Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, March 10, 2017 — 7

‘M’ set for 
rematch 
vs. Purdue

WASHINGTON — Wednesday 

afternoon, the Michigan men’s 
basketball team was set to fly to 
Washington 
D.C. 
for 

the 
Big 
Ten 

Tournament.

But a plane 

accident 
derailed 
the 

Wolverines’ 
plans, 
and 

they 
were 

forced to fly 
out 
Thursday 

morning, 
landing 
just 

three hours before the noon tip-
off and not arriving at the Verizon 
Center until about 10:40.

That didn’t stop Michigan, 

though, as it came out on fire, 
jumping out to a 20-point lead and 
ultimately won, 75-55.

Now, less than 24 hours after 

that victory, Michigan will have an 
even tougher test in No. 13 Purdue.

“That’s the beauty of the (Big 

Ten Tournament),” said sophomore 
forward 
Mortiz 
Wagner. 

“Somehow you gotta get to the next 
one in any way. It doesn’t matter 
what happened. We (did) it once 
now, we can do it twice.”

“Luckily, we just played Purdue, 

so we still know the strategy, we 
still know how they play.”

The two squads met just 12 days 

ago back in Ann Arbor, where 
the Wolverines pummeled the 
Boilermakers, 82-70, on Senior 
Day. Wagner scored 24 points, 
including 20 in the first half, on 
10-of-15 shooting.

Even more impressively, he did 

it with Big Ten Player of the Year 
Caleb Swanigan on him for most of 
the game. Swanigan couldn’t keep 
up with Wagner, allowing him to 
get open frequently for pick-and-
pop shots.

On the other side of the court, 

Wagner and redshirt sophomore 
forward DJ Wilson shut down 
Purdue’s duo of big men Swanigan 
and Isaac Haas, holding the pair 
to a combined 26 points and 11 
rebounds. They average 31.3 points 
per game in addition to 17.7 boards 
per game.

“I think for me personally it 

helps a lot too because (they) won’t 
change 
their 
whole 
playbook 

through two weeks or one week,” 
Wagner said. “So you know what 
they’re going for.”

Added Wilson: “My biggest 

thing is trying to stay in front of 
them and box them out. They’re 
two great rebounders, especially 
on the offensive glass. So I need to 
try to stay in front of them, chest 
them up and box them out.”

Michigan, 
though, 
shot 
an 

astronomical 65.5 percent in the 
first half, and replicating that 
performance against the No. 1 seed 
in the Big Ten will be a tough act.

“We know that they’re Big Ten 

champs,” Wilson said. “They’re a 
great team, they have a great post 
presence and they shoot the ball 
well from 3.”

Outside of its frontcourt, Purdue 

boasts guards Carsen and Vince 
Edwards (no relation), who average 
12.3 and 10.6 points, respectively, as 
well as guard Dakota Mathias, who 
is one of the Big Ten’s most prolific 
3-point shooters, shooting 47.8 
percent from behind the arc on 136 
attempts.

The Wolverines will also see 

a familiar face in guard Spike 
Albrecht, 
who 
transferred 
to 

Purdue this past offseason after 
four years in Ann Arbor, though 
Albrecht has played a minimal 
role on the Boilermaker team. He 
averages just 12.9 minutes per game.

Since Senior Day in Ann Arbor, 

Purdue has won twice. But as 
well as the Boilermakers have 
played this season, Michigan’s 
confidence might be at an all-
time high after it has won seven 
of its last nine games.

“To be honest with you, I think 

this group can beat anyone,” 
Wagner said. “That’s how much I 
believe in this group.”

That confidence grew Thursday 

when the Wolverines beat the 
Fighting lllini just hours after their 
flight. Now, the biggest challenge 
for Michigan will be to play with 
the same adrenaline when a bit of 
normalcy returns to their lives.

Wolverines have a chance to play spoiler

It is fitting that the Michigan 

hockey team will end the regular 
season against No. 11 Penn State. 
Nearly 
three 

years 
after 

a 
bitter 
loss 

that continues 
to 
linger 
in 

the minds of 
six 
seniors, 

the roles are 
reversed in this 
weekend’s two-
game 
series 

against 
the 

Nittany 
Lions 

in Ann Arbor. 

One storied 

program 
has 

endured 
a 

recent but significant decline — a 
downward trajectory that began 
with an opposing program seeking 
to make a name for itself in the 
wake of its birth. In the aftermath, 
a rivalry has blossomed between 
two schools that share just four 
years of history between them.

Senior weekend at Yost Ice 

Arena is upon Michigan, and with 
the finality there is inherently 
introspectiveness — especially 
for the home team, as it concludes 
a long season that has not gone 
the way anyone had hoped. The 
Wolverines 
will 
look 
across 

the rink and find an offensive 
juggernaut clawing its way to an 
NCAA Tournament bid — a team 
that resembles Michigan teams 
of years past. Penn State will take 
the ice against a team that, in some 
ways, resembles early iterations 
of the Nittany Lions: hungry and 
desperate, with nothing to lose.

Just how did these two teams 

end up in this position, mirroring 
each other’s pasts?

The rivalry began four years 

ago during the 2013-14 season — 
the second year of Penn State’s 
existence as a Division I program 
and its first in the newly formed 

Big Ten. The Nittany Lions were 
upstarts looking up at teams like 
Michigan, a program that already 
had decades to establish its place 
within the hierarchy of college 
hockey. The Wolverines were the 
class of the conference, coming 
off a 22-year NCAA Tournament 
streak that had ended the year 
before. Their success as a program 
was what Penn State would hope 
to emulate.

The Nittany Lions spent much 

of that year punching up at other 
teams, hoping to knock down a 
few of them. It just so happened 
that they first experienced success 
against Michigan — and in doing 
so, 
derailed 
the 
Wolverines’ 

season.

Michigan’s 4-0 loss in State 

College on Feb. 8 that year was 
Penn State’s first Big Ten win in 
program history. The Wolverines’ 
5-4 overtime loss on Feb. 21 was 
the Nittany Lions’ first road Big 
Ten victory. And then, the final 
blow came at the inaugural Big Ten 
Tournament, where Penn State 
beat Michigan in the first round. 
The Wolverines’ unexpected loss, 
coupled with the previous two 
losses to Penn State that had hurt 
their PairWise Ranking, ended 
their season and attempt to return 
to the postseason. And a rivalry — 
however improbable its existence 
may have seemed before the 
season — was forged.

“It kinda came out of nowhere 

… especially in hockey, they’re a 
new team,” said senior forward 
Alex Kile. “You just didn’t really 
expect it. That first year, they 
basically ruined our season. They 
ended our season in the Big Ten 
Tournament, but throughout the 
year they just beat us, and the 
same with sophomore year — 
they beat us. We kinda felt like we 
always had the better team, but 
they found a way to beat us.”

The Nittany Lions got the 

better of Michigan the following 
year as well, splitting a series in 
Ann Arbor before sweeping the 

Wolverines at home. Through 
two years, Michigan had just a 
3-6 record against Penn State, 
with each of those losses playing 
a crucial role in keeping the 
Wolverines 
from 
the 
NCAA 

Tournament.

This year, again, the Nittany 

Lions have owned Michigan, 
winning the first two meetings by 
a combined score of 11-2.

Nagelvoort 
attributes 

Michigan’s difficulty against Penn 
State to the Nittany Lions’ “run-
and-gun” style — a high-octane 
offense that peppers opposing 
goaltenders with shots. The past 
few years have also seen the 
Wolverines struggle tremendously 
on defense, often giving up many 
more shots than they generate. 
That slide, coupled with Penn 
State’s offensive strategy, is one of 
the reasons why the Nittany Lions 
had so much early success.

It’s 
not 
inconceivable 
that 

those earlier Michigan teams 
made the mistake of overlooking 
Penn State, all while the Nittany 
Lions 
regarded 
those 
games 

as benchmarks for the young 
program’s progression — the type 
of games to circle on the calendar. 
It is true that Michigan coach Red 
Berenson has instilled his team 
with a mentality to take games one 
at a time. But the regular season is 
long, and players are acutely aware 
of how talented their opponents 
are. And in those early years, 
the Wolverines had the definite 
on-paper advantage over the 
Nittany Lions — perhaps leading 
to some glancing past them.

“They surprised some teams,” 

Nagelvoort said. “We were one of 
those teams. … I think they had 
performances that were above 
their paygrade at the time — 
which, give them credit for. They 
beat us and they beat some other 
teams that they quote-unquote 
shouldn’t have beat.”

At this point, though, there 

appears to be little possibility that 
Michigan overlooks Penn State, 
which is 21-9-2 and in position for 
its first NCAA Tournament berth, 
or is surprised by its offensive 
scheme going forward.

They have finally accepted their 

new role — however unfamiliar 
or unexpected it may be — as the 
scrappy underdog. It is a different 
type of reality: Michigan can no 
longer move up in the Big Ten 
standings. An NCAA Tournament 
berth won’t be on the line for them 
this weekend. But the motivation 
is easy to find — for the six seniors 
whose careers will be celebrated 
after 
Saturday’s 
game, 
the 

weekend provides one last chance 
for retribution against Penn State. 
They have an opportunity to end 
their careers differently than how 
they began them, as the spoiler 
instead of the spoiled.

“Last year, we got our way with 

them, and this year, as seniors, we 
remember the feeling (from) our 
freshman year of them knocking 
us out of the tournament,” Kile 
said. “We have an opportunity 
where if we sweep them, we can 
make it really hard on them to 
make the tournament, so that’s 
our goal. … We want to sweep 
them this weekend and screw up 
their season.”

SOFTBALL
Michigan tries to ease 
pressure in Kentucky

Michigan 
softball 
coach 

Carol Hutchins has noticed 
a simple theme plaguing her 
team. 

“I think when the kids feel 

the pressure, they try too hard,” 
Hutchins said. “That’s exactly 
what is going on with them.”

Despite the success that 

the 17th-ranked Wolverines 
typically enjoy against the 
nation’s 
elite 
programs, 

Michigan has gone just 2-5-1 
against 
ranked 
opponents 

this season — including three 
shutout losses in California 
over Spring Break.

So in this weekend’s Jim 

Cropp Classic, which features 
two matchups against No. 19 
Kentucky and contests with 
Evansville and 
Kent 
State, 

Hutchins 
simply 
wants 

her hitters to 
relax 
at 
the 

plate.

 “This year’s 

been 
tougher 

than previous 
years 
— 
we 

haven’t started 
the 
way 
we 

wanted to,” said senior right-
hander Megan Betsa. “One of 
the biggest things (Hutchins) 
keeps stressing is do less. One 
of the biggest things we need 
to focus on is that it’s just a 
softball game.”

Thus, this week’s practices 

were centered around mental 
composure 
and 
hitting 

under pressure — both of 
which have developed into 
significant shortcomings in 
the opening month. Michigan 
even took two practices off 
at the beginning of the week 
following a 10-day California 
trip in hopes of collecting 
themselves. 

Junior first baseman Tera 

Blanco has fallen victim to 
this tension more than any 

Wolverine, as her batting 
average has plummeted 180 
points from last season’s .404 
mark. Blanco — statistically 
Michigan’s 
best 
returning 

hitter 
from 
2016 
— 
has 

especially been a focus of the 
relaxed approach Hutchins is 
trying to instill in her team. 

“Tera tries too hard, and 

tried so hard that her swing 
gets really big,” Hutchins said. 
“We did a couple good drills 
that helps you stay short to the 
ball and smack it, and she was 
better at my station today, but 
she’s got to quit trying.”

Sidelined with an injury, 

sophomore outfielder Natalie 
Peters didn’t play in the second 
California tournament over 
spring break. Hutchins said 
that she hopes to use Peters 
this weekend and will continue 

to 
tweak 

the 
batting 

order 
until 

Michigan finds 
consistent 
offensive 
production 
— 

not 
a 
single 

lineup 
was 

repeated 
in 

the team’s five 
games 
last 

weekend.

Sophomore 
second 

baseman 
Faith 
Canfield 

combated the sluggish trend 
set by Wolverine hitters last 
week, suggesting that she 
could see more at-bats near 
the top of the order. She hit 
.538 and provided the team 
with its only two runs in a 
2-0 victory over Cal State 
Fullerton last Friday.

While Canfield has enjoyed 

recent progress, a matchup 
with a ranked Kentucky team 
provides Michigan with the 
challenge the Wolverines have 
faced all season, balancing 
pressure with performance.

But for the team to have 

success, 
as 
Hutchins 
has 

reminded them all week, it’s as 
simple as not trying too hard.

“I think when 
the kids feel the 
pressure, they 
try too hard.”

MARK CALCAGNO

Daily Sports Writer

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

EVAN AARON/Daily

Senior forward Alex Kile gets one last crack at a Penn State team that has caused problems for Michigan over the years.

Penn State 
at Michigan

Matchup: 
Penn State 
21-9-2; 
Michigan 
11-18-3

When: Friday, 
Saturday 
7:30 P.M.

Where: Yost 
Ice Arena

TV/Radio: 
BTN Plus

MATTHEW VAILLIENCOURT/Daily

Sophomore infielder Ako Thomas leads Michigan with 10 stolen bases heading into this weekend’s road trip.

‘M’ heads to Lipscomb for series

The Michigan baseball team 

(9-3) is fresh off a stellar spring 
break trip in California, but the 
Wolverines couldn’t care less. 
The only thing on their minds 
is their upcoming series against 
Lipscomb (8-4) this weekend. 

“Hank Aaron told us when 

he spoke to us, ‘What you did 
yesterday is only good for 
wrapping dead fish,’ ” said 
Michigan coach Erik Bakich. 
“Spring Break has nothing to 
do with today or the weekend 
moving forward. We’ve got to 
re-center, get back to training 
and busting our butts and 
working hard to allow us to have 
success moving forward.”

Michigan will kick off the 

three-game 
series 
Friday 

afternoon in Nashville, Tenn. 
Though the team may not be 
interested in what happened 
last week, it has surely garnered 
some national attention.

The Wolverines entered the 

D1baseball.com poll at No. 24 and 
the Collegiate Baseball News poll 

at No. 19. If Michigan continues 
with its impressive offense, these 
rankings will only improve.

After a hot start, redshirt 

sophomore 
outfielder 
Miles 

Lewis has not cooled down and 
has led the Wolverines with 
a .340 batting average, while 
three of his teammates are also 
batting above 300.

Sophomore 
infielder 
Ako 

Thomas follows closely behind 
Lewis with a .333 average, 17 
hits and 10 RBIs. He’s also tied 
for fourth in the nation in stolen 
bases, in which Michigan also 
ranks first as a team, success that 
comes from a more aggressive 
style of play.

“We’re just as fast as we were 

last year,” said senior infielder 
Michael Brdar, who also already 
has seven steals this season. “It 
was (Thomas and my) first year, 
didn’t have all the confidence 
we do now. I think now when 
we run the bases we have more 
confidence and trust ourselves.”

The Wolverines may not have 

faced any similar opponents to 
the Bisons this season, but they 
know what to expect.

“Our coaches do a very good 

job at scouting,” Thomas said. 
“They’ll give us the scouting 
report on who we’re going to 
face: pitching, types of hitters 
they have, the kind of defense 
we’re going to be in and things 
like that. That usually helps 
prepare us most for teams we’ve 
never played before.”

Michigan’s junior left-hander 

Oliver Jaskie has established 
himself as the best on the mound 
for the Wolverines. He boasts a 
2.25 earned-run average, 16 
strikeouts and has only allowed 
11 hits through 16 innings.

Lipscomb’s 
biggest 
threat 

on the mound is right-hander 
Dayton Tripp, but due to a 
rescheduled 
game 
against 

Tennessee Tech, Tripp pitched 
on Wednesday and is unlikely 
to see the field against the 
Wolverines.

The Bisons may be riding 

a high from a two-game win 
streak, most recently beating 
Tennessee Tech and Auburn, 
but if they’re anything like this 
Michigan team, they will only be 
looking ahead.

PAIGE VOEFFRAY

Daily Sports Writer

Michigan 
vs. Purdue

Matchup: 
Michigan 21-11; 
Purdue 25-6

When: Friday 
12 P.M.

Where: Verizon 
Center

TV/Radio: ESPN

MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Editor

