8 - Friday, January 7, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michgandaily.com 0I 8 - Friday, January 7, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom JAYWALKIN' TO CRISLER Breakdown: Morris brothers will dominate By LUKE PASCH Ten opener against Purdue just a Daily Sports Writer few days prior? Novak's one con- sistency has been rebounding - he Sunday afternoon's matchup averages 6.9 boards a game, a team between No. 3 Kansas and Michi- high. If Michigan's big men can gan will feature the elite of the Big clear the lane for Novak, he'll out- 12 and one of the youngest squads of rebound the Kansas guards with the Big Ten.Essentially,thisgameis ease. And in the three games that far less important for the Jayhawks Novak has scooped up nine or more than it is for the Wolverines, who defensive boards, he's also tallied will be looking to prove something double-digit points. in front of their home crowd. ADVANTAGE: PUSH POINT GUARD Tyshawn Taylor: His statistics aren't particularly eye opening, but Michigan's backcourt defense will still have its hands full with'this 6-foot-3 point man. Taylor will be one of the fastest guards Michigan will face this season, and his abil- ity to make quick lateral cuts could pose problems for the relatively slow-footed Wolverines. Michigan may be able to capitalize on turn- overs - Taylor makes more mental mistakes per gamethan a third-year starter should. Darius Morris: Michigan wouldn't have the 11-4 record it holds today if it weren't for Morris' All-American worthy numbers. He averages 7.3 assists a game - good enough for fourth best in the nation - and a team-high 15.1 points per game. Out of the top-20 assist-men in the country, he has the highest assists-to-turnover ratio (2.79). If the Wolverines are to beat a more experienced Kansas squad, they'll need Morris to limit his mistakes. ADVANTAGE: MORRIS WING PLAYER Tyrel Reed: Reed is by no means Kansas' most athletic starter, but he plays with one of the highest basketball IQs in the nation. He leads the Jayhawks in 3-point shooting, and the Wol- verines need to avoid fouling him, because he shoots with 91-percent success from the charity stripe. Reed will only take smart shots, so if Michigan gets a hand in his face, he shouldn't do much. But then again, if he has the ball less, his big men will have the ball more, which could doom the Wolverines. Zack Novak: There's no way to know which Novak you're going to get. Will he shoot 5-of-6 from the field like he did against Penn State? Or will he go 1-of-4 like in the Big WING PLAYER Brady Morningstar: Morn- ingstar didn't forget how to play basketball after his semester-long suspension from the team last year for a DUI-related arrest. The 6-foot- 3 guard has quietly become a valu- able player, especially on defense. This Jayhawk is more of a ball hawk - he specializes in baiting point guards to make ill-advised passes and leads his team with 26 steals. Expect him to pull this off a couple of times against the youthful Wol- verines, even against the mostly level-headed Morris. Tim Hardaway Jr.: It's never easy to perform well on the national stage as a true freshman. Just ask Hardaway, who has shot a meager 32-percent from the field in Michi- gan's first three Big Ten games this season. The Wolverines will need Hardawaytogrowup quickly -he's the team's second leading scorer and will need to act like it against Kansas. Expect him to hang around the perimeter though, as the Morris brothers clog the paint. ADVANTAGE: PUSH FRONTCOURT Marcus Morris: Here's where Michigan (and every other Kansas opponent this season) starts to run into trouble. Marcus is one of the nation's elite forwards. He plays with range, draining shots from the high post and perimeter - shooting at a 45-percent clip from beyond the arc. But he also plays underneath, terrorizing defenders in the paint with power and craft. Markieff Morris: As if one wasn't enough. Markieff has devel- oped into one of the most prolific centers in the nation. He throws all 245 pounds of himself into oppo- nents to make space for rebounds, blocks shots enough to scare away potential drives to the hoop and registers an impressive 12.9 points per game. Evan Smotrycz: Surprisingly, the freshman forward has excelled in the big-game setting so far this season, with some of his better performances coming on the road against Clemson and in the confer- ence schedule. He tends to show some fire in those important match- ups as well - against Oakland, he found himself ina little scuffle with Golden Grizzly forward Ilija Miluti- novic. Smotrycz should save some of that intensity for the Morris broth- ers. He'll need it. Jordan Morgan: If there was ever a time for Morgan to make a name for himself, this is it. After getting embarrassed by Concordia's Rocko Holmes earlier this season, Morgan has seemingly woken up on the defensive end. Against Oakland, he held potential first-round NBA draft pick Keith Bensen to just 11 points, showing his ability to hold his own against premier posttalent. And Beilein has really begun to uti- lize the power brand of basketball that Morgan brings to the key. ADVANTAGE: MORRIS DUO BENCH Kansas: Highly touted fresh- man Josh Selby, since returning from a nine-game suspension for receiving impermissible benefits, has been nothingshort of spectacu- lar. He averages 15 points per game and can run over any Division-I defense and embarrass some very worthy defenders with an arsenal of crossovers and hesitation dribbles. Thomas Robinson has also been more than capable in the post when relievingthe Morris brothers. Michigan: Junior guard Stu Douglass has been a very effec- tive sixth man for Michigan this season. He and sophomore Matt Vogrich have been rather proficient in hitting their shots coming off the bench. But the bench doesn't pro- vide a whole lot of frontcourt talent. When Morgan needs to rest or finds himself in foul trouble, the go-to guy is freshman Jon Horford. And while he hasshownpotential for the years to come, he doesn't match up well with the Morris brothers. ADVANTAGE: KANSAS PREDICTION: KANSAS 74, MICHIGAN 62 Sophomore guard Darius Morris will play a key role in Sunday's matchup against the third-ranked Jayhawks. 'M' faces-toughest test yet By ZAK PYZIK notched nine of their own. And Daily Sports Editor three Wolverines will be back on the floor on Sunday looking for a Sunday will be the first time different outcome. the Michigan basketball team will But this time around, a fresh- square up with a top-five opponent man that has put fear into opposing this season. It's also the first time coaches' eyes will be joining the the Wolverines will play against veterans on the hardwood. Kansas twins this year. rookie guard Josh Selby is averag- The dynamic Kasat ing 15 points a game and shooting a duo of Kansas team-high 56 percent from behind men's basket- Michigan the arc for the Jayhawks. ball's forwards Matchup: Selby has been one of the Marcus and Mar- Kansas 14-0; NCAA's most prolific freshmen in kieff Morris have Michigan 11-4 this season. led the third- When: Sunday After being ranked last year's ranked Jayhawks 4:30 P.M. No. 1 high school recruit by Rivals. to an unblem com, Selby has lived up to the hype. ished 14-0 mark eArena He is a combo guard that can this season. The na crank a shot from anywhere on the junior twins TV/Radio: floor, even with a hand in his face, weigh in at a CBS and he averages less thanone turn- combined weight over a game. of 480 pounds and average a com- With Kansas scoring more than bined 28 points and 15 rebounds 75 points in 13 of its 14 games, per game. Michigan's biggest challenge will On Sunday, the Morris twins be to either stop or keep up with will meet Michigan guard Darius Kansas' high scoring offense. Morris. Containing the Jayhawks will The floor general will lead the be difficult. Kansas is shooting Wolverines at Crisler Arena in 54 percent from the field and due hopes of upsetting undefeated in large part to the Morris twins, Kansas after falling to the top- have outmuscled almost every ranked Jayhawks, 75-64, in Law- team they've faced thus far on the rence, Kansas last season. boards. In that matchup, Darius tal- But the Morris twins in the post lied nine points and juniors Zack will be even more troublesome for Novak and Stu Douglass both the Wolverines. In Wednesday's loss to Wiscon- sin, Michigan allowed a combined 30 points from Badger forwards Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil. If Michigan fails to stop an aggres- sive Kansas offense, its own offense-will have to keep up. However, if the offense can't keep up, things don't look bright for Michigan coach John Beilein and his Wolverines. Averaging 68 points a game, the Wolverines are the second-lowest scoringteam in the Big Ten. Michigan is shooting 34 percent from 3-point range, something that doesn't work well when a team has four or five guards on the floor. But if Michigan leaves victorious, this Sunday's game in Ann Arbor could be a huge mark on the Wolverines resume come March. "If you look at our schedule, this is all about opportunity," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "You've heard me say before: in the leagues where I come from, you don't get these opportunities in January, February. "These are guaranteed games in December at their place... You have Kansas at home in front of a great crowd - great chance for a home win. So these are the opportuni- ties you look at and say, 'Hey, this is what these kids have been wait- ing for a long time to be able to do this.'" ICE HOCKEY Fresh off GLI title, Michigan to take on rival Spartans By STEPHEN J. NESBITT Daily Sports Editor Nearly a month removed from the Big Chill at the Big House, the No. 8 Michi- Michigan gan hockey team at Michigan is poised to take the ice against State in-state rival Matchup: Michigan State Michigan 12-5- once again. 4; Michigan But this time, State 7-10-4 the Wolverines When: Satur- won't have a day 7:35 P.M. crowd of 113,411 Where: Munn at their beck and Ice Arena call. On Friday, the Spartans will host the first half of the home-and-home week- end series at Munn Ice Arena, a rink widely regarded as one of the most hostile environments in col- legiate hockey. But it's Michigan (9-3-1-0 CCHA, 12-5-4 overall) who has all the momentum, com- ing off the program's 14th Great Lakes Invitational Championship and a 5-0 drubbing of Michigan State in the Big Chill. And if their last meeting at Munn is any indication, the Wol- verines may have the edge not only on the ice, but in the stands too. After posting one of the poor- est records since Red Berenson became coach, Michigan trav- eled to East Lansing in the second round of the CCHA Tournament last March fully expecting to be trounced by the 11th-ranked Spar- tans. Michigan State students were on spring break during the tourna- ment, so much of the crowd was a roaring Michigan contingent. And the Wolverines rumbled past the Spartans, 5-1 and 5-3, en route to a surprise finish in the NCAA regional finals. "Going up there and seeing all those Michigan fans was unbe- lievable," senior Shawn Hunwick said. "You could never think that you'd come to Yost and see a bunch of Michigan State fans. So to see it up there, everyone wearing maize and blue, was pretty special." Students are back on campus for this weekend's matchup, but the Spartans (3-8-1-0, 7-10-4) are faltering in the CCHA as of late - currently sitting in tenth place in the conference. And Michigan fans may have the opportunity to muster another takeover of Munn on Friday. While Yost Ice Arena has a thriving fan base and is already sold out for Saturday's contest, Michigan coach Red Berenson has sensed a decline in support for the hockey team at Michigan State. "(Munn) is obviously anti- Michigan, and it used to be that they were sold out every game," Berenson said. "Fifteen years ago and beyond it was sold out, there were no Michigan fans ... But now it's a different scenario. Their crowds haven't been that good, so the opportunity for Michigan fans is there. I think (the CCHA Tour- nament) was the first time that our fans really sensed that." Along with the edge in fan sup- port, the Wolverines have built a lot of confidence against this Michigan State team. In his three starts against the Spartans, Hun- wick has allowed just three goals, and the Michigan offense has backed him with 15 scores on the other end of the ice. "If you've already beat the team you feel like you can win again," Hunwick said. "If I was 0-3, I'd probably be a little nervous going up there." The two teams haven't played a regular-season, relatively low- stakes game in nearly a year. And while this isn't a postseason matchup or in front of a world- record crowd, there should be no shortage of intensity. Michigan took a 2-0 first-period leal in the Big Chill with a pair of goals from freshman defense- man Jon Merrill. The Wolverines are hoping for a similar scorching start. "We have to get off to a good start," Hunwick said. "If we give Michigan State the first goal to give them the lead, they're going to have the confidence." With 21 games played, the Wol- verines are rounding the corner for the second half of the season,- the same time the team picked up its play last season. According to Berenson, the Michigan State series is reminis- cent of last year in that the teams have switched roles - Michigan now is nationally ranked and atop the conference while the Spartans are the bottom feeders at the half- way point. 6 0 0 35%-45% cheaper 50% cheaper than online stores than bookstores on average* on averagem r Iasiuwoets t pace wivs t s prinvnst er,'nwith t piinsor. ew8s