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.”