8A — Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Sophomore forward Will Lockwood will have to decide between surgery now or surgery after the season, according to Michigan coach Mel Pearson.
Notebook: Lockwood’s injury requires surgery, Lavigne starter in net
ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer
The sophomore forward, who missed extended time last year, suffered the injury at the World Junior Championships
’DUE PROCESS
After spirited comeback, Michigan loses, 70-69, to No. 5 Purdue
Purdue’s Haas, 3-point shooting sink ‘M’
EVAN AARON/Daily
Redshirt sophomore wing Charles Matthews’s desparation heave rimmed out at the buzzer.
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
Like a sturdy Redwood tree,
Isaac Haas planted his 7-foot-2, 290-
pound frame just outside the block.
With four seconds left and the
score tied at 69, Purdue’s center
looked to make his patented move:
Bully himself deep into the lane,
spin and score.
He wouldn’t get that chance,
however.
On the backside of Haas, the eyes
of junior center Moritz Wagner lit
up as a sideline pass came towards
the duo. Wagner extended his arm
around Haas and got a piece of the
ball.
Then a whistle blew.
“I’m not crazy about calls that
can influence the game and can
probably go without,” Beilein said.
“I don’t know if that was a good call
or not.”
And as anticlimactic as it may
be, the matchup between two of the
conference’s premier centers and
teams came down to free throws.
Haas would hit the front end
of
a
one-and-one,
lifting
the
Boilermakers over Wagner and the
Wolverines, 70-69.
“I was thinking I was just gonna
make an easy hook,” Haas said.
“When he fouled, he made it a
harder game and I pulled it through
for our guys.”
That matchup was a focal point
from the opening minutes on
Tuesday night.
On the second possession of the
game, redshirt sophomore wing
Charles Matthews slipped a pass
to a cutting Wagner, who went
up-and-under to hit a reverse layup.
Then Haas went to work, gaining
strong position and dunking on
Wagner.
Neither could defend the other,
as they combined for 15 points
before the first media timeout.
It was Haas who sustained his
aggressiveness, though. He shot
7-for-14 from the floor to score
17 points and grab six rebounds.
Wagner
couldn’t
keep
pace,
finishing with 11 points on 5-for-11
shooting.
But Haas’s influence went far
beyond his scoring total.
Thanks to his physical advantage,
Haas attracted with double-teams
in the first have with Michigan
shifting a guard down to double
him. And even when an extra
defender forced Haas to pickup his
dribble, the Boilermakers scattered
the perimeter with snipers ready to
fire.
Haas took advantage of that at
the end of the first half, firing a pass
outside to guard P.J. Thompson —
one of 12 total triples for Purdue.
“I think just having Haas down
there,” said Muhammed-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman.. “You have to have to
worry about Haas so much and
their back-up bigs. I think we just
lost track of assignments, and they
got easy shots.”
On the other end, Purdue
gave Haas’s counterpart plenty
of attention — but without the
consequences.
Wagner scored 24 points in the
second matchup between both teams
last season, leading Michigan to an
upset victory over the Boilermakers.
Tuesday, they game-planned to stop
Wagner, switching and going over
the top on ball screens to limit his
3-point opportunties.
“He destroyed us last season,”
said Purdue coach Matt Painter.
“We weren’t going to let him beat us
again.”
Despite
the
new
looks,
adjustments were made which
helped keep the Wolverines close
despite a multitude of Purdue runs.
Struggling to finish, Haas went
2-for-6 in the second half.
“After halftime, we said if he gets
the ball down there, we have to be
strong,” Livers said. “I think once we
did that, it became a lot better ball
game.”
Wagner looked to be doing just
that in the final moments.
Instead, he was called for a foul,
losing his final battle of the night
against Haas.
ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor
After taking home a bronze
medal with the U.S. National
Junior
Team
at
the
2018
World Junior Championships,
freshman forward Josh Norris,
freshman
defenseman
Quinn
Hughes and sophomore forward
Will Lockwood rejoined their
Michigan
teammates
this
weekend.
But only two of the three were
able to compete in Team USA’s
final four games of the highly-
anticipated tournament, held in
Buffalo, NY from Dec. 26 to Jan.
5.
During a preliminary round
game against Canada on Dec.
29, Lockwood suffered a serious
injury after landing on his left
shoulder. The injury put him out
for the rest of the tournament,
and it is growing increasingly
likely that he will be sidelined for
the rest of the Wolverines’ 2018
season, too.
Michigan coach Mel Pearson
noted
last
week
Lockwood
would be reevaluated by the
team doctor upon returning to
the Wolverines. After further
inspection this week, it appears
now surgery will be unavoidable.
“He was evaluated yesterday,
and basically told the options that
are in front of him,” Pearson said
after practice Tuesday. “Him and
his family will make a decision
with what they want to do. It’s
basically one of two things: He’s
either going to try to play at some
point this year, and he’s going to
need surgery at the end of the
year, and or just have surgery
now, and call it a year, and just get
ready for next fall.”
Regardless
of
whether
Lockwood will be out for a small
increment of time versus the
remainder of this season, the
skilled forward’s absence is likely
to leave a devastating impact on
Michigan’s offense. Lockwood
has tallied 11 points this season
so far — the sixth-most of any
Wolverine.
Just
a
year
ago,
during
Lockwood’s
elite
freshman
season — where he finished with
20 points — his performance
was hindered when an injury to
the same shoulder took him out
for five games. He had surgery
in the offseason and underwent
a taxing rehabilitation process,
making the approaching surgery
he will have to go through all the
more serious.
“It’s pretty drastic either way,”
Pearson said. “We just want
to make sure he gets well, and
doesn’t have any more setbacks
like he had this year.”
Pearson is very conscious of
the drawbacks that will come
with Lockwood’s vacancy, but
also hopes his team will be able to
step up in game situations in light
of this unfortunate circumstance.
“(Lockwood) is an exciting
player, he’s a fast player, he’s a
skilled player,” Pearson said.
“He plays the right way, so yeah,
those players are hard to find.
And obviously we can’t just add
anybody, we don’t have a lot of
depth to begin with. But having
said that, it’s an opportunity for
someone to step in, get some
extra
ice
time
and fill that void.”
Lavigne set as
starter
Early
on
in
Michigan’s
season, Pearson
expected
a
starting
goaltender
to
emerge heading
into
the
fifth
weekend of play.
But as it became clear that
sophomore goaltenders Hayden
Lavigne and Jack LaFontaine
were performing at an even level,
the decision to select a go-to man
was put on hold.
Now, a little over halfway
through the Wolverines’ regular
season, it appears that they
have finally selected a starter.
Following Michigan’s home-and-
home series against Notre Dame,
Pearson stated that Lavigne’s
performance — against the now-
No. 1 team in the nation, no less
— has earned him
the nod as starter
in goal.
“I
thought
he’s
established
himself
this
weekend as our
guy,”
Pearson
said.
“It’s
just
two games, but
we haven’t had a
guy put back-to-
back games like
that, and good for him. We’re
going to need that going forward
… I thought he was excellent, and
that’s all we need.”
Lavigne played a crucial role
for the Wolverines, making 59
saves throughout the weekend’s
two full games. The goaltender
allowed just four pucks past him
when facing the Fighting Irish —
one of the conference’s offensive
powerhouses.
Michigan
has
yet
to
see
consistency at the position. The
Notre Dame series marked the
first time a Michigan netminder
has stayed in for two complete
games.
Pearson
expects
Lavigne’s
sturdiness in the net will not only
help to minimize the opposition’s
scoring, but will additionally give
his teammates an extra boost of
confidence on the ice.
“If you’ve got a goalie back
there that you can trust and
know is going to make a majority
of the saves, that can really help,”
Pearson said. “We play a little
bit looser I would say, you’re not
as uptight…and I think that can
give your team confidence, and
that’s what we’re looking for, for
Hayden.”
Big Ten update
While the beginning of the
season featured a large number of
series splits, now, just beyond the
halfway mark of the 2018 regular
season, a significant separation of
skill level within the competitive
Big Ten conference has emerged.
Not only does Notre Dame
now command the conference,
but it also sits atop the country,
earning
the
No.
1
ranking
coming off its weekend against
Michigan. The Fighting Irish are
the only undefeated team in the
Big Ten and are riding a 15-game
win streak following their sweep
of the Wolverines.
Notre Dame has demonstrated
the ability to shake up a conference
it only joined this season, with
the strongest team defense in the
conference — including an all-
star goaltender Cale Morris, who
holds an impeccable 0.965 save
percentage.
No. 6 Ohio State holds the
second-best conference record, a
big shock as the Big Ten Coaches
pre-season poll predicted the
Buckeyes would finish third-to-
last in terms of record.
Ohio State had an upset sweep
of Minnesota in early December,
and also swept Michigan and
Michigan State. The Buckeyes
have utilized their special teams
unit effectively, with the highest
power play percentage (19.57) in
the conference.
No. 13 Penn State, No. 9
Minnesota and No. 18 Wisconsin
all hold similar records, sitting
in the third, fourth and fifth
spots in the Big Ten, respectively.
The Nittany Lions have the
most dynamic offense in the
conference, scoring 90 goals on
the season so far — at least 25
more than any other team in the
Big Ten.
Michigan
and
Michigan
State, as the sixth and seventh-
ranked teams in the conference,
currently place in the same
spots they were forecasted in
at the beginning of the season.
However, the Wolverines rank
second overall in team offense,
thanks to ample contributions
from
senior
forward
Tony
Calderone, as the conference
scoring
leader,
and
junior
forward Cooper Marody, the
leader in assists.
“I thought he
was excellent,
and that’s all
we need.”
With 28 seconds remaining
and the score tied at 69, the ball
fell into Charles Matthews’s lap.
He was the go-to guy for the
Michigan men’s basketball team’s
final shot.
The
redshirt
sophomore
sauntered to the left side of
the court before lowering his
shoulder
into
Purdue
guard
Dakota Mathias and bursting
to the hoop. Matthews had a
better angle. Mathias had better
reflexes. The ball sailed out of
bounds, and it was back to the
Wolverines.
Or so they thought.
In
what
seemed
like
an
eternity, the referees deliberated
at the replay monitor. Then
the call came in: Matthews
had touched the ball last. The
Boilermakers would get the final
shot.
“I thought he was gonna lay
that ball in with five seconds
left,” said Michigan coach John
Beilein. “He had leverage, he had
everything. I don’t know where
the ball got slapped down, he said
it did not go off him. Apparently
it must’ve.”
There was no climactic shot,
though. Junior forward Moritz
Wagner was called for a reach-
in foul on an outlet pass to Isaac
Haas. The 7-foot-2 center sank
the front end of the one-and-
one, and a 40-foot hail mary by
Matthews clinked off the iron as
No. 5 Purdue (5-0 Big Ten, 16-2
overall) avoided the upset, 70-69.
“There was a long stretch
… I knew it was one of those
... monitor games. They were
gonna take over the game,” said
freshman forward Isaiah Livers.
“Luckily, they got their foul at the
end. … If the play goes the other
way, we go out on top.”
Compared
to
the
Boilermakers,
Michigan
(3-2,
14-4) was outmatched in size,
3-point shooting and most other
statistics you can think of coming
into Tuesday night’s contest.
From the get-go, sniffing victory
appeared to be a Sisyphean task
for the Wolverines.
So in the first half when Beilein
paced the sidelines, gesticulating
furiously at a referee over a
questionable
offensive
foul
call, he couldn’t be blamed —
Michigan needed every break it
could get.
The close, late-game situation
was difficult to picture the
Wolverines in. After Beilein’s
show of rage and more blows
from
Purdue,
they
faced
a
14-point first-half deficit. But
Michigan was getting its breaks
in a five-minute stretch. Fifth-
year senior forward Duncan
Robinson
swatted
Carsen
Edwards and took it the other
way for a fastbreak layup, and
followed with two free throws
the next possession. Freshman
guard Jordan Poole banked a
trey, and hit a runner in the lane.
Matthews
splashed
another
three. The Wolverines’ defense
looked the most fearless as it had
all season.
“We made our run and they
made their run and obviously
made it a tough game,” Haas said.
“… Our defensive strategy worked
well, but when those guys get
going it’s hard to stop that.”
With 2:19 remaining in the
half, a 14-point margin became
two. But like Sisyphus’s eternal
punishment,
Michigan
once
again was exposed to the best
of Purdue. The Boilermakers
responded with a 3-pointer, a
layup and a feed to Haas for a
39-32 halftime lead.
To begin the second half,
the Wolverines went to their
bread and butter — 3-pointers.
Matthews stared down Haas
and drilled one right in his face.
Freshman forward and newfound
spark plug Isaiah Livers got in the
action with two corner threes.
Poole hit three free throws after
getting fouled behind the line to
bring Purdue’s lead to only one.
After
trading
punches,
a
corner three from Matthews
swirled around the rim, and
the game was tied, 58-58. From
there, sophomore point guard
Zavier Simpson went to work
with two consecutive threes to
give Michigan its first lead of the
game.
The raucous enjoyment of
the Crisler Center crowd was
short-lived. The Boilermakers
were electric from 3-point land
— 12-for-21 — to keep it close
despite the Wolverines’ efforts.
All Purdue needed in the end
was Hass’s free throw to bury
Michigan for good.
“We have way more room for
improvement,” Livers said. “I
think we could’ve done a lot more.
We had a lot more chances that
we should’ve taken advantage
of, but basketball is basketball.
Sometimes you’re gonna mess
up, sometimes you’re gonna be on
point. Just gotta grow.”
The
Wolverines
had
momentum on their side in the
dwindling minutes of the game.
But it was a Sisyphean task after
all.