The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, January 24, 2017 — 7
Wolverines growing on the defensive end
On Jan. 11 in Champaign,
the Michigan men’s basketball
team allowed Illinois to shoot 64
percent from both the field and
beyond the arc in a game which
the Fighting Illini scored 1.393
points per possession.
It was a contest that Michigan
coach
John
Beilein
labeled
as the potential “low point”
of the season, and there were
seemingly very few solutions
to the Wolverines’ defensive
problem.
Twelve
days
later,
spirits
around the team are much
higher.
Saturday,
Michigan
had
a
chance at revenge against the
same Illinois team. This time,
the game was back in Ann Arbor,
and the Wolverines took their
opportunity and ran with it.
Michigan held Illinois to just
0.891
points
per
possession,
forcing 17 turnovers en route to a
66-57 victory.
“That’s why our (defensive
efficiency rating) was so good,”
Beilein said. “They still shot 45
percent, but they turned it over
some, they threw it away.
“I just thought we were there.
We were active. We were in gaps.
We were swarming to the ball. We
were flying around.”
Fighting
Illini
forward
Maverick Morgan, who scored 16
points on 8-for-9 shooting in the
game in Champaign, was held to
just six points Saturday.
Overall, Illinois shot 46 percent
from the field and just 17 percent
from behind the arc, a stark
difference from the two teams’
first matchup.
All in all, Michigan’s defense
seemed
to
be
a
completely
different unit than the one that
took the court in Champaign ten
days prior.
“We just want people to be
what we call ‘quick men’, ” Beilein
said. “Get to the ball, be there
quick, if you have to give help,
give help. But definitely be more
physical on post ups, and make
their catches higher and more
difficult.”
In
the
last
meeting,
the
Wolverines allowed the Fighting
Illini too much space to shoot,
paving the way for Illinois’
85-point outburst.
Saturday,
Michigan
closed
down that space, allowing the
Fighting Illini little room to
operate.
“We wanted to take (shots)
away from them because they
were
exceptional
last
time,”
Beilein said. “I haven’t seen Black
shoot like he did against us, and
the same with their big guy,
Morgan. He really shot the heck
out of it. We ran at people and
tried to get them to make quick
decisions, and some of that led to
turnovers.”
Added senior wing Zak Irvin:
“The big thing is knowing the
scouting report, and knowing and
executing our game plan the way
we want to. It’s big for us to be able
to win this afternoon, and as long
as we do that, we put ourselves in
a position to win games.”
But
this
type
of
defense
requires stamina, especially for
the players who need to be able
to track and close out shooters on
a consistent basis. And with the
starting five soaking up most of
the minutes, fatigue becomes an
issue.
So the Wolverines have had to
adapt a new mindset.
“The biggest (challenge) has
been fighting fatigue,” Irvin said
after Saturday’s win. “Being out
there and playing a lot of minutes,
you can’t really take any plays off,
especially on the defensive end
because you never know what
possession will change the whole
game. Everyone on the team had
that mentality, and it worked out
well for us.”
With
this
renewed
sense
of confidence in its defense,
Michigan heads into a crucial
portion of its schedule. The
Wolverines will play four of their
next six games at home, and that
stretch of six games will include
matchups against both Indiana
and Michigan State twice, as
well as Ohio State and No. 15
Wisconsin.
It’s a precarious position for
Michigan to be in, but after a
narrow loss to the Badgers last
Tuesday and a win over Illinois on
Saturday, the Wolverines are in a
much better place than they were
12 days ago in Champaign.
After hitting its low point in Champaign on Jan. 11, Michigan showed signs of
improvement, holding the Fighting Illini to 46 percent shooting in the rematch
MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Editor
EVAN AARON/Daily
Senior wing Zak Irvin has stressed that Michigan can’t fall prey to fatigue if its defense is to remain at a high level.
Michigan’s preseason
goals within its reach
Entering the 2016-17 season,
the Michigan women’s basketball
team had two goals. The first
was to finish in the top four of
the Big Ten standings for the
first time in Michigan coach Kim
Barnes Arico’s tenure. The second
was to earn its second NCAA
Tournament berth in five years.
The Wolverines (5-2 Big Ten,
16-5 overall) are right where they
wanted to be in the Big Ten —
sitting at third in the conference
standings behind No. 15 Ohio
State and No. 3 Maryland. The
Wolverines are half a game ahead
of Northwestern and one game in
front of both Iowa and Purdue.
Michigan — currently No. 35
in the Ratings Percentage Index
— is also sitting pretty in its quest
to crack the 64-team NCAA
Tournament field.
ESPN.com’s
Bracketology,
which was updated Jan. 16, has
the Wolverines as a nine seed
playing California. The website
College Sports Madness is even
more optimistic about Michigan’s
chances, giving it a No. 6 seed
facing off against Oregon. Its
chances are buoyed by the fact
that it boasts four wins against
teams ranked in the RPI top
100, a measure used to select
tournament squads.
“I think this is our deepest
team,” Barnes Arico said. “My
first year, I was fortunate to
inherit a group of seniors that had
played together for four years,
that were experienced and were
hard workers. But they couldn’t
score the basketball like this team
can.”
The Wolverines’ success is in
large part due to the emergence
of
sophomore
center
Hallie
Thome
and
freshman
guard
Kysre Gondrezick, who have
begun to complement junior
guard
Katelynn
Flaherty’s
scoring ability. The trio have led
Michigan’s scoring offense, which
is fourth in the Big Ten averaging
79.7 points per game.
Flaherty was recently dubbed
an honorable mention on the Big
Ten Player of the Week list thanks
to her 30 points in the Wolverines’
93-80 loss to the Terrapins last
Thursday and her 27 points in an
84-51 victory over Nebraska on
Sunday. It was her fourth such
honor this season.
Thome,
meanwhile,
has
notched
four
double-doubles
this year, while Gondrezick has
scored at least 10 points in 14 of
Michigan’s 21 contests.
“I think we’ve tried to, and
we’ve improved on, sharing the
basketball,” Barnes Arico said.
“Making extra passes, taking
high-percentage shots instead of
the first shot. We want to get the
best shot.”
The offensive firepower has not
come at the expense of the defense,
as the Wolverines are allowing
just 58.5 points per game, good for
second in the conference. Against
the Cornhuskers, Michigan did
not allow a field goal in the final
9:48 of the contest.
To be sure, the Wolverines’
season has not been one of
perfection. They have lost all four
games they have played against
opponents currently in the AP
top 25, none by fewer than nine
points. Michigan will not face
another ranked opponent unless
it meets Maryland or Ohio State in
the Big Ten Tournament, but that
doesn’t mean the Wolverines have
no opportunities to further their
NCAA Tournament resume.
Michigan will face five more
teams who currently sit in the
RPI top 100, though none are
above the Wolverines. Michigan’s
best opportunity for another
quality win comes in its next
contest, Wednesday night against
Northwestern, which is ranked
No. 45 in the RPI.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
Lockwood reacclimating after injury
After
dislocating
his
shoulder
in
the
Michigan
hockey team’s Dec. 10 game
against Wisconsin, freshman
forward Will Lockwood made
his return to the ice at the Great
Lakes Invitational almost three
weeks later.
Though
the
Wolverines
struggled in the first game of
the GLI against Michigan Tech,
the offense exploded for four
goals against Michigan State
in the third-place game, with
Lockwood tallying one himself.
But late in the second period,
things
went
wrong.
While
killing a penalty, Lockwood
reaggravated
his
shoulder
injury and needed to get off the
ice. At the time, the Spartans
were
camped
out
in
the
Wolverines’ zone, threatening
to score. While holding his
injured arm with one hand,
Lockwood remained on the ice
and even blocked a shot from
the point before mercifully
making his way to the bench.
It’s the kind of play that earns
respect from teammates and
coaches alike, but for Lockwood,
it was just something he knew
he had to do.
“The easiest thing to do is
just ignore the pain,” Lockwood
said. “Getting off the ice at that
point gives them a 5-on-3, which
is a pretty high percentage
chance
that
they’ll score. So
if you have to
stay out there
for
a
couple
extra
seconds
of pain, I think
it’s
worth
it
from
a
team
aspect.”
Michigan
coach
Red
Berenson
took notice, too. And to him,
it reaffirmed his feelings on
Lockwood’s commitment and
toughness.
“Will has got a lot of will,”
Berenson said. “He’s got a lot
of drive and mental toughness
and so on. He brings it. I would
have told him to get off the ice
at that point, but he couldn’t.
It was a tough change, and he
stayed out there and showed his
teammates what he’s made of.
It’s a bit of a character test.”
After reaggravating the injury,
Lockwood was out of action
for an even longer absence.
He
missed
the
Wolverines’
series
against
Minnesota
two
weekends
ago
before returning
to play against
the Spartans last
weekend.
But
even
though he was
back in the lineup
last
weekend,
Lockwood
had
been wearing a
red jersey in practice the week
prior, signifying that he was
not a full-contact participant.
Facing off against Michigan
State, Lockwood was forced to
reacclimate to game speed.
“At first I was a little hesitant,
because I wasn’t completely
confident
with
how
strong
my shoulder was,” Lockwood
said. “But after getting hit a
couple of times and delivering
some hits, it was just kind of
back to my old game, where I
play that physical game. I had
100-percent confidence going
into the corners and taking a
guy out of the play.”
Michigan is eager to have
Lockwood
back
in
a
full
capacity. He is the team’s
second-leading
scorer
with
13 points, and his offensive
capabilities could have helped
the Wolverines against the
Golden Gophers.
While Lockwood may have
wanted to return earlier than he
did to help his team, Berenson
knew that Michigan needed
him to be at full health when he
came back.
“Most of us would want to
play anyway,” Berenson said.
“The number one thing for me
as a coach is the kid’s safety.
Like I’ve told kids in the past,
‘You can play with that. It’s
not going to get any worse,’
whatever the injury is. Or, if
it’s an injury, like a knee, that
it could get worse, ‘Forget it,
you’re not playing. You’ve got
to get it better.’ We’ve had
enough experience with hockey
injuries — between the trainer,
myself and the doctors — that
we’re going to do what’s best for
the kids.”
For Lockwood, the time off
was enough to motivate him to
rehabilitate his injury properly
so that he won’t have to sit out
again any time soon.
“A lot of hockey players would
agree that watching your team
play from the stands is one of
the hardest things,” Lockwood
said. “You always want to be
out on the ice and helping your
team. It’s hard to be out in the
stands and thinking you could
be making an impact on the
game.
“It’s a tough thing to battle
injuries. But I’ve been doing
a lot of rehab right now and
strengthening
my
shoulder.
So hopefully it won’t happen
again.”
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Freshman forward Will Lockwood has been plagued by a shoulder injury this season, but has now returned to the ice.
MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Editor
The easiest
thing to do is
just ignore the
pain
Artz highlights strong
outing for Wolverines
Though Crisler Center was
just a quarter full Sunday,
the crowd’s presence seemed
much greater, especially when
senior
Nicole
Artz
earned
a perfect score on her floor
routine. With the fans cheering
loudly for each of the Michigan
women’s
gymnastics
team’s
frequent sticks, the Wolverines
tallied a score above 197.000
for the first time in 2017. The
12th-ranked Wolverines (1-1
Big Ten, 3-2 overall) defeated
No. 19 Illinois (0-1 Big Ten, 1-2
overall), 197.050 - 195.300.
Artz’s
perfect
score
in
Sunday’s home opener was the
first time in three years that
a Michigan gymnast scored
a 10.0 during a meet. Joanna
Sampson last accomplished the
same feat on the floor at the Big
Ten Championships in 2014.
Artz has been
approaching
perfection
for
some
time,
scoring a 9.975
four
times,
most
recently
on floor at the
2016
Big
Ten
Championships
on floor.
“I
do
that
(floor)
routine
about
three
or four times a week and one
really good one in here every
weekend,” Artz said.
Immediately
following
her floor routine, the crowd
erupted and Artz was swarmed
by her teammates. Finally, the
score was announced and Artz
had done it — a perfect score.
In her first meet of the year
competing in the all-around,
Artz ended the day with a
total of 39.425 points, earning
her the all-around title for the
meet.
“I didn’t know it, but I
finished and I looked at the
judge and was like ‘Please!’,”
Artz said. “I was just so excited
to get over to my teammates.”
In addition to Artz’s perfect
10, several Wolverines had
career records, and Michigan
swept the event titles.
On the vault, senior Talia
Chiarelli captured the event
with a 9.900. The Wolverines
finished the vault event with
49.000 points.
On the uneven bars, three
Wolverines received a score of
9.900 or higher. For the first
time in their careers, both
freshman Polina Shchennikova
and junior Lauren Marinez
earned a 9.900 in the event.
Junior Paige Zaziski ended
her routine on the uneven bars
with enthusiastic yelling as she
landed her dismount to earn a
score of 9.975 — a career best.
Following
her
career-
best on the uneven parallel
bars,
Marinez
fed
off
of
her momentum and scored
a season-best 9.875 on the
balance
beam.
This
score
earned her the
event title.
The
top
five
scores
in
the
floor
routine
event
were
recorded
entirely
by
Michigan
athletes.
Leading
the
scoring
was
Artz with her perfect 10,
followed by sophomores Emma
McLean and Olivia Karas with
a score of 9.900. McLean’s
score of 9.900 was a career
best. Freshman Maddy Osman
and
Chiarelli
tied
Illinois
sophomore Lizzy Leduc with a
score of 9.825.
“It’s just nice to be at home,”
Artz said. “It’s nice to be back
in Crisler and have such good
momentum going into floor.”
By the end of the meet,
Michigan couldn’t have had
much better of a day. And after
four years, Artz finally put an
exclamation point on the day
with her perfect 10.
WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS
GRACE BOYLES
For the Daily
I didn’t know it,
but I just looked
at the judge and
was like ‘Please!’