8A - Friday, November 5, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wolverines host SVSU in
season-opening exhibition
Against Illini,reeling 'M'
looks for conference win
By ZAK PYZIK
Daily Sports Writer
Just 2.2 seconds remained in the
game and the Michigan basketball
team had a68-66 lead over then-No.
12 Ohio State in the Big Ten Tour-
nament. The Buckeyes inbounded
the ball, senior guard Evan Turner
hoisted a shot
from nearly half SVSU at
court, and it fell.
Every Michi- Michigan
gan fan's world Matchup:
stopped for one SVSU0-0;
second. The Michigan 0-0
Buckeyes won. When: Sat-
The exhibi- urday 7 P.M.
tion tonight at 7 Where:
p.m. against Sagi- Crisler Arena
naw Valley State
marks the Wol-
verines' first game since that heart-
break loss. The game is not a do or
die elimination round in the Big Ten
Tournament. And the Cardinals are
not the caliber of Ohio State.
But regardless of the circum-
stances, the Cardinals are the lucky
ones who get to deal with the Wol-
verines first this season.
The last time Saginaw Valley
State came to Ann Arbor was Nov.
6, 2008. The Wolverines annihilat-
ed the Cardinals 81-55 and finished
the season in the second round of
the NCAA Tournament.
Then-freshman Stu Douglass
tallied nine points and recorded
six assists in his collegiate debut.
Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims
combined for 35 points and kept the
Cardinals from ever coming within
eight points in the second half.
Many think the Wolverines, who
finished 15-17 overall, 5-11 Big Ten
last year, are doomed with the loss
of Harris and Sims, but at least for
tonight, Michigan is favored to
win. Saginaw Valley State gradu-
ated top-scorer Avery Stephenson,
who started every game his senior
year and led the Cardinals to the
quarterfinals of the Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Tournament.
Though the Cardinals lost their
star, they return four of their five
ARIEL BOND/Daily
Junior guard Zack Novak is expected to start at the two-guard spot.
starters from last year, all of whom
stand at less than 6-foot-S. Not to say
that Michigan's strength is its size,
but if there is any game this season
in which the Wolverines have the
big-man advantage, it's this one.
Redshirt freshman Blake McLi-
mans, at 6-foot-10 in may be the
go-to guy under the basket tonight.
If the young center starts, his post
game will be hard to stop for an
otherwise stout Cardinal defense.
Michigan coach John Beilein
hasn't announced the starting line-
up yet, but it is likely that sopho-
more Darius Morris and junior Stu
Douglass will trade off at the point
guard position. Junior Zack Novak
should run the two guard and
freshman Tim Hardaway Jr. will
probably playthe three spot.
Beilein said recently that fresh-
men Evan Smotrycz and Colton
Christian are competing to play the
four, and that McLimans and red-
shirt freshman Jordan Morgan are
doingthe same for the five.
Douglass could potentially play
some two guard, which may help
him get his long-range shot started
again. Douglass shot 40 percent
from three-point range in Michi-
gan's preseason games in Europe,
primarily at the shooting guard
position. Novak, along with Dou-
glass, should see improvement
because of the switch.
At the two guard, Novak will no
longer have to cover guys who are
nearly a foot taller than him. With
the height Beilein has on the roster,
Novak will be guarding someone
his own size against the Cardinals.
"We don't have guys that are
jumping over the rim or anything
like that, so we're not coming in
scaring people," Novak said at Big
Ten Media Day last Thursday. "But
I think the new system makes us
unique. We've got a great group of
guys and the way we play together,
we play really smart together."
Regardless of how they mix it up,
the Wolverines' depth chart boasts
a lot of speed. Taking advantage of
the fast break and turnovers will be
is key for a Michigan victory.
"We've got speed," Beilein said
last Thursday. "We have to make
offense with defense. That's what
we have to do this year, that we
didn't do last year."
Michigan will finally get the
opportunity to end the speculation
tonight and also dig deep into the
bench. And maybe after this game,
the Wolverines will have a more
definitive starting five.
By TIM ROHAN
Daily Sports Editor
The Wolverines have been tor-
mented by dual-threat quarterbacks
before. What Michigan fan can for-
get the exploits of Armanti Edwards
and Dennis Dixon in consecutive
weeks to start the 2007 season?
Illinois's Juice Williams had a
field day when he led the Fighting
Illini into the Big
House in 2008, Illinois at
torching Michi- &
gan's secondary Mi higan
for 310 yards and Matchup:
two touchdowns Illinois 5-3;
through the air, Michigan 5-3
plus 121 yards and When: Satur-
two more touch- day 12 P.M.
downs on the Where: Michi-
ground. gan Stadium
And when TV/Radio:
Michigan vis- ESPN
ited Champaign
last year, Illinois
scored 31 unanswered points in the
second half, Williams threw for
123 yards on 8-for-11 passing with a
touchdown and he ran for 97 yards
on 21 carries with another touch-
down on the ground.
So farthis season, the Wolverines
haven't had to face a quarterback
who mirrors their own - a quarter-
back as dangerous running as he is
throwing it.
But the Illini come into Ann
Arbor on Saturday with a new start-
ing quarterback, redshirt freshman
Nathan Scheelhaase, who has run
for more than 450 yards and passed
for nearly 1100 yards through eight
games.
"He's a guy they're doing some
similar stuff that we are," Rodriguez
said during Wednesday's weekly Big
Ten teleconference. "They're run-
ning with him a little bit. They're
throwing the ball. He was redshirt-
ed, so he was able to spend a year in
the system or at least a year in devel-
opment. And he scares you because
everything can break down and he
can take off and gain 20 or 30 yards.
So you have to make sure you keep
him contained."
0
Sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson is the nation's leading rusher.
Rodriguez said that the team
would work on stopping a mobile
quarterback all week in practice.
Michigan's defense had a shot
at stopping its own quarterback,
Denard Robinson, during the spring
and summer camp and did a good
job according to Rodriguez.
"Speed-wise, yes (it helps), even
passing," Senior defensive end Greg
Banks said of practicing against
Robinson and preparing for a dual-
threat quarterback. "He's a great
quarterback togo against any day."
Teaming up with Scheelhaase in
the backfield is junior running back
Mikel Leshoure, who has broken
onto the conference scene as a tough
runner this year. His 780yards rush-
ing and six touchdowns lead the
team, and he and Scheelhaase have
Illinois running for 194 yards per
game - good for 24th in the country.
The Wolverines could be in
trouble if Illinois has success run-
ning the ball, controlling the clock
and keeping the ball out of Robin-
son's hands. In two of the Wolver-
ines' three losses, Michigan has
lost the time-of-possession battle
by 10-plus and 15-plus minutes,
respectively.
The focus has been on the defen-
sive deficiencies during Michigan's
current three-game losing streak.
Poor tackling and a lack of third-
down stops have plagued the Wol-
verines all season and Leshoure and
Scheelhaase aren't going to make
this week any easier.
"Those mobile quarterbacks, as
anybody I'm sure who plays us will
tellyou, are anightmarebecauseyou
could have the best defense called
and everything covered and they
take off onyou," Rodriguez said.
ARIEL BOND/Daily
Senior forward Carl Hagelin has had a slow start offensively in the 2010 season.
Blue uses Alaska trip to get
to know teammates, state
Thur, Nov 4- free refreshments, 3-5p
Fri, Nov 5 - open house & tours, 3-p
free restaurant tasting, 5-7p
Sat, Nov 6 - post-game party, 4-7p
Sun, Nov 7 - free Sunday brunch, Ila-Ip
Wolverines to face
strong defense on
Olympic-size rink
By MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan hockey team is
going to Alas-
ka for a learn- MiChigan
ing experience, atAaska
either on the ice
or off. Matchup:
As the sixth- Michigan 17-7;
ranked Wolver- Alaska 2-1-1-1
ines play No. 15 When: Satur-
Alaska-Fairbanks day 11 P.M.
on Friday, it will Where: Carl-
mark the begin- son Center
ning of the end of
Michigan's five-day trip to the 49th
state.
After making the 12 hour journey
Wednesday, the Wolverines used
Thursday to get acclimated to the
time difference and learn about the
history of Alaska.
"It's not that fun, but it's inter-
esting, it's educational," Michigan
coach Red Berenson said Tuesday.
"I think the team enjoys it because
they are -away from school and
away from all the distractions, and
they're just together ... It's good for
these kids. They could write a paper
on at least five different major top-
ics, and they-should. I like that, I
think it's educational for our play-
ers to get some exposure to that."
For seasons which Michigan hqs
to play in Fairbanks, Berenson likes
to schedule the trip early in the sea-
son for team camaraderie purposes.
The trip is used as a bonding experi-
ence and this year, six of the seven
freshmen made the trip with the
team. The only one staying home is
third-string goaltender Adam Jan-
ecyk.
The most anticipated bonding
activity came in the form of curling
on Thursday.
"We're pretty excited about
that," Senior forward and Wood-
bridge, Ontario native Louie Capo-
russo said after Tuesday's practice.
"Usually the coach lets the Canadi-
ans pick the teams."
But more important than Capo-
russo's curling team is the actual
hockey series.
The Nanooks (2-1-1-1 CCHA,
5-2-1overall) are third in the CCHA,
just two points behind the Wolver-
ines in the conference standings.
With six conference points at stake
this weekend, a sweep by either
team vaults them to the CCHA's
upper echelon and leaves the other
on the outside looking in.
For Michigan, the game will like-
ly come down to scoring. Alaska,
which came into the season with
some of its highest expectations
ever after making the NCAA tour-
nament last year, typically plays a
defensive style.
Instead of sending two players in
hard, the Nanooks lay back, closing
the middle of the ice in the neutral
zone.
It's worked so far this season, as
Alaska averages the second fewest
goals against in the nation.
"My fourth year playing them,
I know what it's going to be like,"
Caporusso said. "It doesn't mean
we can't score goals. We're Michi-
gan for a reason.We have our name,
our reputation for a reason. It's
because we're a talented team and
we can perform against teams that
are playing defensive. I'm not con-
cerned about that, but we know that
they could be a frustrating team."
The Wolverines (3-0-1-0, 4-1-3)
took on a slightly similar system
in Ferris State last week and had
inconsistent results, splitting the
series. The difference this weekend
is that both games take place on the
road.
Playing in the Carlson Center
only adds to the team's adjustments.
The past two seasons the Wolver-
ines' tired legs have led to losses in
the first or only gamethey played on
the Nanooks' wider ice sheet. But
with nine experienced seniors and
the rest of the team already having
played on an Olympic-size rink at
New Hampshire three weeks ago,
pucks will be flying.
"Usually the first game we don't
get enough pucks on net," Senior
forward Carl Hagelin said. "We
decided that this week we were
really going to focus on getting
pucks to the net, getting a lot of
shots, getting a lotoftraffic in front,
hopefully get that first goal to get
our team rolling."
Maybe they have learned some-
thing aboutAlaska.