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