8A — Wednesday, November 7, 2018 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Season-opening snoozer Michigan beats Norfolk State, 63-44 Norfolk State didn’t score its first points until seven minutes and 16 seconds into the game. By that point, it was far too late. Sophomore guard Jordan Poole found Charles Matthews with a nifty wrap-around pass in the post, and the redshirt junior forward finished off the Michigan men’s basketball team’s second possession with its first two points. That was as close as the Wolverines’ season- opener would get, as they handily beat the overmatched Spartans (0-1), 63-44, on Tuesday night. The night’s most eventful moments, in reality, took place before the game started and after it ended. Fifteen minutes before tip-off, the banners for Michigan’s Big Ten Tournament Championship and Final Four appearance last year were raised to the Crisler Center rafters. And when the final buzzer sounded, it officially marked John Beilein’s 800th win across all levels of college basketball, and the Maize Rage unveiled another banner — this one congratulating the Wolverines’ coach on his accomplishment. “It’s 800 wins, it will go with those other basketballs that are back there,” Beilein said. “But it was nice to have a poster and so many people congratulate you.” Added sophomore forward Isaiah Livers: “He tried to overlook it and just celebrate our opening ‘W,’ but we didn’t let him go for that. He was trying to talk over us, we were like, ‘Congrats Coach!’ … But you know how Coach (Beilein) is. He likes to move forward and just do everything in a routine.” Between those two events, Michigan (1-0) did what it was expected to do against Norfolk State, which went just 14-19 last season. The Wolverines led 11-0 before the Spartans found the scoreboard, and just in case there was any momentum to be had from that, Livers and freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis both canned corner 3-pointers to go up 15 midway through the half. The Wolverines took a 27-5 lead after a Matthews steal and layup, but went cold for the rest of the first half, as the Spartans outscored them, 8-5, over the last six and a half minutes. But despite the inability to buy a basket for stretches, Michigan was never in any danger, as its physical superiority was ultimately too much for Norfolk State to overcome. Seven minutes into the second half, the Spartans’ C.J. Kelly scored to cut their deficit to 18. The Wolverines promptly went on a 15-4 run, punctuated by six points from Brazdeikis and a corner trey by sophomore guard Eli Brooks to cap off the run and put the game to bed with Michigan leading, 58-29. Junior center Jon Teske was Michigan’s top performer, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds — four of them offensive — and four blocks. The Spartans don’t have a player within five inches of the 7-foot-1 Teske, and this disadvantage manifested itself down low. Norfolk State had no success under the basket with Teske patrolling and didn’t experience much more away from it, shooting just 31 percent from the field. The Wolverines, however, were barely better, hitting just 22 of their 60 shot attempts, six of 26 3-pointers and a particularly hideous 13-for-29 figure from the free-throw line. “If you look at our numbers in practice and everything, just not happening,” Beilein said. “We got to just continue to work at it, you can’t dwell on it too much.” In the end, though, none of it would matter — at least on Tuesday night. As soon as Saturday, when Michigan will take on Holy Cross, that might change. “I’m just proud that we were able to gut through,” Beilein said. “It was a bit of a mess at times, but we just kept gutting through and gutting through, and our kids will see on the film how much better we can be when we play a little bit more efficiently.” Jon Teske shows defensive prowess Early-season non-conference games are often blowouts, and often purely due to physical ability. That came in the form of Jon Teske for the Michigan men’s basketball team against Norfolk State on Tuesday. All night, the Spartans (0-1) tried to drive into the paint, and all night they were met by Teske, who affected shot after shot as the Wolverines (1-0) cruised to a 63-44 win. Teske, whose eight rebounds, four blocks and steal buoyed a defensive effort that saw Norfolk State score all of 13 first-half points, has always been a defensive force. This looked a tad different than what we’ve seen from him in the past. Teske moved his feet. He wasn’t just tall — the 7-footer whose presence alone does something on defense — but agile, managing to affect shots, yes, but also hold his own on switches. He stayed out of foul trouble, using verticality in the way Michigan coach John Beilein has preached. “He’s not a shot-blocker, but he’s a big dude to score over,” Beilein said. “So, if he just goes up there, man, that used to be a foul when you jumped up like that. And now, he’s really starting to understand the verticality. And I noticed it a couple years ago when I was demonstrating something with him and he was in front of me and I couldn’t see anybody. He’s just a big wall for us, and he’s using that effectively.” When Teske got on the floor last year, it was often for shorter bursts. That was in part because of Moritz Wagner, part because of Teske getting into foul trouble and part because Teske simply got tired. Wagner is gone, off to the NBA. Teske, if Tuesday is any indication, is making big steps in terms of verticality. And when asked, Beilein was quick to note that he no longer gets tired, instead being able to play through media timeouts. This bodes well for a Michigan defense that ranked third in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency last year. “We like his feet,” Beilein said. “He’s very unique for a 7-(foot)- 1 guy who has a size-13 shoe. He really can move his feet, so we’re not hesitant about switching a ball-screen late.” The junior center is soft- spoken and quick to credit teammates, the way you’re supposed to do. When asked about his assertiveness, Teske said that yes, he feels better in that area than last year, then added, “Austin (Davis) did that as well.” But having a 7-foot-1 center patrolling the paint has its perks, especially one whose defensive prowess goes beyond being 7-foot-1. “Ah man, it’s gonna change up their gameplan,” Isaiah Livers said. “They’re not gonna go after a 7-footer that can move his feet and doesn’t foul. You wouldn’t be a smart coach to go at Jon Teske, I would say.” Indeed, the Spartans kept going at Teske, and it kept going badly. He didn’t try too hard to affect shots, instead walling up and reaping the rewards. The Wolverines saw on film that the Spartans would attack the paint, but it quickly became clear that battle was futile. “We don’t have a 7-footer, so he (was) a big challenge for us,” Norfolk State coach Robert Johnson said. “So you know, we won’t see that much size like that down the road especially, even on non-conference opponents, there’s not a lot of (7-foot-1) guys right around that we’re gonna play, so it’s okay for that. It was good to see so hopefully things like that, when we play shorter guys we’ll be able to finish.” On Tuesday, Norfolk State got no such reprieve. ALEC COHEN/Daily Michigan coach John Beilein earned his 800th career win in his team’s season-opening domination over Norfolk State. ETHAN SEARS Daily Sports Writer JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Writer “I’m just proud that we were able to gut through.” ‘M’ exact revenge for first loss to Wisconsin It felt like one of the key moments of the season. Just over a week after the No. 14 Michigan volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker at home to Wisconsin — beginning a three-match losing streak — the Wolverines came through with their biggest win of the season. Sunday, Michigan avenged its loss to the No. 5 Badgers in Madison, defeating them 25-19, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22. The Wolverines (19-6 overall, 8-6 Big Ten) were led once again by the duo of senior outside hitter Carly Skjodt and freshman outside hitter Paige Jones. Skojdt had 23 kills on 56 swings resulting in 25.5 scoring points, and Jones tallied 10 kills on 46 swings for 10.5 scoring points. Sophomore middle blocker Dana Rettke paced Wisconsin (16- 6, 9-5) with 17 kills on 35 swings for 22.5 scoring points. Redshirt junior outside hitter Madison Duello added 16 kills on 38 swings for 19 scoring points. Michigan got off to a slow start, dropping a first set that felt much worse than the score of 25-19 indicated. After back-to- back disappointing performances versus No. 3 Minnesota and at Indiana, this match seemed all set to compound on the Wolverines’ recent woes. But Michigan won the second set, making the third feel crucial. In a precarious spot down 18-22, the Wolverines once again mounted a startling comeback against the Badgers, ripping off seven straight points to take the set and momentum, 25-22. “(Assistant Coach Leisa Rosen) made the adjustment, and we subbed in (sophomore libero Jaqueline) DiSanto to serve, which we hadn’t done all match,” said Michigan coach Mark Rosen. “Next thing you know we had a five-point run (out of her). Jaq did a great job of putting aggressive serves on them, and our defense did a great job of stepping up and closing that one out.” In contrast to their fourth- set comeback to force a decider last week in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines made sure this one match wouldn’t slip away. The fourth set was competitive throughout, with neither side leading by more than one point for most of the set after the Wolverines came back from a 13-9 deficit to tie the score at 13. Eventually, Michigan pulled ahead to finally finish Wisconsin off, 25-22. Redshirt junior middle blocker Cori Crocker made her long- awaited return from injury, providing a spark with four kills on seven swings for five scoring points. She also aided the defense with two blocks and two block assists — the second-most on the day for the Wolverines in both categories. “We actually used her in the opposite position today, because we still didn’t feel that she was ready to move 100 percent and cover the range that she’d have to as a middle.” Rosen said. “I think with Cori coming back, the biggest thing is that it gives us some options, to really make some adjustments (with blocking). Allowing her to impact the other team with her blocking presence is huge. “Hopefully within the next week, we’ll have her all back to 100 percent.” Michigan looks to continue on the winning track with six more regular season matches before the start of the NCAA Tournament. “I think when you’re struggling a little bit, you haven’t had the wins, it’s definitely frustrating,” Rosen said. “It was a really much- needed win today, and with sports and athletics, the mood (around the team) is constantly changing. “I’m proud of this team for fighting really hard when things weren’t going great, and still finding a way to fight through that and keep their wits in a match like this.” VOLLEYBALL JAKE KARALEXIS Daily Sports Writer Michigan beats PSU in Big Ten Tournament The Michigan men’s soccer team (11-4-2 overall, 4-2-2 Big Ten) secured a signature 3-1 win over Penn State (6-9-2, 3-3-2) Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines dealt with several injuries to key players, including senior center back Daniel Mukuna, senior midfielder Ivo Cerda and sophomore forward Mohammed Zakyi. Zakyi played through a hamstring injury while the other two didn’t dress. Early on, Michigan controlled the game, forcing all 11 Nittany Lions players to defend behind the ball in their own half. Sophomore forward Umar Farouk Osman missed one shot and had another go wide before breaking through in the 29th minute. A long throw-in from the far sideline by senior defender Marcello Borges dropped to Osman, who buried the half-volley into the upper right corner. It was a deserved goal up to that point for the Wolverines, who had a multitude of opportunities. Michigan looked poised to break the game open with a second goal, but junior forward Jack Hallahan’s close- range shot in the 30th minute was blocked, followed by Borges missing a shot wide in the 38th minute. Penn State capitalized on the Wolverines’ poor finishing with a goal that was against the run of play just two minutes before the half. Defender Ryan Gallagher headed the ball into the left side of the goal off a corner kick by midfielder Callum Pritchatt. The corner kick went over the attempted punch of sophomore goalkeeper Henry Mashburn, leaving a wide open net for the Nittany Lions to tie up the game. “Physically, they’re strong, they’re fit. Two, they’re organized, very well coached,” said Michigan coach Chaka Daley. “And three, they’re super dangerous in every dead ball situation. As a result of that it makes it a difficult game.” It was a frustrating end to the half for Michigan, who outshot Penn State seven to four before the break. “Yeah, I mean, I think we told the guys we missed some passes we could have connected,” Daley said.“We missed chances we should have taken — you know what I mean — a couple half-chances we could have worked the keeper a little bit more. “And we mismanaged the game. With three minutes to go in the half, the ball is down there, we just gotta clear our lines a little bit and not overplay or have us be too overconfident in those situations. You try to play out or rally and shield it in the corner, and unfortunately it didn’t go our way, and they took full advantage.” The second half was strikingly more physical. Both teams had a player who had to leave the game due to blood being drawn. The physicality came to a head with a yellow card issued to the Nittany Lions’ Pritchatt for a blatant foul in the 50th minute. The Wolverines took back control of the match, earning three corner kicks, one of which was converted by Osman for his second of the game. The corner was taken by Hallahan and flicked by senior midfielder Robbie Mertz to Osman, who left no doubt by firing another half-volley into the upper left corner. “We gotta take our chances. That’s what (Daley) told us because we got a lot of chances in the first half,” Osman said. “We just couldn’t execute, so we needed to focus and we did that.” The first three goals of the game all came off dead-ball situations. “I mean, if you look at the statistics of soccer just in general most goals happen in the first ten minutes or last ten of halves typically, and a large percentage of them come off of set pieces or dead ball situations. So the statistics are proven,” Daley said. “We focus on them before every game. We discuss them before every game before and at half. And so we’re hyper- focused I guess when it comes to those situations and fortunately today they went in our favor.” Michigan continued its command of the game, ending with a 12-4 advantage in shots. However, the game was far from over until Hallahan settled the contest with a goal in the 81st minute. Junior forward Lucas Rosendall passed the ball inside the box to Hallahan, who drove the ball into the lower left corner. The goal gave the Wolverines a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. “It was a very huge win for us, because we didn’t beat them earlier (this season),” said Osman. “And before the game, our coaches told us this might be our last game, so we made sure it wasn’t.” PRASHANTH PANICKER/Daily The Michigan soccer team avenged its loss to Penn State earlier in the year to move to the Big Ten semifinals. AVI RAJENDRA-NICOLUCCI For the Daily “Physically, they’re strong, they’re fit ... very well coached.” “This might be our last game, so we made sure it wasn’t.”