8A - Friday, November 20, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Beilein's Final Four meeting led
to matchup with Houston Baptist
The GreatestRivalry in Sport
A Rose for 'U'
By CHRIS MESZAROS
Daily Sports Writer
The Final Four isn't usually the
place where you would find a mid-
major cupcake team to schedule.
But that was exactly the case for
Michigan coach
John Beilein. Houston at
Last April, Michigan
Beilein's cousin,
Joe Niland, the Matchup:
coach at the Uni- aHouto 0-3;
versity of Mobile, Michigan 1:0
introduced him W
to Houston Bap- When: Tonieht
tist coach Ron
Cottrell during Where: Cris-
the champion- ler Arena
ship event. After TV: BTN
some small talk Tweets:
and preliminary @michdai-
discussions, both lysports
men saw it as a mutual fit.
"He said (Cottrell) was looking
for games," Beilein said. "I said,
'Well, give us a call.' That's what
happened. They are in Division I
now, but independent. They are
always looking for games."
While Houston Baptist (0-3)
shouldn't pose too big of a problem,
it could be a trap game if the Wol-
verines are caught looking ahead to
their Thanksgiving tournament in
Florida.
Either way, when the Wolverines
and Cougars tip off tonight at Cris-
ler Arena, it will bethe last warmup
for Michigan (1-0) before it heads to
the Old Spice Tournament in Orlan-
do, Fla., where it will play games on
three consecutive days.
Other teams have started the
season playing in tournaments or
in ESPN's 24-hour marathon, but
Michigan has just one game in the
books so far.
"I'm excited to be playing bas-
ketball," senior DeShawn Sims said.
"I've been watching basketball and
it was so exciting. I'm like,'Man,we
don't have another game for anoth-
er four or five days' And just being
able to play that many games is like
making up for lost time."
While Beilein didn't intentional-
ly plan for the season to begin with
a pair of "gimme" games, it will
still help the young squad prepare
for the meat of the nonconference
sciedule. Once again, the Michigan
coaching staff will likely empty the
benches in orderto gauge the team's
depth before its schedule picks up
steam. Last weekend against North-
ern Michigan, nine playerscame off
the bench, combining for 38 points.
Freshman Matt Vogrich and senior
Zack Gibson led the reserves with
15 and 11 points, respectively.
"You don't want to start off with
the defending national champion
if you don't have to," Beilein said.
"You try to get your team just used
to whatgoes on in games, especially
since we're the third youngest team
in the Big Ten. That three games in
a few days is really going to sneak
up on us."
But Michigan has not shown its
inexperience so far. Vogrich drilled
all five of his attempts last Saturday
in his collegiate debut. His final
make also secured a triple-double
for junior forward Manny Har-
ris, the second time a player has
accomplished that feat in program
history.
"Even when I wanted to get him
out of there up 35 points, I hear he
has nine assists and say, 'Let's hope
somebody makes a shot, because
he'll get the assist,' " Beilein said.
"Matt drops it in and we get him out
of there. There's some luck involved
as well, but he's got the ability."
Vogrich was having so muchsuc-
cess from deep that he offered Har-
ris a premonition before he made
his final 3-pointer.
"Honestly, when the game was
going on, he was like,'You need one
more,' and I'm like, 'All right,' Har-
ris said. "He just winked his eye at
me, and then he shot a deep three
and made it."
While the Wolverines don't want
to get cocky two weeks into the
season, this is the kind of subtle
swagger that defines conference
contenders.
Wolverines hope for a different fate
against Bowling Green this weekend
By RYAN KARTJE ever lose," Michigan coach Red
Daily Sports Writer Berenson said yesterday. "But it was
a weekend that we really struggled
The Michigan hockey team was to score."
riding high heading into last sea- This season, No. 16 Michigan
son's weekend heads into the weekend facing the
series against li same opponent. And this time, its
Bowling Green. BOWilig scoring struggles haven't been iso-
They were on a Green a lated incidents.
six-game winning . After scoring just four goals in
streak, including Michigan the past four games - all losses -
a sweep of Miami Matchup: the main concern for this weekend
(Ohio) at home, a Bowling is the team's nagging scoring woes.
team that had just Green 1-8-1; ."We don't have a lot of prolific
swept the Wol- Michigan 4-6 offensive players," Berenson said
verines six weeks When: Tonight after last weekend's sweep at the
before. 7:35 p.m. hands of Michigan State.
But against the Where: Yost But if there's any good news for
CCHA basement- Ice Arena the Wolverines (2-4, 4-6), their
dweller Falcons, opponent isn't exactly prolific on
Michigan lost 3-0 the defensive end.
at Yost Ice Arena. Although the The Falcons (1-4-1 CCHA, 1-8-1
Wolverines managed to split the overall) are tied for the second-
series, they only lit the lamp once most goals against in the CCHA,
all weekend. trailing only Lake Superior State in
"Itwas a game thatyou shouldn't that category. Michigan obliterated
the Lakers three weeks ago with 11
goals in the two-game series, which
still accounts for almost half of the
Wolverines' offense this season.
if the team plans on breaking out
of its slump, the Wolverines know
that this is the week.
"It's a game that could be
destructive if we lose," Rust said.
"But if we wis, it could get us on the
right path."
Part of getting on the right path
could be the new look for not only
junior Carl Hagelin and sopho-
more Luke Glendening, who were
both named alternate captains this
week, but also for the Wolverines'
first line.
Freshman A.J. Treais will be the
sixth winger to join junior Louie
Caporusso on the first line, which
hasn't produced as much offensive-
ly as Berenson had hoped for before
the season began.
But despite the potential offen-
sive firepower on the first line,
Berenson is choosing not to label
any of his lines as the "top line."
"We don't have a first line,"
Berenson said. "We have four lines
that have a chance of playing well."
Berenson said he has also been
impressed with the performance
of Glendening's line in practice.
He praised Glendening, freshman
Kevin Lynch and senior Brian
Lebler, for physical play and abil-
ity to open up the center of the ice
- something the Wolverines have
struggled with all year.
The Wolverines are looking for a
different kind of wake-up call than
they experienced against the Fal-
cons last season.
"It's pretty apparent to us that
we're 4-6," Rust said. "We're in
the lower tier in our league, and I
don't think the coaches need to tell
us much. If you look at the board
in the locker room or listen to stuff
around the league, you know this
isn't where we're supposed to be."
From the Editor: We hope you're
enjoying our look back at the Dai-
ly's game coverage from famous
Michigan-Ohio State games. The
Wolverines topped OSU in 2003 in
the rivalry's historic 100th game.
By J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH
Former Daily Sports Editor
Sitting in the visiting locker
room at Kinnick Stadium after
a 30-27 loss to Iowa Oct. 4, the
Michigan football team's seniors
were in the midst of some major
soul searching.
The Wolverines were 4-2 and
had lost their chance at a national
championship. With one more
loss in their remaining six games,
the seniors would likely leave
Michigan without playing in a
Rose Bowl.
"We never thought we'd be
4-2 at that point in the season,"
Michigan fifth-year senior cap-
tain Carl Diggs said, "I never
imagine that."
But celebrating their 35-21 win
over Ohio State Saturday on a
rose-covered field with an emo-
tional student body, the Wolver-
ines were a long way from their
comber locker room in Iowa.
With six straight wins, three over
top-lII teams, Michigan rewrote
the script of its season, clinching
its first outright Big Ten title and
Rose Bowl berth since 1997.
"It's like a storybook (end-
ing)," senior tailback Chris
Perry said. "It feels surreal right
now, but after I get home and sit
down and think about it, it'll feel
better."
Perry better have gotten some
ice before he sat down. Struggling
with pain in his right hamstring
throughout the 100th meeting
between Michigan and Ohio
State, Perry ran for 154 yards
and two scores on 31 carries. The
Heisman Trophy candidate also
caught five passes for 55 yards,
giving him his fifth game this
season with more than 200 total
yards (209).
Perry and quarterback John
Navarre benefited from a deter-
mined offensive line, which shut
down one of the nation's most
dominating defensive fronts. The
Buckeyes, previously leading the
country allowing just 50.6 rush-
ing yards per game, gave up170
to the Wolverines. The Michigan
line also gave Navarre ample time
to throw, holding the Buckeyes
without a sack.
"It's a great feeling," Michigan
offensive tackle Tony Pape said.
"That was the No. 1 defense in
the nation. They're the defend-
ing national champions, and they
were a great defense."
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr
had to resort to trickery to get
the Wolverines on the board with
39 seconds left in the first quar-
ter. To the delight of the 112,118
strong at the Big House (a new
NCAA record), Michigan receiv-
er Steve Breaston lined up at cen-
ter, and Navarre spread out wide
with the Wolverines facing 3rd-
and-goal from the 3-yard line.
Breaston sprinted to his right and
followed the right side of the line
into the endzone, giving Michi-
gan an all-important 7-0 lead.
Two minutes after Breaston's
score, Navarre hit Edwards on a
slant. Edwards shed safeties Will
Allen and Nate Salley on his way
to a 64-yard touchdown recep-
tion, the longest of his career.
Edward later put the Wolverines
up by 21 with a 23-yard reception
that capped a 10-play, 80-yard
drive.
With less than six minutes left
in the half, quarterback Craig
Krenzel led the Buckeyes on an
81-yard drive to cut Michigan's
lead to 21-7 - the first points
given up by the Michigan defense
at home in the first half all sea-
son.
The Wolverines began the sec-
ond half with a five-play, 62-yard
drive capped off by a Perry
30-yard run for a 28-7 lead.
Ohio State, showing the will
of a defending national cham-
pion, fought back with, two con-
secutive scores to come within
28-21. Krenzel hit Santonio Hol-
mes for his second touchdown
of the game, this one coming on
a 13-yard fade route over corner-
back Leon Hall.
Two drives later, Ohio State
backup quarterback Scott
McMullen, filling in for Krenzel
(injured left shoulder), led the
Buckeyes on a 10-play, 93-yard
drive. Lydell Ross quieted the
Big House crowd with a 2-yard
touchdown run to bring Ohio
State within seven.
On the Wolverines' ensuing
possession, Navarre underthrew
Edwards, and Ohio State corner-
back Chris Gamble intercepted
the ball at the Ohio State 36.
"We love sudden changes,"
Michigan linebacker Scott
McClintock said. "We thrive on
it. We like getting on the field
with as much on the line as pos-
sible."
With its season on the line, the
Michigan defense held strong,
giving the ball back the Michigan
offense at its 12. Eight plays and88
yard later, Michigan took a 35-21
lead on a Perry 15-yard scamper
to the outside with less that eight
minutes left in the game.
While in Pasadena, Calif., for
the Rose Bowl, the Wolverines
can look back to Iowa. The Mich-
igan seniors addressed the whole
team after that game, letting
their teammatesknow that their
season was far from over.
"We didn't really know what
this team was made of yet," Diggs
recalled.
The next week at Minneso-
ta, trailing 28-7, Diggs and the
seniors got their answer. The
Wolverines showed that they
were made of championship fab-
ric, scoring 31 points in that fate-
ful fourth quarter to win 38-35.
"I'd be a fool to say it wasn't
a turning point," Perry said. "It
showed how much heart and
pride we had within ourselves.
"A lot changed that night in the
second half."
Michigan blasts Southern Mississippi
By ZAK PYZIK first 3-pointer.
Daily Sports Writer "Itcomes from our teammates,"
Phillips said. "When we all play
The Southern Mississippi wom- well, I play well. I get my feed off
en's basketball team isn't used to them."
playing games on a big stage. Providing plenty of offensive
After pregame warmups, the support was freshman guard
Lady Eagles (1-2) forgot to return Dayeesha Hollins, who is quickly
to the locker room. The Crisler becoming a star. She led the team
Arena crowd and basketball pep with 18 points and five assists and
band didn't take a liking to South- also played a game-high 31 min-
ern Mississippi coach Joye Lee- utes.
McNelis's _"She is a smart player," Borseth
flamboy- MICHIGAN 91 said. "She is my kind of player, she
ant, shiny, ISOUTHERN MISS 4 really is. If I was teaching a kid
chee- how to play, that is how I'd teach
tah-print blouse or the assistant her."
coach's baggy, bell bottom pants. . Hollins played point guard
Michigan (3-0) seemed much against Southern Mississippi,
more comfortable, and it showed although she is more used to
right from the start in last night's shooting guard and forward,
91-54 win. both of which she played in high
Senior center Krista Phillips school.
started strong for the Wolverines, "It's about being in the driver's
scoring 13 points in the first half, seat and running the show type
including dropping the game's thing," Borseth said. "I never
realized until she told me that
she never played guard before. It
caught me ... off guard."
For the first time this season,
Michigan also established scoring
inside the paint.
"KP needs to be able to do that,"
Borseth said pbout the 6-foot-6
Phillips. "She has a major size
advantage. She's really close to
the basket. She scored some easy
ones and that really got us going.
We need to have that all year."
The Wolverines had not scored
91 points since the 2002 season,
when Hollins was in the fifth
grade.
The offense wasn't the only
thing that showed up at Crisler
for the Wolverines last night. The
fans typically hold up signs that
read "team: defense." And that
unit definitely performed up to
the crowd's expectations.
"We did a good job defensively
of not letting them get the ball
around the paint," Borseth said.
"First half, we really kept it out of
there, that's what good teams do.
I think we are a good defensive
team. If ve put our mind to it, I
think we will be a great defensive
team."
Michigan had six blocked
shots, one more than it had col-
lected in its two other games
combined.
The Wolverines also forced
27 turnovers and threw the
Lady Eagles out of their rhythm
throughout the night.
The Wolverines will put their
3-0 record at stake on the road
when they play at Kansas on Nov.
22. After that, they play seven
more games on the road before
coming back home to battle
Northwestern on Dec. 28.
"Let the fun begin," Borseth
said. "Now we get the chance to
go on the road and play some bas-
ketball."
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