8 — Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

‘M’ blows out Gophers on road, 77-52

Two weeks ago, against then-
No. 23 Northwestern, Michigan
learned a hard lesson: In the Big
Ten, if you don’t start well, you
don’t win.
In their three games since
then,
the
Wolverines
have
taken that lesson to the max —
establishing dominant leads in
the first quarter of every game.
Monday’s matchup in Minnesota
was no different as Michigan
(16-7 overall, 7-5 Big Ten) leapt
out to a nine point lead over the
Golden Gophers (15-9, 5-8) and
never
looked
back,
winning
77-52.
With freshman guard Maddie
Nolan starting her second game
in a row due to a hand injury to
sophomore guard Danielle Rauch,
Minnesota swiftly targeted her
with its own freshman guard,
Jasmine Powell. Making her fifth
start of the season, Powell caught
fire early, dicing up Nolan on the
way to the rim.
Powell proved to be a daunting
task for any defender, however,
hitting a trio of first half
3-pointers and slicing through
traffic for quick layups. Her 17
first-half points proved a thorn in
Michigan’s side, teasing the idea
of a comeback should it make a
mistake.
The Gophers, though, couldn’t

get anyone else going. Only two
other
players
scored
points,
leaving them limping into the
half deeply frustrated.
“(Powell) had a great first half
and she had 17 points, and we
were a little upset about that,
but considering we held their
team to 26, we were really happy
about that,” Michigan coach Kim
Barnes Arico said. “I thought
our post did a tremendous job
on their post play, just a great job
defensively.”
The Wolverines’ four most
experienced
players
quickly
found themselves in foul trouble,
all getting to three apiece midway
through the third quarter. On
a roster with just nine healthy
players, foul trouble threatened
to bring down the game plan like
a house of cards.
Michigan’s
house,
though,
stood strong no matter what
the Gophers threw at it. Foul
trouble aside, every single player
that dressed put together a
performance that left Minnesota
in the dust.
Starting
with
assists,
the
Wolverines achieved a season-
high 25, with Dilk dishing out
eight and sophomore forward
Naz Hillmon and Nolan each
contributing five. All that while
tackling a focus area of cutting
down on turnovers — having just
seven.
“That’s
outstanding,
that’s

obviously a season high for us
for sure, and I thought we did a
tremendous job of taking care
of the ball,” Barnes Arico said.
“That’s something we’ve been
trying to get better at through the
course of the year, and I thought
it all started obviously with our
point guard Dilk. She led the
charge, she was tremendous
tonight, she did a great job for us.”
Dilk and Hillmon, exhibiting
their tag team at its most
dangerous,
also
contributed
22 and 21 points, respectively,
despite being given discounted
minutes in the blowout victory.
“When you have a teammate
like Hillmon who draws so much
attention to her, and she’s able
to score out of that or pass out
of that,” Dilk said. “I don’t know
how many assists she had, but
she’s been averaging a lot because
she can pass. And we have guards
like us that can cut off that, so
that’s what we did tonight, and
we found it to be very successful.”
A
blowout
that
happened
because
Michigan
was
able
to close the game out. Unlike
the previous three games, the
Wolverines wrapped an iron-
clad grip on the victory, shutting
down any chance for Minnesota
to find a way back in the game.
Michigan’s role players set
the perfect harmony for its stars’
melody. It started well and it
finished even better.

Brooks’s perimeter ‘D’ a highlight

A few weeks back, as Juwan
Howard fielded questions from
the media following a loss at
Iowa, he wanted to make one
thing clear — Eli Brooks was not
in a slump.
“He’s been working extremely
hard throughout the season,”
Howard said. “At times, I know
he’s been getting a lot of media
attention and a lot of negative
press. Unfortunately, at times
some of it has been disrespectful
I would say and it’s been unfair.”
The junior guard had been
a consistent scorer for the
Wolverines through the first
two months of the season, but
scored just 15 points on 7-of-23
shooting over three games to
begin January.
But
whatever
plagued
Brooks against Michigan State,
Purdue and Minnesota from
an offensive perspective was
turned on its head against the
Hawkeyes, as Brooks exploded
for a career-high 25 points and
shot 5-for-11 from deep.
But, as much as Howard
commended
Brooks
for
his
offensive production that night,
he made even more of a point of
lauding Brooks’ defense.
“The beauty of it, which
doesn’t show up on the box
score, is Eli’s been one of our
best defenders,” Howard said.
“Usually if you have a guy who
doesn’t make shots, they forget
about playing defense on the
other end because they get so
frustrated because the shots not
going in.
“Eli’s been the competitor
that we’ve asked him to be. He’s
shown he’s dependable. So, I’m
very happy with Eli. He’s one of
our leaders.”
Howard’s endorsement that
night in Iowa City has rung
true in the 22 days since, but
was no more evident than when
Michigan faced the Spartans on
Saturday at Crisler Center.
In
the
teams’
previous

meeting
in
early
January,
Michigan State’s All-American
point guard Cassius Winston
dominated the Wolverines with
32 points and nine assists en
route to an 18-point thrashing of
Michigan.
Saturday,
though,
things
were different for both Winston
and the Spartans. Brooks was
a major reason why. Michigan
coach Juwan Howard switched
the
defensive
assignments
ahead of Saturday’s rematch,
handing the task of guarding
Winston to Brooks — arguably
the Wolverines’ best perimeter
defender — instead of senior
guard Zavier Simpson.
“Honestly, I think (Zavier)
did a great job of handling it
because that’s the little matchup
battle,” Livers said. “But Cassius
guards Eli, so it was like, ‘Eli,
why don’t you turn around and
guard Cassius?’ Make it simple.
And Eli, man, he’s a pest. He’s a
really good defender.”
In addition to 11 points and
nine boards of his own, Brooks
held Winston to just 20 points on
18 shots. In stymying Michigan
State’s maestro, the Wolverines
disrupted the Spartans’ offense
as a whole — holding them to an
offensive rating of 94.4, down
from 114.5 in their previous
matchup, per KenPom.
“I know in the last game
Cassius was very comfortable,”
Howard said. “I went back
and watched film of our last

game. I just wanted to give
him a different look. I knew
Eli
—
defensively,
he’s
a
very disciplined player, very
technical. He’s not gonna make
many mistakes.
“I thought he did a really good
job staying front of Cassius,
making every catch tough for
him, as well as challenging
every shot without fouling.”
Like
Howard,
Brooks’
teammates weren’t surprised by
his play against Winston, noting
how he prides himself on the
little things defensively.
“A lot of people overlook Eli,”
Livers said. “I honestly hate
when he guards me in practice.
You can’t come off any ball
screens, you can’t drive. He
doesn’t give up any angles. He
told me his dad taught him that
at a young age, so that’s why he’s
so excellent at it now.”
While Brooks is undoubtedly
a capable scorer, his offensive
numbers have ebbed and flowed
at times this season. What
hasn’t fluctuated is his effort
defensively.
With
Livers,
Michigan’s
leading
scorer,
back
from
injury, Simpson scoring double-
digits in seven of his last nine
games and the emergence of
sophomore forward Brandon
Johns Jr., Brooks doesn’t need
to be a go-to guy offensively.
But on defense, performances
like
Saturday’s
are
always
welcomed.

CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Writer

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Junior guard Eli Brooks has stood out for his defense in recent weeks.

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Sophomore guard Amy Dilk had 22 points and eight assists in Michigan’s 77-52 win over Minnesota on Monday.

Omaha stakes

It was closer to a live
batting practice session than a
scrimmage, let alone a playoff
game.
Omaha,
Neb.
was
hundreds of miles and many
months in the rearview mirror.
But watching junior right-
hander Blake Beers and the large
portion of the No. 8 Michigan
baseball team that participated,
it was easy to wonder whether
this event had more importance
than what met the eye.
Perhaps
it
did.
Former
starters Tommy Henry and Karl
Kauffman teamed up for 254.2
innings last year. Gone too are
heart-of-the-order
mainstays
Jordan
Brewer
and
Jimmy
Kerr and their combined 123
RBI. Junior center fielder Jesse
Franklin and his 51 walks will
not be available for at least two
weeks as he continues recovering
from a skiing-related injury.
Short-term or long-term, these
are roles that need filling, and
Sunday’s intrasquad scrimmage
gave many Wolverines a chance
to make a case for themselves.
A few took notable advantage of
the opportunity.
Beers, the first pitcher of
the afternoon, stared in at each
hitter
with
indiscriminate
intensity. He often brushed
the rubber off with his foot,
although there was no dirt to
get rid of on synthetic ramp that
served as a mound. The gesture
drove home just how seriously
he took the experience.
“There’s plenty of stuff there,”
Michigan coach Eric Bakich
said. “For him, it’s just doing
it against another jersey, and
he certainly has the look of a
much more confident kid and the
ability to do that this year.”
On Sunday, Beers did it
against batters wearing his own
jersey. He occasionally struggled
with control — issuing back-to-
back walks at one point — but
allowed few hard-hit balls over
several innings of work.
“He’s certainly a guy we could

look at as a potential starter,
a potential long reliever, a
potential high-leverage reliever,
a potential closer,” Bakich said.
Beers’ long, downhill stride
and traditional arm slot —
along with a relative lack of
pinpoint accuracy — do not
make him a likely candidate to
be a situational, one-out reliever.
Without a niche role, Beers
will be one of a dozen pitchers
looking for innings in Michigan’s
deep bullpen. His focus and
drive, then, should hardly come
as a surprise.
Next up was sophomore left-
hander Jack White. His fastballs
exploded in the catcher’s mitt,
speeding up bats against his

secondary pitches.
“(Pitching
coach
Chris)
Fetter’s been working with me a
lot on my curveball,” White said.
“Just being able to throw that for
strikes. He’s been a huge help
developing that pitch.”
White also found swing-and-
miss success with his offspeed
pitches. When junior outfielder
Jordan Nwogu drew a walk —
one of the few to reach base
against White — he promptly
stole second and third base.
Working out of the stretch,
White ended the inning by
making senior Dominic Clementi
flail at a breaking ball in the dirt.
The tennis-match quiet was
interrupted;
the
Wolverines
behind
the
backstop
were
momentarily beside themselves
in disbelief of the filthiness
they’d just witnessed.
“What he did today — he’s got
a good fastball, we’ve even seen
it in the low 90s, with a good
breaking ball,” Bakich said. “All

the makings are there of a guy
that has a chance to get some
outs for us in relief.”
At and behind the plate,
freshman
Jimmy
Obertop
exhibited a variety of skills
with the game-mode deadpan
of Beers. His swing keeps the
barrel in the strike zone for a
long time, in part due to quick
hands getting the handle out in
front. Offensively, he provides
a viable alternative to junior
catcher Joe Donovan.
“Jimmy can hit,” Bakich said.
“He hits the ball as hard as
Nwogu and Franklin. His exit
velos and what he’s capable of —
he’s a serious power threat.”
In
two
at-bats,
Obertop
demonstrated his potential to
become a three true outcomes
hitter — a batter who ends a
significant portion of his plate
appearances with either a walk,
a strikeout or a homer; the kind
of offensive threat that analytics
has proven to be very productive.
While he went down on strikes
against White, his second trip to
the plate saw him line a pitch
up the middle, a no-doubt extra
base hit if not for the cramped
dimensions of the field house. He
demonstrated savviness, if not
speed, on the basepaths: After
staying put during two straight
balls in the dirt, he successfully
stole a base by running on
delivery. By luring the defense
into complacency after resisting
the temptation of taking a chance
on one of two potential passed
balls, Obertop maximized his
chance of success.
His bat will force him into
lineups,
but
his
defensive
versatility makes the decision to
start him easier.
“Good catcher, can play first
base, could play the outfield if we
needed him to, or DH,” Bakich
said. “I expect he’ll be in there,
somewhere.”
That last line is one that
Beers,
White
and
Obertop
would all like to have applied
to their names. Thanks to their
scrimmage performances, that
dream may have inched a little
closer to reality.

In intrasquad scrimmage, Michigan shows talent to fill holes created by draft departures from last year’s CWS roster

JACK WHITTEN
Daily Sports Writer

Beach balls.
That’s how former Michigan
outfielder
Jordan
Brewer
excitedly described the pitches
coming toward him when he
launched a grand slam over the
left field wall as the Wolverines
trounced
Manhattan College,
23-2, last March. His description
speaks to a mentality that drove
Brewer
toward
consistent
dominance at the plate last
season as Michigan utilized its
offensive power to make a World
Series run.
But Brewer won’t be back in
Ann Arbor this year.
As the 2020 season begins
with higher expectations than
ever before, the team has lost
many key hitters, particularly on
the front end of last year’s lineup.
Brewer, in the three-hole last
year, went on to be drafted by the
Houston Astros in the third round
of last June’s MLB draft. Jimmy
Kerr, whose eight postseason
home runs were crucial in the
Wolverines’ run to Omaha, was
selected by the Detroit Tigers
in the 33rd round. And junior
outfielder Jesse Franklin, who
batted second and posted a .477
slugging percentage with 13
home runs and 55 RBI, will miss
at least the first two weeks of the
season due to a collarbone injury
sustained while skiing.

But Michigan’s lineup isn’t
without options. Their leadoff
hitter, junior outfielder Jordan
Nwogu, appears prepared to stay
in that position in the lineup.
“I like the tone it sets, having
that strapping dude walking
up to the plate to lead off the
game with a double or a homer,”
Michigan coach Erik Bakich said.
“He’s done well in that role and
he poses a totally dynamic speed-
power threat, so I like him up
there in the top of the order.”
Nwogu, who was named to
the Preseason All-America first
team by the National Collegiate
Baseball
Writers
Association,
doesn’t seem too worried about
the team’s ability to adapt.
“I don’t see my role changing
this year,” Nwogu said. “We have
a lot of great guys that came in,
as well as guys who have been
here and stepped up — like
Danny Zimmermann and Jimmy
Obertop — who are power guys,
so I don’t think we’re really going
to feel too much of a loss from last
year.”
Nwogu’s mention of Obertop,
a freshman catcher expected
to start at designated hitter in
Michigan’s College World Series
rematch against Vanderbilt on
Friday, underscores how much
attention he has drawn during
the preseason for his hitting
ability.
“Jimmy can hit, and he hits the
ball just as hard as Nwogu and

Franklin,” Bakich said “He’s got
big juice in his bat and can put in
a double or extra base hit at any
time, so he really put the charge
into the ball which is really
impressive for a young kid.”
Bakich seemed confident in
the team’s offensive dynamism,
but noted how hard it is to predict
how the offense will settle.
“We had so many different
guys perform so well at various
times throughout the year, but
remember offense is (different)
than pitching,” Bakich said.
Hitting indeed requires a
different approach than pitching.
A team can do a lot right at the
plate and still not have much to
show for it.
Michigan has long crafted its
at-bats to allow scoring quickly,
early and often, as well as crafting
a versatile lineup that can sustain
a range of pitchers. This strategy
doesn’t seem destined to change
in spite of its personnel losses.
In
yesterday’s
intrasquad
scrimmage, the coaching staff’s
emphasis on inflicting quick
damage was clear.
Despite the losses, Bakich
isn’t worried about how his team
will craft its offensive identity.
Last year, there were plenty of
questions coming in, too, and he
saw how that ended up.
“There were a lot of lumps that
we took,” Bakich said. “But in
doing so, we got better because of
it and we got back up every time.”

AIDAN WOUTAS
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior outfielder Jordan Nwogu has developed into one of Michigan’s best power hitters out of the leadoff spot.

Jimmy can hit,
and he hits the
ball just as hard
as Nwogu and
Franklin.