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.