The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, December 5, 2019 — 5A

Granowicz learning from emotion-driven error

Nick Granowicz could only 
watch. 
The freshman forward saw 
Wisconsin forward Cole Caufield 
skate with the puck from the right 
side of the boards over to center 
ice. Caufield spun to face the net 
as senior forward Nick Pastujov 
slid on his knees to try and block 
the shot. 
A shot never came though — 
Pastujov fell for Caufield’s fake 
shot deke.
Then 
senior 
defenseman 
Luke Martin dove on one knee 
attempting to do what Pastujov 
couldn’t, but it was too late. The 
puck had already left Caufield’s 
stick. 
A moment later, it connected 
with the back of the net.
The penalty box door swung 
open, 
and 
amid 
Wisconsin’s 
celebrations, Granowicz skated 
back to the bench — dejected at his 
costly mistake. 
He’d served just 56 seconds of 
his two-minute minor penalty for 
roughing. 
The call was the result of a 
punch Granowicz had thrown at 
a Badger play after the two had a 
battle on the boards.
As he sat on the bench, the 
reality of the situation hit him. 
The Wolverines’ two-goal lead 
was gone, and the Badgers were 
clawing their way back into the 
game because of his penalty.
“I felt horrible right after I 
did it,” Granowicz said. “I knew 
I messed up right away. I let my 
emotions kind of get the better of 
me. It was just a bad feeling. After 
they scored, it just made it even 
worse. I felt really bad because I 
let my teammates down at that 
point.”
After having a front-row view 
of Caufield’s goal from the box, 
Granowicz spent the remaining 
five-and-a-half 
minutes 
of 
Sunday’s 3-1 watching the game 
from a different vantage point — 
the bench.
But the decision wasn’t a 
punishment, rather a learning 

moment, according to Michigan 
coach Mel Pearson. 
Pearson pointed out at that 
point, Wisconsin had all the 
momentum and was threatening 
to repeat a second comeback effort 
after scoring three unanswered 
goals to beat Michigan 3-2, 
on Saturday. So he used the 
repercussions of an untimely 
penalty as a way to teach the 
players what to do in the situation. 
It was an opportunity to show 
not only Granowicz, but the entire 
team, the importance of emotional 
control. 
“We’ve all done some things, 
taken 
some 
bad 
penalties,” 
Pearson said. “It’s a good learning 
lesson for our whole team, it’s an 
emotional game, we want guys to 
play with emotion, but it has to be 
controlled emotion.”
Caufield’s goal didn’t end up 
mattering. 
Forty-five 
seconds 
later, Ty Emberson received a 
five-minute major and a 10-minute 
game misconduct for contact with 
Pastujov’s head. The Wolverines 
caught a break and finished the 
game on the power play.
When senior forward Jake 
Slaker scored an empty net, power 
play goal, Granowicz breathed a 
sigh of relief. His momentary lapse 

in emotional control proved to be 
relatively inconsequential.
But still, Granowicz felt he 
owed his team an explanation. So 
in the locker room, he addressed 
his teammates.
“It’s just accountability and 
ownership 
for 
your 
actions,” 
Granowicz said. “If you mess 
up you should apologize to your 
teammates and tell them you’re 
sorry. Telling them you know you 
messed up. You’re sorry that you 
let them down, and you’re going 
to try and change and not let that 
happen again.”
No one on the team placed any 
blame on him. Slaker recalled 
two weekends ago when junior 
forward Michael Pastujov took 
a penalty after the whistle and 
negated a power-play opportunity 
for Michigan. The team wasn’t 
mad then, and it isn’t now.
Sometimes players lose control 
of their emotions. The important 
thing the Wolverines have chosen 
to emphasize is their willingness 
to reflect on the situation and 
learn from it.
“We were going to kill the 
penalty for him no matter what,” 
Slaker said. “(Granowicz) came 
in, and I thought he played a great 
game which is the most important 

part.”
For 
Granowicz, 
learning 
emotional control is part of the 
adjustment from junior to college 
hockey.
At the junior level, referees 
are sometimes more lenient with 
physical play. But in the NCAA, 
referees are more strict and aim to 
keep the game well controlled. 
This strictness hurt Granowicz 
especially — he hasn’t seen much 
lineup time this season, so the 
adjustment has been harsh. 
He’s only dressed four times, 
but he’s not using that as an excuse 
for his loss of control. Pearson’s 
message for him was well-received 
and well-understood — mistakes 
are okay, but it’s critical to grow 
from them.
Granowicz’s 
penalty 
aside, 
Pearson and his teammates were 
impressed with his performance. 
And while Sunday night proved 
an important learning moment for 
Granowicz, it granted Pearson a 
chance for reflection on the lineup 
decisions he’s been making. 
“I thought he had a really good 
game,” Pearson said. “For a kid 
who has only played three games, 
we’ve got to play him more, coach 
isn’t playing him enough. We’ve 
got to get him involved.”

Uche declares for NFL, 
Anthony enters portal 

Linebacker Josh Uche has 
announced that he will declare 
for the NFL draft, though he 
will still play in Michigan’s 
bowl game.
“Me and my family have 
made the decision to forego 
my final season of eligibility 
and enter my name in the NFL 
Draft,” Uche said in a statement 
on Twitter. “I am still working 
hard with my teammates to win 
our 10th game of the season 
in the Bowl Game and I am 
excited to represent Michigan 
one last time.
“I want to thank Coach 
(Jim) Harbaugh, Coach (Don) 
Brown, and all my coaches for 
believing in a kid from Miami, 
Florida and giving me a chance 
to come to Michigan. Thank 
you for pushing me to be my 
very best in every way and for 
giving me the chance to be a 
Wolverine.”
One of the Wolverines’ top 
pass-rushers 
the 
past 
two 
years, Uche played in all 12 
games this season and finished 
with 11.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 
sacks, six quarterback hurries 
and two forced fumbles. He 

was named to the All-Big Ten 
second team by coaches and the 
third team by media.
Uche is officially listed as 
a senior on Michigan’s roster 
but played in just four games 
his 
freshman 
year. 
With 
the new four-game redshirt 
rule coming into effect last 
year, Uche potentially could 
have earned an extra year 
of eligibility should he have 
chosen to remain with the 
program.
Additionally, 
redshirt 
sophomore linebacker Jordan 
Anthony 
has 
entered 
the 
transfer portal, per reports. 
Anthony 
was 
a 
four-star 
prospect out of IMG Academy 
in Florida but has played in 
just 16 games in two years and 
had little impact on the stat 
sheet. In 2019, he appeared in 
nine games and finished with 
11 tackles and a quarterback 
hurry.
Anthony has not commented 
publicly on his decision, but his 
spot in the linebacker rotation 
was in question due to redshirt 
freshman Cameron McGrone’s 
emergence at middle linebacker 
and junior Josh Ross’ decision 
to redshirt this season after 
injury.

First-half scoring woes cripple ‘M’

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Not 
much about the KFC Yum! 
Center in downtown Louisville 
is quiet.
The 
coaches 
who 
shout 
directions at their players from 
the sidelines? Not quiet. 
The teams’ benches, which 
cheer 
on 
their 
teammates, 
protest every call against them 
and urge for the whistle in 
indignation every time one of 
their players is touched? Not 
quiet. 
And 
22,000 
screaming 
Cardinals fans, decked out in 
white and waving matching 
rally towels above their heads? 
Definitely not quiet. 
But No. 4 Michigan’s first-
half offense on Tuesday night? 
Quieter than the Law Library 
before finals week.
Gone was the efficient ball-
screen offense. Gone was junior 
forward Eli Brooks’ success 
from the arc. Gone was senior 
center Jon Teske’s dominance 
in the paint.
Gone, for all accounts and 
purposes, was the Wolverines’ 
offensive attack.
“A lot of the shots just 
weren’t falling,” Teske said 

after the game. “I told the 
team, just keep shooting those 
same shots.”
In the first half, Michigan 
shot for a dismal 17 percent on 
its three-point attempts, and 
an even worse 11 percent on its 
layups. The Wolverines shot 
only 33 percent in the paint and 
11 percent on second-chance 
scoring attempts. 
They just couldn’t find the 
bottom of the net.
Some 
of 
it 
could 
be 
attributed to the Cardinals’ 
defense, which was effective 
all night at shutting down 
Michigan’s 
ball 
screens 
— 
plays that have set up much 
of the Wolverines’ success on 
offense this season. But not all 
of Michigan’s offensive woes 
can be credited to Louisville. 
The Wolverines had plenty 
of scoring opportunities, and 
even managed to open up a few 
easy shots for themselves. Even 
then, it seemed they were only 
hitting rim and backboard. 
“We missed some shots that 
normally go in,” said Michigan 
coach Juwan Howard. 
In the second half, Michigan 
had at least somewhat more 
success 
offensively, 
even 
drawing 
within 
a 
four-
point margin at one point. 

But by then, it was too late. 
The Cardinals had taken a 
10-point lead into the break, 
and from there, the game was 
never really in question again. 
Though the Wolverines drew 
closer at various points in the 
second half, the damage was 
already done. The outcome 
of the game was, by then, 
unavoidable. 
The Cardinals were far from 
the juggernaut they’ve been at 
times this season on Tuesday 
night. It’s a credit to Michigan’s 
defense that they weren’t. But 
on offense, the Wolverines just 
couldn’t quite do enough. As 
low-scoring and as gritty as 
this game was, Louisville was, 
simply put, the better team.
And 
for 
this 
game 
— 
Michigan’s offense the only 
quiet thing about it — that was 
enough. 
“We messed up a lot of 
assignments 
that 
we 
had 
coming into the game,” said 
junior forward Isaiah Livers. 
“We’ll keep taking the same 
shots. They fall, they fall, 
they don’t — let’s get back and 
defend. 
“We’re looking to the next 
game on the schedule. We just 
gotta stay positive, stay locked 
in.”

Wolverines looking for signature win

The 
Michigan 
women’s 
basketball team has made short 
order of most of its opponents. 
Mid-major teams like Morgan 
State, Eastern Michigan and 
Bradley 
have 
offered 
little 
resistance, and as a result, the 
Wolverines’ six wins came at an 
average margin of 23 points. 
But against Notre Dame — the 
only real challenge Michigan 
has faced — the Wolverines fell, 
76-72, their only loss so far this 
season. While the loss has little 
impact on the team’s goals for the 
remainder of the season, it raises 
question marks about whether it 
can truly compete in Big Ten play 
this year. 
Michigan has an opportunity 
to answer some of those questions 
at Crisler Center Thursday night, 
when it hosts Syracuse in the Big 
Ten/ACC Challenge. 
Though the Orange dropped 
out 
of 
the 
rankings 
after 
consecutive losses to Stanford 
and Green Bay, they received the 
most votes outside the Top 25 in 
both the AP and Coaches’ Polls, 
effectively making them the No. 
26 team in the country. Much like 
the Wolverines, they’ll be looking 
to notch their first signature win 
and build some momentum going 
into conference play. 

Offensively, 
much 
of 
Syracuse’s 
production 
comes 
from beyond the arc. Despite 
shooting just 31 percent from 
three so far this year, the Orange 
rank 13th nationally in 3-pointers 
made, sinking 9.6 triples per 
game. 
Guard 
Gabrielle 
Cooper 
exemplifies 
this 
average 
efficiency, high volume style of 
play. So far this year, she has sunk 
14 of her 51 attempted 3-pointers 
— both numbers the most on the 
team. She is followed closely by 
forward Digna Strautmane, who 
has shot a slightly more efficient 
13-for-41, good for 31.7 percent 
from beyond the arc. 

But Syracuse’s most valuable 
offensive weapon by far is 
guard Kiara Lewis. The Ohio 
State transfer was thrust into 
the starting role after ACC 
Player of the Year candidate 
Tiana Mangakahia was forced 
to redshirt to recover from 
chemotherapy treatments. 
Lewis has shined in her new 
role, leading the team in both 
points and assists per game — 15.9 
and 6.0, respectively. Her ability 
to drive the lane and draw fouls 
adds diversity to the Orange’s 
offensive 
attack 
and 
forces 
opponents to play tentatively to 
avoid fouling out. 
“They can go inside-out, and 
they shoot a ton of threes,” said 

Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico. “So it’s going to be a real 
test for us (defensively).”
Syracuse also boasts a defense 
that matches up well against the 
Wolverines’ struggles to take care 
of the ball on offense. Michigan 
averages over 16 turnovers per 
game, and its 24 giveaways were 
crucial in the loss to Notre Dame. 
The Orange’s signature zone 
defense — as well as their length 
and quickness in the guard spot 
— could cause similar problems 
for the Wolverines’ turnover-
prone offense. 
“We 
have 
to 
limit 
our 
turnovers,” said senior guard 
Akienreh Johnson. “(We have to) 
score on the offensive end on the 
best shot every single time we’re 
on offense. Take pride in our 
possessions.”
Michigan 
showed 
promise 
against 
Morgan 
State 
on 
Sunday, when it followed up a 
12-turnover first half with only 
three in the second half. That 
change will need to stick if the 
Wolverines want to pick up their 
first signature win Thursday 
night. 
“They’re a tremendous team,” 
Barnes Arico said. “We need to 
be able to handle their pressure, 
their length, and their zone 
defense … It’s going to be a great 
opportunity for us to get another 
great opponent at home.”

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Linebacker Josh Uche declared for the NFL Draft on Wednesday.

ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior center Jon Teske was unable to dominate the paint on Tuesday against Louisville as Michigan lost, 58-43.

BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior guard Akienreh Johnson wants Michigan to limit its turnovers against Syracuse on Thursday night.

MOLLY SHEA
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Freshman forward Nick Granowicz took a key penalty on Sunday, though Michigan won, 3-1, over the Badgers.

