8A — Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Robbins out with ACL
The
Michigan
women’s
basketball team has lost a key
player in senior forward Kayla
Robbins, who announced via
Twitter on Tuesday that she
tore her ACL in Sunday’s game
at Nebraska.
“Unfortunately,
I
have
suffered an ACL tear that will
keep me out for the remainder
of my senior season” Robbins
said in a statement posted to
Twitter. “As much as it pains
me that I will never get to play
in a Michigan jersey ever again,
I know that God has a plan for
me and my future. This season
I have accomplished more than
I ever thought I could with my
teammates and wouldn’t trade
it for the world. I have great
teammates, coaches, and staff
that have been there every
step of the way since I’ve been
a freshman and continue to
support me. Injuries will test
you physically and emotionally,
but know that I am strong
enough to undergo my road to
recovery. I am ready to help
and support my team as we
finish out the season. This will
not be the last time you hear
my name be called. Forever, Go
Blue!”
The Nebraska game was her
last as a Wolverine, as it is too
late in the season to qualify for
a medical redshirt.
Robbins
was
the
team’s
second-leading scorer, averaging
11.6 points per game. Without
her, Michigan will have a
major hole to fill offensively.
Her quick shooting release
and agility off the dribble
made her lethal when driving
the lane and opened up space
for
teammates
to
create
opportunities away from the
hoop. She also provided a tough
defensive presence, with eight
blocks and a team-leading 29
steals.
In her first three seasons,
Robbins
was
a
consistent
producer
off
the
bench,
appearing in at least 33 games
each year. This season was her
first as a starter.
As one of just two seniors
on the team, Robbins took on
a leadership role this year,
providing scoring when the
team
desperately
needed
it during droughts. But the
Wolverines will need to look
elsewhere for that stability for
the remainder of the season.
BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Writer
Where Michigan goes without Kayla Robbins
From the first possession, senior
forward Kayla Robbins wanted to
make the game hers. Answering
an early 3-pointer from Nebraska,
she drove to the basket and drew
a foul. Robbins made the first free-
throw and missed the second —
but corralled her own offensive
rebound.
The game plan Sunday was
clear: Get the ball to Robbins. It
worked, she was set up for another
monster game.
And
then,
on
that
same
possession, she found herself open
behind the defense, a clear look at
the basket. The ball flew over the
defender and Robbins caught it in
the air. She landed awkwardly, a
shout ringing out — her right knee
buckling.
Just like that, the Michigan
women’s basketball team lost its
best defender, its second-leading
scorer and one of its most capable
rebounders. Her ACL torn, the
senior’s
breakout
season
was
finished. Her career, over.
“Unfortunately, I have suffered
an ACL tear that will keep me out
for the remainder of my senior
season,” Robbins said on Twitter
Tuesday evening. “As much as it
pains me that I will never get to
play in a Michigan jersey again, I
know that God has a plan for me
and my future.”
From the very start of the
season, she established what would
come in her first year as a consistent
starter. Scoring 17 points and
playing 35 minutes in the season-
opener against Western Michigan,
she led the team in scoring while
locking down any offensive threat
she guarded.
“(Robbins) goes so hard, and
she’s gone so hard throughout
her career that she hits the wall,”
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico
said after that game. “She does such
a great job and then she doesn’t
sustain, so I really challenged her,
and Kayla and I spend a lot of time
talking about this, ‘Kayla you’ve
gotta be able to push through and
continue because we’re gonna need
you to play more minutes than
you’ve ever played before in your
life.’ ”
Despite Barnes Arico’s concerns,
Robbins didn’t show signs of
slowing down, displaying her
ability to keep up energy regardless
of minutes or opponent.
On Dec. 5 against Syracuse,
Robbins proved she was a force to
be reckoned with, scoring 23 points
— a huge chunk of those coming in
the fourth quarter and overtime.
Robbins, almost single-handedly,
saved that game for the Wolverines,
suffocating defenders and diving
on loose balls, all with four fouls.
Entering league play, Robbins’
name was arguably listed right
below sophomore forward Naz
Hillmon’s on opposing coaches’
scouting report. That didn’t stop
her from playing big minutes
and contributing big point and
rebounding totals.
For Michigan, though, Robbins’
biggest contributions came as a
leader on the court. One of two
senior captains, the team looked
up to her as an example of what to
strive for.
“Kayla brings a spark every
single day,” junior forward Hailey
Brown said after a Dec. 31 victory
over Penn State. “Every single day
at practice as well, which does
not go unnoticed. She’s willing to
sacrifice her body for anything
and she’s very aggressive on ball
defense and she’s always there for
help side. She always brings that
extra energy and also pushes us to
play at that next level.”
Now, sidelined for the rest of
the season, Robbins will have to
transition into a leader off the
court, where her voice will lead
the way instead of her play. The
Wolverines will also face a difficult
transition on the court, with
nothing to compensate for the loss
of experience.
“It’s just going to be difficult
without an experienced person
and that’s part of the worker she
is,” senior guard Akienreh Johnson
said. “She’s just not going to be on
the court, so my leadership role is
definitely going to have to change.
“Mine is going to have to change,
but also everybody else — (Hillmon)
is going to have to step up, be a more
vocal leader. (sophomore guard)
Amy (Dilk) is going to have to step
up, I think (sophomore guard)
Danielle (Rauch) did a great job
during that game of being a vocal
leader.”
Replacing Robbins’ on-court
production, similar to filling her
voice, will also be by committee.
Michigan’s bench has struggled to
make a significant impact on games,
and while in Sunday’s matchup
Rauch played a solid 31 minutes
filling the void, more players will
need to produce in bigger ways.
“(Robbins) is not the type
of person you can replace, like
there’s no one on our team that can
replace (Robbins), but I think all,
collectively, we’re going to have to
step up,” Rauch said. “I think that
a lot of the time when I’ve gotten
in, I looked to like pass a lot and I
think I’m going to have to start
being a little more aggressive in
that aspect.”
While Rauch will have to step
up,
presumably
replacing
her
starting spot, so will Robbins’
fellow starters like Johnson, Brown
and Dilk. Johnson and Dilk will
try and match her potent ability to
drive to the lane, while Brown will
need to try and space the floor like
Robbins did.
Sophomore forward Emily Kiser
and freshman center Izabel Varejão
will also play big roles in the paint
in future games — with Kiser’s
smooth, 49.1 percent shooting
percentage a plus, spacing out the
court and giving Hillmon more
room to work.
There were glimpses in Sunday’s
game of the team coming together
to try and replace Robbins —
Johnson and Brown had some
of their highest scoring games in
recent memory with Brown nearly
doubling her average point total
and Johnson scoring four more
than her average. Varejão looked
dangerous for the first time in
months for a short spurt in the
second quarter, scoring eight.
But it still wasn’t enough to
procure a road win in Lincoln, and
for Michigan to achieve its goals
this season, those players will need
to do even more.
The Wolverines lost one of their
most explosive players, someone
who can — and has — changed the
outcomes of games for them.
That, though, wasn’t the thought
running through Barnes Arico’s
mind as she turned Robbins over,
fear and worry plastered on her
face, watching her captain writhe
in pain. It wasn’t going through the
team’s mind as they watched from
afar, hands over mouths.
It wasn’t in Johnson’s mind
as she turned back from the
timeout huddle, looking once,
twice and thrice as she watched
her roommate helped down the
tunnel.
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior forward Kayla Robbins tore her ACL on Sunday at Nebraska in a 74-71 loss for the Wolverines, ending her season and career at Michigan.
KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Writer
A
sk any coach or player
right now and they’ll
tell you how hard it
is to win a
road game in
the Big Ten.
“With
this league,
seven years
in it, there is
no place we
go where it’s
not raucous,
loud and
filled-up
with pas-
sionate fan bases,” Minnesota
coach Richard Pitino said
after the Golden Gophers beat
Michigan on Jan. 12 in Min-
neapolis. “We’ve gotta have
a great home crowd. I’m very
appreciative of every fan that
comes to the games. Every-
where we play is a madhouse.
That’s why the Big Ten is awe-
some.”
“I think it’s just the crowd,”
freshman guard Cole Bajema
said on Tuesday. “Obviously it
gets loud when other teams get
on a run. When it gets loud, it’s
difficult to hear play calls and
other types of things. I mean,
as the record shows, home
court plays a big role so far.”
That might even be an
understatement. Six weeks
into conference play and road
teams are a combined 9-42
in Big Ten matchups. What’s
more, no one’s been immune to
the road woes — No. 17 Mary-
land is 1-3, No. 19 Iowa and
newly-ranked Rutgers are both
1-2. Just last week, Michi-
gan State was drubbed by 29
points at Purdue. Michigan,
meanwhile, is 0-4 away from
Crisler Center. Its opponent on
Wednesday night, Penn State,
despite being 13-5 overall, is
0-3.
Those last two figures
underscore the larger point:
Back home, the Wolverines
need to win their next two
games — the first against the
Nittany Lions and the second
against Illinois on Saturday.
Michigan, which has lost
three of its last four, currently
sits 11th in the Big Ten stand-
ings at 2-4. While it’s only
mid-January and it has four-
teen opportunities remain-
ing to improve that position,
residing amongst the likes of
Northwestern and Nebraska —
both slated to miss the NCAA
Tournament according to Joe
Lunardi’s latest Bracketology
projections — is not ideal.
As much as Michigan coach
Juwan Howard maintains that
his team is focused solely on
the next game and that the
NCAA Tournament “hasn’t
even crossed his mind,”
the Wolverines’ standing
becomes a lot more precari-
ous if they continue to lose Big
Ten games. And, given their
struggles on the road thus far,
protecting their home court
seems like the simplest way to
avoid such a situation.
“Right now, we’re focusing
on Penn State,” Howard said.
“We’re controlling what we
can control and that’s coming
out and playing with a lot of
energy and effort. We know
we’re going to have a home
crowd here that’s looking for-
ward to seeing some Michigan
basketball in Crisler, so our
guys are juiced up and excited
about this opportunity.”
From a sheer numbers per-
spective, beating the Nittany
Lions and the Fighting Illini
would clearly boost the Wol-
verines’ resumé. 13-6 is better
than 11-6, or the other alterna-
tives. 4-4 is better than their
current mark of 2-4. Certain
things are remarkably intui-
tive.
Even more important is
what back-to-back victories
would do for Michigan’s con-
fidence. The recent skid has
seemingly shaken the spirit of
a team that won the Battle 4
Atlantis just two months ago
with relative ease.
“I think (emotion) is some-
thing that we need, something
that we lost during the course
of the season,” freshman for-
ward Franz Wagner said on
Friday after a 90-83 loss at
Iowa. “... I think that’s part of
the game. You’re confident in
yourself, you’re trying to win
and you’re trying to stand up
for your team.”
Added Bajema: “Getting two
home games in a row definite-
ly can get our confidence back
up again before we go back on
the road. It definitely helps.”
A more nuanced approach
to dissecting the Wolverines’
losses must include the fact
that they’re still without
junior forward Isaiah Liv-
ers. By now, the effect of his
absence due to a groin injury
has been well-documented —
Michigan sorely misses his
on-court presence and scoring.
If he were to return soon and
lead the Wolverines to a string
of victories, the committee
would take that into account.
Further, none of Michigan’s
losses fall into the category
of “a bad loss.” When viewed
individually, tasting defeat at
Illinois, Michigan State, Min-
nesota and Iowa is somewhat
understandable. When consid-
ered as part of a pattern, a dif-
ferent story emerges. All that
is to say, the Big Ten is deep.
“The beauty of this confer-
ence is you’re going to get
Quad 1 win opportunities
every single week,” Pitino
said. “You can look at this con-
ference top to bottom and you
can make a case right now, and
it is mid-January, you can get
12 teams in (the NCAA Tour-
nament).”
Given the Wolverines’
home-court advantage in the
next two contests, victories
over Penn State and Illinois
would actually fall into the
Quadrant 2 bucket. Nonethe-
less, with the Nittany Lions
receiving AP votes and the
Illini ranked 21st, they’d be
quality wins. Wins they need.
“A lot of home teams are
winning and we want to keep
that up,” senior center Jon
Teske said. “We want to pro-
tect home court and play hard,
play smart and we’ll see what
happens.”
Brennan can be reached at
conbrenn@umich.edu or on
Twitter @ConnrBrennan.
Michigan must protect home court
CONNOR
BRENNAN
Wolverines take first
at the Windy City Invite
After coming in second in the
Windy City Invitational last year,
the Michigan men’s gymnastics
team came into this year’s edition
with a mission and a swagger
unbounded.
“We are the best team in the Big
Ten,” Michigan coach Kurt Golder
said.
His confidence showed on the
scoreboard — with a team score of
400.00 to close out the meet, the
Wolverines took home first place
against a field that included Big
Ten opponents in Iowa, Minnesota
and Illinois.
Starting off strong is important
in any sport, but especially in
gymnastics where the smallest
movements
can
make or break
a
meet.
Junior
Cameron
Bock
was ready to take
his moment and
run with it.
Beginning
on
vault, Bock scored
a career high 14.75
and Junior Nick
Guy added a 14.45,
coming
third
overall, to give the Wolverines the
lead after their first event with a
team score of 70.70.
On the parallel bars, Bock lead
the charge again with a team-high
14.10, good for second overall in
the event. Senior Mitchell Brown
was the next highest scorer for the
Wolverines with 13.60. Despite
the high individual scores, Illinois
captured the lead after a strong
performance on vault for its second
rotation.
Facing the lead change, Golder
made sure to alert his squad to
keep their guards up. Like a well-
oiled machine, the Wolverines
followed his advice all night.
On their third rotation, high bar,
junior Jonathan Liu flipped his
way to a career high 13.75 and won
the event overall while freshman
Paul Juda contributed a strong
13.60. With those performances,
Michigan
regained
the
lead,
carrying a team total 204.15.
With Minnesota and Illinois
not too far behind, the Wolverines
didn’t waver. Through the fourth
rotation, on floor, Bock again gave
a stellar performance capturing
second overall and scoring a team
high 13.80.
On the fifth rotation — now
with over a two point lead for
the Wolverines overall — Bock
dominated the event with a 14.00.
The next closest opposing score on
the pommel horse was a 13.75.
“(Bock)
just
sets
a
good
standard,” Golder said. “(He)
does it daily (and) hasn’t had a
bad practice this
year.”
As
Michigan
held a 1.60 point
lead
heading
into
the
last
rotation,
Juda
put in a 13.30
performance
with
senior
Thomas
Paul
and Bock each
adding
13.20.
After obtaining a 65.60 on rings,
the Wolverines secured the victory
with a team score of 400.00,
holding off Minnesota’s 398.75.
Along with the team win, Brock
achieved second in the all-around
and Michigan won four out of
six individual events while seven
Wolverines made their collegiate
debuts.
Even with the strong start to the
season, Golder still saw room for
improvement.
“Hit routine percentage is our
focus,” Golder said. “ (We) can
only control the controllables.
Hopefully we can get our (injured)
guys back in (and) strengthen our
lineup (because) we’re not that
deep.”
BRENDAN ULANCH
For The Daily
MEN’S GYMNASTICS
(Bock) hasn’t
had a bad
practice this
year.
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Juwan Howard says he hasn’t worried about the NCAA Tournament.