2B — Monday, November 13, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Despite slow start, 
Michigan wins big

It certainly wasn’t the way 

the Michigan men’s basketball 
team had hoped to open its 
regular season.

After a lackluster start left 

the Wolverines down seven 
with 10:18 left in the first 
half, it would be awhile before 
things got 
better. 
While 
Michigan 
eventually powered its way 
to an 87-67 win over North 
Florida, 
it 
wasn’t 
pretty, 

especially at the beginning of 
the contest.

In 
the 
first 
half, 
the 

Wolverines 
shot a meager 
38 percent from 
the field, were 
outrebounded 
20-14 and gave 
up a host of 
good looks on 
defense, as the 
Ospreys 
shot 

45 percent from 
the field and 67 
percent 
from 

three.

Michigan’s 
saving 
grace 

came 
from 
three 
major 

offensive 
contributors. 

Redshirt sophomore forward 
Charles 
Matthews, 
junior 

forward Moritz Wagner and 
fifth-year 
senior 
forward 

Duncan Robinson combined 
for 59 points. With their 
efforts, 
along 
with 
some 

timely contributions from role 
players, Michigan managed to 
secure a 1-0 record.

The deciding stretch came 

after a pair of free throws from 
Ospreys forward Wajid Aminu 
tied the game with 11:03 left to 
play. The Wolverines went on 
an 37-17 run to end the game, 
using opportunistic defense to 

force turnovers that resulted 
in open looks to earn a lead 
they would never relinquish.

“Little things kind of started 

to go our way here and there 
just because I think we had a 
heightened sense of urgency,” 
Robinson said. “The game kind 
of tends to favor the bold in 
that sense. Being more active, 
being the aggressor, you get 
more bounces, get shots to go 
in. That started happening in 
the second half.”

Turnovers were ultimately 

the key to the outcome. North 
Florida committed 24 of them, 
and though its hot shooting 
from deep kept the game close, 
the task of overcoming their 
mistakes proved to be too 

tough for the 
Ospreys.

“I 
thought 

they threw it to 
us a few times, 
but 
we 
were 

just trying to 
just be solid,” 
said Michigan 
coach 
John 

Beilein. 
“Sometimes, 
if you’re just 

solid, they’ll run out of options 
and they’ll throw it away. And 
that’s really what happened. 
We weren’t trapping, we were 
just playing straight, good, 
hard, pressure defense.”

Michigan won’t have long 

to ponder on the mistakes 
that kept this game close 
for most of its duration, as it 
will return to Crisler Center 
on Monday to face Central 
Michigan.

Though 
the 
Wolverines 

were expected to have some 
growing pains at the beginning 
of the season, if they don’t 
tighten up the basics, even 
some of their games against 
lackluster opponents could be 
contested. 

The Wolverines opened the season by 
eventually blowing out North Florida

MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Editor

Little things 
kind of started 
to go our way 
here and there

N. FLORIDA
MICHIGAN 

67
87

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN

Two games to change the narrative

A

nger is a powerful 
motivator, so said Jim 
Harbaugh this Saturday.

Well, it’s time to find out just how 

true that is. 

In the week that followed a 

thorough thrashing at the hands 
of then-No. 2 Penn State, the 
Wolverines’ disappointment 
— touched with a dose of that 
underlying anger — was palpable.

Defensive coordinator Don 

Brown said if the Wolverines went 
any harder in practice they would 
start hurting themselves.

Rashan Gary admitted he wasn’t 

sure how to feel. He said it hurt, but 
also said he was happy it happened, 

calling it adversity this team needed 
to go through.

And he called on those who said 

Michigan’s defense still needed to 
prove itself to pay attention for the 
rest of the year.

“I don’t feel personally we have 

to prove anything to anybody,” he 
said then.

The fact is, whether Gary deems 

it a necessary crucible or not, the 
Wolverines still haven’t proved any 
of their doubters wrong. Michigan 
has become a different team since 
its season was about to run off the 
rails in State College, but no one 
truly knows what that means yet.

The Wolverines have themselves 

a new quarterback in Brandon 
Peters, and he has acquitted himself 
well enough — completing 28 of his 

46 attempts for 329 yards and four 
touchdowns through three games.

Karan Higdon, and the stable 

of backs behind him, have thrived 
behind a resurgent offensive line 
— rushing for an average of 288.3 
yards per game.

The defense has done its part too, 

holding three straight opponents to 
14 points or less.

But the fact remains: the results 

against those opponents were 
expected all along. The Wolverines 
beat Rutgers and Minnesota 
handily at home. Saturday 
afternoon, they kept up with those 
expectations, notching a 35-10 
victory against Maryland in College 
Park.

They’ve picked up the pieces 

from the disaster in State College, 

but they haven’t put them entirely 
back together just yet. 

That anger still festers. It should 

for Jim Harbaugh too. And it goes 
beyond the confines of this season.

Yes, Michigan was embarrassed 

against Penn State. That one loss 
matters, but it is only one stroke of 
an ugly painting.

Last season, the Wolverines were 

sitting pretty, hopes of a College 
Football Playoff berth glimmering 
with three weeks remaining in the 
season.

Then they went to Iowa City, and 

lost. They went to Columbus, and 
lost. They went to the Orange Bowl 
and lost again. All in all, a season 
seemingly destined for glory was 
halted in its tracks.

So here Michigan is again, faced 

with two games to close the season 
that will be a barometer of just how 
far this team has come — not just 
since Penn State, but since last year.

Win them, and that’s another 

10-2 record with a whole lot of 
intangible progress attached to it. 
Lose them and, well, that’s a story 
for another day.

First up is a trip to Madison. No. 

5 Wisconsin hasn’t needed anger 
as a motivator, mainly because the 
Badgers don’t have much reason to 
be angry. They remain the Big Ten’s 
only undefeated team, and for the 
most part, it’s been an easy path to 
this point.

No. 8 Ohio State, on the other 

hand, had plenty to be angry about. 
And the Buckeyes can agree with 
Harbaugh on one thing: anger is a 
powerful motivator indeed. They 
avenged a 55-24 upset at Iowa by 
hanging 48 points on Michigan State 
— blowing the Spartans out at home.

The odds are grim for Michigan 

from here. Add in the fact that the 
Wolverines have yet to beat a team 
with a winning record this year, or 
that they haven’t beaten a ranked 
team on the road since 2006, and 
the odds are even grimmer.

But all those losses can’t be 

rectified until Michigan beats a 
quality opponent. And they’re about 
to face two.

Let’s see just how angry the 

Wolverines are. 

Santo can be reached at 

kmsanto@umich.edu or on 

Twitter @Kevin_M_Santo. 

Shattering expectations

E

verything to prove. 

This is how the 

Michigan hockey team 

entered its season, slated to be 
a bottom-feeder in the highly 
competitive Big Ten by the 
preseason coaches’ poll.

Over the first month of 

their season, the Wolverines 
relentlessly worked to shatter 
that predetermined image.

A sweep of Vermont in the 

home opening series. Chip.

A 5-2 rout 

of then-No. 
15 Penn State 
— at State 
College. Chip.

A fairly 

consistent 
top-10 
ranking for 
its potent 
offense. Chip.

Despite 

these early 
season accolades, uncertainty 
lingered. Michigan undoubtedly 
had talent, making last year’s 
lifeless squad seem like a 
remote memory far in the past. 
But what were the bounds of its 
success?

The conference home opener 

against No. 4 powerhouse 
Minnesota would act as a 
barometer for this question.

And the Wolverines were 

well aware of that beforehand.

“We’re playing a team 

that has balance and depth,” 
said Michigan coach Mel 
Pearson. “I don’t want to speak 
negatively to the teams we’ve 
played but they don’t quite 
have the depth in the scoring 
that Minnesota does.”

This weekend, all eyes 

turned anxiously to Ann Arbor 
to watch the Wolverines take 
on conference royalty.

And the first eight minutes 

of Friday’s second period 
emphasized that dethroning 
the Golden Gophers would not 
be simple. Minnesota’s stacked 
offense blitzed Michigan’s 

defensive zone, burying three 
goals, all while the Wolverines 
still had nothing to show for 
their efforts.

That moment could have 

been the answer to the question 
of how long Michigan’s early 
success could be sustained. 

In the Golden Gophers’ 

previous four games, they 
had been stingy, giving up a 
meager 0.75 goals per game on 
average. Two of those games 
were against No. 11 Clarkson. 
Michigan had just over half a 
game to resurrect its offense 
while simultaneously stopping 
Minnesota. You can do the 
math.

A comeback, given the 

circumstance, was pretty 
implausible. But Michigan 
wasn’t fazed.

By the second intermission, 

the Wolverines rallied to make 
it a one-goal game. By the end 
of regulation, they had tacked 
on two more, sending the game 
to overtime.

On a power play in extra 

time, a shot from sophomore 
forward Will Lockwood 
connected with fifth-year 
senior Alex Roos’ helmet in 
front of the Gopher net. It 
was unorthodox, but the puck 
tipped in. Michigan won. Yost 
Ice Arena erupted.

“I’ve been in hockey a long 

time,” Pearson said. “You see 
a lot of strange things happen, 
so until that final second is off 
the clock, you continue to play. 
And that’s what I like about 
this team. And you’re going 
to continue to see that from 
them.”

In the series’ second 

game, the Wolverines saw a 
shockingly similar storyline. 
They had a four-goal deficit in 
the second. They again played 
what Pearson described as 
“heart-attack hockey,” tying 
the game at six with just over a 
minute left in the final period. 
After a fruitless overtime on 
both sides of the puck, the 
battle ended in a draw.

“Sometimes a tie feels like 

a loss,” Pearson said. “And 
sometimes, a tie actually 
feels like a win. And just the 
situation we were in, and to 
come back and get a tie for 
NCAA purposes is huge.”

And indeed it should feel 

like a win.

This weekend was a test. 

And the Wolverines passed it 
with flying colors.

No, it wasn’t pretty. Friday’s 

5-4 overtime win was not a 
blowout, and Michigan didn’t 
sweep the weekend. Both 
nights, the Wolverines played 
thriller hockey, only emerging 
midway through the game, 
and in the nick of time for a 
dazzling comeback in both 
games.

Yet Michigan, unranked, 

rattled the Gophers, who — up 
until Friday — were yet to give 
up five goals in one sitting. 
The next night they gave up 
six. The Wolverines battled 
adversity and walked away 
with a victory. Minnesota 
alternatively left Yost 
emptyhanded, devoid of a win 
on the weekend for the first 
time this season.

“(Minnesota) is a good 

hockey team,” Pearson said. 
“I thought for the most part 

it brought the best out in our 
team at times.”

There is no more conjecture 

regarding the extent of 
Michigan’s talent this season. 
The Wolverines gave the 
Golden Gophers their most 
troublesome weekend thus far 
this season, affirming that they 
can compete with the best. 
And what more, really, could 
Michigan have asked for?

Minnesota will view this 

weekend as a bitter loss. 
Michigan should view it as a 
win.

Following the weekend, the 

Wolverines are likely to earn 
a top-20 ranking for the first 
time this season. Even so, the 
team is continuing to raise 
the bar regarding its personal 
expectations.

“Yeah, you know we got a 

lot of confidence, but we got 
to keep moving forward,” 
Lockwood said. “We’re not 
going to settle for that, we 
aren’t going to settle for a win 
and a loss. We’re going to take 
that as a 1-1 weekend, and 
going into next weekend try to 
sweep.”

Of course this is the mindset 

Michigan has to maintain to 
prevent missing a step in the 
Big Ten — especially with a 
series against No. 7 Wisconsin 
next weekend.

But for the first time this 

season, the Wolverines have 
quieted their critics. They 
showed they can score, even 
when pressed for time. They 
can fight back from large 
deficits. They can keep up with 
top competitors.

As for that predetermined 

image?

Michigan just notched four 

points against the fourth-
ranked team in the nation. 

Crack.

Marcus can be reached at 

annahm@umich.edu or on 

Twitter @Anna_H_Marcus.

ANNA 
MARCUS

KEVIN SANTO

Managing Sports Editor

MAX KUANG/Daily

Fifth-year senior forward Alex Roos was responsible for an unorthodox game-winning goal Friday, as Will Lockwood’s shot bounced off his helmet into the net.

