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.