4B - December 13, 2010

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com j

4B - December13, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

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Horford impresses,
Morris dishes out
10 assists in win

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ford contributes Michigan's momentum.
For Horford, it was the greatest
he bench for Blue impact he'd had in a game for the
Wolverines, even though he had
'ictory with five to battle against taller counter-
parts whom he admitted were a
ts, five rebounds challenge to guard effectively.
Still, Utah's giants were held
By BEN ESTES in check combining for just five
DailySports Writer rebounds and two blocks, despite
their size advantage.
re facing Utah on Friday, For the Wolverines, Horford's
an forward Jon Horford sudden breakout provides anoth-
ored no more than four er quality option off the bench
and tallied no more than when redshirt freshman forward
nutes in any game for the Jordan Morgan falters.
an men's basketball team. "This is by far (Horford's) best
ord had NOTEBOOK game," junior guard Zack Novak
big game said. "We've been seeing this a
the oppo- little bit. He's just like trying to
at featured monstrosities get out of his shell ... but the kid's
er - 7-foot Jason Wash- going to be a beast.
nd 7-foot-3 David Foster "I'm really happy to see him
eak out with his best per- come in here and get that type of
ce of the year in a 75-64 performance."
an win. MORRIS DAZZLES AGAIN:
ord's performance came With 19 points and 10 assists,
te game after he was Morris recorded his second
d due to injury. straight double-double and his
Grand Ledge, Mich. native third overall this season to lead
d his left knee in practice the Wolverines against the Run-
kend, leading Wolverines nin' Utes.
ohn Beilein to sit him as a The Los Angeles native turned
ion in the team's winnable the ball over only one time and
ainst Concordia last Mon- displayed his skilled array of
stop-and-go moves in the paint all
ite the setback, Horford game, shooting 7-for-13 from the
d better than he had all field.
and earned enough trust During one stretch late in the
ilein to play a season-high first half, Morris scored on a
ites against the Runnin' strong drive to the hoop, nailed a
3), showing no ill effects 3-pointer and hita pull-up jumper
e injury. on three straight possessions.
:h Beilein, he really It was the kind of offensive
for us to be a great team versatility he lacked last season
e to run our offense very but has displayed in nearly every
orford said after the Utah game this year.
hink I've been running it "He's been very receptive to
ll the last couple days of just his self-improvement, in
every way," Beilein said. "What
ein) wanted to give me an he can do on the court, what he
nity, and I just wanted to can do off the court, what he can
t and take it." do as a leader. ... When you work
rd responded with a off the court at leadership and
igh five points and five just having the right attitude
s. Despite the relatively about things, it's typical growing
rks, the numbers hid a development that is very refresh-
impact - the forward ing right now. He's really playing
perfect give-and-go pass well."
rhomore point guard Dar- NOTES: Morris leads the Big
ris and slammed the ball Ten with 7.8 assists per game....
give Michigan (7-2) a 21-8 The 6-foot-4 Novak led the Wol-
h 8:08 left in the first half. verines with nine rebounds, the
as the highest-energy fifth time this season that the
for the Wolverines up to guard has at least shared the
nt. team lead. ... Michigan was out-
fter a 7-0 Utes run in the rebounded by Utah 37-32. The
alf cut the score to 62-47, Wolverines are 2-2 this season
showed his range and when losing the battle on the
3-pointer to re-establish boards.

4

4

Michigan men's basketball coach John Beilein has the Wolverines undefeated at home sofar in his fourth season in Ann Arbor.
Four double-digiteffrts
push Blu vrUth 56

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Vin over Utah and just making sure that we
play as a team," Michigan coach
ches Michigan's John Beilein said after the game.
"We're going to have to score
est start under points, and we got it from dif-
Beilein at 7-2 ferent people at different times.
(I'm) really proud of our team."
The Wolverines dominated
By LUKE PASCH in the first half, shooting at a
Daily Sports Writer 46.9-percent clip en route to a
39-22 lead at the break.
h gift-giving season rapidly In the second half, freshman
ching, the Utah men's bas- forward Tim Hardaway Jr. came
team alive with 13 points, finishing the
feeling UTAH 64 game with 17.
us at MICHIGAN 75 He also showed some flash
Arena when redshirt freshman for-
lay night. ward Blake McLimans picked up
nin' Utes' center Jason a defensive board and threw the
urn, with his four-inch long ball to Hardaway on the fast
dvantage over Michigan break.
t freshman center Jordan With enough room in front
n, won the opening tipoff of the lagging Utah defense, he
but slapped it a tad too threw down a powerful one-
handed slam.
ball sailed out of bounds, "I think I went down to see
e Wolverines gladly took him play last year (in high
'ssession. school)," Beilein said. "He took
that's how it went for the a lot of shots, but he made a lot
the contest, as Utah (6-3) of shots. (I reminded him), 'Put
tted 16 turnovers, and yourself back in high school.
an (7-2) remained unde- You're a great shooter. Just shoot
at home with a 75-64 vic- it when you're open, keep it mov-
ing when you're not.' "
know, we talked to the Michigan's play underneath
efore the game, and the featured a breakout performance
ng was just being a team from freshman center Jon Hor-

ford, w
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'ho tallied a block, a steal The other two forwards were
'e points in a season-high also impressive, as Morgan fin-
utes of floor time. ished with 11 points of his own,
6-foot-9 center got the and McLimans came up with a
Rage riled up on multiple couple of big stops in the paint on
ins, with his dunk over defense.
3 Utah center David Fos- McLimans has struggled a bit
:he first half and his first on the offensive end this season,
bucket of the season in however, and he's yet to knock
ond half. down a 3-pointer, going 0-for-13
from behind the arc through the
first nine games this season.
But all in all, Michigan's bench
hoot it when players have thrived so far this
season, and they put up another
re open, keep 17 points against Utah.
Sophomore guard Matt
ving it when Vogrich led the bench scoring
effort on Friday, going 2-for-2
,OU re not." from 3-point range and finishing
the night with eight points.
"Our bench has kind of had a
breakout performance it seems
ord seemed more com- like every other game," Vogrich
e as he saw more playing said.
3e usually only gets brief The 7-2 start for the Wolver-
s behind Morgan and ines matches the start they had
ans. under Beilein in the 2009-10 sea-
n't really think it changed son, when the team made it to the
orford said. "I've been try- second round of the NCAA Tour-
evelop in practice, get the nament.
down. ... Right when I got And with a relatively light
'st it was like, 'It's getting schedule leading up to Big Ten
t's getting better.' play early next month, Michigan
head is not as (much) can be sitting pretty before play-
ud as I was the first few ing any conference foes starting
in late December.

STAFF PICKS
The Daily football writers do their best
to predict, against the spread, what Nicole
happens in the 2010 bowl season. Auerbach

Michigan vs. Mississippi State (-5)
UTEP vs. BYU (-9.5)
No. Illinois (-) vs. Fresno State
Ohio (-2,5) vs. Troy
Louisville vs. So. Mississippi (-2.5)
Utah vs. Boise State (-5)
Navy vs. San Diego State (-2,5)
Tulsa vs. Hawaii (-8)
Florida International vs. Toldeo (-5)
Georgia Tech vs. Air Force (-2.5)
N.C. State vs. West Virginia (-4)
Missouri (-) vs. Iowa
East Carolina vs. Maryland (-8)
Illinois vs. Baylor (-2)
A rizona vs. Oklahoma State (-7)
Army vs. SMU (-7.5)
Kansas State vs. Syracuse (PK)
North Carolina vs. Tennessee (PK)
Washington vs. Nebraska (-14)
South Florida vs. Clemson (-4.5)
Notre Dame vs. Miami (Fla.) (PK)
Central Florida vs. Georgia (-6)
Florida State vs. South Carolina (-2.5)
Northwestern vs. Texas Tech (-1.5)
Penn State vs. Florida (-5)
Michigan State vs. Alabama (-7)
TCU vs. Wisconsin (PK)
UConn vs. Oklahoma (-7)
Virginia Tech vs. Stanford (-3)
Arkansas vs. Ohio State (-2.5)
Middle Tennessee State vs, Miami (Ohio) (-)
Te xas A&M vs. Louisiana State (-2.5)
Kentucky vs. Pittsburgh (-3)
Boston College vs. Nevada (-9)
Oregon vs. Auburn (-15)
Last Week
Overall

Michigan
BYU
Fresno State
Ohio
So. Mississippi
Boise State
Navy
Hawaii
Toledo
Air Force
West Virginia
Iowa
Maryland
Illinois
Oklahoma State
Army
Kansas State
Tennessee
Washington
Clemson
Notre Dame
Georgia
Florida State
Northwestern
Florida
Alabama
TCU
Oklahoma
Stanford
Arkansas
Miami (Ohio)
Louisiana State
Pittsburgh
Nevada
Auburn
9-10-1
139-106-10

Ryan
Kartje ,
Michigan
UTEP
No. Illinois
Troy
So. Mississippi
Boise State
San Diego State
Hawaii
Toledo
Air Force
West Virginia
Missouri
Maryland
Illinois
Arizona
SMU
Kansas State
Tennessee
Nebraska
Clemson
Notre Dame
Central Florida
South Carolina
Northwestern
Penn State
Alabama
Wisconsin
Oklahoma
Stanford
Arkansas
Middle Tennessee State
Louisiana State
Kentucky
Nevada
Oregon
12-7-1
137-108-10

Tim
Rohan
Michigan
BYU
Fresno State
Troy
So. Mississippi
Boise State
Navy
Hawaii
Toledo
Georgia Tech
West Virginia
Iowa
Maryland
Baylor
Oklahoma State
SMU
Kansas State
North Carolina
Nebraska
Clemson
Miami (Fla.)
Georgia
South Carolina
Northwestern
Penn State
Alabama
Wisconsin
Oklahoma
Stanford
Ohio State
Miami (Ohio)
Louisiana State
Pittsburgh
Nevada
Oregon
10-9-1
135-110-10

Joe
Stapleton
Michigan
UTEP
Fresno State
Troy
Louisville
Boise State
San Diego State
Tulsa
Florida International
Air Force
West Virginia
Missouri
East Carolina
Illinois
Arizona
Army
Kansas State
Tennessee
Nebraska
Clemson
Notre Dame
Georgia
Florida State
Texas Tech
Penn State
Alabama
TCU
Oklahoma
Stanford
Ohio State
Miami (Ohio)
Louisiana State
Pittsburgh
Boston College
Auburn
13-6-1
139-106-10

Lee Quakenbush
Men's Glee Club
President
Michigan
BYU
Fresno State
Troy
So. Mississippi
Boise State
Navy
Hawaii
Toledo
Air Force
West Virginia
Missouri
Maryland
Baylor
Oklahoma State
SMU
Syracuse
Tennessee
Nebraska
Clemson
Notre Dame
Georgia
South Carolina
Northwestern
Penn State
Alabama
Wisconson
Oklahoma
Stanford
Ohio State
Miami (Ohio)
Louisiana State
Kentucky
Nevada
Oregon
N/A
64-54-6

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