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