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Sports
Friday, January 24, 2020 — 7
T
he problems plaguing the
Michigan men’s basket-
ball team are supposed
to be early-season kinks, not
late-January
shortcom-
ings.
But this
roller coaster
of a season
didn’t have
any initial
kinks. It
began with
seven straight
wins and
a smooth
ascension to the No. 4 spot in the
national poll.
That was seven weeks ago.
Now, the Wolverines are mired
in the program’s longest losing
streak since 2015. Their loss
to Penn State on Wednesday
pushed this year’s team into
uncharted territory. Over the
last three seasons, Michigan’s
cumulative 89-27 record is
among the country’s best. This
year’s seniors have been to a
national title game and a pair of
Sweet Sixteens.
Yet on Wednesday, the Nit-
tany Lions marched into Crisler
Center and, in a season when
winning a road game in the Big
Ten is a rarity, sat in the driver’s
seat for much of the game en
route to a 72-63 win.
In the process, the loss
seemed to bring the Wolverines’
flaws to center stage. Energy
lulls, failing to talk on defense
and stretches of subpar focus —
all elements within their control
— were on full display.
Senior point guard Zavier
Simpson tried to will his team to
victory by hunting for his own
shot and showing the passion
that’s become synonymous with
his name, but by the final buzzer,
Michigan was left with its third
consecutive loss.
More importantly, though,
Wednesday provided a long look
in the mirror for the reeling Wol-
verines.
They didn’t like what they saw
staring back.
“In order to be able to grow,
we really rely on (Simpson) to get
us going and bring the energy,”
junior guard Eli Brooks said. “I
think that’s where, moving for-
ward, we could do a better job
as a team if we have more guys
bringing the fire. Being uncom-
fortable with that position, being
vulnerable like (Simpson) is, it’s
tough.
“Some people just don’t lead
that way and I think we need
more people to step up.”
To Brooks, it’s an identity
issue beneath the surface. Fig-
uring out who can assume that
type of leadership role is some-
thing most teams go through
in November — not after falling
to 2-5 in conference play in late
January.
For Michigan, a blunt realiza-
tion set in on Wednesday: Simp-
son’s voice can’t be the only one
making a difference.
“It’s just about people buy-
ing in,” Brooks said. “You can’t
forfeit the games coming up,
so something has to give at the
end of the day. You have to fight
through it and take pride in it.”
Granted, the Wolverines have
been without junior forward
Isaiah Livers — who was their
leading scorer when he sustained
a groin injury on Dec. 21 — for
over a month. Surviving in a can-
nibalistic conference without
an integral piece is difficult, but
that should have no correlation
with energy, focus and defensive
communication.
“It’s too late in the season for,
you know, I have to beg our guys
to communicate on defense,”
Michigan coach Juwan Howard
said. “Not just on the defensive
end, on the offensive end, too. It
just so happens it’s a lost art in
the game and we have to bring
it back.
“Yes, I’m old school, but in
order for us to forge ahead and
move forward and improve,
communication has to be a part
of the process. That is surprising
that some of our guys don’t like
talking on defense. … There’s a
lot of guessing going on, and I
just don’t understand it.”
Howard often lauds his group
for being solution-based, but
it’s going to take more than
just ideas for the Wolverines
to reverse course after losing
four of their last five conference
games.
Coming up with the right
ideas is one thing. Success-
fully putting them into motion
is another. With March just
five weeks away, Brooks knows
Michigan must prioritize the
latter.
“I feel like I can be a more
vocal person,” Brooks said. “Just
by being in the right spot and
trying to get other people in
the right spot and bringing that
energy. I know that’s not who I
am but I could be that.”
Now that the problem has
been diagnosed, it becomes a
matter of how quickly the Wol-
verines can solve it. At this point,
the direction of their season
hinges on it.
“It’s January 22,” an exasper-
ated Howard said at the post-
game podium, toeing the line
between frustration and plea.
And that’s the point.
Dash can be reached on
Twitter @DanielDash_ or by
email at dashdan@umich.edu.
The wrong time for soul searching
DANIEL
DASH
ASHA LEWIS/Daily
Junior forward Eli Brooks said that Michigan needs people to step up after Wednesday’s loss to Penn State.
‘M’ hopes to stop threes
Ohio State is not a very good
3-point shooting team.
It’s made just 31.6 percent of
its 3-pointers this season, the
fourth-worst mark in the Big
Ten. Most coaches wouldn’t
have to worry about getting beat
from beyond the arc against the
Buckeyes.
But against the Michigan
women’s basketball team on Jan.
9, they shot 11-for-22 from three
en route to a 78-69 win.
Maryland’s a little better. It’s
shot a respectable 36.8 percent
on 3-pointers, good for third in
the Big Ten.
Just like Ohio State, the
Terrapins exceeded their season
average against the Wolverines,
shooting 10-of-21 from three —
and 6-for-8 in the second half —
in their blowout win on Jan. 12.
A week later, the same thing
happened again, when Nebraska
shattered
its
33.8
percent
average and went 12-of-24 from
beyond the arc in their win over
Michigan.
The
Wolverines’
inability
to defend the three has been
central
to
their
struggles
recently. They’ve lost three of
their last four games, and with
three of the Big Ten’s top teams
— Rutgers, Northwestern and
Iowa — up next on the schedule,
they desperately need to resolve
this problem to bounce back.
“I think we have to just
change our gameplan,” senior
guard Akienreh Johnson said.
“Most of the time going into the
game (our opponent) had had
a poor shooting night before,
or
multiple
poor
shooting
nights. I’m not saying we don’t
defend the three, but we don’t
(emphasize) it as much as we
should, and in the game when
they start hitting them, we don’t
adjust, so we’re not able to … take
away the shot.”
Except for the Maryland
game, Michigan has held its
own well into the second half
of all its recent contests. The
Wolverines were tied with Ohio
State entering the fourth quarter
and led by one at the same point
against Nebraska.
But the Buckeyes hit both of
their
fourth-quarter
3-point
attempts, and the Huskers hit
4-of-5 — winning by just three
points. Michigan is putting itself
in positions to win games, but
its defense keeps faltering in big
moments.
Part of this stems from the
Wolverines’
commitment
to
shutting down teams down low.
They use their length to clog the
paint and prevent opponents
from getting easy buckets or
offensive rebounds, and they’ve
been successful in that regard.
They
reel
in
72.2
percent
of
their
defensive
rebound
opportunities, the best in the Big
Ten.
But against modern five-out
schemes — where the offense
starts with five players on the
perimeter — clogging the inside
leaves Michigan vulnerable to
open threes on the drive-and-
kick. Essentially, the Wolverines
gamble that their opponents
won’t make their 3-pointers in
favor of stopping the layup.
They’ve been losing that bet.
“I feel like a lot of teams in the
Big Ten have balanced teams,”
junior forward Hailey Brown
said. “Everyone can kind of
shoot the three, everyone can
play inside, so when it comes to
that it is harder to defend. Just
because if everyone’s a 3-point
threat then you gotta take away
something, so do you want to
give up threes or twos?”
If it was only one game, you
could say that Michigan was
just unlucky, but poor 3-point
defense has become a theme over
its last several losses. And with
senior forward Kayla Robbins
— one of the Wolverines’ best
defenders — out for the season
with a torn ACL, life will only get
harder if Michigan can’t adjust.
Michigan looking to keep momentum
going against Development Program
In October 2018, Johnny
Beecher took the ice at Yost Ice
Arena for the first time.
But
the
now-freshman
forward wasn’t wearing the
block ‘M’ and representing
Michigan. He was wearing
red, white and blue for the
visiting team, the U18 team
from the U.S. National Team
Development
Program
(NTDP).
The
Wolverines
hosted
the NTDP in an exhibition
matchup, and Beecher got his
first taste of playing at what
would become his home rink in
a year — and his first taste of a
win at Yost, as the NTDP beat
Michigan, 6-3.
“It was awesome,” Beecher
said
Thursday.
“I
was
fortunate enough to get in the
starting lineup, and when they
called my name,
the
student
section
was
cheering
and
everything.
It
was everything
I could’ve ever
dreamed
of.
It was a great
crowd, and we
actually
came
away with a win,
so the guys were
really pumped up about that.”
This Saturday, two more
Michigan commits will have
that same experience. Forward
Thomas
Bordeleau
and
defenseman
Jacob
Truscott
will both join the Wolverines
in the fall, and they’ll get their
first experience playing at Yost
in this year’s exhibition.
“Both good players, both
good kids,” Michigan coach
Mel Pearson said. “I know
they’re gonna want to do well
and show the Michigan faithful
why they’re coming here and
why they have the opportunity
to come here. They’re good
players, so I’m anxious to see
them both play.”
Added
Beecher:
“They’re
a great team. I came from the
program the last two years,
so I know that they’re gonna
be really excited about it, and
it’ll be a great
atmosphere.”
For
Michigan,
Saturday’s
exhibition has
the makings of
a classic trap
game, albeit a
slightly
non-
traditional
one.
It’s
a
meaningless
matchup,
sandwiched
in
the heart of the Wolverines’
conference schedule. Michigan
has started to build momentum
in recent weeks, and now,
they’re faced with a game that
could be a serious stumbling
block to that momentum.
“There’s
no
implications
as far as either your Big Ten
points or NCAA, so it’s why
are you playing?” Pearson said.
“What’s the purpose? I think
that’s the thing that we’ve tried
to convey to our guys. We have
to get better. It’s a week we can
take advantage of. We put it on
the schedule at this time so we
would have a game and not just
have an open weekend.”
The Wolverines’ recent run
came after a disappointing first
half, in which the Michigan
went 7-11-2 overall and just
2-7-1 in the Big Ten. And
despite the success the last two
weeks, Pearson knows his team
still has a lot to improve upon.
In
Saturday’s
exhibition,
he’s looking for the Wolverines
to
continue
to
build
and
grow into a team that can be
competitive across the Big Ten.
“We’ve
only
played
six
games since we’ve been back
from the long break we had,”
Pearson said. “We have some
new
line
combinations
we
want to work out, the power
play needs work.”
With No. 6 Ohio State — a
team that swept Michigan
in the first half of the year —
coming to town next weekend,
the Wolverines are looking to
build on their momentum on
Saturday against the NTDP
and keep things rolling into the
series against the Buckeyes.
“I
think
with
all
the
momentum we have going right
now, we don’t want to lose it,”
Beecher said. “Unfortunately,
we can’t continue in Big Ten
play this weekend, but it is
what it is. It’ll be a good test
for us, and we’ll be able to work
on the stuff that we need to get
better at.”
BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Editor
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Freshman forward Johnny Beecher played for the USNTDP last year.
There’s no
implications as
far as ... Big Ten
points or NCAA.
Wolverines rally to upset Gophers
In front of an enthusiastic
and inspired Crisler Center
crowd Sunday afternoon, the
Michigan wrestling team (4-2)
went on an impressive run. It
won four of the meet’s final
five matches to clinch a 22-15
comeback victory over No. 11
Minnesota (7-4).
Despite
underdog
status
in the meet, Michigan coach
Sean Bormet and his team
were confident and motivated
to clash with stiff Big Ten
competition.
“We thought it was a great
opportunity individually for
our guys to go in and win some
matches against guys that were
ranked higher than them,”
Bormet said. “As a team to
go in and beat a team ranked
higher than us. Our guys were
just looking at it as a great
opportunity to compete.”
Sunday’s first half of bouts
left
the
Wolverines
in
a
precarious
position
moving
forward. In a series of highly-
defensive and tightly-contested
spars early on, Michigan took a
6-3 advantage with help from
redshirt junior Kanen Storr
and redshirt freshman Will
Lewan.
Momentum began to shift
Minnesota’s way, as Golden
Gopher
redshirt
sophomore
Bailee O’Reilly and No.7-ranked
fifth-year senior Devin Skatzka
dominated
their
Wolverine
opponents. Both were awarded
bonus points en route to a 12-6
lead at intermission.
At
the
break,
Bormet
stressed
to
his
team
the
importance of rebounding in
the final five matches by being
both aggressive and composed.
In the locker room, Bormet
specifically looked to redshirt
sophomore Jelani Embree, who
was scheduled to wrestle first
after intermission.
“Jelani needed to come out
and get that momentum going
back our way, using his speed
and power,” Bormet said. “I
was just making sure he had his
composure and he was ready to
go.”
Embree responded to his
coach’s wisdom well, defeating
Owen
Webster
in
sudden-
death overtime and sending the
Crisler faithful into a frenzy.
The afternoon’s most thrilling
match also came with some
controversy, as a last-second
takedown ruling by Webster
was overturned at the end of
the third period, setting up
Embree’s overtime win.
“In that moment, I was
trying to stay calm,” Embree
said. “Thankfully, it worked out
in my favor and I was able to
take advantage of that second
life that I was given.”
In the 197-pound matchup,
fifth-year
senior
Jackson
Striggow was in full control
of his opponent – Minnesota’s
fifth-year senior Hunter Ritter
– finishing with a pair of
takedowns in a hard-fought 6-4
win. Following the final buzzer,
Striggow seemed to feed off
the excitement of the crowd,
raising his arms in elation after
the Wolverines had knotted the
overall score at 12 apiece.
Striggow competed with a
little more on his mind than
his teammates when peering
across the mat at the Golden
Gophers bench.
“I grew up 15 miles from
the University of Minnesota,”
Striggow said. “So I always
wrestle with a little bit of a
chip on my shoulder because
Michigan gave me a chance and
Minnesota didn’t. So it’s always
fun to beat them and it’s really
cool to know that the state of
Michigan has kind of adopted
me as one of their guys.”
Following
Striggow’s
match,
Michigan
continued
its
run
of
dominance
on
the mat with victories from
sophomore Mason Parris in
the heavyweight division and
redshirt freshman Joey Silva in
the 133-pound class to secure a
22-15 team win.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Fifth-year senior Jackson Striggow scored two takedowns in Michigan’s 22-15 win over the Golden Gophers.
CHRIS SULLIVAN
Daily Sports Writer
BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Writer
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