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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.