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The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | January 17, 2017

Michigan 91, Nebraska 85

A chance wasted

The Michigan hockey 

team had an opportunity 
to reignite its season this 

weekend in Minneapolis, but 
fell short against Minnesota. 

» Page 3B

Short on time

The Michigan men’s 
basketball team needs to 
find its identity before 
beginning a difficult month. 
» SportsTuesday Column, 

Page 2B

Before 
tip-off 
Saturday 

afternoon, before senior guard 
Derrick Walton Jr. carried his 
team down the stretch and 
before Michigan earned the 
win it so desperately needed, 
the Wolverines had a team 
meeting in Walton’s hotel room.

No 
coaches 
were 
there. 

Michigan coach John Beilein 
only knew about it because he 
tried to call a meeting himself 
after Friday’s practice, sensing 
that the Wolverines didn’t have 
the necessary “bounce” they 
would need against Nebraska.

Walton, in his own right, 

wanted his team to know 
that the time to play up to 

their maximum potential was 
running out.

“There’s only so many games 

left,” 
Walton 
said. 
“We’re 

hitting the (middle) stretch, and 
the back stretch is coming soon. 
It’s time to make some noise.”

Behind Walton’s efforts on 

the court, the Wolverines may 
have taken the first step toward 
doing so, as they defeated 
the Cornhuskers in a 91-85 
barnburner.

Walton started the game 

quietly, playing just 10 minutes 
of the first half due to foul 
trouble. But when Michigan 
(2-3 Big Ten, 12-6 overall) 
needed its captain most, Walton 
obliged.

With just over five minutes 

remaining 
in 
the 
game, 

Nebraska was threatening. The 

Cornhuskers (3-2, 9-8) were 
getting anything they wanted 
on the offensive end, and it was 
starting to look more and more 
like déjà vu.

But with the Wolverines’ lead 

down to one, Walton received 
an outlet pass from Wagner and 
pushed it down the floor before 
nailing a transition 3-pointer. 
Two possessions later, with the 
lead down to one once more, he 
did it again.

Then Walton turned around 

on the defensive end, picked 
Glynn Watson Jr.’s pocket, and 
took it to the basket before 
drawing a foul and knocking 
down two free throws to give 
Michigan a seven-point lead 
that it wouldn’t relinquish in 
the final 4:05. He finished with 
20 points — 16 of which came 

in the second half — while 

shooting 
a 
perfect 

3-for-3 
from 

behind the 

arc 

and an impressive 5-for-6 from 
the floor.

The Wolverines had some 

help before the game even 
started. 
On 
Wednesday, 
it 

was announced that Nebraska 
forward Ed Morrow suffered a 
right foot injury and would be 
ruled out indefinitely.

Morrow’s 
absence 
meant 

that 
Nebraska 
would 
be 

without its leading rebounder 
and third-leading scorer. And 
with forward Isaiah Roby in 
his place, the Wolverines were 
clearly looking to attack the 
basket — giving the ball to 
Moritz Wagner early and often.

The 
sophomore 
forward 

scored from everywhere on the 
floor, shooting 2-for-4 from 
deep and going a perfect 7-for-
7 from the charity stripe to end 
the half with a team-high 14 
points.

Michigan’s offense as a whole 

thrived as usual for the majority 
of the half. The Wolverines shot 
50 percent from the floor and 
their willingness to look down 

low seemed to be the 

perfect recipe for 

success.

But 

with 6:36 remaining in the half, 
the Cornhuskers switched to 
a 1-3-1 zone. Michigan scored 
on six straight possessions, 
but the new defensive scheme 
cooled the Wolverines down. 
After Nebraska implemented 
the zone, Michigan missed 
three 3-pointers and redshirt 
junior 
forward 
Duncan 

Robinson turned the ball over. 
Its struggles on the offensive 
end allowed the Cornhuskers 
to trim their deficit to as little 
as one.

The Wolverines’ defensive 

effort didn’t help them either. 
Though their 16 points off eight 
turnovers were an encouraging 
sign, 
they 
still 
allowed 

Nebraska to shoot 61.5 percent 
from the floor and get to the 
rim with ease. By the end of the 
contest, they had still allowed 
the Cornhuskers to shoot 56.2 
percent overall.

And while Michigan had 

contained senior guard Tai 
Webster to begin the frame, he 
eventually showcased why he is 
fourth in the Big Ten in scoring. 
Webster finished the first half 
with a game-high 17 points 
— just 0.7 shy of his season 
average — on 7-for-8 shooting. 
As it turned out, Webster was 

just getting started, as he 

ended up with a game-

high 28 points.

“You can 

see 

what 
development 
does,” 

Beilein 
said. 
“Webster, 
his 

freshman 
and 
sophomore 

years, he was not a factor on 
that team. A little bit more of a 
factor last year. But now, all of a 
sudden he’s going to get buckets 
on anybody.”

Despite 
Webster’s 
first-

half dominance, though, the 
Wolverines managed to enter 
halftime leading, 40-36.

Michigan 
would 
never 

relinquish that lead.

The Wolverines rode their 

trio of Wagner, Walton and 
senior 
wing 
Zak 
Irvin 
to 

overcome 
their 
defensive 

struggles and poor rebounding 
effort. Wagner scored nine 
second-half points to finish 
with a team-high 23, while 
Irvin complimented his game 
perfectly, scoring 18 points.

“Here at Michigan, man, if 

we have to beat someone 99-98, 
we cool with it,” Walton said. 
“It’s all about winning. We’ll 
make the adjustments when 
we need to and go back to 
the drawing board and make 
adjustments, but when we come 
out of a game with a win, why 
be so critical?”

Following Walton’s scoring 

outburst, Michigan managed 
to keep the Cornhuskers at bay 
— making six stops in the final 
three minutes to hold on for the 
victory.

But before the Wolverines 

did any of that, they simply met 
in a hotel room.

KEVIN SANTO

Managing Sports Editor
Rebound

