8 — Friday, February 3, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines look to rebound against Buckeyes;
Behind Enemy Lines: Ohio State Jae’Sean Tate

After thrashing Indiana by 

30 at home, the Michigan men’s 
basketball team followed the 
impressive performance with the 
polar opposite in East Lansing, 
losing to Michigan State, 70-62.

Michigan stuck around for most 

of the game, but poor shooting 
against a stout defense did the 
Wolverines in, and they missed out 
on a chance to take sole possession 
of fourth place in the Big Ten.

Now, 
the 
Wolverines 
will 

have to right the ship against a 
struggling Ohio State team in 
Crisler Center to keep their NCAA 
Tournament hopes alive.

After a strong non-conference 

showing, which saw the Buckeyes 
start 7-1 with a narrow two-
point loss to No. 9 Virginia, Ohio 
State stumbled out of the gate 
in conference play, starting 0-4 
with losses to Illinois, Purdue, 
Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The Buckeyes recovered and 

won their next two games against 
Michigan State and Nebraska, but 
they have gone just 1-3 since, most 
recently losing to Maryland at 
home.

Much like the Wolverines, Ohio 

State coach Thad Matta’s team has 
been plagued by its defense. Once a 
stout unit in non-conference play, 
the Buckeyes’ defense has wilted, 
and their offense has struggled to 
make up for its deficiencies.

Ohio State is led on offense by 

forward Jae’Sean Tate, who leads 
the team in scoring with 14.3 
points per game. Tate put up a stat 
line of 20 points, four assists, and 
four rebounds against Maryland.

With Tate at the ‘3’, the Buckeyes 

have forwards Marc Loving and 
Trevor Thompson at the ‘4’ and ‘5’, 
respectively. Thompson leads the 

team with 9.2 rebounds per game, 
while Loving averages 5.1 boards.

Thompson and his 7-foot frame, 

especially, will be 
a challenge inside 
for 
Michigan 

sophomore 
forward 
Moritz 

Wagner.

The Daily sat 

down with Tate 
at Big Ten Media 
Day in October 
to talk about the 
2015-16 
season 

in 
which 
Ohio 

State went 21-14, 
the Buckeyes’ expectations this 
season and his relationship with 
Michigan freshman forward Ibi 
Watson who, like Tate and former 

Wolverine guard Caris LeVert, 
attended 
Pickerington 
High 

School Central.

The Michigan 

Daily: Reflecting 
on last season, a 
little bit up and 
down, what did 
you 
take 
away 

from a year when 
the 
team 
was 

young and you 
still managed to 
string 
together 

some success?

Jae’Sean Tate: 

Last year, it was 

definitely a humbling one and I 
learned a lot from it. We learned 
how important the summer is. 
We learned how important out 

of conference play is. We learned 
how important buying into what 
Coach Matta said is.

So 
all 
those 

things right there 
are the reasons 
why we weren’t 
successful, 
why 

we went to the 
NIT. 
We 
were 

what, 
a 
game 

or 
two 
away 

from 
making 

the 
(NCAA) 

Tournament? 
Not being ready, 
not preparing the 
right way, not being ready to play 
in the out of conference games, 
that’s the reason why.

TMD: Do you think that came 

from youth, from a little bit lack 
of experience? What was it in your 
mind?

JT: I felt it was 

just preparation, 
not 
respecting 

your 
opponents, 

not finishing our 
games. 
There 

were some times 
when we’d be up 
at halftime or 10 
minutes going in, 
and we’d just lose 
it. But also, I feel 
like (it was) a little 
bit of being young.

We made some of the wrong 

decisions, but I feel like that year 
— two years under our belt — will 
help us. Also bringing in Coach 

Jent, and Coach Matta taking a 
different approach in coaching 
and helping us learn on and off the 
court, I feel like this year should 
be a good one.

TMD: Where do you guys set 

the bar for this year, given that 
you’re still a young roster but 
you’re young with experience?

JT: Just to know that we 

can’t make the same mistakes 
that we did last year. Like I said, 
the preseason work and the 
out of conference play matters. 
Finishing out games matters. The 
expectation is that we go into 
every game ready. There were 
some times during the season 
where we weren’t ready to play 
and we’d go down 10. Now we’re 
in the hole (down by) 10 and we’re 
fighting for our life.

TMD: 
You 
mentioned 
a 

difference in how you approached 
the summer. Is it in terms of 
attitude 
at 
those 
(summer) 

workouts or number of workouts?

JT: Not even that, it’s just 

doing what you’re supposed to do. 
 

Whether that’s not missing a rep, 
being on time, doing work, being 
on time to class — just being an 
all-around good person you know 
what I mean? Because it shows, if 
you do what you’re supposed to off 
the court, it helps you on the court.

TMD: I know you played with 

Caris, but did you also play with 
Ibi?

JT: Ibi played with my brother. 

When I graduated he came to Pick 
Central, but I’m still really good 
friends with Ibi.

TMD: Off the top of your head, 

is there anything you got to see in 
him that impressed you?

JT: His shooting. He’s a great 

shooter, he’s athletic and I feel 
like he can have a great impact for 
Michigan. There’s been countless 
times I’ve went back to Pick 
Central and played against him, 
and he’s one of the better guys that 
I’ve played against in his class.

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Ohio State forward Jae’Sean Tate will go up against a Michigan team hungry to retun to its winning ways after suffering a loss to Michigan State on Sunday.

“Just to know 
that we can’t 
make the same 

mistakes”

“It shows, if you 
do what you’re 
supposed to off 

the court” 

KEVIN SANTO

Managing Sports Editor

MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Editor

‘M’ returns home eager to 
defend undefeated streak

At 
Crisler 
Center, 
the 

Michigan women’s basketball 
team is known for its third-
quarter 
dominance. 
They 

typically 
outscore 
opponents 
in 

the 
first 
ten 

minutes 
after 

the half. 

Yet, 
the 

Wolverines 
recently 
took 

their prowess 
on 
the 
road 

to 
Urbana-

Champaign, 
scoring 26 out 
of 
their 
86 

total points in 
the third. 

Michigan 
(7-2 
Big 
Ten, 

18-5 overall) will now have 
an opportunity to keep its 
momentum going in Sunday’s 
game against Iowa (5-4, 14-8). 
The Wolverines have yet to lose 
a game in their own arena, and 
they will be looking to maintain 
their home-court advantage. 
The last time the two team’s 
met was in last year’s Big Ten 
Tournament, 
where 
the 

Hawkeyes 
managed 
to 

steal the game, 
97-85. 

“(Last 
year’s 

game) 
was 
a 

great game in 
the 
Big 
Ten 

Tournament,” 
Michigan coach 
Kim 
Barnes 

Arico said after 
the 
Illinois 
game. 
“(Senior 

guard Siera Thompson) got in 
foul trouble in that game and I 
thought that really hurt us. 

“Iowa’s a great team. We 

were up big early against on 
them, and that hurt us.” 

The Hawkeyes rank second 

in the Big Ten, and 10th 
nationally, in assists per game, 
averaging 
18.3. 
Similarly, 

Iowa is in third-place in the 
conference for total assists 
with 384. Michigan doesn’t 
quite match up to the Hawkeyes 
in this respect, averaging 17.0 
per game in conference play. 
Thompson leads the charge 
with 124 total for the season. 
Thompson 
is 

also 
just 
28 

points 
away 

from 
breaking 

into Michigan’s 
all-time scorers 
list. 

Freshman 

guard 
Kysre 

Gondrezick has 
the most after 
Thompson’s 
assists 
efforts, 

but she still has 
a total of just 70. 

Gondrezick 
has 
had 
a 

successful week, earning both 
Big Ten Player and Freshman 
of 
the 
Week 
honors 
after 

helping 
Michigan 
dominate 

Northwestern, 80-54, on Jan. 
24. She tied her career highs 
in both points with 22 and 
rebounds with seven and sunk 
a career-high six 3-pointers. 
It was the first time she 
earned the Player of the Week 

award, but the 
fourth time for 
the 
freshman 

award.

The 

performance 
snagged 
Gondrezick the 
US 
Basketball 

Writers 
Association 
Freshman of the 
Week 
award, 

too. 

Gondrezick’s 
offensive 

efforts — she averages 13.7 
points per game — are matched 
by sophomore center Hallie 
Thome 
and 
junior 
guard 

Katelynn 
Flaherty. 
Thome 

averages 15 points per game, 
and Flaherty a whopping 20. 

Flaherty 
will 
have 
to 

measure up to Hawkeye guard 
Ally Disterhoft, who ranks 

third on Iowa’s all-time career 
scoring list. She has amassed 
1,876 career points and is on 
the hunt for first. 

Thome, Flaherty, Gondrezick 

Thompson 
and 
junior 

guard Jillian Dunston have 
consistently started in the past 

eight games this 
season. 
Senior 

guard 
Danielle 

Williams 
is 

the only player 
outside of the 
starting five to 
play 
in 
every 

game 
— 
she 

has a total of 
409 
minutes 

this 
season. 

Williams 
and 

sophomore 
guard 
Nicole 

Munger — who has played in 
21 games for 261 total minutes 
— have a 50-percent shooting 
average on threes.

The 
Wolverines 
game 

against the Hawkeyes will be 
the culmination of Michigan’s 
Alumni weekend. 

“I think it’s going to be a 

great basketball game because 
we’re very similar in a lot of 
ways,” Barnes Arico said. “But 
we’re at home, so I think that’s 
worth (something).” 

Michigan 
sits 
firmly 
in 

third place in the conference, 
whereas Iowa just managed to 
claim fifth. The Hawkeyes had 
their most recent win against 
Rutgers 
on 
Thursday 
after 

falling to No. 3 Maryland on 
Jan. 29 with a final score of 
100-81. 

If the Wolverines continue 

dominating the third quarter 
and match the offense led by 
Iowa’s Disterhoft, they could 
be in for a comfortable win. 

“(The Hawkeyes) are a good 

team,” Barnes Arico said. “We 
just seem to be playing with 
really good confidence at home. 
We love our home crowd, we 
love the fans we’ve been able 
to get and our kids really enjoy 
the 
atmosphere 
and 
really 

enjoy playing there.”

JEREMY MITNICK/Daily

Junior guard Jillian Dunston and the Wolverines will look to maintain home-court advantage Sunday against Iowa.

SYLVANNA GROSS

Daily Sports Editor

“We love our 
home crowd, 

and we love the 

fans”

“I think it’s 
going to be a 

great basketball 

game”

Iowa at 
Michigan

Matchup: Iowa 
5-4 Big Ten, 
14-8 overall; 
Michigan 
7-2, 18-5

When: Sunday 
2 P.M.

Where: Crisler 
Center