AN EVENING WITH SAFA AL AHMAD NOVEMBER 19, 2019 | 7:30 P.M. | RACKHAM AUDITORIUM FREE | NO REGISTRATION | WALLENBERG.UMICH.EDU The Michigan basketball team knew its early-season matchup against Creighton would be telling. In the wake of a program- altering offseason that saw a head coaching change and the departure of three players that accounted for over half of the Wolverines’ offense last season, questions arose. On Tuesday night, Michigan (2-0) continued its search for answers in a 79-69 win against the Bluejays (1-1). Those answers, as it turns out, are still a work in progress. When first-year coach Juwan Howard was hired, it wasn’t a secret that the Wolverines were going to try their hand at an NBA brand of offense. As for what that means, exactly, Michigan has shown an emphasis on pushing the ball and generating 3-pointers thus far. Against Creighton, not even Howard’s team’s overwhelming height advantage changed that approach. Thirteen of the Wolverines’ first 18 shots came from beyond the arc, a streak that culminated in senior point guard Zavier Simpson — a sub-30-percent career 3-point shooter — dropping his defender and draining a stepback triple. In the early stages of the first half, Michigan looked like a well- oiled machine. But when the well went dry, frustration mounted. The Bluejays pounced on the Wolverines’ miscues, closing the half on an 18-7 run en route to a 41-38 advantage at the break. For Michigan, poor rebounding and sloppy turnovers erased an otherwise positive opening few minutes. By the end of the first half, the Wolverines had been outscored in the paint, 24-10, against a team with only one healthy player taller than 6-foot-8. Even with three rotational big men taller than that, Michigan’s first free throws came over 18 minutes into the game, as it seldom attacked the rim. From the look of the halftime box score, you’d think Creighton had the upper-hand in height given its 23-10 rebounding advantage. Though 10 of those boards came on the offensive glass, Michigan only surrendered six second-chance points. “We have to crack back and not allow those (opposing) bigs to run in freely to get offensive rebounds,” Howard said, “because I’m asking (Teske) to go after shots and alter shots and not allow guys just to walk down the lane and score layups. Now, the players have to do a better job covering up for him by blocking guys out on rebounds and not allowing guys to fly in and get extra possessions.” With prized freshman wing Franz Wagner on the shelf due to a wrist fracture, the Wolverines didn’t know who would create offense on their own. A week after junior guard Eli Brooks posted a career-high 24 in the season- opener and senior center Jon Teske chipped in 17, it was junior forward Isaiah Livers who answered the call against the Bluejays. He scored a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Simpson and Teske each added 17 of their own. “(Livers) made some big shots for us,” Howard said. “He’s a super confident player. For his height, he does a really good job of getting elevation on his jump shot. … I think he’s done a fantastic job of embracing (his role) because with the confidence and as well as how we’re going to lean on him from an offensive end and defensive end.” Coming out of halftime, the Wolverines took control of the game’s pace. Simpson finished a pair of transition layups that helped Michigan open the stanza on an 8-2 run, while the Wolverines only attempted seven second-half threes after shooting 16 in the first. Backed by an effort to get the ball to the interior, Michigan ultimately built its 8-2 spurt into a crucial 26-14 run and, most importantly, a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the double-digit halftime deficit felt like a mere afterthought. And with Livers, Simpson and Teske combining for 56 of the Wolverines’ 79 points against a Big East defense, so did the offensive load of last year’s early departures. Tuesday night was far from a season-defining win, and Michigan’s most pressing questions will remain unanswered for another month or so. But after narrowly avoiding a crisis against Appalachian State, the Wolverines’ performance against a respectable Bluejays team sure could be a springboard to immediate success. On Tuesday, intentional or not, each half of basketball represented a different plan of attack — and with it, different identities of the Michigan men’s basketball team. During a hard-fought 79-69 win against Creighton (1-1 overall), the Wolverines (2-0) used nearly every weapon they had in their arsenal, but switched its strategy as the game carried on. In the first half, the 3-point shot was the saving grace for the offense. To kick things off against the Bluejays, Michigan let it fly early and often. The Wolverines went 7-for-16 from deep throughout the half and were not shy about announcing their plan of attack. Leading this offensive barrage from 3-point land was junior forward Isaiah Livers who hit four from downtown, three in the first half alone and finished the night with a career-high 22 points. Whether it was in transition or a product of senior guard Zavier Simpson driving to the hoop and finding an open man in the corner, the 3-point shot was instrumental to Michigan’s offense in the first half — closing out the first 20 minutes down, 38-41. The first half was also characterized by clean basketball. The Wolverines fouled just three times and turned the ball over on four occasions — a trend that would largely carry the whole game with Michigan committing just seven fouls and 11 turnovers all game. This play represents a marked departure from its season opener where the Wolverines handed the ball to their opponents 17 times. In the second half, play from the big men dominated. The hot hands would cool down in the final 20 minutes in favor of Michigan’s clear size advantage. In the second half, the Wolverines attempted as many threes as they made in the first. With the change in attack brought more deliberate possessions. The guards fed senior center Jon Teske in the post who led the team with 12 points and finished the night with 17. Further shaping this tact, Simpson found success near the basket due to relentless drives to the hoop and an unmatched ability to finish. Now, there is just one simple question to answer: Was this strategy intentional? The answer, almost certainly, is no. It is hard to question the idea that Michigan wanted to control the post early against the Bluejays — a team who only had one player over 6-foot-8. While Michigan coach Juwan Howard may feed lines about how the team is always looking for the best shot and that the open man is going to dictate that offensive possession, in the context of this game, it’s not always applicable. Take this one, for example. “We always try to get the best shot possible whether it’s the first or second half,” Howard said. “Overall, we want to make sure that we establish a balanced basketball game so that we can compete.” The Wolverines were able to find that balance — and their ideal shot selection — in the second half due to the re-establishment of its big men, the change of fortune for 50/50 balls and an increased defensive intensity. In the game, Creighton outscored Michigan on second chance points, 13-4, with most of these looks coming in the first 20 minutes. At the break, the emphasis from Howard pointed to transition defense and two tenants of play down low — offensive rebounding and defense around the basket. “We got backdoored a lot,” Livers said. “I got backdoored once, (junior guard Eli Brooks) got once, (sophomore guard David DeJulius) once, and it’s just small plays like that for an easy two is gonna be troublesome because I feel like we’re gonna be like, ‘Damn, we just got a stop, we forgot about the backdoor.’ It was just the little things we gotta clean up.” Perhaps in a different game against a different team, these lapses on the defensive end cost Michigan the game. In this instance, though, the Wolverines were lucky that shots were falling from deep or else they would have been staring down a much larger deficit. But when it comes down to figuring out what changed at the half-way point in the contest, Livers claims that it all comes down to remembering what this team is all about. “We kinda just treated it like it was practice,” Livers said. “Our scout team did a tremendous job all week of running their offense, and I guess we were overthinking it in the first half. Just things you do in basketball, and you come together and get that speech from coach Howard, things are gonna come out clicking.” Test passed Michigan runs away from Creighton late, tops Bluejays 79-69 behind career night from Livers, moving to 2-0 DANIEL DASH Daily Sports Writer JACOB KOPNICK Daily Sports Writer For in-state players, MSU rivalry game is friend against friend In this state, Michigan and Michigan State football are religions. Their annual matchup is like a holy war. And local players were baptized in it early, sometimes from birth. Nearly every football fan in the state bleeds either green and white or maize and blue. Many high school players imagine themselves in Ann Arbor or East Lansing, making plays that will eventually appear on the ever-expanding highlight reel of rivalry moments. And then, when it’s time to head off to college, the rivalry inevitably becomes more personal. Some players become Wolverines. Others become Spartans. Once a year, those players see each other again — the eyes of an entire state on them. “This is a great game for me cause I’m from the state of Michigan,” said junior defensive back Ambry Thomas, who attended Martin Luther King High in Detroit, the same school as Michigan State linebacker Tyriq Thompson. “I know a lot of their players.” Senior guard Michael Onwenu attended Detroit’s Cass Technical, the same high school as fellow Michigan players Donovan Peoples-Jones and Jaylen Kelly-Powell. Two Spartans went there as well, and Onwenu knows others on the roster from camps or high school rivalries. For Onwenu, it’s easy to separate his friendships off the field with his enemies on the field. As soon as anyone puts on a Michigan State uniform, they’re just another foe to vanquish. But games against familiar faces add another layer to the matchup. “If it’s people you know personally, it kinda goes for you,” Onwenu said. “Because you might know their tells or know their tendencies even better.” Peoples-Jones, also an alumnus of Cass Tech, was close with Spartan defensive back Kalon Gervin in high school but said Tuesday the two haven’t spoken ahead of Saturday’s matchup. Sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson — who attended Divine Child High School in Dearborn, Mich. — has the opposite approach. Hutchinson, one of the loudest and brashest players on the team, doesn’t shy away from the chippier aspects of “Hate Week,” and that includes lots of trash talk. Michigan State backup quarterback Theo Day also attended Divine Child and is one of Hutchinson’s best friends. And while Hutchinson listened to Day air his frustrations about the Spartans’ collapse against Illinois, he also made it known that come Saturday, he’d show no mercy. “I don’t know if I can tell you what he said, but some words were said between us,” Hutchinson said. “He was talking a little bit about the game, but yeah, I’m just pumped to play him.” When you consider the connections that lie in every corner of this rivalry, it’s no surprise that Michigan- Michigan State is known as one of the ugliest matchups in college football. As much as both teams sometimes downplay it — with Onwenu referring to the Spartans as “another team on the schedule we’ve gotta beat” — those born and bred on either side know this is much more than that. For players throughout the state who grew up devout in this rivalry, whose lives are ingrained in this rivalry, this is their holy grail. “Owning the state of Michigan is always a big thing for the two programs who battle for it every single year,” said senior guard Ben Bredeson. “There’s the Paul Bunyan Trophy involved as well. There’s a lot of pride that goes into it as well for the fanbases. It’s a cool rivalry just because you have the in-state factor of it and you get bragging rights for the year.” ARIA GERSON Daily Sports Editor ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily Junior forward Isaiah Livers scored a career-high 22 points in Michigan’s 79-69 win over Creighton on Tuesday night. ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily Junior Ambry Thomas played high school with multiple MSU players. 8A — Wednesday, November 13, 2019 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com