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Friday, January 5, 2018 — 7
Behind Enemy Lines: Illinois
forward Finke talks Michigan
The Illinois men’s basketball
team hasn’t made the NCAA
Tournament since they entered
as a No. 7 seed in 2013. With a
new coach in Brad Underwood,
as well as the loss of one of its
best players in program history
in Malcolm Hill, the learning
curve doesn’t make a hopeful
tournament bid any easier.
And after three Big Ten
games and the entire non-
conference slate, the training
wheels are definitely still on
for a growing Fighting Illini
team. They toppled Missouri
in St. Louis, and have taken
Northwestern and Maryland
into overtime, but to no avail.
On the other hand, they were
put away swiftly by lower-
ranked teams such as UNLV
and New Mexico State.
Illinois (0-3 Big Ten, 10-6
overall) will enter Crisler Center
on Saturday off an uninspiring
— but expected — 77-67 defeat
at
the
hands
of
Minnesota
Wednesday
night.
Praise
and
blame
during
its
up-and-down
season
has
fallen
upon
a
carousel
of
different
players. One of
them is redshirt
junior forward Michael Finke,
who is averaging 11.1 points
and 5.7 rebounds per game — a
dramatic
improvement
from
only a season ago, when he
posted 6.9 points per game. The
Daily sat down with Finke at
Big Ten Media Day in October
to discuss a changing dynamic
with a new coach, putting
Illinois back into conference
relevancy and more.
The Michigan Daily: Having
a new coach in the mix, how
have you seen
the
demeanor
of
the
team
change?
Michael
Finke:
The
intensity
has
changed
a
bunch.
Just
offensively and
defensively,
he wants us to
be much more
aggressive. Attack on defense,
(he) really doesn’t want your
man to catch the ball, trying to
stop offenses from running their
normal plays. It sounds easier
than it really is. Honestly, it’s
been tough, but we’re grasping
it well. Offensively, it’s a whole
different system I’ve never been
used to. Really spreading the
floor, moving the ball.
TMD: In the few months
Coach
Underwood
has been here,
Illinois
has
one of the top
recruiting
classes
in
the
Big Ten for next
season.
What
has he and the
team
done
to
start
bringing
Illinois back into
the conference spotlight?
MF: Recruits talk to him and
they see how good of a guy he
is, first and foremost. Just how
tough he wants the players to be
here, and for our identity to be
toughness. He wants a tougher
team. For recruits to see that
going forward, and to see that
he’s won everywhere he has
been is important.
TMD:
The
team
lost
leading scorer Malcolm Hill
to graduation, so how do you
make
up
for
this
missing
production?
MF:
Obviously
Malcolm
is
a
great
player.
Losing a leading
scorer in Illinois
history, it’s big.
But
honestly
in the system
that
Coach
Underwood brings to the table,
there are so many options
and so many threats. We have
counters and counters, and
counters for those. So many
plays that we have really open
the floor, get the ball out of
people’s hands and moving. One
night, (redshirt junior forward
Leron Black) might be scoring
20, the next night Mark Smith
will.
TMD: Has anyone taken
it upon themselves to be the
team’s new on- and off-court
leader?
MF: A lot of people on our
team are stepping up. (Leron
and I) are taking leadership
roles. The freshmen have come
in working super hard and
doing their piece to make this
team better, too.
TMD: As an upperclassmen,
what do you expect for yourself
individually?
MF: I’ve been working really
hard
this
offseason,
being
in the gym as much as I can
looking for an improvement. So
I think I’ve become more of an
offensive threat than I’ve been
in the past, especially in this
new system.
ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor
MEN’S BASKETBALL
“Losing a
leading scorer
in Illinois
history, it’s big.”
“... He wants
us to be
much more
aggressive.”
The redshirt sophomore spoke at Big Ten Media Day
Livers could be the answer at ‘4’
I
t took Iowa mere seconds
to expose the weakness
Michigan’s
basketball
team endured
without
forward D.J.
Wilson.
On the first
possession
of Tuesday’s
matchup,
Hawkeyes
forward Tyler
Cook snapped the ball behind
his back, took two clean steps
and threw down a highlight-reel
dunk.
Left in the dust was fifth-
year senior forward Duncan
Robinson — simply unable to
compete with the ballhandler’s
quickness.
Minutes later, Cook took
advantage of Robinson yet again.
Utilizing his six-foot-nine and
255-pound frame, Cook backed
him down with little resistance,
leaving Robinson no choice but
to foul.
“We all know Duncan
Robinson is a mismatch ‘4,’ that
we don’t have another answer
(for) right now,” said Michigan
coach John Beilein. “D.J. Wilson
was the answer (last) year, and
he’s not here.”
That was apparent Tuesday.
Robinson finished minus-18 and
played just four minutes in the
second half. Cook, meanwhile,
scored 28 points on 10-for-15
shooting to lead all scorers — just
one of the outbursts Michigan
has surrendered against sizable
and skilled forwards.
In November, Luke Maye
scored 27 points and grabbed
seven rebounds to lead North
Carolina to a comfortable win.
A week later, Ohio State’s Keita
Bates-Diop and Jae’Sean Tate
combined for 32 points to key
the come-from-behind Buckeye
victory.
Sure, Michigan — despite
a dramatic turnaround this
season statistically — isn’t one
to prioritize defense. Beilein
primarily thinks about floor
spacing and shooting. Robinson
provides that, even when if he
does create mismatches for the
Wolverines defense.
But Tuesday, freshman
forward Isaiah
Livers showed
he can provide
the best of both
worlds. In 27
minutes, Livers
had a career-
high 13 points
along with two
rebounds and
three assists.
And he was
equally as
impressive on the defensive end.
Midway through the second
half, Livers thrust his hand into
the passing lane between point
guard Jordan Bohannon and
Cook — his second steal of the
night.
And in the paint, the 230-
pound Livers held his own,
posting a
positive-21 plus/
minus rating.
“Now he’s
engaged on
defense,” said
sophomore
point guard
Zavier Simpson.
“He’s getting
50-50 balls, he’s
playing good
defense, which
we need out of him.”
Of course, Michigan doesn’t
mind Livers’ offensive showing.
Looking more confident than
ever, he knocked down a trio of
3s as part of a five-for-six effort
from the floor.
His shooting stroke was
even reminiscent of the sharp-
shooter above
him in the
rotation.
With the
Wolverines
offense stagnant,
the Hawkeyes
embarked on a
7-0 run to cut
their deficit to
single digits
with roughly
10 minutes to
play. But on the next possession,
Livers spotted up from the arc,
caught a feed from Simpson and
buried a triple as the shot clock
expired.
“I think that I could be more
of a Duncan Robinson,” Livers
said. “I could shot fake, get the
defender in the air, and I could
go right past him
and get to the
bucket or make
open passes for
my teammates.”
Added Beilein:
“Isaiah should
be playing more
in the future.
He has been
working on that
jump shot and
his numbers are
good in practice. He hasn’t done
it in games, but maybe this a
breakthrough.”
Plenty of players like Maye
and Cook line Michigan’s
remaining schedule. This
month alone, it will face two
highly-rated NBA prospects in
Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson
Jr. and Purdue’s Isaac Haas.
Already, opposing frontcourts
have been instrumental in two
of the Wolverines’ three losses
this season.
Tuesday, they came out on
top — thanks in part to Livers’
blending of offense and defense
while playing for Robinson
down the stretch.
Now, if Livers can extend that
beyond Tuesday, the freshman
could be the forward Beilein has
been searching for.
Calcagno can be reached
at markcal@umich.edu or on
Twitter at @MWCalcagno
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Freshman forward Isaiah Livers has shown that he is a very capable defender already. Now, coming off a game against Iowa where he was also a threat offensively, perhaps he is the answer at the ‘4.’
MARK
CALCAGNO
“He’s getting
50-50 balls, he’s
playing good
defense ...”
“I think that I
could be more
of a Duncan
Robinson.”
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico became Michigan’s all-time winningest women’s basketball coach on Thursday.
Barnes Arico sets record for wins
Following a road loss to then-
No. 23 Iowa on New Year’s Eve,
the No. 22 Michigan women’s
basketball team looked to bounce
back Thursday night at Wisconsin.
That’s exactly what happened.
The Wolverines (2-1 Big Ten, 13-3
overall) notched an 80-57 victory
against the Badgers (0-3, 7-9).
Michigan’s
offense
started
hot, finding success in the paint.
Center Hallie Thome showed
off quick footwork and scored a
couple quick baskets to get the
Wolverines on the board early.
The junior finished the night with
20 points.
With Thome and contributions
from freshman forward Hailey
Brown,
Michigan
outworked
Wisconsin down low throughout
the opening quarter. But the
Badgers didn’t call it quits, tying
the game at 11 just over six minutes
in.
The contest would remain tied
for the next two minutes, as both
sides failed to execute on offense.
But when freshman guard Deja
Church came charging down
the court, things took a turn.
Church attacked the basket hard
from the right side and scored a
quality layup to break the tie and
provide some energy in what was
becoming an uneventful game.
Church’s play created a spark
for Michigan, and senior guard
Katelynn
Flaherty
followed
up with a three-point play to
further build the momentum. The
Wolverines then began pressing.
This caused a turnover, which
led to another Michigan bucket
and an 18-11 lead at the end of the
quarter.
The second quarter was even-
sided, but the Wolverines faced
some
challenges.
Thome
got
called for her second foul early on
and had to sit out for most of the
stanza.
To
make
matters
worse,
Flaherty struggled to get into her
rhythm offensively and was, at
one point, 1-for-7 from the field.
Wisconsin’s zone defense was
locked on her, and she appeared to
be a bit rattled. But when Flaherty
struggled, junior guard Nicole
Munger stepped up.
Midway through the quarter,
Munger dove on the floor for a
loose ball, winning the possession
back for her team. Munger’s hustle
— coupled with her 10 points on
the night — helped Michigan’s
offense compete when its stars
were having trouble.
But the Badger’s leading scorer,
guard Cayla McMorris, then
settled in on offense. After missing
the last three contests, she finished
the night with eight points, and
her 3-pointer in the second quarter
helped keep the game somewhat
close and Michigan’s lead at 31-24
at halftime.
Though Wisconsin cut into
the Wolverines’ lead early in the
third quarter, the second half,
overall, was more of what you
would expect when a ranked team
faces the last team in the Big Ten
standings.
After
finally
finding
more
strength on defense and leadership
from its stars, Michigan started to
pull away. Flaherty looked more
like herself, and ended the night
with 25 points, despite going
0-for-6 from beyond the arc.
The Wolverines were up 54-42
heading into the final quarter
when they really put the pedal to
the metal, outscoring the Badgers,
26-15, to secure their victory.
Not only did the victory provide
Michigan the confidence it lacked
following its previous loss, but it
also helped Barnes Arico make
history. She now holds the record
for the most wins in program
history, with 124, passing Sue
Guevara.
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
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