4 — December 3, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
Michigan suffers second-straight
defeat at the hands of Marquette
At the five-minute mark
of the first quarter, No. 21
Marquette led 13-12. A frenetic
pace and litany of turnovers
characterized
the
opening
minutes for both teams.
But from that point on, it
seemed as if only one team was
running, and the other was
committing the turnovers.
The
Golden
Eagles
dominated, hitting a trio of
three-pointers — two of them
in transition — to eventually
open up a 10-point lead at the
end of the first.
The rest of the game featured
much of the same as Marquette
(6-1)
dispatched
Michigan
(5-3) easily by a score of 85-74.
The eleven-point margin was
deceiving, though.
“I think they did whatever
they
wanted
to
do,”
said
Michigan
coach
Kim
Barnes
Arico.
“They
made
an
incredible
amount
of
3-point shots, and they were
tremendous off the bounce.
Just really, really difficult for
us to defend. We couldn’t get
stops.”
Though
the
Wolverines’
defense was nowhere to be
found for long stretches of
the first half, it was largely
because they didn’t have time
to set up in the half court.
Between
long
defensive
rebounds, quick outlets and
turnovers, the Golden Eagles
looked to exploit Michigan in
transition.
Marquette
hit
eight
3-pointers
en
route
to
a
52-point output in the first half
— more than the Wolverines
had given up to Mount St.
Mary’s and Western Michigan
over the course of 40 minutes.
As a result of the Golden
Eagles’
ability
to
shred
Michigan’s
defense,
the
inexperienced
Wolverines
forced
the
issue
on
their
end. Quick shots and hasty
possessions only served to
exacerbate
their
defensive
issues though.
“We started taking quick
shots which resulted in poor
transition
defense
because
they were so quick,” Barnes
Arico
said.
“They
were
able to get easy
baskets
and
drive and kicks
off of our quick
shots. I think we
have to realize
we have to be
a
little
more
disciplined
in
those situations.
We need to use
shot clock and
make them run shot clock.”
Michigan
struggled
to
find a rhythm for most of the
game. Senior guard Nicole
Munger poured in 12 points,
as did freshman forward Naz
Hillmon. But other than that,
the Wolverine starters were
largely ineffective offensively.
Star senior forward Hallie
Thome once again struggled to
assert herself in the paint.
In
comparison,
all
of
Marquette’s
starters
scored
in double digits. Senior Erika
Davenport led the way for them
with 21 points on 9-11 shooting.
“I thought their toughness
and
their
hustle
was
tremendous,”
Barnes
Arico
said. “We talked about it a little
bit, but they really got after
us and I thought we would be
better because we had a major
size advantage. It was a little
surprising that they came after
us as aggressively as they did
and we didn’t respond to it.”
Despite
a
poor
overall
performance,
Michigan
clawed its way back in the
fourth quarter thanks in large
part to the play of its bench.
Sophomore
guard
Priscilla
Smeenge, as well as freshmen
Ariel Young and Emily Kiser
particularly impressed. They
faced a 26-point deficit at
the beginning of the fourth
quarter and turned it into
just an 11-point
defeat.
“I
think
that
group
—
that
group
of
freshmen
that we have,”
Barnes
Arico
said.
“You
know you add
Priscilla to that
mix.
They’re
very coachable.
They’re
very
open-minded. They want to do
whatever they can do to help
our team be successful. And I
think they showed that tonight.
They shared the basketball,
they made extra passes.”
The game may have ended on
a positive note, but the defeat
is now the Wolverines’ third in
the last four games — granted
they have all been to ranked
opponents.
Now,
coming
off
that
difficult non-conference slate,
Michigan should be able to
regroup a bit with three mid-
major opponents before Big
Ten season gets underway at
the end of December.
“We threw ourselves to the
wolves a little bit,” Barnes
Arico said. “But hopefully it’s
eye-opening where we are and
where we need to be, and what
we need to do to get to where
we need to be. That’s our goal.
It will be nice to get to work
and get to practice.”
CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer
“We threw
ourselves to the
wolves a little
bit.”
Jordan Poole and finding a good shot
The
dorm
rooms
at
LaLumiere
School
are
uniform. Pale. Dry. The exact
same. So one day, coming off a
national championship win, a
young Jordan Poole turned to
his roommate, future top-five
NBA Draft pick Jaren Jackson
Jr., with an idea in mind.
“Yo, Jaren, this room — it
looks weak,” Poole recalled
saying. “Let’s try something
else. Let’s try something new.”
“Well, what are you trying to
do?” he remembered Jackson
asking.
“I don’t know, let’s just start
moving
stuff
around.
And
whatever we come up with, we
come up with.”
The beds got moved to the
far wall, next to each other
— a desk in the middle. Their
TVs moved next to each other,
as did the refrigerators, with
chairs
more
conveniently
placed. They took out some of
the furniture they didn’t like.
“It was basically like one big
game of Tetris or something,”
Jackson recalled in a phone
interview.
That’s Poole’s personality,
too, rolled up into one story.
He’s
excitable,
bordering
on
reckless
at
times,
but
everything
he
does
helps
a whole lot more than it
hurts. That setup was better,
allowing more space for more
people. It is like his basketball
game. When Poole finds a
balance between reckless and
aggressive, he shines.
Which brings us to Saturday
on Michigan’s first possession
of the second half, when Poole
looked up, ball in his hands,
and saw Purdue’s Matt Haarms
squared up on him.
The sophomore guard jab-
stepped. He started a drive,
then crossed over, leaving the
Boilermakers’ 7-foot-3 big man
a step behind. And then he
spotted junior guard Zavier
Simpson under the net — the
paint otherwise vacated — and
he whipped a one-handed pass
for an uncontested layup.
It was a small flash, just
another easy bucket in a game
filled with them for both
Poole and the Wolverines.
As
Michigan
dominated
Purdue, 76-57, Poole dropped
21 points, a season high, on
8-of-9
shooting
from
the
field, making all five of his
shots from beyond the arc — a
performance as notable for the
shots he didn’t take as it was
for those he did.
A year ago, Poole doesn’t
make that pass to Simpson. He
doesn’t pass out of a potential
stepback
3-pointer
earlier
on in the game with Carsen
Edwards recovering to contest
either. He didn’t all last year,
and often got pulled as a result.
He has learned which shots
to take and which to pass
up. Games like Saturday’s —
efficient, and lethally effective
— are the result.
“(He has) gradually learned,
less is more,” Michigan coach
John Beilein said. “And he can
get better shots. Guys like that
that can get their own shots,
have a lot of confidence, gotta
realize, ‘I’ll take less shots but
I’ll score more points.’ That
usually is pretty motivating to
people.”
Beilein is more willing to
let Poole play through his
mistakes now. The sophomore
got called for a carry early
in the second half against
Purdue. Then, on the ensuing
defensive possession, he forced
a miss from the Boilermakers’
Evan Boudreaux, scrambling
to contest a player with a
three-inch height advantage at
the rim.
Poole
himself
cited
a
turnover against Purdue where
the coach said nothing to him,
knowing he could play through
it. He did, drawing a charge.
As
for
shooting,
Poole
struggled at the start of the
season. He made one of his
first 10 attempts from 3-point
range. He’s now made nine of
his last 10 — and, saving for one
towards the end of a blowout
win over North Carolina that
went in, none have fallen
under the label of reckless.
Any mistakes he was making
in that department seem well
behind him.
Asked about any shift in his
shot selection and how it might
have happened, Poole took a
long pause.
”I couldn’t tell you, bro. I
don’t know,” Poole said. “When
I shoot and coach (Beilein)
don’t yell at me for saying it’s a
bad shot. I feel like in practice
I hit tough shots and I hit shots
a lot of the time. When coach is
able to see that I can hit those
shots on a consistent basis,
he lets me shoot them in the
game.”
Beilein is letting him shoot,
and Poole is providing the
reward.
And like one big game of
Tetris, his game is falling into
place.
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Jordan Poole has shown growth in his shot selection this season.
ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer
3-point shooting keys ‘M’ in victory
Just three weeks ago, when
the Michigan basketball team
beat Holy Cross in the second
game of the season, the win
carried a solemn air. It took the
Wolverines to 2-0 but, for the
second time in five days, they
had shot less than 25 percent
from deep.
Michigan’s defense meant
it could survive its shooting
woes, but for a program whose
offensive identity has revolved
around the 3-pointer under
coach John Beilein, making
just nine of its 45 3-point tries
was a problem.
“If you look at our numbers
in practice and everything,
it’s just—it’s not happening,”
Beilein said at the time.
Six
games
later,
the
Wolverines
look
like
a
legitimate
national
title
contender.
Their
defense
continues to be the main
reason for that — they lead the
country in adjusted defensive
efficiency and have held two
top-11 offenses under 70 points
in the past four days.
But Michigan’s offense is
starting to pull its weight,
and it has its 3-point shooting
to thank. The Wolverines —
buoyed by a combined 24-of-
48 effort from three — looked
like an offensive machine at
points in this week’s wins over
North Carolina and Purdue,
finding open looks with ease
and nailing contested threes
when they had to.
“It’s all about our passing
really, that we’re seeing each
other,” Beilein said after a
13-of-26 3-point performance
against the Boilermakers. “The
ball stuck a couple of times
today, but other than that, if we
can just keep moving the ball
and get live action, somebody’s
gonna come open. Somebody’s
gonna make a mistake and
leave one of our guys.”
Before the season, whenever
Beilein was asked who would
step up after Michigan lost
its top three 3-point shooters
from last season, he defaulted
to sophomore guard Jordan
Poole. But Poole opened the
season by making just one
of his first 10 attempts from
three, and his struggles seemed
to infiltrate the offense as a
whole.
Now, the Wolverines have
found the balance to survive
when Poole struggles, as he did
in the first half against the Tar
Heels. But when Poole makes
his threes, the full firepower
of Michigan’s offense is on
display.
That was the case Saturday
afternoon against Purdue, as
Poole went 5-of-5 in a 21-point
performance.
“I’ve worked so hard in the
gym,” Poole said. “Me and
(assistant)
coach
(DeAndre
Haynes) alway find ways that
I can get my shots. They’re
gonna
fall
eventually,
you
know what I’m saying?”
Added Boilermakers coach
Matt Painter: “You can’t let
Jordan Poole get five good
looks.”
That showing on Saturday
forced Purdue to keep an eye on
Poole throughout the contest,
allowing
redshirt
junior
forward
Charles
Matthews
and junior center Jon Teske
to go a combined 5-of-8 from
three. When the Boilermakers
held the Wolverines without a
field goal for over nine minutes
in the second half, it was Teske
who broke the drought with a
pick-and-pop three.
“We got guys like Jon and
(junior point guard Zavier
Simpson)
and
(sophomore
forward)
Isaiah
(Livers)
staying after practice to shoot
threes because we know that
it’s a huge part of our game,”
Poole said. “So being able to
knock down those shots from
the ‘1’ to the ‘5’ is definitely
huge for us.”
On
Saturday,
that
same
effect worked in reverse. One
possession after Teske’s three,
he got the ball at the top of
the arc and looked to shoot.
Recognizing the threat, two
defenders closed in on Teske,
leaving Poole wide open to
his left. Teske found Poole,
and just like that, Michigan
had shut the door on Purdue’s
comeback hopes and restored
its lead to 20.
“I’m
not
gonna
force
anything,” Teske said. “I was
gonna try to shoot that third
one, but Carsen (Edwards)
was right there so I kicked it
to (Poole), I know (Poole is) a
better shooter than me.”
As the Wolverines’ perfect
start has proven, they can win
with defense. This morning,
Beilein woke up, flipped his
calendar to December and
reflected on what he called a
“pretty good” November.
If
Saturday’s
3-point
shooting is any indication,
December could be even better.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S BASKETBALL
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer