8A - Wednesday, November 26, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 6 10 MICHIGAN 83, NORFOLK STATE 49 BREAKING OUT Harris leads strong rebounding effort Wolverines return to 0 ByJASON KOHLER Daily Sports Writer Before yesterday's 83-49 win over Norfolk State, Michigan coach John Beilein told sophomore guard Manny Harris he needed to grab at least 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-5 NOTEBOOK guard grabbed a career-high 15, to lead the Michigan basketball team, which had 53 total rebounds and outrebounded the Spartans by16. Despite the Wolverines' success this season, they have struggled on the boards. Michigan won the rebounding battle just once this season, against Michigan Tech. Coincidentally, the Wolverines' worst performance came in their upset win over then- No. 4 UCLA when they were out- rebounded by 13. Against Duke, Michigan lost the battle down low by 12. "One of the things is we weren't playing UCLA or Duke," Beil- ein said. "That's a big reason why we got 53 rebounds. I don't think we'd get 53 rebounds against those teams. (Norfolk State's) coming from a mid-major league and they don't have some of the same ath- letes." Michigan also won the battle on the offensive glass for the first time this season, grabbing six more than Norfolk State. Since returning from New York, the Wolverines have put an increased emphasis on boxing out and playing physical in the post. "That'swhatwe'vecamebackand focused on," senior forward Jevohn Shepherd said. "A lot of drills, a lot of body slapping." Michigan's rebounding translat- ed to production on the on the offen- sive end. Players moved the ball up the court quickly after a defensive board, which led to points in tran- sition. Harris led the way with 10 defensive rebounds, often breaking quickly down the court. "When Manny Harris can get 10 defensive rebounds," Beilein said. "That's the greatest fast break that you can have." BIG MAN ON CAMPUS: With about five minutes left in the first half, the Crisler Arena crowd let out (Jrisler, get blowout win Transition points with it, being able to push the ball, get out, find guys to guard," key for Michigan said sophomore point guard Kel- vin Grady, who led Michigan in easy victory with five assists. "We all got out in front of guys ... it was a bal- By RUTH LINCOLN ance." Daily Sports Writer Harris led Michigan with 16 --------points and 15 rebounds, but he Michigan men's basketball was part of an all-around team coach John Beilein's offense is effort. known for its half-court plays Michigan had five players in that emphasize the 3-point shot. double digits, including senior But last night, you wouldn't forward Jevohn Shepherd, who have guessed that was the stan- usually plays sparse minutes. In dard. his 17 minutes last night, Shep- In front of its largest home herd registered one of the best crowd of the season; the Wolver- performances of his career with ines ran past Norfolk State last 11 points, four rebounds and night, 83-49, thanks largely to three assists. the fast break. "It's excellent - team effort, Michigan got off to an awful everyone scoring, everyone start, shooting 0-for-10 from the working hard," Harris said. field. Later, though, the Wolver- "We'll take games like that with ines started to sink their shots a win." and finished the game with a 45.1 In their upset win over then- field goal percentage. No. 4 UCLA last week, the Wol- To spark its offense, Michi- verines played with the same gan (4-1) hit three quick 3-point- unselfishness and were hard to ers after five scoreless minutes. stop. Harris usually is the center But after that, there wasn't of attention, but Michigan needs much need for the long ball. The consistent production from more Wolverines capitalized on the players. Spartans' dismal 30.3 shooting Last night, the Wolverines had percentage by grabbing defen- 21 assists, the most this season. sive rebounds and pushing the "If we can get 60 to 70 percent floor for fast-break points. assists to baskets that's pretty "We're trying to convince the good," Beilein said. "Almost guys - we do want to run," Beile- every basket had a good assist in said. "We do a lot of half-court on it. They're looking for each stuff. We want to run on every other." rebound, every turnover at full But despite the lopsided score, speed." Michigan committed 21 turn- The Wolverines attacked the overs thanks in part to the Spar- glass with more tenacity than tans' second-half pressure. The they have all season. With 53 Wolverines had their share of total rebounds, Michigan ran the sloppy plays, but Norfolk State court with ease. applied more defensive pressure But even when the layups to trap Michigan. wouldn't fall, Michigan was Despite the upcoming Thanks- there to recover. giving holiday, the Maize Rage In front of the loudest home student section filled the entire crowd this season, freshman bleachers for the first time this Stu Douglass missed a layup off year. a fast break, but sophomore for- Michigan will play another ward Manny Harris caught the Mid-Major before the Big Ten/ ball inches from the rim and ACC Challenge. The Wolverines slammed it home .to ignite the will return to action Saturday at fans even more. 2 p.m. against Savannah State at "The transition had a lot to do Crisler Arena. sAIDALSALAH/Dail Sophomore forward Manny Harris contributed 16 points and 15 rebounds in the Wolverines'83-49 win over Norfolk State. a cheer for one of its biggest players, literally. 7-foot freshman Ben Cronin took off his warm-up jersey and headed onto the court. Before last night, Cronin had only played a few late- game minutes against Northeastern and Michigan Tech. In the stands, a group of students wore shirts that said "Cronin's cro- nies." "It felt pretty good," Cronin said. "I'm just focusing more on doing what I got to do, so I'm just excited to get in." A hip injury kept Cronin from practicing all summer. Beilein even considered redshirting the fresh- man. Lastnight, Cronin's presence was immediately felt - for good and bad. On defense, Cronin's lanky frame forced Norfolk State's big men to rush shots, and he limited their sec- ond-chance opportunities. On the other end, he scored two points, but missed two easy baskets and caused a turnover that led to a breakaway layup for the Spartans. Cronin would've liked to have played better, but he was happy his fans got to see him play. MISTAKEN IDENTITY: When freshman Stu Douglass shoots the ball, Michigan fans yell "Stu." Douglass' popularity among Wol- verine fans has risen since he nailed a clutch 3-pointer against UCLA last Thursday. But there's another freshman guard from Indiana that Michigan fans should take notice of - Zack Novak. Sometimes when Novak gets the ball, fans mistakenly yell "Stu." They're notthe only ones. "It's been happening ever since we've gotten up here," Novak said. "At this point, we're both used to it." Novak led Michigan with 10 points in the first half, shooting 4-5 from the field with two 3-pointers. "He could really shoot the ball," Beilein said. "He goes, and all the sudden you're playing in high school and the next the next thing you know you're in (Madison Square) Garden being guarded by Duke and UCLA." He finished with 10 points, but shot the ball just twice in the sec- ond half. Douglass, who had just three points in the first half, caught up in the second, and finished a point shy of Novak. Michigan to play top-ranked Gophers 'M' beats cold, UC-Davis to advance in Tournament NCAA Tournament win sets up rematch with Hoosiers in Sweet 16 By CHANTEL JENNINGS Daily Sports Writer A maize-and-blue wooden board sat to the right of the goal on the endline at the U-M Soccer Complex yesterday. Reminiscent of an old time baseball scoreboard, the sign dis- played the temperature. For most of the game, the sign said it felt like 19 degrees. For 90 minutes, that number remind- - ed the UC-DAVIS 1 S MICHIGAN 2 UC- -- Davis men's soccer team how out of its element it really was playing the Wolverines in a second-round NCAA Tournament game. At kickoff, the temperature at UC- Davis' campus was 60 degrees. By the day's end, Michigan had frozen UC-Davis out of the tour- nament and sent the Aggies home to thaw, leaving the final margin at 2-1. Now the Wolverines roll on to the Sweet 16, to face No. 6-seed Indiana, a team that kicked Michigan out of the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament a week and a half ago. Michigan's ultimate goal is to make it to the Final Four, known as the College Cup, in Dallas. While nerves, snow and a cold wind may have come into play during the scoreless first half, the 11th-seeded Wolverines wasted no time establishing their superi- ority in the second. Less than five minutes in, red- shirt sophomore forward Matt Schmitt made a move around an Aggie defender and dished the ball off to junior midfielder Mauro Fuzetti on the far right side of the box. Fuzetti gave the ball a quick touch to get around a defender and crossed the ball towards the center of the goal. "Once I got it wide, I knew I wanted to cross it in," Fuzetti said. "And I looked up and saw that we had two or three guys in the box, and I just wanted to play a good ball into the PK spot, which is a dangerous area, and that's where it went and luckily (senior midfielder) Jake (Stacy) was there to finish it off." The early second-half goal gave the Wolverines an extra shot of energy as they continued to match the Aggies' physicality. Less than 20 minutes later, Fuzetti notched another assist when he got the ball to junior for- ward Peri Marosevic. Marosevic turned on one defender while making a move around another before sending a ground shot past the UC-Davis goalie. "I made sure I kept it low, and with the slippery ground it made (the shot) easier for me and more difficult on the keeper," Maros- evic said. From that point on, it looked as though the Wolverines were going to blank the Aggies. But a miscommunication caused a defensive breakdown with 2:50 left in the game and cost Michi- gan the shutout. After the game, Fuzetti stressed the importance of com- munication on both ends of the field if the Wolverines hope to advance deeper into the tourna- ment. "It's something we can't do in the NCAA Tournament," Fuzetti said. "Because if it was 1-0 and they get a late goal like that, then they get all the momentum going into overtime." For the final moments of the game, Michigan sent long balls down the field toward the UC- Davis goalkeeper to kill the clock and keep the Aggies out of scor- ing range. The win was the program's third NCAA victory at home, and marked the second time the Wolverines have advanced to the sweet 16. Michigan also improved upon its program-record nine home wins in a single season. Michigan coach Steve Burns was pleased with how his team played and reacted to the inten- sity. The referees called two yellow cards and 34 fouls, while letting many go uncalled. Mostly, Burns was excited that his team earned a 'W' in its first game of the tour- nament. Burns believes the first game of any tournament is always the most difficult to play, but the key is getting that first game under your belt and moving on in the tournament. "We fought hard. From the beginning to the end, we knew what was at stake - it could be our last game of the year," senior midfielder Nader Jarun said. "I think we treat every single game like that. We saw a bunch of guys play like warriors tonight and I think you will see that the rest of the year." "All the way to Dallas, baby," Burns added. One thing is for sure: if the Wolverines make it to Dallas, 19-degree weather won't be something they'll have to worry about. By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN Doily Sports Editor In a display near the Yost Ice Arena entrance sits the Maclordi- Renfrew Coaches Trophy. It's ded- icated to last year's seniors, who led the Wolverines to their first win over Minnesota since 2002. There's no question it's going to be much more difficult for the No. 14 Michigan hockey team to keep the award this year. The Wolverines travel to No. 1 Minnesota (6-1-3 WCHA, 7-1-4 overall) on Friday for the first leg of the 16th Annual College Hockey Showcase. Michigan hasn't beaten the Gophers twice in a row in a decade. They Michigan at battle Wisconsin Minnesota (5-5-2 WCHA, 5-7-2 overall) in Michigan 8- Madison the fol- Minnesota lowing night. 7-1-4 Last year's When: Fri- win over Minne- day 8 P.M. sota sealed then- No. 2 Michigan's Where: Mari- sweep of the ucc Arena College Hockey TV: BTN Showcase and avenged the Wolverines' loss to Minnesota earlier that season, their lone setback to that point in the season. More importantly, it validated Michigan as one of the nation's top teams. "I personally hate Minnesota," sophomore defenseman Tristin Llewellyn said. "I played juniors, played with all those sort of guys. Minnesota was godly. They always called it the 'U.' That really got under my skin. "We hate them as much as we hate (Michigan) State." The exchange of the trophy, named for legendary Michigan coach Al Renfrew and Minnesota coach John Mariucci, turned out to be a crossroads of fates last sea- son. The Gophers ended a disap- pointing season with a first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament. Michigan went on to the Frozen Four. SAID ALSALAH/ail Sophomore Tristin Llewellyn and Michigan look to rebound after getting swept by Miami (Ohio) in a two-game series last weekend. This season's matchup will still be a "statement" game for the Wolverines (5-5-0 CCHA, 8-6-0 overall), but it's a reversal of roles from last year. Just 14 games into the season, Michigan has already matched its loss total from 2007-08. The Wolverines split their series with Alaska and Western Michigan and were swept at No. 6 Miami in the last three weeks. Minnesota lost its first game last Saturday at No. 10 Denver. The Gophers have allowed more than three goals just once, magnifying the importance for Michigan to overcome its scoring slump. Last weekend, the Wolver- ines scored just one goal against the RedHawks - their worst offensive output during Michigan coach Red Berenson's 25-year ten- ure. "The biggest challenge is being able to play Minnesota tight," Berenson said. "Their goals- against are really good. They're going to be tough to score on." Berenson tweaked the lines again this week, hoping to spark some offense. He moved sopho- more forward Carl Hagelin back to left wing alongside sophomore center Matt Rust. The two were successful together on the sec- and line last season, and are now joined by freshman right wing Robbie Czarnik. Berenson made the move to cre- ate a sound defensive line that can match up with Minnesota's top three. But that's just one of the tweaks Berenson hopes will have an impact this weekend. Earlier this week, he compared coaching this team to "driving an old car" - certainly much different than last year's fast, and seemingly flaw- less, start. "You just fix one thing, and something else goes," Berenson said. "That's how our team is right now." And that's what makes this weekend the biggest yet this year in many players' eyes. They've been crushed at Boston University. They've been swept at Miami. They've even lost at home to Western Michigan, a team with just one other win this season. "It's going to be a huge test for us," acting captain Chris Sum- mers said. "I think we're going to define ourselves as a team this weekend." Without a doubt, the Showcase defined Michigan last year, and with this season's early struggles, it may just do that again this year.