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…8 — Friday, February 28, 2020 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com WITH BROOKS OUT, D’MITRIK TRICE TORCHES MICHIGAN’S DEFENSE AS BADGERS TOP WOLVERINES, 81-74 KEEMYA ESMAEL / Daily…

… TRICE COLD Comeback falls short as Wisconsin beats Wolverines, 81-74, at Crisler There are a lot of adjectives that describe Thursday night’s matchup between Michigan and Wisconsin. Gritty. Streaky…

…’s 80-58 victory over Central Florida, though, the second unit proved to be the most productive players on the floor for the Wolverines. Trailing by 12 points midway through the first half…

…, Michigan coach Juwan Howard subbed in freshman forward Terrance Williams to join junior forward Brandon Johns Jr. and freshman center Hunter Dickinson in the frontcourt. The Wolverines needed a…

… series. The Wolverines are searching for critical conference points to help them surge up the standings and potentially get home ice for the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. Before the…

… recent home series against Notre Dame, it seemed likely that Michigan would host the first round. The Wolverines were riding the momentum of a hot second half of the season, in which they’d won 26…

… Huskies. The Wolverines had 37 shots on goal, including 20 in the first period, but only had traffic in front of Michigan Tech goaltender Matt Jurusik on two of those 37 shots. “We watched a lot of…

… pay that price.” Outside of the focus on getting bodies to the net, Pearson wants to see the Wolverines put more emphasis on all aspects of the game. Whether that’s a small detail of the…

…SPORTSWEDNESDAY Wednesday, January 8, 2020 | michigandaily.com 32 pts, 9 asts, 11-19 fg CASSIUS Alec Cohen / Daily Design by Jack Silberman Wolverines fall to Spartans, 87-69, in East Lansing…

… advertised. Tom Izzo: calculating game manager, passion- ate coach. As advertised. The Spartan faithful: loud. Like, really loud. As advertised. Michigan, too, was just as advertised. The Wolverines…

… nothing but net – and not a Wolverine in sight to stop them. “Unfortunately for us, we didn’t do a good job communicating on the open man, and where he was, so that’s why they were able to score so much…

… by Jack Silberman Hillmon’s 30 points lead Wolverines It’s tough to find anything about sophomore forward Naz Hillmon that hasn’t already been said. Her teammates love her. Her coaches rave…

…, the Wolverines’ most consistent player one-upped herself again, scoring 30 points on 14-for- 19 shooting. She added 10 rebounds to secure her seventh double-double of the season. Even though…

….” The effects of the ejections couldn’t be seen right away. In fact, following Beecher’s ejection, the Wolverines killed off the Buckeyes’ man-advantage and scored a goal of their own to make it 2…

…-1. But when Van Wyhe was called for a game misconduct, cracks in Michigan’s forward depth started to show. The Wolverines were already forced to kill off ten minutes worth of penalties from…

… together. They’re taking draws and (have) responsibility in the d-zone.” When the third period started, the true effects of these adversities hadn’t revealed themselves yet. Wolverine…

… mistakes. Saturday night, these mistakes resulted in the Wolverines’ comeback hopes crumpling. In the offensive zone, sophomore defenseman Jack Summers skated with the puck. He was pressured by…

…4B — March 9, 2020 SportsMonday The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Missed opportunities haunt Wolverines INDIANAPOLIS — Midway through the fourth quarter Saturday, as Ohio State…

… iced the win with a 3-pointer off the glass. Another shot like that, and the Wolverines find themselves in a tie game with all the momentum. It rimmed out. Not to worry, though. After a quick miss…

… Howard, the Wolverines are on the verge of their best class since Howard himself orchestrated the most famous recruiting class college basketball has ever seen. Almost 30 years later, the remnants of…

… 2008 (Beilein’s first class) and 2019 (his last), the Wolverines averaged 35.2 in the 247Sports Composite rankings. Beilein led Michigan to the NCAA Tourna- ment in nine of his 12 seasons, won two…

… on Thursday, it was a major factor in the Wolverines’ downfall. Before its second matchup against Penn State, Michigan had killed 19 of its 22 penalties. “We have faith in our players…

…. The Wolverines allowed Penn State to convert on four of its six power play opportunities. Michigan coach Mel Pearson felt the out of character performance was a product of both…

… Michigan Stadium history, it took three overtimes to beat conference bottom-feeder Rutgers. On Saturday, the lows kept coming. This time, the Wolverines (2-4) handed Penn State (1-5) its first win of…

… third team in three games to celebrate on the maize ‘M.’ The Wolverines were long gone from the field by then, left only with the crushing weight of another disappointment. When Jim Harbaugh was…

… Four — the Wolverines entered this season without a road win against Purdue since 2014. But on Saturday, Michigan changed that. Spurred by junior forward Isaiah Livers’ return from an ankle…

… injury, the Wolverines topped the Boilermakers (14-14, 7-10), 71-63, securing their fifth- straight win. For Michigan (18-9 overall, 9-7 Big Ten), it’s more evidence of a team peaking at the…

… guard Taryn McCutcheon fouled Michigan guard Amy Dilk. Dilk made both free throws. In the few minutes of basketball that remained, she made six more, helping the Wolverines escape East Lansing…

… give her 17 points in the first half, that was just absolutely ridiculous. Unacceptable on our part, on all of our part. We just did a bad job.” Strong play from the Wolverines’ bigs allowed them…

…, spurred on the Wolverine offense to an explosive second quarter. Finishing the first half, Dilk was halfway to a triple-double — tallying five points, five rebounds and five assists. But when the…

… on Michigan State’s side, the crowd smelling a collapse, the Wolverines fearing one — shot 9-for-10. Despite earlier struggles, despite a stop-and-go game with 54 fouls, despite teammates…

…’ suffers first losses of season Michigan softball’s perfect record is gone. Offensive inconsistency plagued the Wolverines all weekend at the Gamecock Invitational resulting in Michigan…

…The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SportsMonday January 13, 2020 — 3B Loss shows lack of progress In the Michigan women’s basketball team’s first game against Maryland, the Wolverines…

…’s second game against Maryland, sophomore forward Naz Hillmon stressed that the Wolverines needed to make sure these issues wouldn’t cost them again. But from the start of Sunday’s game, it was…

…. Again. Early in the season, this story wrote itself in nearly every Big Ten matchup the Wolverines played. Michigan plays a team with a dominant big man. Big man has a career night in the points column…

…. Questions arise about the Wolverines’ interior defense. Repeat. While their strategy initially drew mixed results with Michigan standing at 2-3 in conference play, Sunday’s matchup against Minnesota saw the…

… Wolverine following a loss, and they’ll be quick to tell you that everyone needs to get better at guarding their man. Especially when big men are setting career highs every time they see maize and blue on…

…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…

… HUMAN VALUES Torn apart Whenever Wolverines and Buckeyes collide, sparks fly — and not in a sentimental way. That’s to be expected from two bitter rivals. But the significance of Tuesday…

… moments, the Buckeyes (15-7 overall, 5-6 Big Ten) extended their run, beating the Wolverines (13-9, 4-7), 61-58. A sense of urgency characterized the early going as both squads looked to jump out…

… we just chose him to let it go.” Just moments earlier, a much-needed victory over the Fighting Illini was within the Wolverines’ reach. But, after missing five consecutive free throws, the…

… junior forward Isaiah Livers leaving the game with another injury. Spurred on by the return of Livers, who had missed six straight games with a groin injury, the Wolverines got off to a hot start…

… awkwardly, seemingly re-injuring his groin. After hitting both free-throws, he limped back to the bench and a hush fell over the Wolverine faithful. “Unfortunately for Isaiah, he went out with his injury…

… crafty player and does a really good job getting to his left hand and finishing in traffic. He’s also really good at getting to his pull-up jumper.” And, as was the case all afternoon, the Wolverines…

…:35 remaining. For every basket Dosunmu added to his final total of 27 points, the Wolverines collectively responded. Sophomore guard David DeJulius even gave Michigan a slender, two-point advantage after…

… hitting a contested three from 30-feet. From there, though, things unraveled for the Wolverines. Despite holding Cockburn to just five points and three rebounds, containing Trent Frazier in the second…

…. Whether it was beyond the arc, from the elbow or along the baseline, the Wolverines struggled to knock down shots for three-quarters of Sunday’s 18-point, 87-69 drubbing at the hands of No. 14…

… Michigan State. A fairly even contest through the first ten minutes gradually eroded into Michigan being forced to play catch-up. Without leading scorer, junior forward Isaiah Livers, the Wolverines…

… Varejão hopped on one foot to the bench before coming back on. And yet, the Wolverines were still in it against the No. 19 team in the country, Northwestern. Somehow, some way, they had limped their…

… way into a tight fourth quarter, the win within reach. Down by three with a minute left on the clock, the Wolverines got the stop they needed. Now, they had to devise a play to draw level with the…

… year to come. She went on to contribute in three of the other four wins, helping the Wolverines improve to 5-0 on the season. There was no debate over whether Storako was going to be a starter…

… Storako’s performance in the Wolverines opening weekend at the USF-Rawlings Invitational warrants a new question: Does Michigan have a clear No. 1? The short answer: no. When asked, Michigan coach…

… Wolverines dominated, with the men winning all 16 events, and the women taking 15 events out of 16. The last dual meet of the season was fine-tuning for Michigan, with many swimmers competing…

… in races which they do not usually compete. Tucker, usually dominant in the breaststroke, won the women’s 100-yard freestyle, women’s 200-yard freestyle and women’s 100-yard IM. The Wolverines…

… continue to grow into program building blocks. Confident that a bench lacking in-game experience could supplement its starters enough to take down top opponents. In non-conference play, the Wolverines…

….2 percent. Sophomore forward Emily Kiser scored 10 against Appalachian State with junior forward Hailey Brown injured. In these first 11 games, the Wolverines’ bench by no means took over games. But with…

… season competition. If Bajema decides to leave the program, this will leave the Wolverines with two open scholarship spots for next season and a whopping six spots on their roster for the 2021…

… decision to not commit to Michigan in favor of Arizona State. While the Wolverines still boast the top recruiting class in the Big Ten despite the loss of the two highly-ranked prospects, depth will now…

… Dallas Cowboys, according to 247Sports. Uche highlighted Michigan’s defensive picks after being selected in the second round by the Patriots. In Foxboro, Uche will join Onwenu and former Wolverine…

… mixed bag for the Wolverines. Despite a large number of selections, most came in the late rounds and Peoples-Jones’ in particular was indicative of untapped potential. But Michigan also showed its…

… breath. The Wolverines just watched Illinois guard Brandi Beasley drive the length of the Crisler Center floor in five seconds, sinking a layup to give the Fighting Illini — the No. 13 team in the…

… embarrassing loss to the Big Ten’s doormat, it would need to lock in defensively. The Wolverines did just that, allowing just 17 points the entire second half and running away with an 80-59 victory. “It…

… Wolverines didn’t seem to have answers for anything that Michigan State threw their way. They couldn’t contain the volatile Spartan offense, led by star senior point guard Cassius Winston and junior…

… Tom Izzo. But with Livers back and a home crowd decked out in maize behind them, the Wolverines finally had some answers. Michigan (14-9 overall, 5-7 Big Ten) managed to grit out a win over the 16…

…-4 tie with Penn State that saw Garrett Van Wyhe give the Wolverines an extra point with a double-overtime winner. But that was only part of what had Pearson feeling so sentimental. The other half…

… opportunity to cut the Wolverines’ lead. His penalty ultimately didn’t end up costing his team the game, but Pearson didn’t play him the remaining minutes once he left the box. But again, rather than…

…The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Sports Tuesday, February 18, 2020 — 7 Breaking down the Wolverines’ recent revival Two days before the Michigan men’s basketball team’s thrashing of…

… nothing to do with the Hoosiers. Instead, he was asked to discuss the Wolverines’ recent revival. A conversation like Friday’s seemed unthinkable less than three weeks ago, when senior point guard…

… repetitiveness to the ensuing conversation. For the third weekend in a row, Michigan had widely underperformed its expectations. The Wolverines had just been swept by Michigan State, including a home…

…’? No, you can’t … There’s so many things you can’t control.” He mentioned that attitude is controllable, though, and that the Wolverines would just have to stay positive and avoid complaining…

… with that.” The Wolverine athletes’ events went their way Saturday and the results of the meet exemplified their success. “The momentum flew in our directions because of the home field advantage…

… ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer ALEC COHEN/Daily Michigan coach Mel Pearson is seeing the fruits of his persistent optimism in the Wolverines’ recent hot streak. TRACK AND FIELD State of despair The…

… Wolverines fed off their leader. Amidst recent struggles, senior center Jon Teske even nailed a 3-pointer. “It’s nothing new,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “(Zavier’s) a smart enough player to…

… presence, guard Geo Baker, sent the Scarlet Knights into the locker room with a 31-28 edge after drilling a buzzer-beating triple. With the Wolverines’ rotation thin in Livers’ absence, Howard needed…

… KEEMYA ESMAEL / Daily POWERING FORWARD Design by Jack Silberman Wolverines win Duel in the D, 4-1 DETROIT — Nick Blankenburg extended his two hands out and wagged them up and down like paws. At…

… sit quietly in their seats in a 4-1 win over Michigan State on Monday night. Blankenburg had just scored a goal, the third of the night for the Wolverines, in a highlight- reel fashion. In the…

… efficiently. The freshman scored five quick points, notched a steal and was leading the surging Wolverines. Then, the lanky forward was called for his second foul attempting to swat a ball down low. The…

…, rather — en route to clinching a share of the Big Ten regular season title. Using a combination of outside shooting, offensive fluidity and a dislodging of the Wolverines’ defense, No. 9 Maryland…

… was the only Wolverine to top 20 points against the Terrapins in an 83-70 loss. “I just said, ‘To hell with it, I’m going in aggressive,’ ” DeJulius said. “I don’t have anything to lose at this…

… it struggled to score early on. DeJulius’ points were a big part of what helped the Wolverines stay in the game for as long as they did. “Big lift, especially in the first half, when we struggled…

… without a game, its season on the brink of disaster. One week to right the ship. First came the Jan. 9 road loss to Ohio State, where the Wolverines led for 27 minutes total, even up to halfway through…

…. But what looked like the dagger came a week later against Nebraska. Senior forward Kayla Robbins — the Wolverines’second- leading scorer — went down in the first minute with a season-ending ACL…

… this kid play.” Fans soon learned they’d have to wait when Wagner fractured his wrist in practice just three days later. He missed the first four games of the season, which the Wolverines won…

… might be a direct result of the latter, but both come at a time when the Wolverines are trying to fill the void left by injured starter Isaiah Livers. In the last three games, Wagner has scored…

… needed to bounce back strong. Thursday night against Wisconsin, the Wolverines did just that. Michigan (12-5 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) came out fast, scoring nine points in the first two minutes and…

… jumping out to an early seven-point lead as the Badgers (9-8, 1-5) had trouble defending the Wolverines’ biggest threats. Sophomore point guard Amy Dilk — coming off two games in which she shot a…

… matches and 2-0 in doubles. Just two days later, the Wolverines headed south to face off against Oregon (3-1), and once again won the match decidedly, winning four of six singles matches as well as…

… both doubles matches. In an effort to prevent a repeat of the team’s opener, the Wolverines’ underclassmen stepped up, with sophomore Andrew Fenty and true freshman Ondrej Styler combining…

… to do with the physical demands of college basketball. Leaning against the wall of a narrow corridor in Carver-Hawkeye Arena after the Wolverines’ third loss in four games, the freshman wing put it…

…-handed. After beating Iowa by double-digits in December, the Wolverines saw a seven-point lead slip away as the Hawkeyes closed the game on a 25-11 run over the final ten minutes. When the dust settled…

…’s premiere closers to give the Wolverines a lead they wouldn’t relinquish en route to a 4-3 victory over No. 1 Vanderbilt. “It was kind of a surreal experience,” Schmidt said. “We fought and competed…

…,” Michigan coach Erik Bakich said. “Just guys that had their moments in different games that could be positive contributors for the entire season.” In the Wolverines’ second game of the…

… in Nebraska win T wo months ago, when the Michigan men’s bas- ketball team looked at its upcoming Big Ten schedule, a midweek trip to Lincoln probably didn’t ring any alarm bells. The Wolverines…

… steals. Freshman wing Franz Wagner’s 18-point performance highlighted his potential, while sophomore forward Brandon Johns Jr. — typ- ically the Wolverines’ spark-plug on the boards — had an impres…

… three tune-up games against low mid-major opponents, the Wolverines came out flat against the Knights, who had beaten Auburn in their only game of the season. Not only was Michigan’s defense…

… layups. The Wolverines’ inability to hit perimeter shots worsened their early frustrations. “I can tell you it was frustrating just to see the amount of shots they were making coming off ball…

… the fourth quarter against Michigan State on Sunday, the Wolverines’ offense looked completely dysfunctional. They made just one field goal the entire second half up to that point, and turned the…

… game if the defense can’t get stops. And although Michigan State did score 13 points during that drought, the Wolverines’ defense made enough key plays to still emerge ahead at the end of it. To be…

… Robbins went down, the Wolverines had won two of three. But with the absence of Robbins and Rauch, almost every other player on the roster had to play significantly more minutes than they had before…

… both stepped up over the six- game stretch and the Wolverines were playing as well as they had all season, Sunday against the Scarlet Knights the injuries and fatigue finally caught up with them…

…’s lacrosse team could’ve been one of those teams. But the Wolverines still needed to play Ohio State to end their 2019 campaign. Despite its 3-9 record at the time, Michigan wasn’t going to hand the…

… Buckeyes a win. Eager to send departing seniors like Brent Noseworthy, Decker Curran and Nick DeCaprio out on a high note, Michigan came out hot. At halftime, the Wolverines found themselves up 8…

… 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…

… 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…

… 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…

… 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…

… 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…

… 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…

… 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…

…. 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…

… 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…

… 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…

… 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…

… turned in one of his strongest performances of the season on the way to 12 points and 11 assists. All Sunday afternoon, the Wolverines’ offense fired on all cylinders and showed its ceiling on…

… any offense for the Wolverines that relies on Simpson to let it fly is surely in for some rough games. But in Howard’s words, Simpson makes teams die by a thousand cuts rather than by volume…

… players have sustained against the Wolverines’ interior defense. This time, though, the press conference took on a much different tone. Reclining at the Crisler Center podium after Michigan…

…. But after Gophers’ center Daniel Oturu’s 30 points propelled Minnesota past the Wolverines on Sunday, there was no writing it off. And there was certainly no grinning. For Michigan’s frontcourt…

… preliminary roster for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship. It includes three Wolverine freshman forwards — Matty Beniers, Thomas Bordeleau, and Brendan Brisson — as well as sophomore…

… Wolverines’ and Gophers’ decision to compete on the preceding Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Michigan coach Mel Pearson — USA Hockey recently mandated that players enter its bubble in…

… good sophomore season. We expect more out of him on a daily basis.” But with five players missing, the Wolverines will need to dig deeper into the roster and rely on players who haven’t yet…

… chance he’ll fill in for York in the Minnesota series. Things will be even thinner at forward, where the Wolverines will lose four players to World Juniors. And with just 16 forwards on the…

…. Teams can plan around that. Less predictable is losing five players at the same time. The Wolverines have a deep roster; such a deep hit in a series against the No. 5 team in the country will put…

… in the first half, the Michigan men’s basketball team held an eight-point lead over winless Oakland. Just two- and-a-half minutes later, the Wolverines’ advantage had been cut to just two points…

… threes from the Wake Forest transfer on the day — and the Wolverines committed three turnovers on consecutive possessions. What had been billed as an easy, early-season win for Michigan was…

… quickly turning into anything but. Oakland led by two going into halftime, in large part due to the Wolverines’ 15 first-half turnovers — five more than they had in the entire Bowling Green game…

… Oladapo. To compensate for its lack of size, Oakland came out in a 1-3-1 matchup zone, which stumped Michigan’s ball-handlers early on. The Wolverines tried to penetrate the defense — with either…

… and even for part of the second half.” Michigan fared slightly better holding onto the ball in the second half, only turning it over five times. Instead, it was the Wolverines’ inability to…

… Michigan men’s bas- ketball team finds itself and rounds into form here, we will look back on Saturday’s 77-68 win over Michigan State as a catalyst. Not just because the Wolverines beat the Spar…

…. But is it that simple? Are the flaws that plagued and nearly killed Michigan in his absence simply in the rearview? Saturday certainly was a step in the right direction. Presum- ing the Wolverines…

… the three-day invitational, contributing three runs and three RBI to the Wolverine offense. Senior outfielder Haley Hoogenraad hit .429 with four runs and three RBI, sparking the back-end of the…