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8A - Tuesday, November 11, 2008 # ) The Michigan Daily - mihigandaily.com
focus on
Tech game
By ANDY REID nament will take place next week.
Daily Sports Editor "But that being said, we can't take
any game lightly, because if we lose,
Just five days after the Michigan it's over with. So we have to worry
State basketball team lost an exhi- about Michigan Tech right now."
bition game to Division II Grand The Huskies couldn't muster a
Valley State last year, the Spartans .500 record (13-14) in Division II
found themselves clingingto a four- last year, but that doesn't mean they
point lead with two minutes left can't play. And with the talented
against another in-state school not duo of senior guards Robby Spring-
known for its basketball program. born and Sean Geary, the Huskies'
The Michigan offense can score some points this
Tech Huskies year.
strolled into the Michigan Springborn poured in 12.8 points
Breslin Center Tech at per game last year on his way to gar-
that night and Michigan neringsecond-teamAll-GreatLakes
took Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
State to the wire Matchup: honors.
before losing Michigan Geary, on the other hand, was the
61-55. Although TeMichign0-0 ultimate team player, leading the
the game didn't squad in assists (61), steals (45) and
get as much pub- When: assist-to-turnover ratio (1.91:1.0).
licity as the Spar- Tonight, 7 rM. The Wolverines know that the
tans' close call Where: Cris- key will be shutting down the Hus-
against the Lak- ler Arena kies' strong backcourt.
ers, one man took TV/Radio: "This game is all about defense,"
notice. ESPNU Lee said. "Stopping them and then
Michigancoach making sure we're running the
John Beilein, floor and making sure we're getting
whose team will play the Huskies into our offense, but it starts on the
tonight at 7 p.m. in the first round defense."
of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting On the offensive end, if Michi-
Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament, gan's 3-point game is as good as it
has made sure the Wolverines know was in Thursday night's exhibition
Michigan Tech can be dangerous. against Saginaw Valley State, it
"I watched their Michigan State doesn't have to worry.
game from last year," Beilein said. Beilein's offensive scheme thrives
"And I mean, that was a three-point on the 3-pointer, and last year the
game with aminute to go, and Mich- Wolverines were one of the worst
igan State beat us by a lot more than 3-point-shooting teams in the Big
they beat Michigan Tech." Ten, converting just 34 percent of
The Wolverines aren't overlook- their attempts. Against the Cardi-
ing Michigan Tech, even though nals on Thursday, though, Michi-
a potential trip to New York City gan made 45.8 percent of their shots
awaits them if they can beat the from beyond the arc.
Huskies and the winner of today's "I definitely think 3-point shoot-
game between IUPUI and North- ing will be better this season," Lee
eastern. said. "I definitely feel like we're just
"Obviously, the focus is getting more comfortable in our offense.
to the Garden," senior C.J. Lee said, Just in terms of spacing and famil-
referring to Madison Square Gar- iarity with people on the team, our
den, where the final four of the tour- 3-point shooting will be better."
CLIF REEDER/Daily,
Redshirt freshman Steven Threet sat out Saturday's victory at Minnesota with concussion symptoms. It was the first game this season in which he didn't take any snaps.
ingering concussion effects
could sideline Threet again
By IAN ROBINSON
Daily Sports Editor
Redshirt freshman quarterback
Steven Threet doesn't know when
he'll play next. His status for Sat-
urday's game against Northwest-
ern remains doubtful, in many
ways.
He hasn't recovered from the
concussion he suffered two weeks
ago at Purdue. He
didn't practice NOTEBOOK
Sunday and while
his condition is improving, he still
has headaches.
But even if Threet is healthy
enough to play against North-
western, he might not start any-
way. Redshirt sophomore Nick
Sheridan turned in one of the best
quarterback performances of the
Wolverines' season against Min-
nesota. He didn't turn the ball
over or take a sack, and saw the
field better than he did earlier in
the season.
"The way we do things here,
you may start on Tuesday but not
on Wednesday," Michigan coach
Rich Rodriguez said. "You may
start on Wednesday but not on
Thursday. The guys have to earn
their stripes every day."
In some ways, a healthy Threet
would create a similar environ-
ment to fall camp, when the two
quarterbacks competed for the
starting job. There is just one dif-
ference now: both quarterbacks
have proven they can play well -
at times.
Threet has developed into a
more effective quarterback, and
Sheridan showed clear improve-
ment against the Gophers.
"To me that's encouraging,"
Rodriguez said. "(Having two
capable quarterbacks) is a good
situation to have."
If Threet is healthy enough to
practice, the two quarterbacks
will split reps with the first team
equally.
Rodriguez said he will continue
to use freshman Justin Feagin as
a more mobile option at quarter-
back, as he did against Minnesota.
Feagin ran the ball on each of his
seven snaps, gaining 49 yards.
Rodriguez said there's a possi-
bility Feagin could throw the ball
as well, but his arm isn't as strong
as Threet's or Sheridan's.
MINOR DINGED UP: When list-
ing junior running back Brandon
Minor's ailments, it might be easi-
er to list the parts of his body that
aren't banged up.
Rodriguez said yesterday that
Minor, who left Saturday's game
in the third quarter, was experi-
encing soreness in his ribs, shoul-
der and wrist.
Minor has undergone some
tests to determine the extent of
his injury and will not practice
today, so his status for this week-
end is questionable.
Minor has battled injuries all
season but has emerged as the
starting running back in the last
few games.
Freshmen Sam McGuffie and
Michael Shaw will be the top
options at running back if Minor
can't play.
Junior Carlos Brown, who has
been out with a foot injury since
the Wisconsin game, will not play
until he can go an entire practice
without limping.
IN THE DOME: For kickers,
playing in the Metrodome raises
expectations.
The indoor conditions allow
them to perform without worry-
ing about the factors they would
face outdoors.
It showed for fifth-year senior
kicker K.C. Lopata, who tied a
school record with five field goals
Saturday. The performance was
good enough to earn him Big Ten
Special Teams Player of the Week
honors.
Before last weekend, redshirt
junior punter Zoltan Mesko was
excited about the opportunity to
kick in the Metrodome, and Rodri-
guez said Mesko was "killing" the
ball during warmups. However, it
didn'tcontinue in the game, as just
one of his three punts went longer
than 40 yards. His net average of
36 yards on the game was more
than six yards shorter than the
team's nation-best 42.16 average.
But that doesn't mean he wasn't
a factor.
He picked up a first down with
his legs on a first-quarter fake
punt - his second successful fake
of the season. With two carries for
20 yards, Mesko leads the team
with an average of 10 yards per
carry.
"He's probably not as fast as
he thinks he is on the fake punt,"
Rodriguez said. "He looked like
he was running in slow motion."
NOTES: The Ohio State game
on Nov. 22 in Columbus will kick
off at noon and air on ABC.... Red
shirt freshman right guard David
Molk, who injured his toe at the
end of the Minnesotagame, is fine.
... Lopata is the third Wolverine
to earn a conference's honor this
year. Redshirt sophomore middle
linebacker Obi Ezeh received was
named defensive player of the
week after his 15-tackle perfor-
mance against Utah, and junior
defensive end Brandon Graham
earned the same award after his
three-sack game against Wiscon-
sin.
0
Burlon enters college fray
The University is better than ever.
Come celebrate your U-M, and the campaign that changed it all.
Y Incredible student performances
v Special remarks from President Mary Sue Coleman
o Emcees Andrea Joyce of NBC Sports and
Harty Smith of CBS News
o Open reception follows at the Michigan League
Doors open at 2:00 p.m. / General admission seating
For more information: wwwfinale.umich.edu
IMichigan
.. D Cffr c
CAMPAIGN FORICfl
In his first game,
defenseman excels
in Alaska
By NICOLE AUERBACH
Daily Sports Writer
FAIRBANKS - His debut was
five weeks overdue, and the game's
outcome wasn't what he wanted,
but Brandon
Burlon was just NOTEBOOK
happy to be on
the ice.
The freshman defenseman, who
had been sidelined since Oct. 7with
an ankle injury, played in his first
college hockey game Friday night, a
4-1 loss to Alaska.
"It was a lot of fun," Burlon said.
"You want to get back into the flow
of things as quickly as you can,
get yourself familiar with how the
game is going to go."
The Wolverines' defensive
corps - depleted since senior cap-
tain Mark Mitera and junior Steve
Kampfer suffered injuries in the
season-openingweekend - eagerly
welcomed Burlon back.
Burlon delivered two punishing
hits in his first two shifts, imme-
diately putting him into the flow of
the game. He earned an assist when
he ignited Michigan's first and only
goal of the contest knocking the
puck down around mid-ice about
eight minutes into the first period
and sending it to the offensive zone,
where freshman forward David
Wohlberg punched it in.
Burlon also broke up several key
passes tlyat could have led to even,
more Nanook scoring opportuni-
ties.
His addition to the 'D' was defi-
nitely noticed - and appreciated.
"There are a few things he's still
got to adjust to, but in all honesty,
I thought he was one of our better
defensemen out there," said junior
defenseman Chris Summers, the
team's acting captain. "He's mak-
ing very smart plays, and hopefully
he can continue that."
Michigan coach Red Berenson
said he was pleased by Burlon's
effort, considering the Nobleton,
Ontario native missed the team's
first eight games.
Burlon credited the coaches and
training staff for not pushing his
return too early and allowing his
ankle to fully rehabilitate.
"(I feel) 100 percent," Burlon
said. "The ankle flares up from
time to time, but I talked to coach
Berenson, and he said, 'you'll feel it
now and then, but it'll go away in a
matter of minutes and it's not a big
deal."'
BLACKOUT SATURDAY: For
45 minutes Saturday night, every-
one in the Carlson Center, Alaska's
home arena, was in the dark - lit-
erally.
From 5:45 to 6:30 local time, a
power outage halted pregame prep-
arations. Fans weren't allowed to
enter the building until the mainte-
nance crew made sure wiring prob-
lems were fixed.
While the arena was enveloped,
in darkness, the zamboni driver
cut the ice, wearing a helmet with a
light on it. A few Michigan players
kicked around a soccer ball by their
locker room while waiting for the
lights to come back on.
"We had to take it step-by step,"
Summers said. "We had to find out
what was going on. We didn't even
know if we were going to play the
game or not: Making sure the guys
stayed focused was the biggest
thing."
The game's faceoff got pushed
back by 30 minutes, but other than
that, it didn't appear to affect pre-
game warmups of either team.
FROM STICKS TO BROOMS:
Fairbanks is the second biggestcity
in Alaska, but there isn't much for a
visiting hockey team to do outside
of the rink while adjusting to the
time change and preparing for its
opponent.
Michigan hasn't made the trip to
the The Last Frontier in two years.
So what better way to introduce the
underclassmen to Alaskan culture
than with a curling competition?
Yes, curling, the winter Olympic
sport.
It looks like shuffleboard with
two teams of four players, each on
a rectangular sheet of ice. Play-'
ers alternate sliding heavy stones
down the ice toward the "house."
Two sweepers use brooms to try
to direct the stones to the resting
spots with the most value.
Summers said some of his team-
mates struggled with the game, but
others caught on quickly. The Wol-
verines divided themselves into
small teams, and the competition
was fierce, yet fun.
"You'd think the Canadians
would be the best ones," said Sum-
mers, the unofficial curling MVP.
"The best one was probably, well,
me."
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