8 — Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines’ defense leading team

When any team is searching for 
its identity, it deals in moments.
Players, fans and pundits alike 
look for one game, one tournament, 
one shot to define a season or 
sometimes even entire programs. 
For instance, the Wolverines’ 
miracle run to the final game of the 
2018 NCAA Tournament is defined 
by Jordan Poole’s 3-point prayer 
to advance past Houston. This 
season, it’s been The Bahamas.
Early in the season, it was all 
anyone could talk about when 
discussing Michigan basketball. 
And it’s easy to see why.
The Wolverines marched into 
Atlantis an unproven, untested 
team with a million question 
marks and a brand new face on 
the sidelines. They delivered an 
incredible 
three-game 
stretch 
downing two top-10 teams. It 
was the type of tone-setting 
performance that programs dream 
of and coaches froth over.
But once Michigan hit a four-
game skid after losing star junior 
forward Isaiah Livers to injury, 
the performance in The Bahamas 
became a double-edged sword 
— an expectation against which 
everything else was measured.
And perhaps the comparison 
wasn’t unfair. Even Michigan’s 
own players would often compare 
the team’s mental fortitude and 
in-game attitude to its peak in the 
Caribbean. 
Freshman 
forward 
Franz Wagner was one of the first 
to highlight this disparity when 
discussing the team’s apparent lack 
of emotion in a loss on the road to 
Iowa, stating that during the team’s 
string of losses the team hadn’t had 
the same emotional level as in The 
Bahamas.
But 
now 
the 
Wolverines 
have won five straight and the 
comparisons 
are 
starting 
to 
resurface, but in the best way 
possible for Michigan.
Assistant coach Phil Martelli 
wasn’t shy to make the comparison 
following the Wolverines’ road win 
against Purdue.

“I thought in The Bahamas, we 
looked like an offensive team,” he 
said. “Now I think we look like a 
winning team.”
With Livers back in the starting 
lineup and Michigan convincingly 
winning games at an elite level, not 
only are the Wolverines playing 
like they did in The Bahamas, 
but they might be even better, 
according to Martelli. So what’s 
the difference now?
The short answer: defense.
And the stats flesh that out. 
In 
The 
Bahamas, 
opponents 
averaged 68 points per game and 
now over Michigan’s last five wins, 
opponents averaged 60.4 points 
per game — an astounding near 
eight-point drop off.
Along with overall scoring, 
opponents’ shooting percentages 
have taken a dip as well. Rivals in 
The Bahamas shot 42 percent from 
the floor and now are connecting 
on just 37.2 percent of shots over 
the last five games.
Where things get particularly 
bleak for the Wolverines’ foes 
though comes from 3-point shots. 
In The Bahamas, Michigan was 
effective in limiting perimeter 
shots with opponents shooting 
just 29.7 percent from three in the 
Caribbean. Recently though, the 
Wolverines have been on another 
planet.
In Michigan’s last five games, 
players not wearing maize and blue 
have shot just 23.32 percent from 
3-point range. The Wolverines 
have effectively neutralized any 
shooting advantage a team may 

possess from deep, especially 
focusing 
on 
limiting 
3-point 
attempts while also guarding one-
on-one.
Now it’s just a matter of seeing 
where this defensive change has 
come from.
“For people to understand, 
‘Where did this come from?’ This 
came from the defensive side of 
the ball,” Martelli said. “And the 
tribute goes to Juwan (Howard) 
and 
(assistant 
coach) 
Saddi 
(Washington) as the defensive 
coordinator insisting on shrinking 
the floor. We’re a lot sharper now 
in our scouting reports.”
Giving Michigan’s perimeter 
defenders — highlighted by junior 
guard Eli Brooks, Wagner and 
senior guard Zavier Simpson, 
among others — the sharper 
scouting reports on opposing 
guards has made all the difference.
The Wolverines lost the second 
half against the Boilermakers 
on Sunday — Purdue scored 42 
to Michigan’s 35. But it didn’t 
matter because after only scoring 
21 points on the Wolverines’ 
stalwart defense in the first, the 
Boilermakers just couldn’t score 
enough to win.
“That wasn’t a thing of beauty 
offensively in the second half,” 
Martelli said. “We’re maybe not 
built that way, but defensive side 
of the ball — if we stayed out there 
the next 20 minutes, they were not 
gonna score enough. 
“And that’s what’s happening 
to these teams, they’re just not 
scoring enough.”

How the Irish stymied ‘M’ offense

It was safe to say the Michigan 
hockey team had finally found 
its groove offensively before 
heading into last weekend.
The 
Wolverines 
have 
averaged 4.2 goals per game 
since 
the 
winter 
break, 
dominating 
teams 
with 
an 
onslaught of goals. They were 
making the right passes. They 
were syncing on set plays. They 
were finding the back of the net.
Yet against Notre Dame, 
Michigan could muster only 
a single goal over the course 
of two games — and it was 
scored by an extra attacker 
on 
an 
empty-net 
situation. 
The Fighting Irish stymied 
the Wolverines’ hot hands, 
sweeping them over two games 
at Yost.
Here’s how they did it.
***
Limiting 
Michigan’s 
opportunities in transition
Part 
of 
the 
Wolverines’ 
offensive success as of late 
was due to the high number of 
opportunities they created — 
high shot count, high amounts 
of Grade-A chances.
“Look 
at 
the 
game,” 
graduate 
transfer 
forward 
Jacob Hayhurst said. “We had 
chances, but they played such 
a structure and laid back game 
that we didn’t get the volume of 
chances that we wanted to get.”
The 
Irish’s 
structure 
that 
helped 
limit 
those 
opportunities 
was 
centered 
around 
their 
transitioning 
format. In the earlier series in 
South Bend, Notre Dame had 
played a 1-1-3, which meant 
it had three players fall back 
into the defensive zone, one 
player chasing the puck and 
one person there to help in the 
neutral zone. 
After getting swept, however, 
the 
Irish 
knew 
something 
needed to change.
So 
they 
adjusted 
their 

systems to play an entirely 
defensive and more patient 
approach with a 1-4 structure. 
That meant four players would 
drop back and let only one 
person push forward. The fact 
that four players clustered in 
the defensive zone meant that 
the Wolverines would have a 
tough time with zone entry. 
When it’s hard to bring the puck 
into the offensive zone, it’s hard 
to create offense in general.
Michigan’s counter to this 
was to dump in the puck and 
chase after it, using speed to 
get to the puck behind the net 
before the other team does.
But Notre Dame was ready 
for that as well.
Disrupting 
Michigan’s 
forecheck
A large part of the Wolverines’ 
offense is their forecheck. They 
run a double forecheck system, 
which allows two players to 
contest for the puck behind the 
net in order to retain possession 
in the offensive zone.
“You’re trying to do ABCD 
to create those opportunities,” 
Michigan coach Mel Pearson 
said. “And part of that is 
establishing a good forecheck, 
and we never could.
“Shouldn’t 
say 
we 
never 
could, but we had limited 
success at that.”
The 
Wolverines 
tried 
dumping the puck into the 
zone and as they met opposing 
players behind the red line, 
they’d forecheck. 
But what they ended up doing 
was shooting the puck behind 
the net for Irish goaltender 
Cale Morris to corral and 
control, 
and 
that 
creates 
another target to contest, which 
makes Michigan’s two-person 
forecheck less effective.
“Then, now we have three 
‘defensemen’ 
you 
have 
to 
forecheck 
instead 
of 
two,” 
Pearson said. “We just didn’t 
work hard enough or weren’t in 
sync enough on our forecheck.”
Already 
unable 
to 
carry 

the puck into the zone, the 
Wolverines’ 
struggles 
to 
dump and chase meant there 
were 
going 
to 
be 
limited 
opportunities to get set and 
work the zone for extended 
periods of time.
Frustrating 
an 
offense 
overall
Michigan was not prepared 
coming into the weekend. It 
knew what to expect out of a 
defensive game — pace, low 
shot count, physical play. But 
the players weren’t prepared for 
just how limited the amount of 
chances they’d get.
“I think if we were better 
prepared with the mindset 
that you just got to really bear 
down on the chances you get,” 
senior forward Will Lockwood 
said. 
“Because 
you’re 
not 
going to get many. These guys 
really just pack it, and you got 
to understand that I think 
the shots were like 20 shots 
between the two teams after 
two periods.
“I think we got to better 
prepare next time, going into a 
game like that where, you know, 
you’re not gonna get too many 
chances, but you gotta bury 
them when you do.”
The 
Irish 
were 
doing 
everything to frustrate the 
Wolverines.
They sit back to prevent 
breakaways. They put a body 
on every puck handler. They 
know how to disrupt an offense. 
Michigan players had come in 
expecting more opportunities. 
They always do. But when 
they were limited and not 
converting, it thinned their 
patience.
“If you’re chasing the game 
all the time,” Pearson said, 
“then they just even collapse 
more on you and then you can 
get more frustrated.”
Added Lockwood: “A team 
like that, no one in the nation, is 
going to put up more than three 
or four goals. It’s a different 
mindset going in.”

JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Editor

EMMA MATI/Daily
Freshman wing Franz Wagner has been key in Michigan’s defensive improvement.

Hailey Brown makes her impact

Naz Hillmon’s free throw 
hit both sides of the rim before 
bouncing out, right in the 
direction of Hailey Brown. The 
junior forward saw her chance 
for an easy putback layup.
But when Brown went up for 
the rebound, she gave Michigan 
State guard Tory Ozment a 
slight push and was called for 
a foul — her fifth. She seemed 
unhappy with the call, just as 
she had on some of her earlier 
fouls.
Despite her frustration in 
the moment, she moved past 
it quickly. As she walked off 
the court, she looked at her 
teammates and yelled, “Let’s 
go. Win this.”
The 
Michigan 
women’s 
basketball team led the Spartans 
by five with three minutes 
remaining on Sunday when 
Brown fouled out. A minute 
later, senior guard Akienreh 
Johnson fouled out, with the 
Wolverines still leading by five. 
With Michigan’s two most 
experienced players out of the 
game, it had to hold on with a 
lineup of three freshmen and 
two sophomores. And despite 
being stuck on the bench for 
the final three minutes of the 
game, Brown knew her role 
was as important as ever. She 
was nearly as vocal as she is 
on the court, encouraging her 
teammates and alerting the 
players on the court when a 
screen was being set or there 
was an open player. 
“I was so proud as a coach,” 
Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico said. “That’s leadership, 
and that’s what we needed at 
that moment.”
The Wolverines held on to 
win, 65-57, and despite Brown 
finishing with just six points 
in 19 minutes, her impact 
was stamped on the game’s 
outcome. Michigan State coach 
Suzy Merchant said after the 
game that the Spartans may 
have been better off if Brown 
didn’t get into foul trouble 
because freshman center Izabel 
Varejão scored more than her. 
But as big of an influence as 

Brown had while on the bench, 
her presence was felt when she 
was on the court. 
Brown doesn’t always light 
up the stat sheet. She’s fourth 
on the team in scoring and fifth 
in rebounding. While she’s 
Michigan’s best 3-point shooter 
— shooting 36.4 percent from 
beyond the arc — opportunities 
from 
deep 
aren’t 
always 
plentiful in an offense that runs 
through Hillmon in the paint.
Sunday, when points were 
hard to come 
by for Brown, 
she made her 
impact 
doing 
what she does 
best: anchoring 
the interior of 
the Wolverines’ 
defense, making 
it 
difficult 
for 
opposing 
players to get 
easy shots near 
the basket. The two players 
that 
Brown 
guarded 
most, 
Kayla Belles and Taiyier Parks, 
combined for just three points, 
and Michigan State as a whole 
shot 11-for-32 on layups.
“She brings that edge, that 
grit, she wants to guard the best 
post player,” sophomore guard 
Amy Dilk said. “She takes on 
the challenge each and every 
night. She’s a great defensive 
player for us.”
Brown seamlessly switched 
off 
screens, 
preventing 
Michigan State players from 
getting 
separation. 
Midway 
through the fourth quarter, 
with four fouls and Michigan 

leading by four, Belles set a 
screen up top for Spartans 
guard Nia Clouden. But Clouden 
couldn’t get anywhere near the 
basket as Brown forced her to 
the corner without committing 
a foul.
When players did get free in 
the paint for open looks, Brown 
sent their shots right back. Early 
in the third quarter, Ozment 
got free from Hillmon on the 
baseline, 
and 
Brown 
came 
out of nowhere to reject what 
would have been 
an easy layup, 
her 
second 
of 
two blocks on 
the night.
“She’s 
been 
one 
of 
our 
biggest helps on 
defense, 
really 
trying 
to 
clog 
up the paint … 
blocking 
a 
lot 
of 
shots 
and 
just altering everybody’s shot 
in there,” Hillmon said. “It 
was tough, having her in foul 
trouble.”
With Brown on the floor, 
Michigan 
State’s 
offense 
struggled to get into a rhythm. 
It was no coincidence that 
the 
Spartans’ 
two 
highest 
scoring quarters were the two 
that Brown only played three 
minutes in.
Brown’s impact this season 
has gone unnoticed at times. 
But despite what the box score 
or Merchant said on Sunday, her 
role in the Wolverines’ win — 
both on the court and from the 
bench — was unquestionable.

Michigan rolls past Edinboro, 33-6

Sometimes, it’s just about 
staying the course.
The 
No. 
21 
Michigan 
wrestling team (7-6) had come 
out of a tough stretch of Big Ten 
dual meets, losing three matches 
in a row against three of the 
top-12 ranked schools. With the 
Big Ten tournament coming up, 
a trip to Edinboro (10-8) could 
have caused some trouble. But 
the Wolverines did not overlook 
the Scots, dominating in a 33-6 
win on Friday.
Michigan was led by a gritty 
effort from fifth-year senior 
Jackson Striggow at 197 pounds. 
Down several points in the first 
period, Striggow fought back 
and took control of the match 
in the later periods, pushing 
the pace and getting several 
takedowns to ultimately secure 
the comeback.
“I didn’t let it get me too 
much — being behind in the 
first — because I knew I am in 
better shape than anybody that 
I wrestle,” Striggow said. “My 
pace would wear him down to 
where I could score points on 
him and take the lead back.”
At 125 pounds, No. 18 redshirt 
sophomore Jack Medley also 
had a strong showing, getting 
several back points to claim a 
23-5 technical fall. Redshirt 

senior 
Austin 
Assad 
next 
claimed a forfeit victory at 133 
pounds, and freshman Cole 
Mattin secured a decision at 141 
pounds. No. 9 redshirt junior 
Kanen Storr kept the momentum 
going for the Wolverines, as he 
picked up a 6-2 decision at 149 
pounds. Redshirt freshman Will 
Lewan also secured a decision 
at 157 pounds to give Michigan a 
large lead, as it headed into the 
break up 20-0.
“We wrestled a really great 
dual,” Michigan coach Sean 
Bormet said. “The guys wrestled 
with a lot of confidence, a lot of 
energy, as a great finish to our 
dual season.”
Following the gauntlet of 
Big Ten duals, and with the 
Big Ten championships coming 
up, this meet could have been 
overlooked. 
But 
Michigan 
avoided the potential pitfall.
“Sometimes coming off of a 
long stretch of Big Ten duals, in 
front of a smaller crowd, there 
could be a letdown,” Bormet 
said. “So I wanted to make sure 
to avoid that, and for them to 
focus on the type of wrestling 
and matches that they were 
gonna have at the Big Ten 
championships.”
The Wolverines head into 
the Big Ten championships on 
Mar. 7. Coming out of the tough 
schedule of Big Ten play — with 
losses in four of the last five dual 

meets — this non-conference 
dual was a useful tune up 
to get the team executing at 
the highest level again, so 
they could be as effective as 
possible during the imminent 
postseason. 
Added Striggow: “I looked 
at it as something to build 
off of heading into Big Ten 
(championships). Keep getting 
better, keep building on the 
good things I did last match and 
the match before that to keep 
giving myself confidence.”
Michigan kept rolling out 
of the break, as redshirt junior 
Tyler Meisinger got his first 
fall of the season with his first-
period at 165 pounds.
After a couple tough losses 
for redshirt freshman Max 
Maylor at 174 pounds and 
redshirt sophomore J.T. Correll 
at 184 pounds, the Wolverines 
got back on track through 
Striggow’s determined victory. 
No. 2 sophomore heavyweight 
Mason Parris finished things off 
for Michigan with a resounding 
major decision, 10-2.
“We’re 
measuring 
how 
we 
wrestle 
match-to-match 
regardless 
of 
opponent,” 
Bormet said. “So we just wanted 
our guys to focus on wrestling 
to 
their 
fullest 
potential, 
executing the way that they 
need to to have success at the 
Big Ten championships.”

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Fifth-year senior Jackson Striggow got several takedowns to come back and win at 197 pounds against Edinboro.

STEEL HURLEY
Daily Sports Writer

JACK KINGSLEY
Daily Sports Writer

ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Junior forward Hailey Brown often makes an understated impact on the game.

She brings that 
edge ... she 
wants to guard 
the best player.

TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer

HOCKEY

