8 — Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan set to take on No. 5 Purdue Tuesday
The Michigan men’s basketball
team has found a groove.
The Wolverines (3-1 Big Ten,
14-3 overall) haven’t lost since
their
early-December
collapse
to Ohio State, racking up seven
consecutive wins — including
ones over Iowa and Illinois last
week.
Freshman
forward
Isaiah
Livers has gone
from
virtually
invisible on the
floor to a key spark
in
Michigan’s
offense since the
holiday break —
as has sophomore
point
guard
Zavier
Simpson.
And
with
guards
Charles
Matthews and Muhammad-Ali
Abdur-Rahkman
continuing
the productivity that led the
Wolverines early on, the team has
started to take form.
But there’s no shortage of
looming danger to threaten that
notion.
Michigan will face No. 5 Purdue
and No. 4 Michigan State on
Tuesday and Saturday this week,
first at Crisler Center then in East
Lansing, respectively — easily the
Wolverines’ most daunting two-
game stretch.
“We got quite a week (ahead),”
said Michigan coach John Beilein.
“I really think that Michigan State
and Purdue are two of the top five
teams in the country. I think they
can beat anyone in the country
at any time on any court. We’re
playing
them
back-to-back,
and it’s really a
challenge for us.
“They’d
be
huge for us if we
can win any of
these games and
then continue to
win.”
The
Boilermakers
(4-0, 15-2) have
won their last 11
games, surging into top-ten spots
of national polls this week with a
shooting percentage and defensive
efficiency that rank near the top of
the conference.
Purdue is averaging a scoring
output of 86 points, led by guard
Carsen Edwards and center Isaac
Haas, who average 16.7 and 14.7
points per game, respectively.
When asked about advice for
junior center Mortiz Wagner in
guarding the 7-foot-2, 290-pound
Haas, Beilein had a simple answer.
“Good luck.”
That’s the type of challenge
that the Boilermakers’ size brings.
Along with 7-foot-3 freshman
Matt Haarms and multi-talented
forward Vincent Edwards, Purdue
boasts one of the most effective
frontcourts in the country.
“We’re
not
going to concede
any
baskets,”
Beilein
said.
“(But) there are
some times we’re
just
not
gonna
be able to stop
it.
(Haarms)
is
bigger than Haas
—
and
longer.
You’ve got to stay
one step ahead of
the passes. … They
find ways to get the ball inside.”
That will certainly challenge
a traditionally weaker side of
Beilein-coached teams, defensive
rebounding.
But this season, despite starting
the
comparatively
undersized
Wagner and fifth-year senior
Duncan Robinson in the front
court, that hasn’t been as much of
an issue.
And against a lengthy Illinois
team, the Wolverines held their
own, surrendering just six second-
chance points Saturday.
“We’ve had some guys become
so good at boxing out, but for
whatever reasons we’ve been
better,” Beilein said. “We’ve had
some guys stand around and could
never do it. We’ve got some guys
who are really good at getting in
front and getting
the ball.
“I particularly
love the way Moe
is
rebounding
the
ball
right
now. He’s getting
people out of his
area,
keeping
balls alive — those
are big things.”
Speaking
of
Wagner,
the
Wolverines’
leading
rebounder
is
slowly
working back to normal after a
foot injury that sidelined him for
two games in December. Wagner
blocked three shots Saturday —
again displaying the defensive
improvement NBA scouts wanted
to see when he returned to school
for another year.
And after scoring just four
points last Tuesday at Iowa,
Wagner
assembled
a
strong
14-point,
seven-rebound
performance against the Fighting
Illini.
But
achieving
those
sorts
of numbers will be far more
challenging against Purdue.
“You can’t get an easy shot
(against them),” Beilein said.
“They’ve got the whole package
now. They’re a beautiful basketball
team.”
Recently, Michigan has also
looked like more of a complete
package. Now, it’s time for the
Wolverines to prove that against
the country’s best.
“(It’s a) huge challenge,” Livers
said, “I know a lot of teams lost
(last week), and Purdue is moving
up in the rankings. We’re just
getting ready for the war.”
EVAN AARON/Daily
Junior forward Moritz Wagner is still trying to get to 100 percent after suffering a foot injury against Texas.
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
“We’ve had
some guys
become so good
at boxing out.”
Boilermaker Vincent Edwards could give Wolverines matchup issues
The
Michigan
men’s
basketball team has a challenge
ahead of it on
Tuesday.
No. 5 Purdue
comes
to
Ann Arbor in
what is likely
Michigan’s
toughest
matchup
to
this
point.
With that being
said, there are
plenty of things
that need to go
right
for
the
Wolverines
to
win the game.
One
in
particular,
though,
is
matching up with Boilermaker
forward Vincent Edwards.
Michigan coach John Beilein
made no bones about it at his
press conference Monday. He
believes
that
Edwards
may
present even more of a problem
than former Purdue forward
Caleb Swanigan did for the
Wolverines last season.
“(Swanigan) was a really
great player,” Beilein said. “He
gave us so many problems. At
the same time, the way we play,
with four guys that go, that
presented matchup problems for
them at times. Caleb’s so good,
so I don’t want to say that’s
why we won, but it’s different
now. They have our type of ‘4’-
man. … (Edwards) is that ‘4’ who
can play. He can guard another
tough ‘4’, and he can guard on
the perimeter as well, if you
have more of a skilled ‘4.’ ”
Of course, Beilein neglected
to give the scouting report
on how the Wolverines plan
to attack Edwards, but he did
say
that
freshman
forward
Isaiah Livers, fifth-year senior
forward
Duncan
Robinson
or redshirt sophomore guard
Charles Matthews could match
up with him.
Livers is excited for the
potential responsibility.
“He told me in film yesterday,”
Livers said. “He said, ‘Isaiah,
you have a big challenge. This
guy is kinda just a replicate
of you. Just, he has a lot more
experience than you.’ And I was
like, ‘Great, Coach. Now I can
see where I’m at.’ So I’m looking
forward to it.”
The freshman has perhaps
improved the most of any
Michigan player this season,
and Tuesday’s matchup with
Edwards could be the next
benchmark for just how far he’s
come,
especially
considering
that the Wolverines have been
hurt by dynamic ‘4’-men in the
past.
In
their
loss
to
North
Carolina, one of the major
pitfalls was the production of
the Tar Heels’ ‘4’-man, Luke
Maye. Whether it was Robinson
or Livers guarding Maye, they
seemingly had no answer, as he
lit them up for 27 points.
Livers remembers that game,
but he believes the defense has
come a long way since then, and
he sees the game against Purdue
as a potential yard stick for
where Michigan stands.
“That was like an early test
for us,” Livers said. “So I think
that’s gonna help translate over
to our game tomorrow. I’m
excited to see where we are.”
Beilein and Livers will both
admit the freshman has a long
way to go. Beilein has taken
special care in aiding Livers’
growth, because he sees his
athletic ability and realizes
that, with the right coaching, he
could really turn into something
special. Beilein has said that
he typically spends 15 minutes
with Livers after practices to
sharpen his skillset.
He says one of the next
steps for Livers to take is
improvement
in
corralling
defensive
rebounds.
That’s
another area where Tuesday’s
matchup can be a barometer
of progress. Edwards leads his
team with 8.6 rebounds per
game — 2.8 of which coming on
the offensive end.
Illinois
was
a
prolific
offensive
rebounding
team
entering its game with the
Wolverines last week. Beilein
thought his team did well to
hold them to just 10 offensive
rebounds, since three of them
were late in the game.
Edwards
is
a
different
animal, though. For whoever
guards him, whether it’s Livers,
Robinson or even Matthews,
a new level of production and
focus will be needed.
“It’s gonna be tough,” Beilein
said. “We talked about that a
lot today, about, as the game
goes on, what we do. Once
again, Duncan’s done a great
job for us over there. His
defensive numbers the other
day were really good, but Isaiah
continues to be that guy that
will continue to be there. And
then, play Duncan more at a
natural position if we feel the
need to.”
EVAN AARON/Daily
Freshman forward Isaiah Livers has been slowly improving on all sides of the ball this season, but against Purdue and Vincent Edwards on Tuesday, Livers will face the toughest test of his young career.
MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor
Purdue at
Michigan
Matchup:
Purdue 4-0
Big Ten,
15-2 overall;
Michigan
3-1, 14-3
When:
Tuesday 9
P.M. ET
Where: Crisler
Center
TV/Radio:
ESPN
Wolverines face biggest test of the season when a titan of the Big Ten enters
“They’re a
beautiful
basketball
team.”