The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - 5 Ohio State week officially underway for Wolverines SALAM RIDA/Daily Sophomore Darius Morris led Michigan on Sunday with 21 points and 10 assists. Sy-racuse will be seasons frs measurinfj stick By JOE STAPLETON Daily Sports Editor It's officially Michigan-Ohio State week. That means Hayes-Schem- bechler. That means The Game. That means the Ten-Year War. But for the Michi- gan football NOTEBOOK team, for the past six years, that has meant a loss. Does this cause the rivalry to lose some of its luster? After all, it's hard to call a game a "rivalry" when one team keeps beating the other. "To say it's less important?" Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said at Monday's press conference. "No. Never. Not Ohio State-Mich- igan." The last time Michigan beat Ohio State was in 2003, when many of today's Wolverines were just getting started in high school. One player, redshirt sophomore safety Jordan Kovacs, remembers the 35-21 Wolverine victory in the Big House fondly. "I was here at the game," Kovacs said. "I was 13 years old and obvi- ously that was the 100th game. I was sitting in section 27 with my parents and my brother, so that was a big win for us." Most of the players who took the podium on Monday, though, hard- ly remember that game. In Ann Arbor, the game takes on added meaning with every year that passes without a Wolverine victory. "It means a lot, not just for me but for the seniors the past six years who didn't get a chance to go out beating them," fifth-year senior offensive guard Stephen Schilling said. "It's been a couple classes now that have gone through here without getting a chance to beat them so it means a lot for me and this team but also for those guys I played with the past few years." THAT WEIRD STUFFED BEAVER After the first game of the sea- son, Michigan men's basketball coach John Beilein spoke about getting his new play- ers "under the lights" in Crisler Arena. Well, it's about to get a lot brighter CHANTEL when the team JENNINGS hits Atlantic City this Fri- day for the Championship Round of the Legends Classic. Players and coaches have referred to their matchup with Syracuse as a measuring stick of sorts. I suppose that would put their last three victories in the arena of sprigs or maybe those bugs that look like sticks. After each game, the Wolver- ines have politely referred to their respective opponents as strong teams. But, in all honesty, those are the teams they're sup- posed to beat, the games in which they're supposed to shine - that's why they're called tune-up games. It's like in The Longest Yard when Burt Reynolds says to Adam Sandler that "in college, we'd start every season against Appa- lachian State or some slack Divi- sion II team ... kick the living shit out of them. Get their confidence up." Oh ... nevermind. Bad example. But Syracuse represents a new echelon of opponents that this young team hasn't seen yet. The Orange aren't Bowling Green ... or Gardner-Webb ... or South Caro- lina- Upstate. Hell, they're not even South Carolina. They are Syracuse - a team that built its reputation on one of the most aggressive trapping- style, 2-3 zone defenses in the country. It's so effective that Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has a 57-minute long instructional video detailing how to run this defense ($39.95, available on Amazon). Boeheim normally stacks that defense with some of the lon- gest and quickest athletes in the country, making it look like an imposing redwood forest. And this Friday, Syracuse's bottom three defenders will stand as sti- fling 6-foot-7, 6-foot-9 and 7-foot titans. The 2-3 zone defense is danger- ous because when run properly, it clogs the interior - practically shutting down dribble penetra- tion and post play. Usually, this leaves the wings open for 3-point- ers or long jumpers. But with the way Boeheim normally com- mands this defense and how the Orange aggressively trap the ball, it usually translates into an abun- dance of steals and turnovers. But this isn't about Boeheim, how he coaches or even his resume - 27 NCAA Tournament appearances, five Big East Tour- nament Championships, eight Big East regular-season Champion- ships. It's about the 10 players on the court and what they do with Boe- heim's direction. And that being said, Boeheim referred to his team as being "the most overrated team that (he's) ever had" in his 34 years at Syra- cuse. That was before Syracuse nar- rowly skated by a winless William and Mary in the second round of the Legends Classic. That was before his team shot 36.7 percent from the field against that same team, before they shot 5-for-22 from behind the arc. But don't get me wrong: there are certain things that have noth- ing to do with being overrated. So long as their hands aren't but- tered on Friday, the Syracuse post players should own the glass. While redshirt freshman Jor- dan Morgan has proven to be a dominant post player in the Wol- verines' first three games, it will be much harder for him to pull down eight-plus rebounds when he's going up against three bodies as big, if not bigger, than him. But if Morgan and the rest of the Michigan frontcourt can occupy the lane, pockets will open up in the zone for Wolverine shooters. And long shots mean long rebounds, so junior Zack Novak and sophomore Darius Morris may find themselves lead- ing the rebounders' category on the statistics sheet, which may not be a bad thing. Regardless, Friday's game will be a matchup between a team fighting to stay in the top 10 and a team looking to shock anyone it can. In Monday's teleconference with Boeheim, when asked why his team has always been able to beat Beilein's teams, he quickly responded, "We've had better players. That's all." Boeheim may be right and he may have the better players again this time. But neither Syracuse nor Michigan have singular stars - they've both made it clear, at least this far into the season, that they're team oriented. And on any given day a good team can take down a better team. So the question is not who has the better players right now, but which is the better team on Fri- day? Jennings can be reached at chanel.m.ennings@gmail.com Ohio State running back Dan Herron celebrates the Buckeyes' win over Michigan last season at the Big House. THING: By this time, most Michi- gan fans have seen the video. It depicts defensive coordinator Greg Robinson shoving a stuffed beaver toy in the face of redshirt sopho- more linebacker Kenny Demens after the defense came off the field in the third quarter. It was strange. Even stranger might be the way the defensive players clamped up when asked about it during Monday's press conference. "Are you saying there's an ani- mal on the sidelines? Next ques- tion," sophomore defensive end Craig Roh said, completely devoid of humor. When junior nose tackle Mike Martin stepped up to the podi- um he was questioned about the stuffed animal as well, but though his answer was slightly less resent- ful, it was still cryptic. "That's a secret, that's kind of our thing," Martin said. "That's a defense thing. I can't talk about that." But it does exist, right? The stuffed beaver? "If you see it, I guess it exists," Martin said, smiling. INJURY REPORT: When asked for an update on his injured play- ers, Rodriguez said his hands were tied. "I'd love to give you an update, but I have so many names," Rodri- guez said. "Counting the guys out for the year, there's probably about 20 guys out of practice." He said Michigan had multiple players suffering from headaches and concussion-like symptoms and until they get cleared by the doctor, they won't be able to go in practice. He was optimistic that most of the players knocked out of the Wisconsin game would be able to go. The team still isn't sure about junior wideout Darryl Stonum's ankle, which he injured during Saturday's game. Jeremy Gallon's shoulder will be day-to-day and Martin "should be okay." He and senior linebacker Jonas Mouton will be a little limited, Mouton with a chest injury suffered a cou- ple weeks ago. Michigan's penalty kill picks up slack in weekend sweep of Lake Superior State By CASANDRA PAGNI Daily Sports Writer While the No. 8 Michigan hock- ey team's power play has been stagnant - the man-advantage NOTEBOOK unit hasn't tallied a power play goal since its game against Ferris State on Oct. 30 - the Wolverines' penalty kill has picked up the slack. After allowing at least one penal- ty kill goal in all of its prior match- ups this season, the Michigan penalty kill hasn't let up a goal in its past four contests. This past week- end against Lake Superior State, the Wolverines' penalty kill stifled all six Laker power plays, holding Lake Superior State to just three power play shots all series. Senior forward Scooter Vaughan even tallied a shorthanded goal in Friday night's 7-2 rout of the Lakers. "It's part of our game," junior defenseman Brandon Burlon said after practice Monday. "If our power play is not working, our pen- alty kill has to be. Right now, we're struggling with our power play a little bit, but we definitely know that our penalty kill is going to help us win games. We can't just rely on our power play on special teams." The Michigan penalty kill unit currently ranks 21st in the nation, having killed 59 of its 69 penal- ties. But the recent rise in the Wol- verines' effectiveness with a man down has been accompanied by a time Michigan scored seven goals in one game this season. It was also the first time the Wolverines have scored four goals in one period (as they did in the first), and the fourth time they have scored three or more goals in a period this season. The four-line contribution on offense this weekend was a morale booster for the Michigan forwards, who know they don't have to rely on just one guy to score. As this week- end proved, the Wolverines have multiple go-to guys who can put up points in any game. "Hockey is a huge confidence sport," Hagelin said. "If you feel good about yourself and you feel good about the team, it's easier to play. You want to work hard because you know it's going to ben- efit you in the long run. Going into this weekend, we know we're going to play offensive teams ... we know we're going to get our chances and hopefully put a few in." NOTES: With only 17 days remaining until The Big Chill at the Big House - the outdoor hockey game to be played by the Wolver- ines and Michigan State in Michi- gan Stadium - construction on the Olympic-sized ice rink began this past weekend. There is a live web cam on the athletic department's website that will track the progress of the rink's construction.... Michi- gan faces two non-conference road contests at Wisconsin and Minne- sota this weekend during the 18th annual College Hockey Showcase. SALAM RIDA/Daily Senior forward Carl Hagelin has recorded at least a point in five straight games. decline in penalty minutes taken per game. Before the Notre Dame series two weekends ago, Michigan (7-2-1-0 CCHA, 8-3-3 overall) had taken an average of 18.3 minutes per game, tied for fifth-highest in the country at that time. But the Wolverines have shaved nearly three minutes off that total in the past two weekends. Michigan now ranks 19th in penalty minutes, averaging 15.43 minutes in the box per game. "We are a team that prides our- selves in playing good (defense)," senior forward Carl Hagelin said. "We have a lot of good penalty kill- ers out there, but it always helps to have a low penalized game. We're trying to cut down our penalties, and if the refs want to keep it low,it's fine with us. We know we can kill off three or four penalties each game because we know we're capable of doing that. We create a lot of chanc- es on the (penalty kill) as well." OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: When the Wolverines put up seven goals on Lake Superior State on Friday, each forward recorded at least one point, with the exception of freshman Jacob Fallon. Friday's game marked the first Blue takes 22nd at NCAAs, Smith leads team with 47th-place finish 'M' disappointed with finish, looks to improve next season By EMILY BONCHI Daily Sports Writer For the first time this season, it was not redshirt junior Danielle Tauro who crossed the line first for the No. 17 Michigan women's cross country team. Instead, it was sophomore Jill Smith. The Wolverines took 22nd place at the NCAA Championship on Monday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind., finishing with a score of 476. Smith finished her first NCAA meet in 47th place with a time of 20:57.2, missing All-American hon- ors by just four seconds. This is the first time in seven years that the Wolverines didn't claim an indi- vidual All-American honor at the NCAA meet. "We were disappointed with today," Michigan coach Mike McGuire said Monday. "We started the season ranked 27th and worked our way up the ladder, so to take a couple steps back down the rungs is disappointing." Villanova's Sheila Reid took top honors, helping the Wildcats earn their second consecutive cross country national championship. "Jill was at the meet last year, but wasn't able to run because she was ill," McGuire said. "So for her first meet, that was pretty darn good. She stepped up, so that added something positive." The 6.000-meter event started off slow, with a 5:20 initial mile, due to windy conditions on the raceway. Through the 5,000-meter m'ark, the front pack stayed congested, making it difficult for runners to make big moves. Smith stayed among the top-50 for most of the race, registering a 10:17 split time at the 3,000-meter mark. "It was a one-and-done kind of thing," Smith said of her final race of the season. "I just really wanted to end my season on a good note, not a bad one. I just had that going through my head the whole time." Michigan didn't place any other runners in the top 100, but did fin- ish four more in scoring position. Sophomore Rebecca Addison was the second Wolverine to cross the line, finishing in 117th place with a time of 21:29.7. Tauro fin- ished 10 seconds later in 139th place with a time of 21:39.9. "We know what we need to do next year," McGuire said. "Today was better than last year, but not quite where we wanted it. If we had gone out there closer to where we've been all year, we would have at least finished where we were ranked, if not higher." McGuire will now evaluate this season and look to improve next year, as all seven of the team's top 6,000-meter runners will be returning. "We have to move forward," McGuire said. "We now have some runners who gained some experi- ence in this setting and they'll just have to be more in control when we come back next year. It can be an intimidating venue if you let it, and we have a couple people who are definitely capable of doing better."