The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, December 7, 2017 — 5A

Spartans beckon in home-and-home clash

Griffin Luce was definitive 

on what he wanted to see out of 
his team this weekend.

“We’re just not gonna let 

them 
have 
the 
puck,” 
the 

sophomore defenseman said. 
“We’re gonna play with the 
puck in their end and when they 
do get the puck we’re gonna 
shut them down early.”

Luce is reiterating a sentiment 

that has been ever-present for 
the Michigan hockey team (2-4-
2 Big Ten, 6-6-2 overall) – give a 
hard-nosed and swift defensive 
performance 
that 
translates 

into a powerful offensive front.

However, 
this 
hasn’t 

happened recently, as evidenced 
by their forfeiture of eight 
goals against Ohio State last 
weekend. The Wolverines have 
one more chance this calendar 
year to reverse a recent skid, 
and it will come this weekend 
against Michigan State (1-6-1, 
7-8-1).

In terms of Big Ten rankings, 

the Spartans are the one team 
slated below Michigan, and 
the pair – alongside Ohio 
State – look up at a conference 
headlined by No. 4 Notre Dame.

“As much as we’ve played 

maybe 
inconsistently, 
we’re 

right in the thick of things,” said 
Michigan coach Mel Pearson. 
“This is a huge weekend. If we 
can string together a couple 
real good games and we’re right 
in the thick of things in the Big 
Ten.”

The Wolverines and Spartans 

face off at Yost Ice Arena on 
Thursday, but travel to East 
Lansing on Friday for their first 
home-and-home set of the year.

Coming off an exhibition win 

earlier this week against the 
U-18 U.S. National Development 
Team Program, Michigan was 
able to notch a week of much-
needed practice.

“I definitely think we’ve used 

it to our advantage,” Pearson 
said. “I think having that game 
was very important. … We got 
to work on our power play, our 
special teams and some other 

things.”

The special teams practice 

will likely come into play 
heavily against the Spartans. 
Compared to Michigan State’s 
.203 conversion percentage on 
power-plays, the Wolverines’ is 
just .164.

Forwards 
Mitchell 

Lewandowski, 
Taro 
Hirose 

and Patrick Khodorenko have 
tallied 49 points thus far, 
making the Spartans’ leading 
line enemy number one for the 
Michigan defense.

“I think we’ll play strength 

against strength,” Pearson said. 
“We think we have three lines 
that can play against them and 
do a good job. … Obviously we’ll 
make our players aware of them, 
but I think the best way to shut 
a line down like that is to force 
them to play without the puck.”

The 
Wolverines 
are 
no 

stranger to this type of first-
line brilliance, though. Senior 
forwards Dexter Dancs and 
Tony 
Calderone, 
alongside 

junior forward Cooper Marody, 
have been present in every 

discussion of the Michigan 
offense.

The trio has combined for 

47 points so far this season, 
but 
following 
a 
standstill 

performance at Ohio State in 
which the Wolverines were 
swept at home, Pearson decided 
it would be time for a change.

While 
the 
Wolverines’ 

leading line is expected to 
remain intact, by switching 
Calderone 
and 
sophomore 

forward Will Lockwood for the 
matchup against the USNDTP, 
Pearson 
proved 
that 
those 

efforts 
for 
versatility 
were 

feasible.

“We experimented with a 

couple things this weekend,” 
Dancs said. “I think mine’s 
staying together so I think it’ll 
be good for us, we’ve had some 
success but the last few games 
we haven’t been as good as we 
were in previous weekends.”

While Michigan may have 

a slightly better conference 
record, the Wolverines must 
avoid defensive lapses to keep 
the Spartans’ offense at bay.

MAX KUANG/Daily

Sophomore defenseman Griffin Luce was blunt in saying that the Wolverines will not let Michigan State control the puck when they face off this weekend.

ROBERT HEFTER

Daily Sports Writer

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Marquette offense 
poses threat for ‘M’

One of the nation’s most prolific 

offenses will roll through Crisler 
Center on Thursday night – and 
it doesn’t belong to the Michigan 
women’s basketball team. 

The 24th-ranked Wolverines 

(6-2) will have their hands full 
with the potent Marquette attack, 
something coach Kim Barnes 
Arico is fully aware of.

“Marquette is a great team,” 

said Barnes Arico on WTKA. 
“They had a tremendous season 
last year and they have everyone 
returning. This will be a great 
matchup for us because this will 
be an NCAA Tournament team 
for sure.”

The Golden Eagles (4-3) rank 

16th in the NCAA scoring 84.4 
points per game, 20th in field 
goal percentage at 46.9 and 22nd 
in assists with just over 18 per 
game. For comparison, Michigan 
averages 73.1 points per game, 
shoots 46.4 percent from the field 
and amasses 14.3 assists.

Despite 
the 
statistical 

disadvantage, 
the 
Wolverines 

should be confident following two 
consecutive blowout victories. 
Michigan 
outscored 
LIU 

Brooklyn and Detroit Mercy by 
a margin of 73 points. Marquette 
however, is on a different level 
than either of the previous two 
foes. 

The Wolverines will also have 

a slight edge on defense. Led by 
senior forward Jillian Dunston, 
Michigan has allowed 62.1 points 
per game thus far. But at times 
this season, Barnes Arico and 
multiple players have admitted to 
lapses defensively. In order to beat 
a sound Golden Eagles team, the 
Wolverines must play consistent 
defense for all 40 minutes.

On the other hand, Marquette 

gives up an average of 68.3 points 
each game. This number may be 
somewhat inflated though, as a 
result of the Golden Eagles high-
tempo offense. Also, Marquette’s 
full court press – a strategy they 

run the entire game – may wear 
on the Wolverines.

“We try to practice moving 

the basketball as quickly as we 
can,” Barnes Arico said. “If you 
move the basketball, it’s hard to 
trap. So, we just try to continue 
to practice against those numbers 
and simulate those situations as 
much as possible.”

The most intriguing matchup 

– and what the game may come 
down to – lies at the guard 
positions.

Senior 
guard 
Katelynn 

Flaherty 
leads 
Michigan 
in 

scoring with 23 points per 
game. Since Flaherty sees time 
at both the point and shooting 
guard positions, she will match 
up against the Golden Eagles’ 
two leading scorers – guards 
Allazia Blockton and Natisha 
Hiedeman. The duo combines 
for over 33 points and eight 
assists per game.

The Wolverines will need a 

solid performance from Flaherty, 
their all time leading scorer, in 
order to come out victorious.

Another 
advantage 
for 

Michigan is its diversity on 
offense. The Wolverines’ two 
main offensive options – Flaherty 
and center Hallie Thome – allow 
Michigan to score both outside 
and in the post. If Marquette 
doubles Flaherty, expect Thome 
to see a lot of action down low. 
And on the contrary, if Thome 
sees a lot of pressure, shots will 
open up for Flaherty and sharp-
shooting junior Nicole Munger.

The 
Wolverines 
are 
still 

looking for their first top-tier win 
of the season, previously losing to 
current No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 
4 Louisville. In both matchups, 
Michigan held leads, but was 
unable to sustain success for the 
entire game. The Wolverines look 
to draw on those experiences 
Thursday night.

In order for Michigan to come 

out on top, it must receive solid 
play from its leading scorers and 
play hard-nosed defense for the 
entire game.

HUNTER SHARF
Daily Sports Writer

Beilein remains patient with rotation still in flux

A 
year 
ago 
Wednesday, 

Michigan beat Texas, 53-50, in 
a grind-it-out type of win you 
tend to see in college basketball 
in early December. 

The 
Wolverines 
went 

eight deep that day, two of 
whom 
didn’t 
take 
a 
shot. 

Derrick 
Walton 
Jr. 
played 

39 of 40 minutes, and bench 
contribution 
was 
more 

symbolic than 
reality.

It was a team 

that knew what 
it wanted to be 
— and the path 
it 
needed 
to 

take — even if 
it wasn’t there 
just yet.

Fast forward 

a year, and this 
iteration 
of 

the 
Michigan 

men’s basketball team heads 
into a game against UCLA with 
about as little clarity in its 
rotation as any team in the Big 
Ten.

Monday, in a loss to Ohio 

State, 11 Wolverines saw the 
court — including all three 
freshmen. Only senior guard 
Muhammad-Ali 
Abdur-

Rahkman played more than 
32 minutes, and their four 
leading scorers on the season 
— 
Abdur-Rahkman, 
junior 

forward 
Moritz 
Wagner, 

fifth-year 
senior 
forward 

Duncan Robinson and redshirt 
sophomore 
guard 
Charles 

Matthews 
— 
combined 
to 

shoot 1-for-20 in the second 
half as they let a 20-point lead 
deteriorate into a demoralizing 
nine-point loss.

Freshman 
guard 
Jordan 

Poole only played eight minutes, 
fifth-year senior guard Jaaron 
Simmons played seven first-
half minutes, freshman starting 
point guard Eli Brooks watched 
the majority of the Buckeyes’ 
furious comeback from the 
bench and sophomore guard Ibi 
Watson was the first player off 
the bench. 

This comes two days after 

Poole led the team with 19 
points, Simmons did not play, 

Watson 
didn’t 

see the floor in 
the second half 
and Brooks led 
the team with six 
assists going up 
against a fifth-
year senior.

The first step 

in 
establishing 

an 
identity 
is 

codifying 
a 

rotation.

And Michigan 

coach 
John 

Beilein seems no 

closer to doing so than he was 
at the outset of the season.

On Nov. 10, a day before the 

season-opener against North 
Florida, Beilein said he hoped 
to trim the rotation shortly into 
the season.

“(The rotation) will tighten 

up a little bit,” Beilein said. 
“I’ve always believed you can’t 
please everyone there, and 
you’re trying — perfect is an 
eight or nine man rotation. 
So depending on foul trouble, 
that’s where we’ll probably 
get to. Everyday is another 
opportunity for guys to get into 
those eight or nine.” 

After a blowout win against 

UC Riverside Nov. 26, Beilein 
addressed the subject again, 
offering little clarity yet again.

“Everyday, I’m seeing who’s 

gonna grow now. I know what 

people do, who’s going to grow 
the fastest. I anticipate some 
will grow faster,” 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? Oh, he 
practiced well? Go in.’ It won’t 
necessarily be what you see 
in games, but what we see in 
practice.”

It’s December now. Big Ten 

play has begun. The games are 
starting to matter more and 
more, and could ultimately loom 
large on an NCAA Tournament 
resume. Yet here we are.

After 
the 
game 
Monday, 

Beilein struck a now-familiar 

tone 
of 
patience 
when 

discussing the rotation. 

“This is something that’s 

going to be a journey all year 
for us until we grow our young 
kids, and our veterans embrace 
their new roles as being the 
guys, being a guy that’s gotta 
make a shot, that’s gotta make 
a play at a certain time.”

According to Beilein, the 

tight schedule makes it difficult 
to implement changes. The 
Wolverines just faced a stretch 
of 10 games in 24 days. That 
kind of condensed schedule 
allows for less consideration 
of the team’s general direction, 
and more focus on individual 

game preparation.

For 
Robinson, 
that 

inconsistency in the rotation 
— and the solidifying of roles 
— doesn’t inhibit production 
on the court, or, in the case of 
Monday’s outing in Columbus, 
provide an excuse for a lack 
thereof. He’s not ready to make 
those excuses. 

“I 
just 
want 
to 
win,” 

Robinson said in a blunt tone, 
carried over from a frustrating 
performance. 
“It 
doesn’t 

matter who has what role to 
me, I think those kind of play 
themselves out. There’s some 
identity there, knowing what 
you do well, and doing it, and 

doing your job, but we just have 
to play better.”

But at some point there will 

come a day of reckoning, when 
it comes time to make decisions 
and when patience no longer 
remains a viable option — when 
Beilein will have to decide 
whether he prefers Watson 
or Poole, which two of the 
three point guards will earn a 
majority of the minutes, who 
positions themselves to earn 
major roles and who doesn’t.

Until then, the Wolverines 

seem content to continue to 
spin the roulette wheel, waiting 
patiently until the cream rises 
to the top.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Michigan coach John Beilein said that Michigan’s rotation will be a journey until the younger players grow and the veterans embrace their larger roles.

MAX MARCOVITCH

Daily Sports Editor

It doesn’t 

matter who has 
what role to me, 

I think those 
kind of play 

themselves out.

Michigan’s coach said before the season opener that he hoped to eventually trim the rotation to eight or nine men. Eleven 
Wolverines took the floor Monday night in a loss to Ohio State, but Beilein will not be rushed in his presumed decision.

