Alec Cohen / Daily
SPORTSMONDAY
Beilein gives back
John Beilein helped one of his
former players get back to
health and gain confidence,
as the player eventually won
an NBA Championship as an
executive with the Cavaliers.
» Page 4B
Tired narratives
Jim Harbaugh once again
faced rumors that he was
leaving for the NFL, and
once again, he disspelled
those rumors vehemently.
» Page 2B
Design by Jack Silberman
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | December 10, 2018
Michigan couldn’t stop turning
the ball over. South Carolina
couldn’t stop fouling.
It was as sloppy a game as either
team has played all season. But with
a few offensive rebounds, a few free
throws and a lot of Jordan Poole,
the fifth-ranked Wolverines held
off the Gamecocks (4-5), 89-78, to
improve to 10-0.
Saturday’s game at Crisler Center
was promoted as a “Poole Party,”
and in front of a Maize Rage clad in
pool floaties and beach attire, the
sophomore guard did his part in
aiding the theme. With 26 points on
8-for-12 shooting and 4-for-7 beyond
the arc, Poole paced Michigan with
a career-high in scoring.
“That’s the Jordan we know,” said
sophomore forward Isaiah Livers.
“He can score at all three levels for
sure. You know he’s going to take
those threes — step-back threes —
and he’s got to get one of those out
of his system.”
The fans who came for the Poole
party certainly got their money’s
worth. But that was about all they
got.
Poole’s huge game
notwithstanding, the Wolverines
put forth a thoroughly uninspiring
performance against a South
Carolina team which came in with
losses to Stony
Brook, Wofford
and Wyoming.
The Gamecocks
deserve plenty of
credit, however.
The 25th-fastest
team in the nation,
per KenPom,
they succeeded in
turning the game
into a track meet,
putting up 62 shots
and hitting 32 of
them. On offense,
they funneled
the ball through
their big men, as
forwards Chris
Silva, Maik Kotsar and Keyshawn
Bryant all scored in double figures.
“Our defense was not great,”
said Michigan coach John Beilein.
“It’s a tough matchup for us inside,
and I think we got to get better at
helping (junior center Jon Teske)
in the post. Little upset at our team
that the scouting report said Silva’s
going to go right, he’s going to go
right, he’s going to go right, and he
went right and we still fouled him.”
At the start, it appeared as if
Michigan would simply run away
with a routine win against an
overmatched opponent. Teske
flushed a midrange jumper to give
the Wolverines an 11-6 lead at the
under-16 media timeout.
But South Carolina hung around,
as it would all game. With 9:36
remaining in the first half, Kotsar
banked home a baby hook to put the
Gamecocks up three.
The Wolverines vastly aided
matters by turning the ball over
five times in the first six minutes
— three of which came from Poole —
and 11 times in the first half overall.
“We had some really careless
(turnovers),” Beilein said. “ … But
we had a few of those. But that’s
them. They’re good, and you have
to be able to
adjust to that,
and that’s why
the game was
really close.”
Michigan’s
saving grace
in the first
half was its
ability to
get to the
line, as it
already
was
in
the
double
bonus
with seven
minutes left
in the
first half. Poole
and
freshman forward
Ignas Brazdeikis took advantage
of an aggressive South Carolina
defense that committed 21 fouls for
the game. The duo combined to hit
11 of a combined 13 free throws
as the Wolverines took a 42-36
lead into halftime.
The other main positive for
Michigan was its offensive
rebounding, as it grabbed a
season-high 13. Two minutes
into the second half, redshirt
junior guard Charles
Matthews grabbed a board
off a miss, darted back to
the 3-point line and drilled
a trey on the ensuing
possession. Poole hit a
triple of
his own
on the
Wolverines’
next trip
down the
court, and
finished a wide-
open fastbreak dunk
minutes later to put
them up by 11.
With every big
shot by Michigan,
however, the
Gamecocks seemed
to have an answer. After a highlight-
reel pull-up trey by Poole with 12
minutes to play, South Carolina
cut it to single digits with inside
buckets.
Teske powered down an alley-oop
with 6:21 remaining to put Crisler
Center on its feet, setting the
Wolverines up 16 with what seemed
to be a finishing blow. But three
minutes later, the Gamecocks shot
back within striking distance after
a basket by Kotsar made the score
82-73.
In the end, the outcome was never
really in doubt. Michigan shot 52
percent from the field, 42 percent
from deep and 77 percent from
the foul line. The 16 turnovers it
committed were an ugly blemish,
but not enough to cost it a victory.
South Carolina, however, made
sure it wasn’t a pretty one.
“Today we didn’t play that well
defensively,” Teske said. “Lot of
letdowns, but we got some key
stops. Our offense carried us —
everyone scored, I don’t know how
many (Poole) had but he had a great
game, (Livers) came out shooting
really well. But when we have our
offense clicking, it’s hard to beat
us.”
U-M scrapes past SC to
improve to 10-0
JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer
KINGS OF CAROLINA*
“We didn’t
play that well
defensively. Lot
of letdowns, but
we got some key
stops. Our offense
carried us —
everyone scored.”
Michigan 89 South Carolina 78
*Pending Duke