4B — January 17, 2017
SportsTuesday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan finds new physicality,
claims victory against Nebraska 

After an 85-69 blowout loss 

to Illinois, the Michigan men’s 
basketball team left Champaign 
battered, bruised and with what 
now appears to have been a wake-
up call. The Wolverines were 
bullied inside the paint by the 
Fighting Illini’s duo of forwards, 
Maverick Morgan and Kipper 
Nichols — who scored 16 and 13 
points, respectively.

Fueled by a dig from Morgan 

calling them a “white-collar team” 
and by a team meeting called by 
senior guard Derrick Walton Jr., 
the Wolverines (2-3 Big Ten, 12-6 
overall) responded emphatically 
in their next game 
against Nebraska 
(3-2, 
9-8) 
on 

Saturday.

Led by its own 

duo in sophomore 
Moritz 
Wagner 

and senior Zak 
Irvin 
— 
who 

scored 
23 
and 

21 
points 
and 

notched six and 
five 
rebounds, 

respectively — Michigan took 
its physicality to a new level and 
pulled out a 91-85 victory over the 
Cornhuskers.

“We just weren’t happy with 

the way we were playing,” Irvin 
said. “... Just being able to hit the 
reset button. This game was the 
beginning of a new season, and 
that’s what we wanted to key on, 
and we were able to do that.”

Irvin set the tone for the 

afternoon on the Wolverines’ very 
first possession, bursting into the 
paint and laying it off the glass to 
open the scoring. He went back 
to the basket time and time again 
throughout the game, forcing his 
way into the middle and heading 
to the rim without hesitation.

His first 10 points came off 

layups, and his fearless attitude 
opened up space on the outside 
for the Wolverines to exploit. On 
Michigan’s second trip up the 
court, he put on the same move 
that earned him his opening 
layup. But with the defense in 
ready position, he swung the 
ball out to an open Wagner on 
the perimeter instead. Wagner 
gladly repaid him, nailing the 
straightaway 3-pointer.

All seven of Irvin’s assists 

on the day led to 3-pointers — a 
career-high four for Wagner, two 
for Walton and one for redshirt 
sophomore DJ Wilson.

“Just trying to be able to make 

plays for myself downhill or for 
others, and really just trying to get 

to the free-throw 
line as well,” Irvin 
said. “Get some 
easy points, get 
into a rhythm and 
then that can set 
up for an array of 
other things.”

Left 

completely 
unmarked 
later 

in the first half, 
Wagner 
didn’t 

settle for another 3-pointer. He 
drove to the hoop through an 
open lane and threw down a one-
handed slam with the full force of 
his 6-foot-11 frame.

Wagner cut straight to the rim 

again with a minute left in the 
stanza, but his defender knocked 
him to the ground to prevent 
another highlight slam. Instead, he 
went to the foul line and sunk both 
attempts. He had four made free 
throws in the frame and would 
add three more in the second, as 
nearly a third of his career-high 
point total came from the charity 
stripe.

“We have just emphasized, 

‘Get two feet in the paint,’ ” said 
Michigan coach John Beilein. “… 
We’re trying to get guys to drive 

through that first bump, and they 
did it better a couple times today.”

The Wolverines, as a whole, 

benefited considerably from their 
trips to the free-throw line. They 
finished the first half 7-for-7 and 
the second 19-for-23 — 10 of which 
came from Irvin and Walton down 
the stretch while the Cornhuskers 
desperately attempted to launch a 
comeback.

Leading up to those free throws 

that closed out the game, Irvin and 
Wagner teamed up one more time 
to put the nail in Nebraska’s coffin. 
The pair executed a pick-and-roll, 
and instead of feeding Wagner, 
Irvin kept the ball and finished it 
off himself, laying it up once more 

to give Michigan a six-point lead it 
wouldn’t give up.

“We gotta be able to fight 

through adversity,” Irvin said. 
“We’re in a tough stretch right 
now, starting off 1-3, but being able 
to get a win against Nebraska is a 
step in the right direction. … This 
is when we find out what teams 
are made of and what we’re made 
of, and for us to be able to bounce 
back like this is huge.”

With the way the first two 

weeks of their conference season 
had gone, Irvin and Wagner 
understood the stakes, and the 
Cornhuskers simply couldn’t stop 
them from exerting their will on 
the game.

EVAN AARON/Daily

Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner scored a career-high 23 points Saturday.

BETELHEM ASHAME

Managing Sports Editor

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Wolverines motivated
by “white-collar” dig

After Wednesday’s loss at 

Illinois, Fighting Illini center 
Maverick Morgan said something 
that ticked off the Michigan men’s 
basketball team.

“They’re more of a white-collar 

team, traditionally,” Morgan said. 
“At Illinois we’re about toughness 
and together, not that they’re not. 
But we kind of pride ourselves 
on defense, and that’s something 
we’ve worked hard on.”

The “white-collar” comment 

from Morgan didn’t sit well with 
any of the Wolverines, and they 
took it personally.

“The white-collar comment 

that was made, we didn’t take that 
lightly,” said senior guard Derrick 
Walton Jr. after Michigan’s win 
against Nebraska on Saturday. 
“So when we heard that, it was 
basically attacking us personally. 
The white-collar comment that 
was made by an Illinois player 
really ticked this team off.”

Added 
junior 
guard 

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman 
on Friday: “It doesn’t feel good. 
I’ve never seen myself as a white-
collar player or anything like that, 
so I especially don’t like that.”

After a lackluster performance 

against 
Illinois, 
in 
which 

Michigan’s 
defense 
allowed 

the Fighting Illini to shoot 64.2 
percent, the Wolverines needed 
to respond Saturday against the 
Cornhuskers.

In the “white-collar” comment 

from Morgan, they found their 
spark.

Back home at Crisler Center, 

Michigan 
was 
aggressive 

attacking the rim, which was 
evident in the second half, when 
they went into the bonus with 
over nine and a half minutes left to 
play as they beat the Cornhuskers, 
91-85.

“It’s motivation, certainly, for 

them,” said Michigan coach John 

Beilein after Saturday’s game. 
“I’ve talked about the edge. We do 
not have a bunch of white-collar 
kids. We have kids that are tough, 
hungry and trying to get better 
everyday.”

Sophomore forward Moritz 

Wagner gave the Wolverines a big 
size advantage inside, and they 
attacked the paint early. Wagner 
was able to exploit the size 
advantage, scoring a career-high 
23 points.

But by the end of the game, it 

was Walton and senior guard Zak 
Irvin who took over for Michigan. 
The duo attacked the basket, 
creating opportunities and open 
shots that allowed the Wolverines 
to stay ahead of Nebraska, despite 
the Cornhuskers shooting almost 
60 percent in the second half.

“Tonight, we wanted to be 

more aggressive going to the 
basket and showing that we’re a 
group out there,” Walton said.

Now at 2-3 in the Big Ten, 

Michigan finds itself at a pivotal 
point in its schedule. With road 
games at No. 18 Wisconsin and 
Michigan State and a home 
matchup against Indiana, the 
Wolverines are hitting a tough 
portion of their schedule.

The win over Nebraska on 

Saturday 
afternoon 
wasn’t 

perfect. The Wolverines’ defense 
still gave up 85 points and 1.232 
points per possession. But it was a 
win, and wherever Michigan can 
find motivation is good for a team 
that Beilein has said “an edge” 
doesn’t comes naturally to.

Come 
next 
Saturday, 
the 

Wolverines 
won’t 
have 
any 

problem finding something to get 
fired up about.

Michigan will take on Illinois 

once again in Ann Arbor, and 
there will be no shortage of 
motivation.

 “We’ll have our chance to play 

them again,” Abdur-Rakhman 
said. “I don’t think it will be the 
same.”

MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Editor

‘M’ downs Minnesota
with balanced offense

Since the start of Big Ten 

play, the Michigan women’s 
basketball 
team 
(4-1 
Big 

Ten, 15-4 overall) has begun 
to solidify its identity as a 
collection 
of 
highly-skilled 

scorers, and that has never been 
more obvious than during its 
84-69 win against Minnesota 
on Sunday.

While the Golden Gophers 

(1-4, 10-8) were led by guard 
Carlie Wagner, who tallied 38 
of their 69 points, it was hard 
to 
notice 
her 
performance 

at 
times. 
Four 
Wolverines 

— sophomore center Hallie 
Thome, junior guard Katelynn 
Flaherty, freshman guard Kysre 
Gondrezick and senior guard 
Siera Thompson — captured all 
the attention with double-digit 
performances of their own.

Just 14 seconds after tip-off, 

Thome started off the game 
with a layup, and she added six 
more points down low in the 
first quarter alone. Capitalizing 
on her size advantage in the 
paint, Thome set the tone for 
her eventual 20-point game.

Her 
interior 
dominance 

didn’t 
just 
help 
Michigan 

on offense, though. Thome 
notched 17 total rebounds to set 
a new career high, and earn her 
second straight double-double 
as well.

“She’s very much improved 

on her rebounding game, which 
I think helps us a lot,” Flaherty 
said. “Because it lets (the other 
team) not go and transition, 
and it gives us second chance 
opportunities. I’m very proud 
of her.”

Flaherty had an impressive 

showing as usual, knocking 
down four 3-pointers on seven 
attempts in the first half to 
widen the Wolverines’ lead to 
25 by halftime. Flaherty ended 
up leading the team in scoring 
— finishing with 22 points — 
after bypassing Thome’s tally 
with to back-to-back 3-pointers 
midway through the fourth 

quarter.

While 
Flaherty 
and 

Thome were trading baskets, 
Gondrezick was putting on a 
show herself. She racked up 
17 points, with three assists 
and three boards to boot. In 
the third quarter, especially, it 
looked as though Gondrezick 
might 
overtake 
her 
older 

teammates’ point totals, as she 
scored six points and showed no 
signs of slowing down.

“I think it’s just fun to have 

that many people that can 
score,” Flaherty said. “I think 
that’s really helped our team a 
lot. Kysre being added into the 
mix, someone who can score 
twenty points a game, that 
really relieves the pressure on 
us guards and Hallie as well.”

Not 
to 
be 
overlooked, 

Thompson tallied 12 points 
on 4-for-8 shooting, with four 
rebounds and seven assists as 
well. A product of her relentless 
tenacity all over the court, 
Thompson also earned four 
personal fouls, but she kept 
herself in the game with smart 
decisions on defense.

“I feel really comfortable 

today 
with 
my 
shot 
and 

attacking 
the 
basket,” 

Thompson 
said. 
“My 
game 

plan was to attack them and 
make 
them 
uncomfortable 

defensively, and I think we did 
that.”

For the second consecutive 

game, 
this 
quartet 
of 

Wolverines reached double-
digit scoring totals, and with a 
15-point win as the result, it is 
clear that any team that boasts 
scorers with the same level 
of productivity as Michigan 
should make opposing teams 
feel uneasy.

“I think we just have great 

balance,” 
said 
Michigan 

coach Kim Barnes Arico. “We 
always talked about it from 
the beginning of this season. 
The strength of our team is the 
balance of our team. I thought 
tonight they all clicked together 
at times, which was really great 
to see.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MAGGIE KOLCON

Daily Sports Writer

Michigan remains undefeated at home

The Wolverines’ undefeated 

streak at Crisler Center this season 
is still intact. 

The perfect mark at home is 

something 
Michigan 
women’s 

basketball coach Kim Barnes 
Arico was clearly excited about.

“Woo-hoo,” 
Barnes 
Arico 

exclaimed with a smile on her face. 
“We love playing here, we love 
playing at home. We’re proud. Our 
fan base has increased through 
the years. Our job is to protect the 
block ‘M’, that’s our responsibility. 
We want to get as many wins as we 
can at home, it definitely makes a 
difference.” 

On Sunday, Michigan’s (4-1 

Big Ten, 15-4 overall) latest 
opportunity to defend Crisler 
Center came against Minnesota 
(1-4, 10-8). It marked this season’s 
only matchup between the two, 
and the Wolverines claimed their 
victory handily, defeating the 
Golden Gophers, 84-69.

Hallie Thome and Katelynn 

Flaherty acted as Michigan’s 

dynamic duo. The sophomore 
center 
and 
junior 
guard, 

respectively, each put up eight 
points by the end of the first 
quarter, helping the Wolverines 
earn an early 25-16 lead. 

Though Michigan was only 

narrowly ahead of Minnesota 
halfway through the first quarter, 
the Wolverines began to widen the 
gap with the help of junior guard 
Jillian Dunston and senior guard 
Siera Thompson, who had two and 
three assists, respectively.

Freshman 
guard 
Kysre 

Gondrezick also helped to build 
the lead, as she wasn’t far behind 
Thome and Flaherty with five 
points at the end of the first 
quarter.

Roughly four minutes into the 

second quarter, the Wolverines 
finally broke the game open. 
Flaherty hit her third 3-pointer of 
the game, kickstarting a 12-point 
run 
that 
forced 
the 
Golden 

Gophers to call a timeout. 

By the end of the half, Michigan 

led by 25 points. Minnesota, on the 
other hand, had been held to just 
six points in the second quarter 

and notched just 22 total points 
by halftime. The Wolverines’ lead 
proved too difficult to overcome, as 
the Golden Gophers trailed by 20 
or more points for the remainder 
of the game. 

Despite 
getting 
into 
foul 

trouble, Thompson still managed 
to post 12 points and seven assists. 

“(Foul trouble) is something 

I try hard not to get frustrated 
with,” Thompson said. “It’s hard 
not to. Just feeling out the refs and 
figuring out how aggressive I can 
play, I have to adjust. That was my 
fault, figuring out how aggressive I 
need to be on defense.” 

With 
Thompson 
playing 

limited minutes, Flaherty and 
Thome continued to strike as 
a pair, finishing with 14 and 16 
points each in the second and third 
quarters, respectively. 

Thome completed her fourth 

double-double 
of 
the 
season, 

finishing with 20 points and 17 
rebounds. 

“She’s 
playing 
with 
some 

confidence,” Barnes Arico said. 
“I think that’s really important. 
… Her teammates, us coaches, we 

just have such great confidence in 
her game. She’s incredible, she has 
the best hands of any post (player) 
I’ve seen.

“I think we’re doing a better job 

as a team of finding her and letting 
her go to work because we believe 
she can score against anyone 
inside.” 

By the end of the game, four 

Wolverines — Flaherty, Thome, 
Gondrezick and Thompson — had 
hit double digits.

“I think we shared the ball really 

well, which really, ultimately, led 
to us scoring in double figures,” 
Flaherty said. “In the first half we 
only had three turnovers, which 
is really our goal. … Today, we 
really clicked on all cylinders. I 
think if we can continue doing that 
throughout the Big Ten season, 
we’ll be really successful.” 

As 
expected, 
Michigan’s 

greatest competition came from 
Minnesota guard Carlie Wagner, 
who scored 38 of Golden Gophers’ 
69 points. But even Wagner’s 
valiant effort wasn’t enough to 
break the Wolverines’ perfect 
record at home. 

JEREMY MITNICK/Daily

Junior guard Katelynn Flaherty led the Wolverines with 22 points and led them to a victory against the Golden Gophers at Crisler Center on Sunday.

SYLVANNA GROSS

Daily Sports Editor

We gotta be 
able to fight 

through 
adversity