8A - Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
8A - Thursday, December 9, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
D' will be key
against Kansas
Big Chill a week-long event
for Ann Arbor, M' hockey
E
4
Undefeated Jayhawks
will give Wolverines
yet another tough
pre-Big Ten challenge
By EVERETT COOK
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women's basket-
ball team plays in one of the tough-
est conferences in the nation.
Throughout its
Big Ten schedule,
it will face solid Kansas at
opponents on a Michigan
nightly basis.
So one might Kansas 8-0;
presume that Michigan 4-4
Michigan would
play an easy When: Today
non-conference PM
schedule lined Where:
with foreseeable Crisler Arena
victories. This Radio: WTKA
might be the case
for some pro-
grams, but it is definitely not the
case for the Wolverines.
Even though the Wolverines are
only .500 right now, that can be
in part attributed to their brutal
schedule so far. Besides Marquette,
Michigan has only lost to ranked
teams, including No. 5 Xavier, No. 8
Texas A&M and, most recently, No.
19 Iowa State on Dec. 5.
"Our kids have to know what it
takes to be a good program," Michi-
gan coach Kevin Borseth said after
beating Wake Forest on Dec. 1. "You
have to be able to play good teams."
Staying true to that sentiment,
Michigan (4-4) will take on another
tenacious opponent when undefeat-
ed Kansas (8-0) comes to Ann Arbor
on Thursday night.
The Jayhawks feature a high-
octane offense that averages 85.3
points per game, good for ninth in
the NCAA. They are led by two for-
wards, 6-foot-3 sophomore Carolyn
Davis and 6-foot-2 junior Aishah
Sutherland. Davis averages 19 points
per game and Sutherland averages
close to a double-double with 12.9
points and nearly 10 rebounds per
game.
Kansas may have a size advan-
tage and two scoring threats in the
post, but size mightnotplay as big of
a role as it could in Thursday's game.
The Wolverines' biggest defensive
issue all year has been stopping the
opposition's outside shooting, not
its inside scoring, which is surpris-
ing for ateam whose starting center
stands at 6-foot-1.
Michigan held the Cyclones to
18-percent shooting from beyond
the arc in last week's contest and
only trailed by two points entering
the second half. But the Wolverines
surrendered seven 3-pointers in the
second frame and went on to lose,
60-47.
In Michigan's most impressive
win this season, it held a vaunted
Wake Forest team to 15 percent
from beyond the arc in the second
half en route to a 91-58 victory. The
key to that victory was defense
against the deep ball, and Thursday
night's game will most likely depend
on defense once again.
The Wolverines play a high-risk,
high-reward defense that creates a
lot of turnovers but also gives up a
lot of points.
"We are going to really have to
get after them defensively and force
them to make turnovers," senior
guard Veronica Hicks said before
the season. "So our pressure is going
to have to be great."
The Wolverines have been incon-
sistent on offense this year, espe-
cially in their last two games. After
scoring 91 points against the Demon
Deacons, Michigan was held to just
47 points against Iowa State.
Granted, the Cyclones feature
the 13th-ranked defense in the
country.
In Borseth's last three years as
Michigan's head coach, the Wol-
verines are 40-13 whentheir oppo-
nent scores fewer than 60 points.
When their opponents do score
more than 60 points, Michigan is
11-35. That means Michigan will
have to play some great defense
if it wants to hand the Jayhawks
their first loss of the season.
By CASANDRA PAGNI
Daily Sports Writer
Technically speaking, The Big
Chill at the Big House will be an
outdoor hockey game between
Michigan and Michigan State on
Saturday in Michigan Stadium.
But while the Dec. 11 game is
the main event,
the Big Chill has NOTEBOOK
become a week-
long hockey spectacle involving
more than just the 40-or so roster
members of the CCHA opponents.
Even Michigan coach Red
Berenson, who insists on staying
focused on preparing his team for
Saturday's game, couldn't help but
appreciate how the University has
used the Big Chill to create "a whole
hockey community event."
"It has really grown into ... not a
monster, but a big event," Berenson
said last Thursday.
From the three Ann Arbor pub-
lic high schools, to Michigan's and
Michigan State's club teams, to for-
mer 1998 Wolverine captain Matt
Herr's prep team from Connecticut,
the University has been made the
Big Chill rink accessible to local and
special programs.
More than 25 teams will have
played on the ice before Saturday's
game. Students and fans will then
have the opportunity to participate
in an open skate on Sunday.
Michigan alum Mike Hagen is
the head coach of Ann Arbor's Sky-
line High School prep team, and
although his team was defeated
4-1 on Sunday by Ann Arbor pri-
vate school Gabriel-Richard, Hagen
knows the opportunity to play
hockey in Michigan Stadium was
unforgettable for his young team.
"The University opened the place
up to the public," Hagen said. "It's
really gracious of them to do that.
It's just big for hockey, its big for the
community. It just brought a lot of
attention to hockey in general, and
it generated a lot of excitement for
all these teams. These guys came,
walked out of the tunnel (Sunday),
looked up there in the stadium and
their eyes were as big as saucers."
PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS:
4
4
ARIEL BOND/Daily
The Michigan club hockey team plays against Michigan State's club hockey team on Tuesday night in "The Little Chill."
While the University made a point
of incorporating the local hockey
community into the week leading
up to the Big Chill, Saturday will be
all about entertaining the 113,000
people expected to be in atten-
dance.
In addition to pre-and post-game
fireworks shows, there will be fire-
works launched from each endzone
each time the 12th-ranked Wolver-
ines score. The post-game fireworks
display will even be set to music
from the movie The Big Chill. Both
teams will remain on the benches
after the end of the game to see the
post-game show. And the writers of
the 1983 movie - one of whom is a
Michigan alum - will drop a cer-
emonial puck at center ice before
the game.
When asked 'Why fireworks?,'
Assistant Athletic Director for Mar-
keting and Promotions Mark Rior-
dan didn't hesitate.
"It's an event," Riordan said.
"(Fireworks) just make it even bet-
ter. You think about it being in sec-
tion 29, row 98, you're not going to
see all the action. But the fireworks
are partof the event. You're going to
leave here thinking, 'That was awe-
some."'
When Riordan called the Big
Chill an event, he wasn't kidding.
Michigan contacted the Guinness
World Records last year to make
sure there would be representatives
in attendance for Saturday's game,
as it is projected to be the most
attended hockey game in history.
"One of the best things the last
three weeks (has been) dealing
with the Guinness records people,"
Riordan said. "We had to talk to
people in London to make sure 4
they're comingoverto get this thing
justified and make sure it's a Guin-
ness record. We can only go for one
record, and it's the largest hockey
game record. The 77,000 that was
in Germany this summer is the one
that we're goingto beat." 4
NOTES: Michigan's and Michi-
gan State's club hockey teams faced
off in a gamed dubbed "the Little
Chill" on Tuesday Night. The W61-
verines club team lost to the Spar-
tans club team, 3-2.... After practice
on Wednesday, Berenson said there
is still no decision on which senior
netminder will start in goal for
Michigan on Saturday.
4
4
4
4
4
4