8 — Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
With “a little bit of cannibalism
going on,” ‘M’ stays above the fray
The Big Ten is eating itself
alive.
That’s clear to anyone who’s
watching. Including Michigan
coach John Beilein.
“There’s
a
little
bit
of
cannibalism going on right now
between the teams — it just
happened Saturday with some
of these away teams winning,”
Beilein said on a conference call
with reporters Monday. “That
was something we wanted to stay
from when we were at home, for
sure.”
Those road wins on Saturday
— Ohio State beating Nebraska
and Rutgers beating Penn State —
were far from the least-surprising
results in the conference over the
weekend. That same day, Illinois
took down No. 13 Maryland, and
the next day, No. 9 Michigan
State went to Purdue and fell by
10 points.
One of few teams to stay
removed from the chaos resides
in Ann Arbor, as Michigan has
started Big Ten play with an
8-1 record. And the Wolverines
would like it to stay that way.
“I definitely would have taken
that (at the beginning of the
season),” Beilein said.
The other coaches in the
conference can’t boast quite as
sunny dispositions.
“Our team in general right now
is soft,” Indiana’s Archie Miller
said Friday night after Michigan
went into Assembly Hall and
blew out the Hoosiers, 69-46.
“And we’re also for whatever
reason right now scared, and you
can just tell by the way that we
played.
“The fight isn’t there right
now, and the confidence isn’t
there on either end of the floor
to be able to capitalize on any
type of opportunity that we have,
to be honest with you. There’s
nothing we’re doing well.
“You know, there’s nowhere
to go. You just move on to the
next step, try to figure it out,
and you’ve got to find a way to
get some confidence in yourself,
which for us is a preparation to
go on the road and play Rutgers,
so that’s what we’re worried
about right now. But playing
against the level of competition
in this league right now and
what we’ve got going on, we’re
just not playing at a high enough
level, and that really, really to be
honest with you, bothers me.”
But Indiana isn’t the only team
that will look back at the month
of January as one filled with
squandered opportunities. The
Big Ten can boast depth right
now — only four of its teams are
out of tournament contention
— yet, outside of the Wolverines
and Spartans, who suffered their
first conference loss Saturday, no
team feels like a lock to make the
NCAA Tournament right now.
Things will be better for the
conference, undoubtedly, than
last year, when just four teams
made it. Joe Lunardi’s latest
Bracketology on ESPN.com has
10 Big Ten teams making it, more
than any other conference.
But
cannibalism
has
its
downsides,
and
discomfort
is one. Well, for everyone but
Michigan, that is.
Instead
of
fretting
about
actually playing in March, as the
Wolverines were at this time last
year, they can go into Tuesday’s
contest against Ohio State — and
the final five weeks of the regular
season — worrying only about
playing at their best when they
get there.
“Sunday we had a really good
workout,”
Beilein
said.
“We
spent some time lifting weights.
Spent time on Michigan instead
of worrying quite as much about
the next opponent.”
Three days earlier, Beilein had
been asked about the challenge
in front of Miller — building
Indiana back into a perennial
contender, as Beilein had to do
for Michigan. To some degree,
though, you could replace the
Hoosiers with 11 other Big Ten
teams in that question.
But the Wolverines are above
the fray.
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein has kept Michigan safely above the Big Ten’s middle ground with an 8-1 conference record.
Michigan falls to Baylor
Applause and cries of “Go
Blue!” echo off the walls of the
Varsity Tennis Center. All eyes
are on Court 2 as Michigan’s
Connor Johnston and Harrison
Brown face off against Baylor’s
Roy Smith and Sven Lah. Coaches
murmur words of advice to their
players, while teammates shout
words of encouragement from
the sidelines. Then, all at once,
the crowd retreats into silence.
There’s a loud pop as the
ball is hit into play. A smacking
sound as Brown returns the
serve. Then, once again, the
crowd erupts into cheers, as
Brown’s shot flies past Smith’s
outstretched racket and the ball
bounces once, then twice, off
the court, lifting the Wolverines
past the Bears to earn Michigan
the doubles point of the contest.
The No. 24 Wolverines (1-2)
won two out of three doubles
matches Sunday, a bright spot
in a disheartening loss to No. 11
Baylor, who will move forward
to the ITA tournament following
Sunday’s win and a win Saturday
over No. 12 Georgia.
“It was great that we were
able to win the doubles on a
tiebreaker,” said Michigan coach
Adam Steinberg. “That’s really
important to us going forward.”
In singles, Michigan was
not able to put on as strong a
showing, losing four of their
six matches to the Bears. The
Wolverines got off to a strong
start, with four of the singles
players winning the first set of
their respective matches, but
they could not hold onto the
lead.
Freshman Andrew Fenty lost
to Baylor’s Johannes Schretter
2-6, 6-3, 6-4; Senior Myles
Schalet lost to Will Little of the
Bears 7-6 (9), 6-0; Johnston lost
to Matias Soto of Baylor 6-2,
2-6, 6-3; and freshman Patrick
Maloney lost to Lah 6-4, 7-6 (4).
“We just have to work on being
more aggressive at important
times in the match,” Steinberg
said. “We kind of sit back and
hope and wait and wish the
other team will miss. And it just
doesn’t work that way against
these top-ranked teams.”
Michigan’s technical prowess
was on full display on Sunday,
as the Wolverines often used
shots with a manipulated spin
on the ball to win points against
the Bears, especially during the
singles matches. The Wolverines
were also very successful when
they attacked at the net. The
volley game was mostly a factor
in the doubles, helping the
Wolverines to win their two out
of three matches.
“Some of the guys who have
a good feel for the ball can
manipulate it, and that’s an
advantage,”
Steinberg
said.
“Some of our guys are talented
enough to do that.”
ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer
MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/Daily
Michigan’s doubles play was a bright spot in its loss to Baylor.
Three takeaways from a split against Penn State
After beating Penn State on
Thursday, the Michigan hockey
team went to New York City
looking to build off momentum. It
did the exact opposite, losing 5-2.
Here are the takeaways.
Strauss Mann is still a viable
option
After five goals through two
periods, junior goaltender Hayden
Lavigne was pulled in favor of
Strauss Mann. The freshman, with
13 games under his belt, was put in
the game for a change of pace. Up
until that point, every breakaway,
odd
man
rush
or
defensive
breakdown for the Wolverines
resulted in a dangerous scoring
opportunity for the Nittany Lions
— which more often than not
resulted in a score.
While
the
circumstances
weren’t pretty, Mann took his
chance and showcased a good
argument for why he is still a viable
option.
In his start in net Jan. 8
against Merrimack — his last
appearance before Saturday —
Mann allowed three goals on a
.889 save percentage, and Lavigne
was subsequently chosen to start
the following back-to-back games
against Ohio State.
However,
when
given
the
opportunity against Penn State,
Mann recorded 19 saves, prevent
any further Nittany Lion goals and
gave Michigan a chance to come
back. His performance included
stops on breakaways, one-on-
none looks and defensive-zone
turnovers.
“We really like him as a
goaltender, and we think he has a
bright future at Michigan,” said
Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “I
didn’t want to have to get him in
like we did but he went in and I give
him credit, that’s a tough situation
to go in and he played extremely
well. He gave us an opportunity to
try and get back into the game.”
Mentality breakdown
The Wolverines committed a
plethora of errors Saturday, but
one especially prevalent reason
for the defensive meltdown was
mentality.
After hitting the post four times,
unable to convert any chances
in the first period, frustration
mounted. As Pearson noted, the
team outplayed Penn State in the
initial period yet found itself in a
three-goal deficit.
“I
think
we
got
a
little
frustrated with that,” said redshirt
sophomore Luke Morgan on the
team’s inability to break open
scoring in the first frame. “When
that happens, it led to mental
mistakes and some of it we can
work on, but sometimes it’s just the
way the game goes.”
The team made a mental
adjustment to play differently due
to its circumstances. As Pearson
put it, the Wolverines didn’t play
their game. And it was initiated
by the new aggression they played
with after conceding the first goal
to Penn State.
Michigan became desperate for
goals, and it caused the Wolverines
to make defensive mistakes.
“Some of that could have been
the frustration because the puck
wasn’t going in the net and it
doesn’t work that way,” Pearson
said. “... We did not get the result
we
wanted.
Very
frustrating
in the locker room because we
know we’re a better team. We
beat ourselves tonight, plain and
simple.”
Defensemen pushing further
than they needed to be. Players
being less than careful with
the puck. Allowing breakaways
due to poor positioning. These
on-ice mistakes were caused by
the mental mistake of being too
frustrated. Every player wanted
to end the unlucky streak of bad
bounces, and that ended up costing
them.
“We didn’t play on the right side
of the puck,” Pearson said. “We did
not sense danger –– and I don’t
want to say our whole team, but
a few individuals. We just didn’t
sense that urgency or the danger
and they made us pay.”
Added Morgan: “Coach said,
‘We can’t outscore our mistakes,
we have to play a solid 60 (minutes)
the whole way through.’ ”
Pearson doubts decisions
Pearson had his doubts in his
decisions. Being a coach is never
easy — it requires all sorts of
decision-making. Against Notre
Dame on Jan. 5, he made it clear
just how stressful it can be, jokingly
telling people to turn away from a
coaching career.
“It’s frustrating –– chances
at the open net, our defenseman
ices the puck when we had an
opportunity to make a play,”
Pearson said about his feelings in
the last stretch of the Notre Dame
outdoor game. “And they score on
the faceoff. … It’s a rush, and there’s
nothing like it when you’re playing
sports at a high-intensity level.”
That stress came despite a win.
Throughout the season, he had
expressed his concerns as a coach.
After extended breaks or holidays,
he might mention in passing
about worries on players’ focus or
preparedness.
On Saturday, he made it clear his
concerns on his decisions leading
to the New York experience.
“I second guess myself as a
coach all the time,” Pearson said.
“You’re always worried. We didn’t
get to skate on Friday. Should
we have practice on Friday? We
skated this morning, did that have
anything to do with it? We gave
them a lot of free time yesterday
in New York, did they go around
and do their thing? Did that throw
some guys off?”
Coaches have their fair share
of worries, but these worries have
weight.
D
uring the first quarter of
Sunday’s game at Crisler
Center, Nicole Munger
fell to the floor, only getting up
with the aid of her teammates
and the Michigan training staff.
The senior
guard Munger
sat out the
remainder of
the contest
against in-
state rival, No.
23 Michigan
State, with an
undisclosed
injury. The
Wolverines
struggled in
her absence, eventually digging
themselves deeper into a hole they
couldn’t climb out of, losing 77-73.
With the defeat, Michigan fell
to 3-6 in conference play — tied for
10th in the Big Ten. Though the
Wolverines are out of the running
for a regular-season crown and
are unlikely to win the Big Ten
Tournament beginning in just
over a month, viewing the team’s
struggles in a vacuum yields an
incomplete assessment of their
season.
Munger’s injury is just another
line on a laundry list of adversities
Michigan has faced.
Most Big Ten programs went
through turnover following last
season. Five of the conference’s
top seven scorers moved on from
college. With that said, only one
of them finished first on their pro-
gram’s all-time leading scorer list:
Michigan’s Katelynn Flaherty.
Coming into the season, most of
the talk centered around Flaherty’s
departure, and rightly so. Replac-
ing your primary ball-handler and
a three-time All Big Ten first team
selection, with a freshman in Amy
Dilk — albeit a five-star recruit
— is clearly an adjustment and
shouldn’t be overlooked.
The Wolverines are also
extremely young. Of the eight
players comprising the primary
rotation, five are underclass-
men. While “one-and-dones”
have become commonplace and
seniors unusual in men’s college
basketball, this isn’t the case on the
women’s side. So, when Michigan
trots out a largely inexperienced
lineup, growing pains should be
expected.
The Wolverines’ chances are
hindered even more when their
veterans, like Munger, are side-
lined due to injury. The notion that
injuries can be used to explain a
team’s struggles over the course of
a season is widely discredited by
the general sports populace. Every
team deals with injuries, they
say. While this is true to a degree,
within the context of their season,
the injuries faced by Michigan are
important to mention.
When Munger went down on
Sunday, the Spartans capitalized
and their lead ballooned to double
digits.
“In the locker room, we talked
about the importance of under-
standing situations in the game,”
Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico told reporters after the loss.
“Whether it’s the first quarter, end
of the second quarter or end of the
game. Without your leadership
and experience out on the floor
though, they’re kinda learning on
the job. These are some new situa-
tions that Amy is in, Deja (Church)
is in. Even (sophomore forward
Hailey Brown), who had to play
outside a bit more. Michigan State
had the experience edge over us
for sure.”
Injuries have also hampered
senior center Hallie Thome, the
team’s second-leading scorer from
last year. She experienced back
spasms in early December and
played limited minutes in the three
games leading up to conference
play.
Acclaimed resources define
the word “excuse” as “to try and
remove blame from.” Alternatively,
a “reason” is a “statement offered
in explanation or justification.” It
is easy to label the above “adversi-
ties” as excuses for Michigan’s
struggles this season. But if we’re
being impartial, they’re better
characterized as reasons.
The Wolverines’ 12-9 overall
record through 21 games is far
from inspiring, but within the con-
text of this season specifically, it
shouldn’t be all that surprising.
Moreover, a majority of these
losses have come by narrow mar-
gins. With the exception of losses
to No. 10 Texas, No. 22 Marquette
and No. 12 Minnesota, Michigan
has been within double digits in
the fourth quarter. Despite the
adversity, the team has continued
to fight. Michigan’s performance
following Munger’s injury exem-
plified this fight. The team cut the
Spartans’ lead to just four points
multiple times in the fourth quar-
ter. The desired results may have
been lacking at times this season,
but a positive mentality has been
maintained throughout.
“Obviously we have a lot of
fight,” Dilk said. “Like you said, it
was a rivalry game, everybody was
fired up to play. I think it shows a
lot of growth too. We were down
by a lot in the Ohio State game,
too, and we came back to win.
Unfortunately, today that didn’t
happen, but we don’t give up. We’ll
continue to fight.”
Back in November, Munger
expressed aspirations of winning
the program’s first Big Ten Cham-
pionship. That dream is now all
but unattainable. Still criticizing
this year’s Wolverines without
realizing the reasons behind their
struggles isn’t fair to anyone.
Brennan can be reached at
conbrenn@umich.edu or on
Twitter @connrbrennan.
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
ALEX POMPEI/Daily
Freshman goaltender Strauss Mann recorded 19 saves after replacing Hayden Lavigne in Michigan’s loss on Saturday.
Excuses and reasons
CONNOR
BRENNAN
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Senior guard Nicole Munger was helped off the floor during Sunday’s game.