The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
Monday, November 27, 2017 — 3B
Reality check
T
he sobering reality was
clear well before Ohio State
scored just prior to the final
horn to cap off a brutal weekend for
the Michigan hockey team.
This reality was especially
sobering because it was a new
one. For
two straight
nights, the
Wolverines
had been
dominated in
every facet of
the game and
run off their
home ice.
They didn’t
try to deny it,
either.
“Overall, it just came down to
outworking us,” said sophomore
forward Jake Slaker. “All weekend
they outworked us, all six periods.”
Michigan coach Mel Pearson
employed his own analogy.
“The makeup came off and
we saw a lot of the blemishes this
weekend,” Pearson said. “We were
able to cover some things up, (but)
this weekend we saw a little bit of
some of the issues that we’re going
to have going forward.”
As it turns out, the Wolverines
had been applying plenty of
makeup. And the Buckeyes were
well-equipped to wash it off.
Some of Michigan’s blemishes
were more obvious than others.
The Wolverines haven’t allowed
less than three goals in a contest
since Nov. 2 against Ferris State.
After this weekend, they rank 55th
in the country in goals-against per
game.
Pearson believed his maligned
defense took steps forward “for
two and a half periods” in Friday’s
3-2 defeat. But the unit seemed to
take those same steps backward a
night later. Sloppy clearances and
giveaways deep in the defensive
zone have hurt Michigan all
season. They were responsible for
Ohio State’s second goal Saturday,
when junior defenseman Nicholas
Boka lost the puck behind his own
net, and nearly resulted in multiple
goals in the first period.
Prior to this weekend, the
Wolverines were able to, in
Pearson’s words, “outscore our
mistakes.” That wouldn’t be the
case — and wasn’t — against the
Buckeyes, who have allowed the
second-fewest goals and seventh-
fewest shots on goal per game in
the nation.
A 5-4 or 6-6 slugfest — scores
that Michigan has seen plenty
of this year — wasn’t expected
this weekend. And it’d be
unfair to judge the Wolverines’
offense entirely on its last two
performances.
But that doesn’t mean there
weren’t flaws — lack of depth
key among them. Michigan had
been relying too heavily on junior
forward Cooper Marody and senior
forward Tony Calderone, who had
combined for half of the team’s
points last weekend at Wisconsin.
Marody saw his eight-game multi-
point streak come to an end as he
was kept off the stat sheet Friday,
and the pair registered just two
assists against the Buckeyes.
“They took Cooper’s time and
space away, made it tough on those
guys and we just couldn’t step up,”
Pearson said. “And that’s what
we’re asking from some other
guys to get opportunities to give us
some depth, and we haven’t taken
advantage of that. That’s going to
continue to be an issue, so we’re
going to have to move some things
around.”
If there’s any silver lining to the
Wolverines’ showing this weekend,
it’s probably the fact that it took
place when it did, as they don’t
have an official game this week.
This gives Michigan a needed
opportunity to try to shore up its
numerous problems — a “good
work-week” according to Pearson.
Pearson even mentioned the idea of
shaking up the top line of Marody,
Calderone and senior forward
Dexter Dancs, a line which had
been so potent earlier in the season.
“They’ve been going pretty
good,” Pearson said. “But you get to
a point — you can’t break them up
when they’re rolling, so this might
be a good chance to experiment
and see where we’re at.”
Sitting in the media room at
Yost Ice Arena after Saturday’s
defeat, Slaker was asked if his team
could take away anything from the
weekend, when taking the parallels
between last year’s Michigan
team and this year’s outfit into
consideration.
“I don’t know if we can really
compare last season and this
season,” he replied. “I think it’s
totally different teams.”
Of course, Slaker’s correct.
These Wolverines are vastly
different in terms of coaching,
playing style and identity.
They’re different in terms of
caliber, too. Pearson stated at
Michigan’s media day that if he
was a forecaster, he would pick
the Wolverines — who won just
13 games last season — to win the
Big Ten. That was a much bolder
prediction before they split with
then-No. 15 Penn State in Happy
Valley and recorded a win and a tie
against then-No. 4 Minnesota.
But despite all of the concrete
progress made, a good number of
cracks were glossed over.
Certainly, there are three
months of hockey left to be played.
And a team in serious contention
for a conference title is entitled to a
rough couple games at some point.
But if the Wolverines truly are a
Big Ten contender, as they believe
they are, they’ll have to prove
that those couple games were an
exception rather than the rule.
All of Michigan’s deficiencies this
season were in full form against
Ohio State, and those deficiencies
manifested into a harsh wake-up
call.
Cold reality hit this weekend,
and the Wolverines weren’t ready.
Shames can be reached at
jacosham@umich.edu or on
Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Wagner, Matthews
building chemistry
It’s becoming a theme for the
Michigan men’s basketball team.
Junior
forward
Moritz
Wagner and redshirt sophomore
forward
Charles
Matthews
have mostly led the way for the
Wolverines.
That was most evident in
Michigan’s 87-42 drubbing of
UC-Riverside on Sunday, and it
started early in the game.
Wagner
scored
the
Wolverines’ first three baskets,
drilling a three, a midrange
jumper and a layup – with the last
two coming on Matthews assists.
Then Matthews threw down a
dunk, and away the Wolverines
went. Both players finished with
double-doubles. Matthews had
17 points and 12 assists, while
Wagner added 21 points and 10
rebounds.
As Michigan’s most talented
scorers, the duo often uses the
pick-and-roll to get open looks
for one another. After setting
screens, Wagner gets his points
by rolling to the hoop or popping
to the three-point line, and
Matthews gets his by pulling up
for a jumper or turning the corner
off and attacking the basket after
coming off a screen.
The pick-and-roll continued
to work on Sunday as four of
Wagner’s first seven points came
off the duo’s bread and butter.
Matthews came off a screen from
Wagner, drew a double team and
fed the popping Wagner on the
baseline. He hit the open jumper.
Moments later, after setting an
off-ball screen, Matthews drew
another double team and found
Wagner again. The junior spun
and laid the ball gently into the
hoop.
It’s a simple play, but to perfect
it, the two needed time to learn
each other’s games.
“We played with each other so
much over the summer, in open
gyms,” Matthews said. “So we
just said we knew that we were
going to be key components to
this team and we wanted to get
our chemistry down with one
another.”
Added Wagner: “It’s still a
work in progress, I think, …
trying to figure out tendencies
with each other, and there’s still
some issues here and there. But
I think we’re doing a really good
job figuring it out right now, and
now is a really good time to figure
it out.”
For Wagner, there was an
expectation
of
excellence
entering
this
season.
For
Matthews,
it
would
be
understandable if he was rusty.
After all, he hasn’t really played
important minutes in two years.
But Matthews blew up in the
Wolverines’
exhibition
game
against Grand Valley, and he has
continued to build on that, scoring
20 points in three of seven games.
With that, expectations have
risen to, and possibly exceeded,
those of Wagner.
“(Matthews) never had to
make decisions at Kentucky,” said
Michigan coach John Beilein.
“But the year that he was able to
redshirt with us … he worked so
hard on his game to get better.
Now, the lights come on, and now
he’s got to do it in real time. And
(he’s) just learning. I mean, he’s
a very young player with huge
potential.”
So far, Matthews has proven
he can produce in game action.
His
performance
Sunday
is
an example of his burgeoning
confidence on the court. Wagner
has been right alongside him,
averaging 6.9 more points per
game and 5.3 more rebounds per
game than he was at this point
last season.
As
the
season
progresses,
perhaps
Matthews
and
Wagner’s successes will open up
opportunities for players around
them. But for now, with games
against the likes of North Carolina,
UCLA and Texas coming up, the
duo’s upward trend has surfaced
at the right time.
The good, the bad and the ugly: No. 8 Ohio State
“It would make the season, you
know? This is what we play for — to
beat Ohio State.”
That was what Michigan’s Noah
Furbush said last Tuesday, just four
days before The Game.
Everyone knows it, from the
players and coaches. The season is
a disappointment if the Wolverines
don’t beat the Buckeyes. And by
that metric, for the 13th time in 14
years, Michigan’s season can be
considered a disappointment after a
31-20 loss.
And that’ll hurt Michigan even
more given how close it was to
making its season.
The Daily breaks down the good,
the bad and the ugly from Saturday’s
game.
The good
Michigan’s coaching staff pulled
out all the tricks for this one. The
Wolverines attacked the Buckeyes
with multiple new formations,
keeping Ohio State’s defense off-
balanced and confused. It was
exactly what an underdog has to do
to have a chance against a superior
team, and for a while, things were
working in Michigan’s favor.
The Wolverines fired off a
13-play, 77-yard drive that tied for
their longest touchdown drive of the
season. A nifty play-action pass near
the goal-line to Sean McKeon gave
Michigan a 14-point lead. Later, a
quick outside screen to Kekoa
Crawford gained 43 yards, setting
the Wolverines up for another
touchdown.
Michigan got several stellar
individual performances, as well.
Chris Evans carried the ball 11 times
for 67 yards, with several impressive
runs that featured multiple broken
tackles. Rashan Gary tallied 10
tackles, three tackles for loss and
two sacks, while Chase Winovich
added nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for
loss and one sack of his own. The
pair anchored a defense that held
its own for much of the game. Ohio
State, in fact, had negative-seven
total yards after the first quarter —
the fewest after any quarter during
Urban Meyer’s tenure.
Michigan was clearly ready
to battle. But the highlights were
outnumbered by the miscues.
The bad
The Wolverines have done a poor
job of protecting their quarterback
this year. As Wilton Speight and
Brandon Peters stood on the sideline,
both
injured
and
spectating,
Michigan struggled once again
in pass protection. The Buckeyes
tallied numerous pressures, racked
up five sacks and in general, made
life difficult for John O’Korn.
O’Korn, of course, didn’t make
life easy for himself either.
He missed several throws in
the first half. On the first drive,
Michigan called a delayed route for
Tyrone Wheatley Jr. in the middle
of the field. Wheatley had acres of
green turf in front of him. O’Korn
simply missed him, and on came the
punt team.
Then
there
was
the
late
interception that came on the very
first play of Michigan’s penultimate
drive. At that point, the Wolverines
had hope: they just had to move the
ball 77 yards in 2:47. Difficult, but
certainly achievable.
O’Korn, though, misread the
coverage, Jordan Fuller recorded
the easiest interception of his life
and that was it.
To add further insult, Ohio
State’s offense came on the field and
shredded a deflated defense for one
final touchdown.
The ugly
The coaching staff and players
probably reviewed yesterday’s tape
with thoughts of what could have
been. For all the scheming that went
into this week’s gameplan, there
were simply too many mistakes.
The miscues began on offense,
where the Wolverines continually
left yards and points on the table
thanks to simple mistakes. There
was a fumbled snap. There was
a botched handoff on which
the quarterback got stepped on,
tripped and fell down. That turned
a
manageable
2nd-and-1
into
3rd-and-4. Two incompletions later,
and the Wolverines had squandered
a golden opportunity in Buckeye
territory to win the game.
Earlier in the third quarter,
Maurice
Hurst
made
an
uncharacteristic
mistake.
The
fifth-year senior defensive tackle
has been Michigan’s best player
on defense all year. He’s one of the
best players in the country. But on a
2nd-and-7, he failed to keep contain
while stunting — and that allowed
Dwayne Haskins to scamper easily
for 22 yards.
That
entire
drive
was
a
backbreaker. After watching Ohio
State’s J.T. Barrett exit with an
injury, the Wolverines promptly
gave
up
a
time-consuming
touchdown drive to his backup,
who converted several tough third
downs and marched his team down
the field with ease. A J.K. Dobbins
touchdown gave the Buckeyes their
first lead of the game — a lead they
would not relinquish.
Michigan
might
not
have
even been in that situation had it
built on its quick start. Had Josh
Metellus held onto the ball after
Barrett threw it directly at him, the
Wolverines might be celebrating
their first win over Ohio State since
2011. But the ball tumbled to the
turf, Barrett strolled into the end
zone just a few plays later and the
Buckeyes’ comeback was on.
Those are all ‘what-ifs’ the
Wolverines will be thinking about
for the next year. And it seems that
every year, that’s what Michigan is
left to think about — what might, or
could, happen in the next matchup.
That’s simply what happens
when mistakes pile up — you lose,
and then you’re left contemplating
what could have been. For the
Wolverines, that holds doubly true
considering those mistakes came
against Ohio State of all teams.
‘M’ tops UC Riverside
For the time being, the starting
point guard spot is Eli Brooks’ to
lose.
Just over four minutes into
Sunday afternoon’s game, UC
Riverside’s Dikymbe Martin drove
towards the hoop and before
the basketball could grace the
backboard, it was met by the hand
of Brooks.
The freshman point guard
corralled the ball and charged to the
other end, dishing it in the corner to
fifth-year senior forward Duncan
Robinson for a transition 3-pointer.
Two possessions later, Brooks
was left alone in the corner for his
first shot of the game. Splash.
“He makes the other four guys
better right now. It’s that simple,”
said Michigan coach John Beilein.
“He just makes the other four guys
better. … He seems to be what I
call a ‘quick study,’ a guy that as
we continue to go game to game to
game that he can make really good
changes.”
Brooks’ play was the type of
smooth, intelligent performance
expected from a starting point
guard, as he finished with eight
points and four rebounds. And the
outing kickstarted the trajectory of
the Michigan men’s basketball team
87-42 drubbing of the Highlanders
(2-3).
“Obviously we took the loss to
LSU by two. We didn’t play the
game we were capable of playing,”
said freshman guard Jordan Poole.
“Obviously we started getting on
a stretch against Chaminade and
VCU. Today we were getting to
play comfortable, not thinking too
much. … We’re just kinda out there
just flowing.”
The first half was as clean
of basketball as the Wolverines
(6-1) have played all season. They
assisted on their first 10 baskets, and
held the advantage in nearly every
category for a 41-17 halftime edge.
Perhaps the most promising sign
gleaned from the first 20 minutes
was the Matthews-Wagner pick-
and-roll
combination.
Wagner
scored the contest’s first seven
points in every way he knows how:
a top-of-the-key trey, a mid-range
corner jumper and a spin move to
the basket for an easy layup.
For Matthews, it didn’t take long
for him to set a career-high in assists.
After dishing out a previous best of
four assists against Chaminade last
Tuesday, the redshirt sophomore
forward needed just over seven
minutes to notch five.
The second half offered much
of the same. Wagner scored
Michigan’s first five points — eight
of its first 12 — and Matthews had
three assists in the first five minutes.
Matthews’ 12 total assists and 17
points gave him his second career
double-double, also his second in
three games. Wagner also tallied a
double-double with 21 points and 10
boards.
“When you have a good game we
know that there will probably be a
bad game or worse game as well,”
Wagner said. “… We can see it every
day. We know that with this offense
and the way we play and the type of
players we have, it allows us to have
good players every game that are
different.”
While
the
all-around
contributions were a welcome
sign for the Wolverines, it doesn’t
make Beilein’s job any easier.
He
has
consistently
stressed
the importance of trimming the
rotation down to eight or nine
players, while all 16 players saw the
court on Sunday.
“I’m seeing who’s gonna grow
now. I’m seeing who’s gonna grow
the fastest,” Beilein said. “... That’s
up for grabs, and it’s still up for
grabs. It will be every game. I’m
just gonna go ‘Who practiced well?
Alright, you practiced well. Go in.’ ”
The Wolverines can rest easy
tonight about their lopsided win
over UC Riverside, but they will
have to put it in the past quickly.
A date with No. 9 North Carolina
awaits
on
Wednesday,
and
compared to the Highlanders, the
two matchups are apples to oranges
for Michigan.
MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Editor
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor
ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor
MEN’S BASKETBALL
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Rashan Gary’s 10 tackles were one silver lining for the Wolverines on Saturday.
EVAN AARON/Daily
Sophomore forward Jake Slaker was willing to admit that the Buckeyes outworked Michigan through all six periods.
JACOB
SHAMES