4B — Monday, January 22, 2018
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews was part of a stagnant Michigan offense that scored just 27 points in the first half.
“Tired” Michigan beats Rutgers, 62-47
Michigan shot 43 percent
from the field, 32 percent from
three, made just eight free-
throws and still won by 15
points Sunday afternoon.
In what may kindly be
deemed a defensive struggle —
and not so kindly, a downright
ugly game — the twenty-third
ranked Wolverines improved
to 17-5 overall and 6-3 in Big
Ten play with a 62-47 win over
Rutgers.
For much of the first half,
the Michigan offense seemed
as disjointed as it was against
Nebraska earlier this week.
Luckily for the Wolverines,
the Scarlet Knights’ was worse.
They scored just .68 points
per possession in the half,
including zero made 3-pointers
and eight turnovers.
Rutgers failed to register an
assist in the first half, and had
just one the entire game.
“We were trying to take the
3-point line away,” said junior
center Moritz Wagner on his
team’s defensive strategy. “And
they have the tendency to go
to one-on-one plays once you
take the first play away — at
least that’s how we scouted.
Our
guards,
especially, did a
good job.”
But
the
Scarlet Knights
came into the
game with the
best
scoring
defense
in
the
country
and
seemed
intent
early
on
winning
with that style.
Michigan missed 10 of its first
11 shots, falling to an early 8-2
deficit.
“Well,” Wagner said, “we’re
kind of used to it now, right?”
Added
Beilein:
“There’s
some things I can’t explain
coming out. … Whether it’s
nerves, whatever it is, they’re
also reading how the team
is gonna play us. And when
they’re going through those
reads I think it’s giving us some
paralysis. It’s something that
we’ve gotta keep working on
and getting better starts.”
Slowly
but
surely,
the
Wolverines started to crawl
out of its now-regular first half
offensive woes.
Led by a surprising boost of
energy from fifth-year seniors
Jaaron Simmons and Duncan
Robinson,
Michigan
pieced
together an 8-0 run in the
middle of the first half to grab
a 15-10 lead.
Regardless of the optics, the
Wolverines took the lead into
halftime for the first time since
Jan. 2 against Iowa. Even with
bumps in execution, they never
relingquished that lead.
From there, Rutgers simply
lacked the offensive firepower
to force a competitive game.
While Michigan, as has come to
be the norm, found its footing
from beyond the arc in the
second half, the Scarlet Knights
struggled to find consistency,
relying heavily on guard Corey
Sanders to create in isolation.
Robinson made four of his
seven 3-point attempts in the
game, matching
the number of
threes he’s had
in his previous
five
games
combined.
He
finished
with
12 points on the
day.
Beilein said he
knew Robinson
was due for a big
game, and sent
him a text before
the game saying, “Duncan,
you’re going to be terrific
today. Just come off shooting.”
Robinson is shooting just
37 percent from 3-point-range
this season, five percentage
points lower than his previous
career low. The shooting slump,
combined with his defensive
struggles guarding out of his
normal position, forced him to
the bench in favor of freshman
forward Isaiah Livers.
Regardless of role, though,
Sunday could be a step toward
Robinson regaining his value.
“That’s the dude I know,”
Wagner
said.
“That’s
my
roommate. That’s the player
I’ve played with the last three
years, so I’m not surprised at
all. I’m very proud of him the
way he bounces back.”
Wagner
and
sopohmore
point guard Zavier Simpson
also finished in double figures.
The duo combined for an
effective
pick-and-roll
play
in the second half to help the
Wolverines pull away.
Wagner
finished
with
a
game-high 16 points, including
12 in the second half, to guide
an uninspiring game to a
merciful finish.
“As you can tell in this
game, we’re tired. We’re beat,”
Beilein said.” … “I’m just so
glad we could gut through this
game, and get refreshed both
with our legs but also with our
game.”
Wolverines plagued by first-half woes
It was as joyous as it was
ironic.
Halfway through the first
half of Sunday’s game against
Rutgers, two Michigan greats
—
current
guard
Katelynn
Flaherty from the women’s team
and former forward Glen Rice
from the men’s — were being
honored at Crisler Center as the
leading scorers in Wolverine
basketball history.
Shortly
after,
the
men’s
basketball team jogged to the
tunnel for halftime after scoring
its third-lowest first half point
total of the season, a 27-21 lead.
The fewest and second-fewest
totals came in the previous two
games against Nebraska and
Maryland.
“We’re kinda used to it now,
right?” joked junior forward
Moritz Wagner.
The platitudes and and jests
don’t do justice to how No.
23 Michigan has performed
recently — offense is non-
existent, especially in the first
half.
After
upsetting
No.
9
Michigan State on Jan. 13,
Michigan was averaging 76.7
points a game. In its following
three contests, that number
has dipped to 60.7, largely
influenced by poor starts.
Sunday,
of
course,
exacerbated this notion. A 1-for-
11 performance to kick off the
game had coach John Beilein
burying his face in his palms,
while assistant coaches Luke
Yaklich and DeAndre Haynes
were
standing
and
barking
orders at their players. An
eventual 62-47 victory rested
more in the hands of the Scarlet
Knights’ ineptitude than the
Wolverines’ talent.
But,
like
Nebraska
and
Maryland,
Rutgers
was
capitalizing
on
Michigan’s
predictability.
“Again,
another
team
switched every ball screen —
most of them — so we’re trying
to figure it out,” Beilein said.
“I can’t put my finger on that,
but hopefully we’ll have better
starts going forward.”
Added
fifth-year
senior
forward
Duncan
Robinson:
“There’s
some
really
good
coaches in this league. We gotta
realize as a team that teams
aren’t gonna just let us do what
we wanna do. They’ll take away
our first, second and sometimes
our third option. Adjusting
to that (is needed) and being
aggressive in different ways
than our prep.”
The Wolverines have shown
that they are capable of making
some of these adjustments in
the second half. For the past six
games, Michigan has improved
upon its first half point totals —
not necessarily the tallest task
when field goal percentage has
hovered in the 30s. Against the
Scarlet Knights, the Wolverines
started attacking the hoop with
higher percentage shots, and
the results showed — 9-for-14
from the paint in the final 20
minutes.
This
efficiency
propelled
Michigan
over
Rutgers.
A
second-half
resurrection
got
the Wolverines barely over
the hump versus Maryland.
But in the 72-52 throttling by
Nebraska, they couldn’t adapt.
“We just don’t have that sense
of urgency yet,” said senior
guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman. “We lost that game
in Nebraska, and you’d think
we’d come out with a little more
energy. We didn’t. We had a
pretty good lead at halftime, but
it’s gotta be better. … We can’t
sit around and wait for things to
get better in the second half.”
Not all should be forgotten in
Michigan’s sluggish first half.
The long-awaited arrivals of
Jaaron Simmons being a capable
ball handler, Jon Teske’s mid-
range jumper and shutdown
defense by Robinson were all
welcome sights. As for the rest
of what happened in the half?
That’s been a sour taste that isn’t
getting out of the Wolverines’
mouths.
“We’re a better scoring team
than we were today,” Beilein
said. “But we’ve gotta get
through and get some fresh
legs again so we can make some
shots.”
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor
“As you can tell
in this game,
we’re tired.
We’re beat.”
‘M’ snags grad transfer DB
The transfer market has
already
been
kind
to
the
Michigan football team.
In one of the most high-
profile
singings
of
Jim
Harbaugh’s
tenure,
former
Ole Miss quarterback Shea
Patterson committed to the
Wolverines
last
December.
Sunday, Michigan tapped that
market once again.
Utah
graduate
transfer
cornerback Casey Hughes will
finish his career in Ann Arbor,
he announced on Twitter.
“It’s a blessing to say that I’ll
be finishing my last collegiate
season at the University of
Michigan,”
Hughes
wrote.
“I want to thank the entire
Michigan coaching staff for
believing in me and giving me
the opportunity to join their
program.”
During his first year playing
a major role, Hughes made
35 tackles and had one pass
breakup in 11 starts. Last
September,
he
forced
two
fumbles
in
a
win
against
Arizona.
A native of Las Vegas, Nev.,
Hughes is a former three-
star recruit, according to 247
Sports. After redshirting the
2014 season, Hughes served
predominately on special teams
as a sophomore and junior.
Though connected by the
timing of their commitments,
Hughes and Patterson have
highly contrasting outlooks for
2018.
Though his eligibility is
still undecided, Patterson is
expected to battle sophomores
Brandon
Peters
and
Dylan
McCaffery for the starting job
under center next fall. Hughes,
meanwhile, will likely serve as
a depth piece in the secondary.
Hughes joins a strong and
deep position group that figures
to return five corners, including
incumbent starters Lavert Hill
and David Long. Three-star
recruits Gemon Green and
Sammy Faustin have already
signed into the Wolverines’
class of 2021, while Rochester
Hills
native
Vincent
Gray
also announced his Michigan
intentions Sunday.
Michigan is also pursuing
offensive
tackle
Calvin
Anderson — a Rice graduate
transfer also receiving interest
from Auburn, Texas, TCU,
Oklahoma
and
Pittsburgh.
With the loss of four-year
starter Mason Cole, Anderson
figures to be the biggest target
on the Wolverines’ remaining
radar.
Harbaugh,
offensive
coordinator Tim Drevno and
assistant Sherrone Moore met
with Anderson last Monday in
Houston.
But only time will tell if
Anderson follows Patterson and
Hughes’ footsteps to Michigan.
FOOTBALL
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown has a new player to work with.
Wolverines bounce back with statement win
From the opening minute, the
No. 8 Michigan wrestling team
looked untouchable.
Bouncing back in dramatic
fashion from a demoralizing
loss against No. 1 Penn State,
the Wolverines (3-1 Big Ten, 6-2
overall)
trounced
Wisconsin
(1-2, 4-2) for an inspiring 29-10
win.
To
begin
the
meet
and
ultimately spell doom for the
23rd-ranked
Badgers,
fifth-
year senior Adam Coon took on
Wisconsin’s Ben Stone, a match
that didn’t make it out of the
first period. Coon muscled his
way to a first-period fall a mere
40 seconds into the contest. Cliff
Keen Arena erupted into a chorus
of approval as the Wolverines
began their statement campaign.
“It’s always good to start
things off like that,” said fifth-
year senior Domenic Abounader.
“It gets the team going, it gets
the momentum going and some
confidence going for our team.”
Michigan
used
this
momentum to its advantage as
the Wolverines found success
in the first five matches of the
night. After these victories,
including two falls, Michigan
looked unbeatable.
However, the Badgers did
have some fight in them as they
managed to escape with two
upsets, taking down redshirt
junior Alec Pantaleo and fifth-
year senior Kevin Beazley. The
two ranked wrestlers fell to their
unranked counterparts, 3-0 and
3-2, respectively.
After losing a close contest
against
the
Nittany
Lions,
Michigan needed a big win to
reaffirm its status as a collegiate
powerhouse and instill much-
needed confidence.
That is exactly what it got
as the Wolverines came away
from the contest winning seven
out of ten weight classes. This
confidence was perhaps most
apparent
in
redshirt
junior
Malik Amine.
Last week, Amine let his
emotions get the best of him as he
was called for three unnecessary
roughness penalties, essentially
delivering the match to his
opponent.
This week was a different
story. Amine ended the match
early, pinning Cole Martin in
the first period. Triumphantly
emerging form his pin, Amine
also
demonstrated
how
his
emotional wrestling style could
be a positive, strutting across the
mat and hyping up the crowd.
“After Penn State, I had to
go back to the drawing board,”
Amine said. “It’s better to
wrestle
emotionally
for
me
then to come out flat. If I go out
there flat, I lose or I barely win.
Controlled emotion is probably
the best for me.”
Going forward, it will take
consistent control and aggression
from all the Wolverines to push
them over the top.
In the two upsets of the meet,
a glaring lack of aggression
seemed to be at the root of
the losses. In his loss, Beazley
began the first period sluggishly,
struggling to gain momentum. It
wasn’t until the third period that
he showed signs of life before
ultimately running out of time.
“I think Kevin needs to
wrestle the first period like
he did that third period,” said
Michigan coach Joe McFarland.
“He wrestles like that — he
probably wins the match. He’s
really gotta start stringing moves
together. It’s a mindset, we talk a
lot about being aggressive, high
pace and he finally got that going
in the third period.”
Growing pains aside, this
match
was
everything
the
Wolverines needed it to be.
Complete with two falls and
two major decisions, Michigan
secured the energy needed to
compete in the Big 10 moving
forward.
“We didn’t really get a chance
to
dominate
against
Penn
State,” Coon said. “So when we
had the opportunity here in
those matches where we could
dominate, we definitely came
out and put the hurt on them.
We need to get a couple matches
where we dominate.”
CAT MYKOLAJTCHUK/Daily
Fifth-year senior Kevin Beazley and the eighth-ranked Michigan wrestling team bounced back in a 29-10 win over Wisconsin.
JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Writer