6A — Thursday, March 23, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Sweet 16 Preview: ‘M’ to battle Oregon

This isn’t just a feel-good story 

anymore. 

Thirteen days ago, it was about 

the 
plane, 

the 
practice 

jerseys and the 
improbable 
performance 
the 
Michigan 

men’s 
basketball 
team put forth 
in its Big Ten 
Tournament 
opener. 
The 

eighth-seeded 
Wolverines 
dismantled 
Illinois, 75-55, and it felt like an 
underdog tale.

That win turned into a Big 

Ten Tournament championship, 
and this weekend, Michigan has 
a chance to punch its ticket to 
the Final Four for the first time 
since 2013.

“I think winning those four 

games in a row, against who we 
beat,” said Michigan coach John 
Beilein. “…I think that after that, 
these kids just said, ‘Hey, we go 
into this NCAA Tournament, we 
can play with anybody.’ After the 
gauntlet, they just ran.”

Despite being a No. 7 seed, the 

word “underdog” doesn’t quite 
fit anymore. The Wolverines are 
playing great basketball, and with 
each passing day, it has felt more 
like Michigan can make a run at 
the title.

But 
first 
comes 
Oregon. 

Thursday night, the Wolverines 
will tip off against the Ducks at 
the Sprint Center with a spot in 
the Elite Eight on the line, and 
Michigan’s experience in the 
opening weekend could prove 
invaluable.

When 
Michigan 
faced 

Oklahoma State and Louisville, 
those opponents were ranked first 

and seventh in adjusted offensive 
efficiency and adjusted defensive 
efficiency, respectively, according 
to Ken Pomeroy.

While 
the 
Ducks 
don’t 

necessarily fall into the elite tier 
of either category, they still rank 
in the top 25 for both.

“They can really put the ball 

in the basket, man, from a lot 
of different places,” said senior 
guard Derrick Walton Jr. “And 
they’re athletic. They got some 
athletic guys.

“…(Oregon 
is) 
like 
a 

combination of the last two teams, 
I think, but again, I think we fare 
well against a lot of different 
competition this year, so we’ll just 
see how this game plays out and 
make the proper adjustments.”

Though the Wolverines have 

showcased an ability to make 
those adjustments, they will still 
have their hands full. Finding 
a way to stop Oregon’s three-
headed monster of Dillon Brooks, 
Tyler Dorsey and Jordan Bell is 
no easy task.

Over the last five games, Brooks 

is averaging an impressive 18.8 
points while shooting 42 percent 
from the floor. Dorsey, on the 
other hand, has been playing on a 
whole new level. The sophomore 
guard is averaging 23.6 points on 
65-percent shooting through the 
last five contests.

In 
all 
likelihood, 
redshirt 

sophomore forward DJ Wilson 
and junior guard Muhammad-
Ali Abdur-Rahkman will match 
up with Brooks and Dorsey, 
respectively.

Though Wilson fared well 

against Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ 
and Nigel Hayes and Purdue’s 
Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas, 
Brooks is a different type of 
forward and could arguably be 
his biggest defensive challenge of 
the year.

The obstacles don’t end there, 

either.

The Ducks boast a plethora 

of talent outside of Brooks and 
Dorsey. Bell has shot nearly 63 
percent from the floor to this 
point, and in Oregon’s opening 
weekend, the junior forward 
cleaned up on the glass — grabbing 
24 boards through two games.

That’s not to say Oregon isn’t 

still vulnerable.

While the Ducks haven’t felt 

the impact of losing injured 
forward Chris Boucher through 
their 
first 
two 
games, 
the 

Wolverines may be able to tear 
that wound wide open.

Prior to Boucher’s ACL injury, 

Oregon allowed just 0.97 points 
per possession — good for first 
in the Pac-12. In the three games 
without Boucher, though, the 
Ducks are allowing 1.14 points per 
possession.

What’s more, Oregon has made 

a living from points off turnovers 
— averaging 15.8 points off 13.6 
takeaways. Michigan, on the 
other hand, leads the nation with 

just 9.2 turnovers per game, and 
has turned the ball over just 10 
times in the last two games.

“It’s not something that we 

just say, ‘OK, today we’re gonna 
take care of the ball,’ ” Beilein 
said. “It’s been like day one 
from the first summer practice 
that we’re valuing that. … It’s 
not like we got this elaborate 
press breaker.”

“It’s just the day-to-day things 

you do every day knowing that the 
way our system works. It’s about 
possessions.”

If the Wolverines can continue 

to take care of the ball, while 
also keeping pace with the 1.212 
points per possession they are 
averaging over the last three 
games, Michigan’s Dance could 
be far from over.

After all, when asked Tuesday 

if this team could make it to the 
Final Four, Wilson’s message 
was simple: “I mean, we can beat 
anybody, so I think so.”

Wolverines’ storybook postseason journey rolls into Kansas City this weekend

Chris Boucher leads Oregon, 

the best shot-blocking team in 
the country, with an average of 
2.5 blocks per game. 

But two weeks ago, the Ducks 

lost their 6-foot-10 forward to 
a season-ending ACL injury 
in the semifinals of the Pac-12 
Tournament, a big blow to the 
rotation of the Michigan men’s 
basketball 
team’s 
opponent 

Thursday.

To adjust to the absence of 

Boucher, Oregon coach Dana 
Altman shifted his star player, 
Pac-12 Player of the Year Dillon 
Brooks to the ‘4’ position, going 
with a smaller lineup to open 
the game.

While 
shot 
blocking 
is 

something 
Michigan 
has 

struggled 
with, 
evident 
in 

close games 
against 
Minnesota 
and 
Louisville 
— two top-
10 
shot-

blocking 
teams 
— 

Oregon’s 
small-ball 
lineup 
creates other problems for the 
Wolverines.

“They’re a very talented 

team,” said Michigan coach 
John 
Beilein. 
“I’ve 
been 

watching Dillon Brooks since 
he was playing with the Ontario 
teams earlier in his career.”

With 
Brooks 
starting 

off the game at the ‘4,’ he 
will be redshirt sophomore 
DJ 
Wilson’s 
defensive 

responsibility.

While Wilson will have the 

height advantage — Brooks is 
6-foot-7, Wilson is 6-foot-10 — 
Brooks shoots the ball at a 50.5 
percent clip while scoring 16.4 
points per game this season.

Wilson, though, says he’ll 

be ready, citing that he will go 
up against redshirt freshman 
guard Charles Matthews on the 
practice squad to prepare.

“I know Charles will imitate 

(Brooks) on the Scout team,” 
Wilson said. “I go against 
Charles all the time in practice. 
It’s nothing new to me.”

While 
Matthews 
is 
two 

inches shorter than Brooks, 
he possesses some of the same 
qualities in his shooting and 
passing ability, as well as his 
shifty ability to get to the rim.

With 
Brooks 
being 
a 

traditional ‘3,’ other Wolverines 
might have a chance to guard 
him as well, mainly senior 
forward 
Zak 
Irvin. 
Given 

Irvin’s defensive prowess in 
the last couple weeks, he’ll also 
be ready for the challenge.

“I feel like I’m able to 

guard anyone that I get put up 

against,” Irvin said, “Dillon 
Brooks is a great player, and 
I think DJ will be good to 
start off on him because of his 
length. DJ is so versatile as 
well, and he can guard a couple 
different positions too.”

But more than just the 

matchup between Brooks and 
Wilson, Oregon’s new offense 
has a certain familiarity factor 
for Michigan.

When 
junior 
forward 

Duncan Robinson is in the 
lineup at the ‘4,’ forming 
Michigan’s so-called “small-
ball lineup,” players have cited 
that going up against it in 
practice makes them feel more 
prepared 
for 
what 
Oregon 

brings to the table.

With Brooks at the ‘4,’ 

the Ducks will have just one 
traditional big man in the 

lineup 
— 

forward 
Jordan 
Bell 
will 

start 
while 

forward 
Kavell 
Bigby-
Willams will 
come 
off 

the 
bench 

— 
which 

creates 
matchup 
problems for 

most teams.

Michigan, though, given its 

affinity for the same type of 
lineup, says it is well-prepared.

“It’s a little bit easier,” Irvin 

said. “We’re used to playing 
small ball, and they play small 
ball, so I think it’ll be a good 
matchup for us.”

Beilein said Tuesday that the 

best preparation for a team is to 
play other similar teams.

Luckily for the Wolverines, 

Oregon 
looks 
to 
run 
in 

transition, much like Oklahoma 
State, and the Ducks have a lot 
of length — Bell is more than 
capable of guarding Michigan’s 
guards 
with 
his 
wingspan 

— 
much 
like 
Louisville’s 

frontcourt.

“Every game over the course 

of a season is practice for the 
next game, and that’s what 
we’ve had, two great practices,” 
Beilein said. “But so have they, 
so who responds the best, who 
makes their foul shots, who 
turns the ball over less and who 
gets the ball to bounce their 
way will determine this one.”

The Wolverines will go into 

Thursday’s matchup familiar 
with the type of game that 
Oregon likes to play.

But once the ball is tipped, 

the real test will be which team 
can adjust to what the other 
team brings.

Michigan ready to play small ball vs. 
fast, athletic, third-seeded Ducks

SOFTBALL
SOFTBALL

‘M’ wins tune-up, 8-2

Senior right-hander Megan 

Betsa threw a nine-pitch, three-
strikeout inning. Junior right-
hander 
Tera 
Blanco hit 
a three-run 
homer and had a solid showing in 
the circle. The Michigan softball 
team scored eight runs on six hits. 
And the Wolverines are riding 
a five-game win streak — the 
longest of their season. 

All of the pieces are finally 

coming together, and just in time 
for conference play. According 
to coach Carol Hutchins, the 
team’s hard work has made the 
difference.

“We’ve had a lot of kids 

coming in extra in the last week,” 
Hutchins said. “Their desire to 
get better is what a coach wants 
to see, so we’re just working to get 
better. We’re a better team than 
we were a week ago.” 

In their fifth consecutive home 

win and final game prior to Big Ten 
play, the 19th-ranked Wolverines 
(19-7-1) made use of extra-base 
hits, toppling Eastern Michigan, 
8-2, Wednesday afternoon. 

Though Michigan and the 

Eagles (11-12) were close with 
six and five hits, respectively, 
the 
Wolverines 
consistently 

capitalized on runners in scoring 
position. 
Eastern 
Michigan’s 

offense failed to do the same, 
and woke up solely in the fourth 
inning.

After earning Big Ten Pitcher 

of the Week honors following a 
30-strikeout, one-hit weekend, 
Betsa took a break with Blanco 
starting in the circle for the 
second day in a row. Blanco set a 
commanding tone from the start, 
striking out the first Eagle batter 
who stepped up to the plate.

Michigan 
carried 
this 

intensity to the plate, wasting no 
time to get numbers on the board. 
From the leadoff spot, sophomore 
right fielder Natalie Peters hit a 
hard-bouncing blooper over third 
base that proved too much for the 
Eagles’ defense, resulting in an 
inside-the-park homer. Not only 

was this type of home run unique, 
but for the leadoff slap-hitter, it 
was the first of any kind in her 
collegiate career.

“Usually, since it was a blooper 

hit, I might be able to get two 
(bases),” Peters said. “And then I 
saw (the third baseman) missed 
it, so I kept going.”

The Wolverines would see 

an offensive awakening again 
in the third, with sophomore 
second baseman Faith Canfield 
and senior centerfielder Kelly 
Christner posting back-to-back 
RBI, widening the gap to 3-0.

With Canfield on second 

and Christner on first, Blanco 
drilled a bomb to the right-
field bleachers, her second of 
the season, to put Michigan 
ahead, 6-0.

But just as Blanco began to 

look poised at the plate, she saw 
a decline in consistency in the 
circle. With the first two Eastern 
Michigan batters on second and 
third in the fourth, the Eagles 
cranked an RBI single followed 
by a double steal, scoring the only 
two runs they would see all game. 
While Eastern Michigan had only 
one hit before that point, it added 
four hits to its count in the top of 
the fourth inning.

Despite Blanco’s performance 

in the fourth inning, Hutchins 
had nothing but praise for the 
right-hander’s overall showing in 
the game.

“I’m pleased,” Hutchins said. 

“I feel like Tera’s really settling 
into her role as a starting pitcher 
for us. She got out of that inning, 
and it didn’t seem to faze her.”

Betsa made an appearance 

in the circle for the last three 
innings and made sure to make 
it count. The ace saw one perfect 
inning, two 1-2-3 innings and six 
strikeouts, allowing no hits.

The final matchup before 

conference play showcased the 
best that Michigan softball has to 
offer: the ability to find power and 
timing at the plate, two confident 
starting pitchers and a lineup 
that best suits the Wolverines. If 
hard work and high-caliber game 
performance like this ensues, 
Michigan will be primed for 
success heading into Big Ten play.

Blanco starts second 
straight game in circle

It’s become routine. 
With 
both 
junior 
right-

hander Tera Blanco and senior 
right-hander 
Megan 
Betsa 

finding their grooves on the 
mound, the pitching rotation 
— in which the two pitchers 
alternate games — has become 
something of a formality.

The last time either pitcher 

started two straight games in 
the same series came back in 
the ACC/Big Ten Challenge last 
month 
against 

North 
Carolina 

State and Notre 
Dame, 
when 

Blanco 
started 

each of the final 
two 
games 
of 

the 
four-game 

tournament. 
Betsa has thrown 
more innings, 91.1 
to Blanco’s 80.2. 
But that disparity 
largely came in the early season, 
when Blanco was still adjusting 
to pitching regularly and often 
didn’t last as deep into games.

With a pitching schedule that 

rigid, it becomes noteworthy 
when Michigan coach Carol 
Hutchins decides to stray from 
the norm. 

Wednesday was such a day.
A day after starting against 

Bowling Green, Blanco, not 
Betsa, trotted out to the circle 
in the top of the first inning 
against Eastern Michigan. 

With back-to-back games 

against 
two 
Mid-American 

Conference foes and Betsa 
having 
some 
minor 
back 

tightness, Hutchins identified 
an opportunity to give Blanco 
more innings. Pitching Blanco 
in each game, she believed, 
would be mutually beneficial 
for Blanco, the team and Betsa. 

“Megan’s back kind of acted up 

over the weekend a little bit. She 
was tight yesterday. Certainly, 
pitching in the cold is tough … 
we were a little concerned with 

that,” Hutchins said. “It’s good 
for Tera to have to carry the load. 
It’s good for Tera to have to pitch 
two days in a row.”

From Blanco’s standpoint, 

the decision makes logical 
sense. As she continues to 
become acquainted with her 
role as the second starter — a 
new role for her in 2017 — more 
innings and more reps become 
valuable commodities. 

Blanco has already proven 

more reliable of late, becoming 
a more efficient pitcher. Since 
Feb. 26, Blanco has posted a 

2.03 
earned-

run 
average 

with 
a 
7.14 

strikeout-to-
walk ratio in 
over 40 innings 
pitched, 
compared to a 
2.73 ERA and 
1.3 
strikeout-

to-walk 
ratio 
before. 

With 
the 

conference season beginning 
this weekend against Penn 
State, Blanco finding her form 
to complement Betsa has been 
a positive development for the 
Wolverines’ pitching staff.

Perhaps, though, the decision 

to start Blanco says more about 
how the team feels about 
Betsa going forward. Betsa has 
thrown over 200 innings each 
of the last two seasons and 
seems on pace to do the same in 
2017. Since Betsa has dealt with 
lingering injuries in previous 
seasons, Hutchins has been 
open about needing to keep her 
healthy throughout the length 
of the season. While back 
stiffness tends to be relatively 
minor, Hutchins deemed it not 
worthy of risking, given the 
environment and opponent.

Saving four innings in a 

March game may sound trivial in 
the grand scheme of the season.

What may seem trivial now, 

though, could loom large if it 
ensures a healthy Megan Betsa 
in May.

MAX MARCOVITCH

Daily Sports Writer

“It’s good for 
Tera to have 
to carry the 

load.”

Michigan 
vs. Oregon

Matchup: 
Michigan 26-11; 
Oregon 31-5

When: 
Thursday 
7:09 P.M.

Where: Sprint 
Center

TV: CBS

KEVIN SANTO

Managing Sports Editor

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

John Beilein’s team can reach the Final Four with two wins this weekend.

MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Editor

EVAN AARON/Daily

Redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson (5) will draw the difficult task of 
guarding Oregon’s Pac-12 Player of the Year Dillon Brooks on Thursday night.

“DJ is so 

versatile, and 
he can guard a 
couple different 
positions too.”

For full coverage of the 
Midwest regional this weekend, 
check back on
www.michigandaily.com

ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer

EMU
MICHIGAN 

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