 
and two, respectively.

“I thought Hallie was great,” 

Barnes Arico said. “She made 
their defense really difficult 
because she ran so well. When 
our guards are shooting that 
well, they were trying to pick, 
‘Ok, who am I going to match up 
with?’ and Hallie was able to get 
some easy buckets.”

Georgia Tech showed much 

more fight in the remainder of the 
quarter, scoring five consecutive 

points at the end of the period to 
trim its deficit to 23-16. It seemed 
like 
the 
expected 
dogfight 

between the Wolverines and the 
Yellow Jackets was on.

But Michigan quickly put any 

illusions of a close game to rest in 
the second quarter.

Nursing a 27-20 lead with 

7:25 left until halftime, the 
Wolverines put together a 12-0 
run, during which freshman 
guard Kysre Gonderezick put 
up seven points. Gonderezick 
finished the game with 15 points, 
and Michigan took a 45-28 
advantage into the intermission.

The gap between the two teams 

only grew in the second half.

Already holding a 47-31 lead 

with 7:54 remaining in the 
third quarter, the Wolverines 
went on a scorching 19-0 run to 
put the contest far out of reach 
for 
Georgia 
Tech. 
Flaherty 

accounted for nine of Michigan’s 
19 points in that stretch.

“Just getting to the rim was 

important,” Flaherty said. “My 
outside shot wasn’t really falling 
tonight. But I hit all of my foul 
shots, which was big. That was 
a big confidence booster for me.”

With Thursday night’s win, 

the Wolverines now have two 
victories over opponents who 
have received votes in the 
coaches’ poll — they defeated 
then-No. 25 Gonzaga, 78-66, on 
Nov. 24. These victories might be 
enough to propel Michigan into 
the top 25 on Monday.

But the Wolverines will have 

to not let potential rankings go 
to their heads, especially with 
three more road games before 
their next matchup at Crisler 
Center. They were in a similar 
position last year, but a 74-57 loss 
at Princeton on Dec. 6 prevented 
them from cracking the top 25.

“I think we can play with any 

team,” Flaherty said. “Tonight, 
coming in and beating a 6-0 
team what has some pretty good 
wins by 40 points should make a 
statement. But we need to keep 
a level head, stay humble and 
continue to work hard.”

NATHANIEL CLARK

Daily Sports Writer

MICHIGAN
GA. TECH

92
52

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Michigan looks to bounce back again

Over the course of a college 

basketball season, the schedule 
typically doesn’t let up between 
games 
for 

teams 
to 

recover from a 
poor outing or 
a disappointing 
finish.

But 
after 

a 
dismal 

performance 
last Wednesday 
night at South 
Carolina 
resulted in its 
first loss of the 
season, 
the 

Michigan men’s 
basketball team 
had two days 
off before returning to action at 
Crisler Center against Mount St. 
Mary’s. While the Gamecocks 
were a relatively even match 
for the Wolverines — both had 
4-0 records at the time — the 
Mountaineers had won only once 
in six tries and looked likely to be 
no match for Michigan.

And that proved to be the case, 

as the Wolverines bounced back 
from a humiliating 15-point loss 
behind an offensive resurgence 
that saw them shoot 43.6 percent 
from the floor and 11-for-27 from 
beyond the arc to earn a 17-point 
win.

The stage has been set for 

a parallel situation to occur 
Saturday when Michigan (5-2) 
takes on Kennesaw State (3-5).

Wednesday 
night, 
the 

Wolverines suffered a stunning 
73-70 defeat at the hands of 
Virginia Tech in the ACC/Big 
Ten Challenge. Though they 
spent much of the game in cruise 
control, leading for all but 2:18 of 
regulation, the Hokies gradually 
inched 
their 
way 
back 
as 

Michigan’s shooters went cold. 

The Wolverines had their 

largest lead of the contest — a 
15-point 
margin 
— 
halfway 

through 
the 
first 
half, 
but 

Virginia Tech whittled it down 

to nine at the break. Within the 
first five minutes of the second 
half, the Hokies had tightened 
it all the way to one. But after 
Michigan pushed it back out to 10 
with seven minutes left to play, 
Virginia Tech went on a 16-5 
run in the next five minutes to 
take a one-point lead it wouldn’t 
relinquish.

With 
5-1 

records, 
the 

Wolverines 
and 
Hokies 

were also fairly 
even 
in 
their 

matchup, 
but 

after two days 
off again, that 
won’t be the case 
when Michigan 
faces the Owls. 
Kennesaw State will travel to 
Ann Arbor coming off a road 
trip in Florida, where it secured 
a two-point victory over Florida 
A&M for its first road win of 
the season after falling on the 
wrong end of another two-point 
encounter against South Florida.

The Owls may be riding 

some momentum, but it likely 
won’t be enough for them to 
overtake the Wolverines. That 
is, if Michigan can repeat the 
type of performance it put on to 
right the ship against an inferior 
opponent in Mount St. Mary’s 
last Saturday.

On the offensive side of 

the 
ball, 
the 

Wolverines 
are 

in good shape to 
replicate 
their 

dominance. They 
posted 70 points 
on 
Virginia 

Tech, 
a 
major 

improvement 
from 
their 

46-point output 
against 
South 

Carolina. 
But 

after giving up a season-high 
73 points, the defense is in a 
different state of affairs. 

“The biggest thing to take 

away from this is we gotta be able 
to finish on the defensive end, 
not really on offense,” said senior 
forward Zak Irvin after the loss 
to the Hokies. “Defense wins 

games, and we didn’t do that and 
we lost.”

Against a Kennesaw State 

team that is averaging 75.8 
points per game on 45.7 percent 
shooting from the floor and 37 
percent from beyond the arc, 
the defense will now need to be 
the unit that steps up to help the 
Wolverines bounce back from 
another tough loss.

Michigan 
closed 
out 
the 

victory over Mount St. Mary’s on 
an 11-2 run, while the opposite 
occurred in the loss to Virginia 
Tech. 

“Most importantly, we gotta 

be able to finish. We didn’t finish 
tonight,” Irvin said. “This one’s 
gonna haunt us. Obviously, we 
gotta learn from it tomorrow, 
we gotta put it in the back of our 
head, but this is definitely one 
that’s gonna take a little bit to 
sink in.”

The Wolverines have been 

fortunate to be able to rebound 
against easier opposition after 
their two losses this season, but 
when Big Ten play rolls around, 
they won’t be so lucky.

Wolverines coming off tough loss to Virginia Tech heading into Saturday’s game

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Michigan coach John Beilein’s team will look to recover from a loss Wednesday in which it gave up a 15-point lead.

BETELHEM ASHAME

Daily Sports Editor

Kennesaw 
State at 
Michigan

Matchup: 
Kennesaw 
State 3-5; 
Michigan 5-2

When: 
Saturday 
1 P.M.

Where: Crisler 
Center

TV/Radio: 
BTN Plus

“Defense wins 
games, and we 
didn’t do that 
and we lost.”

