The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, February 1, 2017 — 7A
Wolverines to battle Illinois in Champaign
Halfway
through
its
conference
season,
the
Michigan women’s basketball
team is exactly where it wants
to be — poised
to shake off
its postseason
slump.
The
Wolverines’
17-5
record
through
22
games
is
their
best
in
program
history,
and
with five of
their
final
eight
regular
season games
coming against teams in the
bottom half of the Big Ten,
it
wouldn’t
be
far-fetched
for them to run the table and
secure a place in the NCAA
Tournament for the first time
since 2013.
“I’m
surprised
with
our
success considering our youth,”
said
junior
forward
Jillian
Dunston. “Everyone’s embraced
their roles and applied it the
best they can and helped us
reach
these
aspirations.
…
Everyone had the same attitude
and the same goals.
“In order to achieve our
goals, we have to get it done
now. It’s not a next year thing.”
Wednesday’s
matchup
at
Illinois (3-6 Big Ten, 8-14
overall) will provide Michigan
with the opportunity to move
one step closer to making that
possibility a reality.
The Fighting Illini — entering
the contest on a four-game
losing streak — have struggled
this season to challenge teams
with their lackluster offense.
They average just 62.5 points
per
contest
and
sport
an
ugly 38.7 percent field-goal
percentage, placing them in
the bottom third for Division I
teams.
When Illinois is making its
shots, its offense is typically
through 6-foot-1 forward Alex
Wittinger, who leads the team
with 15.2 points per game.
Wittinger is also the Fighting
Illini’s
best
player
on
the
defensive end, averaging 8.2
boards and 2.4 blocks per game.
While
Wittinger
has
catalyzed an otherwise lifeless
offense, she will have a four-
inch height disadvantage in
her matchup against one of the
Big Ten’s best centers in Hallie
Thome,
who
has
anchored
the Wolverines’ defense and
boasts
the
ninth-best
field
goal percentage in the country
(63.8).
“[It’s] important for us to
reward Hallie,” said Michigan
coach Kim Barnes Arico on
WTKA on Tuesday. “If she’s
gonna run the floor the way
that she does, we’re giving
her touches. Our team does an
outstanding job of finding her
in transition.”
Illinois should find it difficult
to maneuver around Thome at
the rim, and may struggle to
find success beyond the arc to
compensate. The Fighting Illini
rank 145th in made 3-pointers.
By comparison, Michigan is
13th.
A
significant
contributor
to the Wolverines’ offensive
prowess has been
freshman Kysre
Gondrezick.
The
5-foot-9
guard has been
spectacular since
playing her way
into the starting
lineup on Dec.
28,
and
was
recently awarded
both
Big
Ten
Freshman
and
Player of the Week honors for
posting 22 points, seven boards
and six assists in Michigan’s
80-54 win over Northwestern
last Wednesday.
“Kysre has really shown her
ability to be a playmaker at the
next level,” Barnes Arico said.
“Sometimes when you have
a bunch of kids on your team
that are great scorers, they
forget their ability to pass the
basketball and make the extra
pass.”
Everything seems to favor
the
Wolverines
going
into
the contest, but one glaring
problem
lies
ahead of them
in
tomorrow’s
matchup — the
Fighting
Illini
love playing at
the State Farm
Center.
They
have
an
8-5
record at home,
compared
to
0-9 outside of
Champaign.
“Illinois is a team that plays
really well at home,” Barnes
Arico said. “They play a five-
out style which will be tough
for our bigs. They’ll try to
penetrate and draw fouls and
get to the free-throw line.”
But barring an anomalous
performance from Michigan, it
shouldn’t be too concerned.
CLAIRE MENGAST/Daily
Sophomore center Hallie Thome will have a clear height advantage over Illinois’ best player, forward Alex Wittinger.
Michigan
at Illinois
Matchup:
Michigan 6-2
Big Ten, 17-5
overall; Illinois
3-6, 8-14
When:
Wednesday
7 P.M. CT
Where: State
Farm Center
ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer
“In order to
achieve our
goals, we have
to get it done
With a 17-5 record, ‘M’ is currently enjoying its best season in program history
Men’s Basketball Schedule
Sat, Feb 4
Tue, Feb 7
Sun, Feb 12
Thu, Feb 16
Sun, Feb 19
Wed, Feb 22
Sat, Feb 25
Wed, Mar 1
Sun, Mar 5
vs. Ohio State
vs. MSU
at Indiana
vs. Wisconsin
vs. Minnesota
vs. Rutgers
vs. Purdue
at Northwestern
at Nebraska
@ Crisler
@ Crisler
@ Assembly
@ Crisler
@ Williams
@ Louis Brown
@ Crisler
@ Welsh-Ryan
@ Pinnacle Bank
7:00 pm
6:00 pm
TBA
6:30 pm
6:00 pm
8:00 pm
7:00 pm
1:00 pm
9:00 pm
Women’s Basketball Schedule
Wed, Feb 1
Sun, Feb 5
Wed, Feb 8
Sun, Feb 12
Thu, Feb 16
Sun, Feb 19
Thu, Feb 23
Sun, Feb 26
at Illinois
vs. Iowa
at Purdue
vs. Wisconsin
at Indiana
vs. MSU
vs. Nebraska
at Penn State
@ State Farm
@ Crisler
@ Mackey
@ Crisler
@ Assembly
@ Crisler
@ Crisler
@ Bryce Jordan TBA
TBA
7:00 pm
6:00 pm
2:00 pm
2:00 pm
6:00 pm
2:00 pm
Sick and tired: A look at Michigan’s depth issues
On Sunday, the fuel gauge
finally hit empty.
All season, the Michigan men’s
basketball team has been relying
on what is essentially a seven-man
rotation made up of its starting
lineup, redshirt junior guard
Duncan Robinson and senior
forward Mark Donnal.
Even calling it a seven-man
rotation is generous. Donnal
averages just 14.3 minutes per
game – most of which have come
when sophomore forward Moritz
Wagner is in foul trouble – while
Robinson averages 20.2. Beyond
that, freshman guard Xavier
Simpson has the next highest
total with 9.3 minutes played per
game.
On the opposite end of that
spectrum, senior wing Zak Irvin
and guard Derrick Walton Jr. are
second and sixth in the Big Ten
in minutes played per game with
34.8 and 33.0, respectively.
The biggest concern? There is
no viable option behind Irvin at
the wing position.
The Wolverines certainly found
out just how problematic that is
against Michigan State on Sunday.
Against the Spartans, Irvin
logged 36 minutes, tied for the
second-highest total on the team.
But those lofty minutes didn’t
translate to expected results, as
he scored zero points on 0-for-8
shooting while turning the ball
over three times and tallying just
two rebounds and two assists
– marking his first scoreless
performance
since
the
2015
season opener.
For all intents and purposes,
Michigan had been playing with
fire, and it got burned badly.
“He didn’t make the shots he
usually makes,” Walton said. “We
trust him 100 percent. I just don’t
think he was himself.”
It was revealed after the game
that Irvin took the floor having
battled the flu in the days leading
up to the matchup with Michigan
State. He had missed two practices
prior to the trip to East Lansing,
trying to recover for what was a
much-needed and hotly-contested
conference road win.
Irvin
had
emphasized
to
Michigan coach John Beilein that
he felt good enough to play. But as
his stat line indicated, he was far
from good, and the Wolverines left
the Breslin Center still winless on
the road this season.
That’s not to knock Irvin’s
effort. Instead, it simply paints
a picture of just how precarious
the Wolverines’ depth issues are.
Freshman forward Ibi Watson –
who was expected to be Irvin’s
backup this season, but still hasn’t
acclimated well enough to the
college game – played only one
minute.
As a result, Robinson saw an
uptick to 30 minutes of playing
time against the Spartans, but
mustered just eight points. It’s a
troubling sign that even an ailing
Irvin appears to be a better option
than those outside of Michigan’s
seven-man rotation right now.
“I think we’re going to look
back at it,” Beilein said Sunday.
“It probably wasn’t the right
thing to do. But he’s one of our
best passers, he’s one of our best
scorers, he plays three different
positions for us. It’s hard to take
him out of there.”
Irvin entered the matchup
against Michigan State averaging
a team-high 14.4 points per game.
He had increased that production
to 17 points per game in a four-
game
stretch,
during
which
he helped the Wolverines dig
themselves out of a 1-3 conference
hole.
Walton showcased an ability
to shoulder the burden when
Irvin was struggling against the
Spartans, scoring a game-high 24
points to go with nine rebounds.
Even with a healthy Irvin, the
senior guard has averaged 18.6
points and 6.2 rebounds per game
in Michigan’s last five contests.
With Walton playing arguably
the best basketball of his career,
the Wolverines simply needed
another
contribution
to
help
Walton carry the load down the
stretch to escape East Lansing
with a win and go above .500 in
conference play for the first time
this season. But even that was too
much to ask.
The
issue
becomes
even
more pressing when you look at
the current Big Ten landscape.
Maryland and Wisconsin are
currently tied for first in the
conference with a 7-1 Big Ten
record, while Northwestern is on
their heels with a 7-2 record of its
own.
The Terrapins have 11 players
that have played more than
10 games, and all of them are
averaging above 10 minutes per
game. Even guard Melo Trimble
is averaging less minutes per game
than both Irvin and Walton, and
five of Maryland’s players are
averaging between 13.8 and 18.6
minutes per game.
As for the Badgers, it’s more of
the same. While Wisconsin has
just an eight-man rotation – only
one more than the Wolverines
– its minutes are distributed
more efficiently. Michigan has
three players averaging above 30
minutes per game in Irvin, Walton
and redshirt sophomore forward
DJ Wilson.
The Badgers, on the other
hand,
have
their
two
best
players barely registering such
significant time. Guard Bronson
Koenig and forward Nigel Hayes
share the heaviest workload
with 30.0 and 30.9 minutes
per game, respectively. Beyond
that, though, Wisconsin has five
players averaging between 15.4
and 27.4 minutes per game, with
an additional two contributing
10.1 to 11 minutes on a consistent
basis.
And
finally,
there’s
the
Wildcats.
Like
the
Badgers,
Northwestern boasts a roster with
eight players averaging above 10
minutes per game. Guard Bryant
McIntosh is the only outlier, as he
averages 33.4 minutes per game
– a mark slightly above Walton’s
total.
If
the
upper
tier
of
the
conference is any indication, depth
is winning games this year, as it
often does. Some teams manage
to get by with a limited rotation,
but to do so requires elite talent.
And in a 31-game season, having
options off the bench certainly
doesn’t hurt a team’s chances of
grinding out wins. Right now,
as Irvin’s flu game indicated,
Michigan doesn’t have them.
CLAIRE MENGAST/Daily
Senior wing Zak Irvin’s bout with flu illustrated Michigan’s lack of depth.
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor