8A — Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Defense stands tall late against Longhorns
When Texas’ Tevin Mack
strutted into the locker room
after hitting a buzzer-beating
3-pointer, it looked like it was
happening again.
The Longhorn guard went on
a 6-0 individual run in the final
minute of the first half, reducing
Michigan’s lead to three. Mack
himself turned what looked
like a comfortable halftime
margin for the Wolverines into
a
nightmarish
flashback
to
Michigan’s collapse last week
against Virginia Tech.
“Again, it was the exact same
type of action that Virginia Tech
ran against us,” said Michigan
coach John Beilein. “It’s a
dribble-weave with a guy setting
a screen to get the guy open, and
we stopped on it again. It was
the exact same thing.”
Runs at the end of each half
against the Hokies ultimately
cost Michigan an important
home
non-conference
win.
Beilein even called the defense
the Wolverines played over
those two stretches “as bad of
defense we’re played here, ever.”
But,
unlike
last
week,
Michigan wasn’t relying on
its defense to stay out of a hole
against Texas — it had already
fallen into one, and it needed its
defense to get it out.
With four minutes remaining,
facing a three-point deficit and
an offense that struggled all
night to ignite, the Wolverines
needed stops on defense more
than ever.
And this time, they delivered.
Michigan held Texas to just
two points in the final four
minutes, forcing the Longhorns
to miss four of their final five
shots. The Wolverine defense
finally came through in crunch
time to give Michigan the 53-50
win.
“Our kids just sat down and
guarded,” Beilein said. “Nobody
could make a shot. It wasn’t a
pretty offensive game. But we
got it done when we had to get
it done.”
Leading Michigan’s defensive
effort were two players who
were
absent
in
the
final
stretch of the Wolverines’ flop
against Virginia Tech: redshirt
sophomore forward DJ Wilson
and
sophomore
forward Moritz
Wagner.
Wilson fouled
out with three
minutes
to
go
last Wednesday,
but his presence
on
the
court
this
time
may
have made the
difference.
He
was the one who
came up with the steal with
30 seconds left that set up the
possession in which Michigan
took its final lead. All night he
was menacing Texas’ forwards
on the boards while getting two
blocks as well.
But
Wilson’s
largest
contribution
in crunch time
may have come
much
earlier.
The forward was
matched up with
the
Longhorns’
highly
touted
forward Jarrett
Allen,
who
entered Tuesday
averaging 11 points and seven
rebounds per game.
Wilson proved to be a difficult
matchup for Allen much of
the game. Wilson used his
wingspan to get over the 6-foot-
11 forward and to force him
into uncomfortable positions
competing for rebounds that got
Allen in trouble.
Allen ultimately fouled out
with 55 seconds to go. The
impact of having Allen out
showed itself on the basket when
the Wolverines took the lead for
good, as Wagner grabbed an
offensive rebound and put away
the winning basket.
Wagner, too, was essential
in making big defensive plays
down the stretch.
The most important one came
in the final seconds, when the
forward got up and blocked
Texas forward Eric Davis Jr.’s
shot, sealing the victory.
“Moe’s block at the end
was big,” Beilein said. “Moe’s
blocking shots really for the
first time in his life … he’s
learning when he should leave
his feet, when he shouldn’t, and
be a bigger presence at the rim.”
Wagner’s
defensive
shortcomings
have
plagued
Michigan often in the past.
But in crunch time against the
Longhorns,
the
sophomore’s
improvements protecting the rim
may have saved the Wolverines
when they needed to hang onto a
lead for just a few more moments.
“I thought he’s making major
steps defensively right now,” said
Beilein. “I was shocked. When
I wanted to make a defensive
substitution at the end and put
Mark in for Moe, Billy said, ‘No,
Moe is really hedging the ball
screen well.’ So we stayed with
him down the stretch.”
Michigan’s complete second-
half defensive performance set
the tone for what transpired in
the final minutes.
The Wolverines played smart
defense, staying out of foul
trouble. That led to Michigan
having multiple fouls to give on
Texas’s final possession in case
it needed to use them.
The Longhorns were held
to just 35 percent shooting in
the final period and struggled
to find any sort of answer
offensively that could help them
come up with the scores they
needed.
In the end, it was Wilson
and
Wagner’s
resurgence
that earned Michigan a non-
conference win it had to have.
“You don’t see us win many
where
it’s
just
about
our
defense,” Beilein said. “It was
gritty, it was tough in the last
two
minutes.
Everything
it
wasn’t in Virginia Tech, the last
two or three minutes, it was
tonight.”
BRANDON CARNEY
Daily Sports Writer
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner made a crucial block down the stretch to help the Michigan men’s basketball team seal a 53-50 win over Texas on Tuesday.
“We got it
done when we
had to get it
done.”
Michigan tops Texas, 53-50, after scare
With just 14 seconds left in
its Tuesday night game against
Texas,
the
Michigan
men’s
basketball team was desperately
clinging to a one-point lead. The
Longhorns had the ball on their
baseline for a throw-in.
The
inbounds
pass
went
straight to Texas guard Eric
Davis Jr., who dribbled the
ball into the middle and went
up for what could have been
the game-winning shot. But
standing directly in his path
was sophomore forward Moritz
Wagner with an impressive
6-foot-11 frame. Wagner closed
in on Davis Jr. in a hurry and
promptly blocked the ball with
just three ticks left on the clock,
drawing a deafening roar from
the Crisler Center crowd as
Michigan held on for a 53-50
win.
“I knew that they were trying
to be aggressive, down one,
trying to draw a foul or at least
go to the rim,” Wagner said. “I
kind of expected that a little bit,
so I waited until he jumped. … I
was happy it turned out to be a
block.”
In the most critical moment of
the game, Wagner encapsulated
the defensive effort that the
Wolverines put forth throughout
the night in order to dictate the
run of play and eventually earn
the victory.
Against a Texas team known
for its up-tempo style of play on
both sides of the ball, Michigan
knew it would have its work
cut out for it to keep up with
the speed and athleticism of its
opponent.
To match the fast pace of
Texas, the Wolverines adopted
an attack-minded defense. They
went after the Longhorns from
the opening tip, swarming them
on every possession. Michigan
made it tough for them to create
space and run their offense
every time they touched the
ball.
Putting significant pressure
on them in every man-to-man
matchup, the Wolverines forced
10 turnovers in the first half
alone. Whenever
a body hit the
deck to snag a
bouncing
ball,
the jersey that
turned up with it
seemed to always
be maize.
Outhustling
Texas all over the
court, Michigan
opened
up
a
10-point
lead in the first half, but a
buzzer-beating 3-pointer from
Longhorn guard Tevin Mack
capped off a six-point run in
the final minute to reduce the
Wolverines’ lead to just three.
In the opening five minutes
of the second half, Texas turned
the tide on Michigan even
more. While the Wolverines
hit a drought, the Longhorns
made it rain. Scoring 12 points
to one Wolverine free throw,
Texas took its first lead of the
game and forced
Michigan to call
a timeout.
With
the
Longhorns
firmly
putting
themselves back
in
the
game,
the
Wolverines
picked
up
the
intensity
that
had
served
them well in the
game’s opening stanza. With
a stifling defense that kept it
neck-and-neck with Texas down
the stretch, Michigan gave itself
a chance to win a game in which
neither offense showed up in a
major way.
“You don’t see us win many
(games) where it’s just about
our defense,” said Michigan
coach John Beliein. “It was
gritty, it was tough in the last
two minutes. …Our kids just sat
down and guarded, and nobody
could make a shot. It was not a
pretty offensive game, but we
got done what we had to get
done.”
With Wagner — who finished
with 15 points, 5 rebounds,
and that all-important block
—
leading
the
charge,
the
Wolverines
did
what
they
needed to do in order to win.
“What he shows up as in the
box score is only a fraction of
really what he means to this
team,” said senior guard Duncan
Robinson.
“He said multiple times down
the stretch, just to me, ‘We’re
going to win this game.’ Having
that
reassurance,
especially
from a sophomore — he’s mature
beyond his years.”
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Senior wing Zak Irvin was one of many Wolverines struggling to score on Texas.
BETELHEM ASHAME
Daily Sports Editor
“It was gritty,
it was tough
in the last two
minutes.”