2B — Monday, January 8, 2018 SportsMonday The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com A week to make believers J ohn Beilein has a theory. He’s just not entirely sold on it yet. It came to light after his Michigan basketball team notched a 79-69 win over Illinois on Saturday afternoon. The victory, by Beilein’s own self admission, wasn’t pretty. Redshirt sophomore wing Charles Mat- thews played 67 seconds in the first half due to foul trouble. Junior center Moritz Wagner didn’t fare much better, picking up two fouls of his own. The duo combined for three first- half points, and the Wolverines turned the ball over 12 times in the frame against an Illinois team that ranks sixth nation- ally in forced turnovers. And yet, Michigan man- aged to right the ship anyway. Freshmen Jordan Poole and Isaiah Livers found themselves on the court with just under nine minutes left, turning in the game of their dreams. A 3-pointer, two dunks, an alley- oop and five free throws later, the Wol- verines found themselves up by two — lucky to eventu- ally exit the half trailing by three. After the early foul trou- ble, Wagner and Matthews finally found sound footing, and the Wolverines outlasted a vaunted defensive unit to shoot 64 percent from the floor in the second half. Michigan finished with six players scoring in double dig- its, two of whom —Poole and Livers — came off the bench. Quite simply, the Wolver- ines found a way to make a ramshackle unit survive long enough to win. The produc- tion, as it has all season, came from different characters in no logical order. But with matchups against No. 13 Purdue and No. 1 Michigan State in the coming week, Beilein was asked if he wants to see one of his players become ‘the guy.’ His answer was illuminating. “I think it’s important that those guys continue to estab- lish a rhythm when everyone’s in a new role,” he said. “I don’t think it’s essential that they have to be stars for us to win, as you can see today. I think there’s enough guys out there that can make shots.” Still, there was some doubt. “That’s our hope,” he con- tinued. “Now we’ll find out, and I’ll be a believer when I know that we’re rebounding and we’re better in the post defense. If we can beat the Purdues and the Michigan States, alright, then I’m gonna probably be a believer that we’re okay.” Hope is the operative word, and therein lies the crux of this entire week. On paper, the Wolverines are okay, boasting 14 wins in 17 games. Michigan, of course, has star power in Wagner and Mat- thews. Both can take over a game, though neither has on a consistent basis. The same fluctuations apply to Muham- mad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Duncan Robinson. Poole and Livers, for their part, have shown an ability to fill in when those fluc- tuations cause trouble. In other cases, they’ve shown the oppo- site, though there has been more of the for- mer as of late. And Zavier Simpson, who started for the first time in 12 games Saturday, seems to be rounding out the bunch at point guard — though Beilein wouldn’t go as far to say his starting nod was a definitive answer. This all goes to say that their collective identity, it appears, just may work out. But now it’s time to find out for good. Purdue will visit Crisler Center on Tues- day, providing the Wolverines with their first opportunity to notch a win over a top-25 team. Four days later, Michigan will seek its first road win over its in-state rivals since 2014 when it heads to East Lansing. The Boilermakers’ Isaac Haas and Vincent Edwards await, while Miles Bridges is only the tip of the iceberg on a loaded Spartans roster. The only team that Michi- gan has faced that can evenly remotely compare to the chal- lenge ahead is North Carolina, which ran the Wolverines out of the gym. The Wolverines have come a long way since that Nov. 29 matchup in Chapel Hill — win- ning eight of their last nine. And after the most recent win, Illinois coach Brad Underwood seemed to confirm as much. “That’s a really good Michi- gan basketball team,” he said. “They’ve proven that with who they’ve beat and who they played.” Underwood, more than most, can offer a sound outsid- er’s perspective on where this team stands. The Wolverines beat his Oklahoma State team in the NCAA Tournament last year. Asked about how this iteration of Michigan com- pares to last year’s, Under- wood pointed to the seemingly obvious. “Well it starts at the point,” he said. “And I’m not down- playing Zavier or any of their other guys, but when we played them in the tourna- ment, Walton was playing as well as any point guard in America. … But they’re a lot of the same characters, do the same things.” “Characters,” it would seem, is an accurate noun for a Michigan team that has yet to see a star emerge. Beilein thinks those “characters” may just be enough, but isn’t sold just yet. Which brings us back to this week. The Wolverines have a chance to make some believ- ers. Their coach included. Santo can be reached at kmsanto@umich.edu or on Twitter at @Kevin_M_Santo. KEVIN SANTO EVAN AARON/Daily Michigan coach John Beilein believes that he will learn a lot about his Michigan basketball team in its next two games against Purdue and Michigan State. “I think there’s enough guys out there that can make shots.” The Wolverines have a chance to make some believers. Livers and Poole have the game of their dreams Isaiah Livers said that he and Jordan Poole have dreamed about games like Saturday. Each of the roommates has had their own breakout games — Poole dropped 19 points on Indiana and Livers had 13 against Iowa — but the pair had yet to go off in the same game. Against Illinois, in a 79-69 win, that changed. And not only did the freshmen do it in the same game, but in the same portion of the game, to keep Michigan in it. Livers checked in for the first time at the 8:52 mark in the first half. The Wolverines trailed by eight. Two minutes later, they were still down eight. That’s when Livers and Poole got going. First, Livers hit a corner three to cut it to five. Then, when the Fighting Illini tried to trap senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur- Rahkman, Livers snuck toward the basket, where Abdur- Rahkman found him for an open dunk. Another Livers dunk moments later came from similar action, and the freshman had put together a personal 7-0 run. It’s a far cry from where Livers was even a few games ago. “I was thinking way too much a month ago,” Livers said. “Just, ‘should I shoot this, or should I pass it.’ Now I feel like Coach (Beilein) trusts that I have the green light to shoot the ball or go to the basket any time I want to.” After Livers’ run, Illinois made a basket, and it was time for Poole to get in on the action. He was fouled on a three of his own, and he promptly drilled his three free throws to tie the game. Moments later, Michigan took the lead on the best example of Livers and Poole’s chemistry. Fifth-year senior guard Jaaron Simmons tossed an outlet pass to Poole, who was already in the frontcourt. A defender stood between Poole and the basket, and he took a step toward Poole. What the defender didn’t see was Livers running the floor on the opposite side. Poole didn’t hesitate. He slowed down at the 3-point line and lobbed the ball toward the hoop. Livers went and got it, threw it down, and sent Crisler Center into hysterics. “We made eye contact,” Livers said. “That’s my roommate, we made eye contact. I knew at half court, he was gonna slow down and throw it up.” Added Poole: “I remember last time I threw an alley-oop to him, he wanted me to throw it higher. So at that point, it’s like, ‘I’m gonna throw it up, you’ve got to go get it.’ It was a huge energy- bringer to Crisler that got us going a little bit.” Poole would add two free throws at the 3:22 mark, giving the duo a combined 14-4 runt that propelled the Wolverines to a 27-25 lead. It was a crucial run for a Michigan team whose leading scorer — redshirt sophomore guard Charles Matthews — had picked up two quick fouls to start the game. It could also be crucial for the Wolverines in the future. Poole and Livers seem to be getting more comfortable with every game, and their combined 23 points against Illinois was another data point that hints at their development. They’ve shown that they can pick up the slack when Matthews and junior forward Moritz Wagner have off nights or get in foul trouble. Saturday was just the latest example of that. The game also served as an example of just how good the pair can be together. “I mean, I wake up and I see him all the time,” Poole said. “So, when I go out there, and I just see a big human being like that running to the rim, I just throw it up. So I feel like, definitely, spending as much time as we do together is a huge connection on the court.” After the game, in the media room, Poole finished answering questions before Livers. He walked over to his roommate, took a microphone, and asked Livers what he thought about the alley- oop pass. Livers smiled and said he thought he might owe the passer some food. Then, the pair left and took pictures with fans outside the room. It was all smiles for them after the day they had. After all, it’s a game Livers and Poole have been dreaming about. EVAN AARON/Daily Freshman forward Isaiah Livers scored 12 points aand his roommate, freshman guard Jordan Poole, had 11 in a game Livers says they’ve dreamed about. MIKE PERSAK Managing Sports Editor The two freshmen combined for 23 points in Michigan’s 79-69 win over Illinois Report: ‘M’ set to hire former Arkansas OC Michigan officially announced the hiring of one assistant coach, Al Washington, this past weekend. And it may not be too long before the Wolverines officially hire another assistant as the college football coaching carousel continues to turn. According to a report from Bruce Feldman of Sports Illustrated on Friday afternoon, Michigan is set to hire Dan Enos, previously Arkansas’ offensive coordinator. Enos has been connected to the Wolverines in recent weeks. A Dec. 7 report from Football Scoop stated that Jim Harbaugh had been in contact with Enos about a position on his staff. Enos, a native of Dearborn, has spent much of his career working within the state — especially at Michigan State, where he played four years at as a quarterback. After his playing career, Enos began coaching as a graduate assistant with the Spartans for three seasons. He made stops at Lakeland, Northern Michigan, Southern Illinois and Missouri State before returning to his home state as Western Michigan’s quarterbacks coach. Following stops at North Dakota State and Cincinnati, Enos then joined his alma mater’s staff. He was Michigan State’s quarterbacks coach in 2006 and the running backs coach from 2007-2009. Enos then began his first and only stint as a head coach at Central Michigan, where he compiled a 26-36 record over five seasons. He made waves in the offseason of 2014 when he decided to leave the Chippewas to become the offensive coordinator at Arkansas, where he spent the past three seasons coaching before being let go along with the rest of Bret Bielema’s staff this offseason. While in East Lansing, Enos cultivated a reputation as a talented recruiter. He was responsible for many of Michigan State’s in-state recruiting victories, signing players such as Edwin Baker, Chris Norman, Fred Smith, Dion Sims, Tyler Hoover, Bennie Fowler and Keshawn Martin. It remains unknown what Enos’s official role on Michigan’s staff will be. Offensive tackles and tight ends coach Greg Frey appears to be taking a similar role with Florida State; meanwhile, the Wolverines still have offensive coordinator Tim Drevno, running backs coach Jay Harbaugh and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton on staff as of now. While Enos has experience with calling plays, there would need to be some shuffling along Michigan’s staff for him to do so in Ann Arbor. This season, the Wolverines split play-calling duties amongst Harbaugh, Drevno and Hamilton. FOOTBALL ORION SANG Managing Sports Editor Enos has been connected to the Wolverines in recent weeks. Enos compiled a 26-36 record at Central Michigan.