The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 — 7A
After tournament championship, ‘M’ approaches uncommon off week
So now what?
After claiming the Big Ten
Tournament
Championship
for a second year in a row, the
Michigan
men’s
basketball
team is riding high. It vaulted to
No. 7 in the AP poll released on
Monday, and continues to climb
up bracket projections, now
seemingly locked into a top-
four seed — bracketmatrix.com,
a website that compiles a host of
predictions, has the Wolverines
as the final No. 3 seed.
Michigan
has
won
nine
games in a row, and after
beating
Nebraska
in
the
quarterfinal and Purdue in the
final, has beaten all of the other
13 Big Ten teams, the only team
in the conference to accomplish
that feat this season. Suddenly,
a pesky, middling Big Ten team
has become one of the hottest
in the country, and a bonafide
contender.
But
after
winning
four
games in four days, the red-hot
Wolverines will go at least 10
days before playing next.
Thanks
to
a
condensed
schedule
created
to
accommodate Madison Square
Garden as the venue for last
week’s tournament, Michigan
won’t find out who it’s playing or
where it’s going for another five
days, raising the interminable
question of rest versus rust.
After
a
dizzying
week,
Michigan coach
John
Beilein
made his case
for rest.
“I’ve
been
here before with
both
Canisius
and Richmond,”
Beilein
said.
“You’ve got to
pace
yourself,
and you’ve got to
embrace it, say,
‘You know what, we’ve got time
to get better now.’ We’re going
to get better.
“I think it’ll be a nice week
where I’m not — we just
prepared for five teams in four
days. I’m looking forward (to
the fact) we can’t prepare for
the next opponent, we can just
focus on ourselves the next
week.”
Not only does Beilein have
experience with the prolonged
time off, he actually has success.
In 1998, Beilein’s 14th-seeded
Richmond team upset the No. 3
seeded South Carolina coming
off a similar 11-day layoff.
Beilein noted that he won’t
practice each day, but would
likely practice a couple times
with an intra-squad scrimmage
slated for Sunday afternoon
prior to the announcement of
the NCAA Tournament field.
When
asked
what his team
can
improve
upon
before
the start of the
Tournament,
Beilein
eagerly
responded,
“Oh,
man,”
before
naming
off
a
laundry
list of areas for
improvment.
Free-throw shooting, boxing
out and on-ball defense all made
the cut before he forced himself
to slow down and acknowledge
the need to take things easy.
But the perils of rust loom
large for a team now gelling as
one of the nation’s best.
There was no feeling of
disappointment in the Michigan
locker room about getting the
extra week — or at least no
outward admission of such. If
anything, the attitude was a
workmanlike ambivalence.
“I think we are just going
to focus on — first of all, we’re
going to enjoy this a couple
days and to get some rest,”
said
junior
center
Moritz
Wagner, the tournament’s Most
Outstanding Player. “Then we’re
going to focus on what’s next.
Whether that’s an advantage
or disadvantage, doesn’t really
matter.”
Added
Robinson:
“We’re
just
looking at it as,
it is what it is.
It’ll be nice to
get some rest —
don’t have the
young legs like I
once did, being a
fifth-year senior.
It’ll be nice to get
off my feet for it.”
Senior guard Muhammad-Ali
Abdur-Rahkman said he likes
to play Xbox during his down
time,
specifically
Fortnite
and Call of Duty. Robinson
remarked
that
each
player
would
maximize
the
extra
week to watch
more film, get
an extra weight
lift in or simply
catch up on rest.
But it’s only
human
nature
to
think
the
streaking
Wolverines
would just want
to keep playing
basketball.
On Sunday, the rest of the
conference tournaments will
come to a close and the bracket
will be released. Beilein will
begin his game preparation, and
the most chaotic sporting event
in the country will officially
begin.
And no matter what happens
in the next month, no matter
what
seed
Michigan
will
end with, no matter what —
if anything — comes of this
uncommon
week
off,
the
Wolverines will still hang a
banner in Crisler Center come
next season.
Careful not to fret too much
about the extra time, Beilein
made one thing clear about the
schedule after he celebrated
his second straight Big Ten
Tournament title.
“It was worth it.”
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein has experienced this uncommon week off when he was at Canisius and Richmond.
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
“I’ve been here
before with
Canisius and
Richmond.”
“We’re going
to enjoy this a
couple days and
get some rest.”
Boka working to control his emotions when the Wolverines need it most
On Jan. 7 against then-No. 1
Notre Dame in South Bend, the
Michigan hockey team skated
off the ice with heads hanging
low after 40 minutes of play.
The Wolverines allowed two
unanswered goals in the second
period and found themselves
down, 2-0, heading into the third.
As Michigan made its way down
the tunnel, defenseman Nicholas
Boka slammed his stick into the
ground and let out an expletive
so loud it echoed throughout
Compton Family Ice Arena.
Known
for
wearing
his
emotions on his sleeves, the
junior let everyone know the
dejected state of the Wolverines.
Michigan would go on to lose,
2-1, sending it to a dismal 8-10-2
record — a continuation of last
year’s disappointment — with
little hope for NCAA Tournament
contention.
Almost two months later, Boka
— always the last player to exit
the pregame skate — left the Yost
Ice Arena rink all smiles. As fans
piled in for a Big Ten Tournament
quarterfinal
matchup
against
Wisconsin last Saturday, the
blueliner would again be the
telltale sign of an upbeat dressing
room.
Riding a nation’s-best seven-
game
unbeaten
streak,
the
Wolverines were only one win
away from sweeping the Badgers
and advancing to the Big Ten
Tournament semifinals for a
rivalry showdown against Ohio
State. They’d proceed to a 7-4
victory and are all but guaranteed
an NCAA Tournament berth in
upcoming weeks.
Following
Saturday’s
win,
Michigan coach Mel Pearson
was quick to applaud Boka,
who
assisted
on
sophomore
defenseman Griffin Luce’s goal
to put the Wolverines up, 6-3,
early in the third period. The
helper added to Boka’s plus-15
rating, best among the Wolverine
defensemen.
“Nick’s been really good the
second half, and good for him,”
Pearson said. “He had a lot of ice
time tonight and gives us another
strong defenseman. I like our
defense. Even though we gave up
a lot of goals this weekend, I like a
lot of things about them.”
What evolution in Boka’s game
has led to this major improvement
down the stretch?
“Emotional control,” Pearson
said, without skipping a beat,
after practice Tuesday. “I think
he’s not getting wrapped up in a
lot of things that’s gone on in the
games. He’s now worried about
what he needs to do to be a good
player and help the team.
“The thing with Nick is he’s
very
competitive.
…
We’ve
just had to have him dial in
emotionally and manage the
game emotionally. He’s always
had good skills when it comes to
skating and puck handling, he
just gets a little out of sorts. We
said to him, ‘Just play the game.’ ”
Through
many
one-on-one
conversations,
Pearson
has
reigned in Boka’s temperament,
encouraging
tough
and
physical
play
without
committing
avoidable
penalties.
And
it’s
translated to his
on-ice success.
After 10 games
without a point,
Boka
registered
two assists in his last three games.
He’s blocked 42 shots this season
and continues to limit turnovers
in the defensive zone. His game
has strengthened in proportion
to his disposition, resulting in
increased trust from Pearson.
In Saturday’s contest, Boka
played more minutes than most
blueliners, despite practicing only
once the prior week and missing
Friday’s game due to an upper-
body injury sustained during the
regular
season
finale
against
Arizona State.
Even
with
a
lineup
that
has
regularly
changed
throughout
the
season based on
game and practice
performance,
Boka, if healthy,
was
virtually
guaranteed to lace up his skates
against Wisconsin and receive
substantial ice time.
“He’s put money in the bank,”
Pearson said. “He’s made some
good deposits over the course of
the year, so when he came in to
withdraw, he had some money
in there. That’s how you look at
it. He’s played well. This time of
year, sometimes when you miss
practice it’s no big deal. He’s a
good skater, so he doesn’t get too
far behind.”
But Boka didn’t take that for
granted, quickly getting back to
full strength for Saturday’s game.
“It was tough watching the
game Friday from the stands,”
Boka said. “Throughout the week,
it was just doing rehab to get back
in the lineup. I hate watching, and
I want to do my best to help the
team.”
The Plymouth, Mich. native
credits
his
teammates
and
newfound emotional restraint as
reasons for his recent advances.
“I think when the team plays
well, it makes it easier to do your
job,” Boka said. “… It makes it
easier on me to focus on my role
and shut down other teams, and
it’s been working for me.
“I also think it’s just being
aware of my emotions. Hockey is a
pretty emotional game, and there’s
going to be ups and downs, but you
just have to kind of prepare for
that aspect. … Once I start talking,
it gets my emotions going. I try
to stay away from it and talk to
my teammates instead of other
teams. And it’s definitely helped
in keeping my emotions in check.”
Added Luce, Boka’s defensive
partner for most of the season:
“He’s an emotional guy and …
I know he likes to stir things
up. But the chemistry between
us is great, so if I’m getting too
emotional, he’ll give me a pat on
the back, say ‘Hey, relax,’ and I
think the same goes for him. I
think we’re on that level with
each other where we can take
each other down or bring each
other up if we need to.”
But have no fear, Boka is still
the same passionate — and vocal
— leader he’s always been.
He still jaws with opponents
and partakes in extracurricular
activity after the whistle. In the
first game of the Sun Devils’ series,
Boka faced a standoff against
defenseman Jakob Stridsberg.
As always, after pregame skate,
Boka waited for Arizona State to
get off the ice and go to its locker
room before he did. Stridsberg
decided to wait, too.
It
took
some
referee
intervention, but Boka got the
best of Stridsberg. He was the last
one to leave his home ice.
Boka still holds the same
approach
in
deciding
which
players he goes after — go for
those who are easily unnerved
and stay away from those who
would go unfazed.
And he’s still the player Pearson
believes is one of the best trash
talkers in all of college hockey.
As the postseason rolls on
and the Wolverines look to more
good fortune, No. 74 in the maize
sweater will be a key force on the
backline. Not just as his bruiser
reputation proceeds him, but as a
vital cog in the Michigan engine
on both sides of the ice.
BENJAMIN KATZ
Daily Sports Writer
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Junior defenseman Nicholas Boka has increased his productivity while improving his attitude, leading to more trust from Michigan coach Mel Pearson.
“He’s a good
skater, so he
doesn’t get too
far behind.”