8 — Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Stats dive: ‘M’ third-down offense

Last season, the Michigan 
football 
team 
had 
well-
documented 
offensive 
issues: 
quarterback 
injuries, 
inconsistent pass protection 
and play calling that was forced 
to become less complex. You’ve 
heard some version of that 
before.
But lost in the fold, perhaps, 
was 
how 
ineffective 
the 
Wolverines 
were 
on 
third 
down. They moved the chains 
at just a 33-percent rate in 
2017, 
which 
ranked 
112th 
nationally — the worst during 
coach Jim Harbaugh’s tenure. 
That was one of several factors 
that prompted an offseason 
full 
of 
assistant 
coaching 
changes, including the hiring 
of offensive line coach Ed 
Warinner and wide receiver 
coach Jim McElwain, on top 
of the departure of offensive 
coordinator Tim Drevno.
The 
moves 
have 
helped 
Michigan 
transpose 
that 
unseemly third-down statistic. 
The Wolverines are converting 
just over 47 percent of their 
third-down opportunities, up 
97 spots from last season.
“It’s nobody’s fault for what 
happened last year and the last 
couple years,” said fifth-year 
senior defensive end Chase 
Winovich on Monday. “But I’d 
just say in general this year, 
it’s a big relief knowing we can 
actually score touchdowns on 
a pretty consistent basis and 
move the ball and control time 
of possession.”
More of that responsibility 
has 
fallen 
on 
junior 
quarterback Shea Patterson’s 
running 
ability 
in 
recent 
weeks. On a 4th-and-2 during 
the 
Wolverines’ 
eventual 
game-sealing 
drive 
against 
Michigan 
State, 
Patterson 
faked to 245-pound sophomore 
fullback Ben Mason and picked 
up the conversion himself.
Excluding sacks, Patterson 

has 242 yards and a touchdown 
on the ground this season. 
Over 60 percent of that has 
come in his last two games, 
per SB Nation’s Bill Connelly. 
Lopsided scores took the load 
off Patterson early in the 
season, but his scope has been 
widened with more zone read 
and run-pass-option looks.
“(Patterson’s running) opens 
up a lot in the offense — it’s 
something the defense has to 
defend,” Harbaugh said after 
Patterson ran for 113 yards 
against Wisconsin on Oct. 6. 
“I thought he did a heck of a 
job with his fakes, with his 
ball handling, with his running 
ability, all facets.”
Improved run blocking has 
also opened up Michigan’s 
offense. Karan Higdon, despite 
missing 
the 
season’s 
third 
game, has already amassed 831 
yards.
The senior running back’s 
production continues to be the 
backbone of Michigan’s offense. 
20 percent of the Wolverines’ 
third downs come in short-
yardage situations, which ranks 
first nationally. Getting 5.4 
yards-per-carry from Higdon is 
undoubtably pivotal to that.
“Karan deserves a lot of 
credit,” Harbaugh said Monday. 

“He’s gotten tough yards and 
yards after contact and yards 
more than what the play is 
blocked for.”
Hidgon’s efforts appear even 
more critical when you consider 
the flip side of the Wolverines’ 
third-down 
coin. 
Michigan 
has the country’s third-worst 
conversion rate — 14.6 percent 
— when faced with 3rd-and-6 
or longer.
It reveals another linchpin 
to the Wolverines’ offense: 
staying on schedule. By giving 
itself manageable situations on 
third down, Michigan keeps the 
chains moving to wear down 
defenses eventually. It’s second 
to only Texas A&M in time of 
possession among Power Five 
teams.
Perhaps that is not a surprise 
considering Harbaugh’s style. 
His background lies within 
the West Coast offense, which 
is predicated on the short-to-
intermediate 
passing 
game. 
That allows Michigan chances 
to keep the ball and chew the 
clock.
But system aside, a simple 
truth remains: When they work 
themselves into manageable 
third-down 
situations, 
few 
teams are better than the fifth-
ranked Wolverines. 

Penn State next on “Revenge Tour”

Last we saw Chase Winovich, 
he was parading off the field in 
East Lansing, calling Michigan 
State little brother after a win over 
the Spartans.
“On one hand, it’s like I’m 
moving on from it,” the fifth-
year senior defensive end said on 
Monday.
But it’s Chase Winovich, so, 
naturally, there’s another hand.
“But on the other hand, it’s like 
— which, I still am moving on from 
it, distancing myself from it — but 
it’s like, in my eyes, I didn’t start 
the fight. … For them, they called 
us Little Sister in the summer. 
They came there and tried the 
antics with the helmet, you guys 
know how that went. From there, 
they wanted us to take the low 
road, maybe I took the bait. But 
like I said, I don’t mean any harm 
from it. I’m just having fun.” 
Then a pause.
“I’m moving on. I’m focusing on 
Penn State now.”
The bye week has done little to 
quell Winovich’s self-proclaimed 
“revenge tour” or its gregarious 
torch-bearer. 
It’s 
a 
phrase 
Winovich coined in the offseason 
while reflecting on a disappointing 
8-5 season a year ago, one in which 
he felt other teams, “were kind of 
bullying” Michigan. 
It’s undoubtedly about avenging 
losses to Wisconsin, Michigan 
State, 
Penn 
State 
and 
Ohio 
State. But it’s also, more broadly, 
Winovich says, “an attitude.”
“They kind of took advantage of, 
we were kind of in an in-between 
year,” Winovich said. “Something 
about that gave a bad taste in my 
mouth. I knew, me personally, I 
wanted our lunch money back, and 
I wanted them to pay interest.”
Perhaps no one bullied the 2017 
Wolverines team worse than Penn 
State did, marching its way to a 
42-13 win at night in Happy Valley. 
Michigan allowed over 500 total 
yards in the rout.
That demolition started when 
running back Saquon Barkley 

galloped to a 69-yard touchdown 
less than a minute into the game 
and ended with Penn State 
snapping the ball near the goal line 
in an attempt to add yet another 
touchdown to extend the lead 
to 37 points with mere seconds 
remaining.
Players regarded the latter play 
as a slight. This week, Winovich 
and Michigan want that “interest.”
“(That game) lingers with 
us every day,” Winovich said. 
“It lingered with us in winter 
conditioning. Obviously, we don’t 
like what they tried to do at the 
end of the game; they tried to score 
that touchdown again.”
Defensive 
coordinator 
Don 
Brown echoed a similar senitment 
last Monday night on the Inside 
Michigan Football radio show.
“I wake up every morning and 
think about (that game),” Brown 
said. “Honest.”
Added 
Winovich: 
“I’d 
say 
(Brown) is definitely a little bit 
more amped up this week than 
he’s been, and that’s saying 
something.”
But just as this isn’t that 
Michigan team, this season’s 
Nittany Lions team is not the 
same.
The fifth-ranked Wolverines 
opened up in most sportsbooks 
as a double-digit favorite. They 

are riding a seven-game winning 
streak with legitimate College 
Football Playoff aspirations in 
sight. The 14th-ranked Nittany 
Lions have two last-minute losses 
to Ohio State and Michigan State 
and are all but eliminated from 
title talks.
Win Saturday and Michigan 
can start to peer ahead at a 
potential de facto playoff game 
in Columbus in three weeks. It 
would have three of four legs on 
the “revenge tour” checked off.
Lose Saturday and much of that 
flies out of the window. 
“The wins are definitely more 
satisfying,” Winovich said. “Just 
seeing our transition from last 
year’s team to this year’s team, and 
how much growth we’ve had. It’s a 
really cool thing to see.” 
And for Winovich, each passing 
Saturday carries more and more 
meaning. He came back to play 
his fifth season at Michigan to be 
in this very position. It’s all right 
there as he envisioned it.
“For me personally, it’s like I can 
look up and I’ve got eight quarters 
left in the Big House, and my time 
is coming to an end here,” he said. 
“And it’s very special to me to see 
Michigan in a position where, if I 
leave it, and we do big things here 
hopefully, it’s just leaving on a 
great note.”

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Chase Winovich says last year’s Penn State game lingers with Michigan.

MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor

MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Karan Higdon already has 831 yards on the ground this season.

What we’ve learned about the Michigan men’s basketball team so far

It has become a trademark 
of John Beilein-coached teams: 
They’re hard to figure out. At 
least at first.
But that doesn’t mean we 
can’t try.
The 
Michigan 
men’s 
basketball 
team 
has 
now 
opened parts of three practices 
to the media, and most recently 
opened the last hour of practice 
Monday night to the public. 
Fans were treated to various 
drills, 
a 
30-minute, 
full-
court five-on-five scrimmage 
between Maize and Blue teams 
and a three-point shooting 
contest between sophomores 
Isaiah Livers and Jordan Poole. 
(Poole drained twelve treys in 
a row to cruise to the victory.)
With the obvious caveat 
that the Wolverines have yet 
to play a game, here are five 
observations to draw from 
the last month of availability, 
and 
Monday’s 
practice 
in 
particular:
This is Zavier Simpson’s 
team
He might not be Michigan’s 
best player, and he certainly 
doesn’t have the most pro 
potential on the team. But 
the 
junior 
point 
guard’s 
importance is unmatched.
During five-on-five drills 
after the Wolverines’ media 
day on Oct. 22. Simpson was 
his typical ball-of-fire self, 
constantly barking at players 
after defensive stops and all 
the while leading with his 
signature ferociousness.
While he was much more 
toned down on Monday, his 
influence was still obvious. In 
one sequence, he leapt to snare 
an errant pass with both hands, 
before 
finding 
sophomore 
guard Eli Brooks with a perfect 
outlet pass, leading to a Livers 
alley-oop finish.
Defensive 
intensity 
will 
always be Simpson’s calling 
card, but Michigan’s practices 
have shown a player very much 
in control of the offense, who 
at the same time is aware of his 
limitations.

While 
not 
necessarily 
explosive, Simpson has shown 
a knack for crafty finishing 
— before scrimmage drills at 
the past two open practices, 
he could be seen working on 
unorthodox flip shots from 
almost 
underhand 
angles. 
And 
during 
this 
Monday’s 
scrimmage, he showed the 
physicality necessary to drive 
past freshman guard David 
DeJulius for layups on multiple 
occasions.
Simpson’s main weakness 
— his shooting — didn’t seem 
to impair his unit’s offensive 
production on Monday either, 
as efficient passing, off-ball 
movement and a solid pick-
and-roll 
connection 
with 
junior center Jon Teske made 
up for this deficiency. He’s a 
different kind of floor general 
than Beilein has had in years 
past. That much was clear last 
year, but this year, it’s even 
more apparent how Simpson’s 
molded Michigan’s identity.
Big men will be a focal 

point
The 
aforementioned 
Simpson-Teske 
two-man 
game dominated the Maize 
team’s offensive sets, and if 
Monday was any evidence, 
the Wolverines may rely on 
their big men quite heavily 
for production. 
What 
that 
actually entails, 
though, is still 
up for debate.
Teske 
and 
redshirt 
sophomore 
center 
Austin 
Davis displayed 
solid 
mobility 
after 
setting 
screens 
and 
diving to the basket, and both 
flashed an ability to finish in 
traffic. Neither showed much 
ability to score with their 
backs to the basket, but post-
ups usually are not a large part 
of Beilein’s offenses anyway.
Teske’s improved shooting 
has 
been 
of 
interest 
this 

offseason. 
In 
Monday’s 
scrimmage, he airballed his 
first 
attempt 
from 
three-
point range, but later on, he 
was able to set his feet and 
flush a 17-foot jumper with no 
hesitation. More importantly, 
though, Beilein could be heard 
on 
multiple 
occasions 
yelling 
at 
the 
Maize team to 
set up the pick-
and-pop 
game. 
Even if Teske 
isn’t 
Moritz 
Wagner 
from 
downtown, the 
Wolverines 
clearly 
are 
confident 
that 
they’ll be able to run offense 
through him.
Ignas Brazdeikis will be 
counted on
Brazdeikis started at power 
forward 
during 
Michigan’s 
closed-door 
scrimmage 
at 
Toledo last Saturday, per The 
Athletic’s Brendan Quinn. It’s 

a sign that the Wolverines want 
to get their prized freshman on 
the court in any way they can.
It’s pretty clear why — 
Brazdeikis 
simply 
knows 
how to score. Not only is he 
athletic, skillful and physical, 
but he possesses a relentless 
determination 
to 
attack 
the basket and got to the 
line 
multiple 
times 
during 
Monday’s scrimmage. For a 
Michigan team with a dearth 
of shot-creators, Brazdeikis’ 
aggression will be essential.
However, 
Brazdeikis 
also 
functioned as a ball-stopper, 
and there was generally less 
offensive movement on his Blue 
team with him in the game — 
almost every time Brazdeikis 
got the ball, he put his head 
down and drove straight to the 
basket. In an offensive system 
that relies on constant motion 
and generating open shots, 
Brazdeikis will still have to 
refine his raw scoring ability.
Livers still expanding his 
game

Players and coaches alike 
have wanted the sophomore 
forward to take more offensive 
initiative this season. Monday’s 
scrimmage was encouraging in 
this regard — but it was also a 
reminder that it won’t happen 
overnight.
In one offensive set, Livers 
received the ball alone at the 
top of the key, with Charles 
Matthews just out of position 
to close out. Livers paused for 
a second too long, and ended 
up passing out of the situation, 
prompting Beilein to shout, 
“Shoot that, Isaiah!”
One possession later, Livers 
made up for his indecision. 
Curling to his left, he received 
a pass on the right wing and 
put 
up 
a 
catch-and-shoot 
three without any hesitation, 
catching nothing but net. The 
Wolverines hope he eventually 
won’t need a reminder to do so.
Adrien Nunez might have 
a role
The freshman guard from 
Brooklyn, N.Y., on the other 
hand, doesn’t need to be told 
twice to let it fly, which might 
explain why he started the 
scrimmage for the Maize team 
on Monday.
Nunez 
might 
be 
the 
least-heralded 
member 
of 
Michigan’s freshman class, but 
one could argue he’s already 
the best pure shooter on the 
team. He has a quick, smooth 
release with terrific elevation 
and little excess motion. With 
Duncan Robinson gone to the 
NBA after drilling 237 treys 
over the last three years, 
Nunez is the closest thing the 
Wolverines have to a like-for-
like replacement as a shooter.
Nunez missed all three of 
his 3-point attempts in the 
30-minute 
scrimmage, 
but 
those three attempts were 
diverse — they came from the 
left corner, off a screen and 
four feet behind the arc — and 
displayed what Michigan will 
need from him this season. 
If those shots start to fall, 
Nunez could find himself in an 
integral role sooner than later, 
considering the Wolverines’ 
team composition.

EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein could rely heavily on players like Isaiah Livers, Ignas Brazdeikis and even Adrien Nunez to replace lost production from last season.

JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer

The junior 
point guard’s 
importance is 
unmatched.

