The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I March 7, 2011

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Hardaway s
hot hand
guides Blue
past MSU
By CHANTEL JENNINGS ,
Daily Sports Editor
They were a preseason No. 2 team. They were return
ing three starters and had the preseason Big Ten played
of the year in senior Kalin Lucas. They were coming off
an NCAA Tournament Final Four appearance. They
were going to contend for the National Championship.
Michigan was a preseason nobody. A team devoid of
star talent. A team that saw no postseason last year. A
team nobody saw as a threat during the preseason this
year. They were goingto contend for respect.
Who could have expected that the Michigan men's
basketball would not only sweep Michigan State dur-
ing the 2010-11 season, but beat the Spartans 70-63 in a
game with NCAA Tournament hopes on the line?
The Wolverines (9-9 Big Ten, 19-12 overall) led by a4
many as14 points on Saturday, butlike most Bigen con-
ference games, it came down to the final five minutes
when Michigan led by just four.
The Spartans (9-9,17-13) used a mix of defensive pres-'
sures to try to get themselves back into the game. Lucas
cut the lead to four with a minute and a half remaining
after he drained a 3-pointer following a time out. Michi-
gan State coach Tom Izzo promptly called another time
out and the Spartans set up in a full court man-to-mark
press.
Freshman Tim Hardaway Jr. drew the foul and mad
his way to the free throw line, where Michigan wad
extremely productive on the day - scoring 23 of its 70
points from the charity stripe.
Hardaway Jr. provided the offensive exposion in the;
{ second half after being hit in the head during the first
CHIG* He scored a team-high 20 points, after going 0-for-
from the field in the first half.
"We felt like we were giving it our all in the first half
andweweren'texecutig oandwenpregettingturn-
overs," Hardaway Jr. said. "So we just wanted to make
sure we came out in the second half and played tough."
But he was not the only Wolverine to struggle fromr
the floor inthe first stanza. The team shot just18 percent
MARISSA MCLAIr/Daily from 3-point range in the first half. Regardless of the
70-63 win over Michigan State on Saturday. LEFT:
y's matchup against the Spartans during the second shooting struggles, Michigan held an improbable eight
ard in the Wolverine's game against Michigan State, point lead heading into the break.
1996-1997. See MSU, Page 3i
Michigan withstands Lucas's
surge, downplays altercation

'M ' sweeps - ,
Sparty for first
time since
1996-97, inches
closer to
tourney bid {
TOP: Sophomore guard Darius Morris celebrates following Michigan's
Freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. scored all 20 of his points in Saturd
half of the game. RIGHT: Junior guard/forward Zack Novak bursts form
which Michigan won completing the first sweep of Michigan State sinc
Beilein's o ensive scheme
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times it's been disgust-
The Michigan men's
basketball team has had its
share of eight-minute field goal
droughts. On one occasion, it
missed 23 3-pointers in a game.
In another game, puny guard
Matt Vogrich out-rebounded all
of Michigan's post players.
But come on, give the Wolver-
ines (9-9 Big Ten, 19-12 overall)
a break, those are things that
happen to every basketball
team. Right? Well, not exactly.

Those are the things that
happen to a
squad that
starts one big
man who is
undersized
compared
to the likes
of other Big
Ten centers ZAK
like Ohio PZK
State's Dallas PY
Lauderdale.
Those are the things that a team
that sometimes plays five guards

in a conference like the Big Ten
- known for the most physi-
cal and aggressive ball in the
country - endures. Essentially,
those are the things that teams
coached by Michigan coach
John Beilein go through.
The Wolverines have suffered
at many times solely because
of Beilein's offensive scheme.
And as difficult as it has been to
watch this team - one that kept
up with then-No. 3 Kansas and
then-No. 2 Ohio State, but three
See PYZIK, Page 3B

By BEN ESTES with 25 for the game to lead all
Daily Sports Writer scorers.
But in the end, Lucas's efforts
Kalin Lucas wasn't going to were wasted, and his frustra-
go down without a fight, and by tion name to a head after the
the end of Michigan's 70-63 win final buzzer. He and his coun-
over the Spartans on Saturday, it terpart - Michigan sophomore
almost came to just that. point guard Darius Morris, who
Playing in his last regular sea- played through illness - had
son game of his career - star- jawed at each other for stretches
ing down the distinct possibility of the afternoon.
that his team could be swept by Lucas took exception to what-
the hated rival Wolverines in ever Morris yelled at the visiting
his senior year - Lucas turned team, following his game-ending
it up a notch in the second half. coast-to-coast layup with the
The point guard exploded for Spartans appearing to lay off.
23 points in the frame, finishing Lucas responded by throwing

the ball at him, causing a small
tussle that Michigan's Jordan
Dumars broke up as the teams
shook hands.
"I'm not for that, so I'll
straighten that out," Michigan
State coach Tom Izzo said after!
the game. "But at the same time,
going for a layup with three sec
onds left - (Morris) talked a lot
of stuff all game, including at
our place, so maybe he deserved
it."
Izzo then emphatically pound-
ed the podium while addressing
the rivalry. For his part, Michi
See ALTERCATION, Page 31

Wolverines fall to last-place Illini in Big Ten tournament

By KEVIN RAFERTY
Daily Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS - Prior to
the Michigan women's basketball
team's 55-47 loss to Illinois on
Friday, Illi- ILLINOIS 5
nois coach MICHIGAN 47
Jolette Law
stressed the importance of com-
ing out strong in the first five min-
utes of the game.
"Coach always preaches first
five minutes," Illinois junior
guard Lydia McCully said after
the Illini's first round win over
Wisconsin. "When you come out
like that, there's no way to go but

strong."
Mission accomplished, Coach.
Five minutes into the game, the
last-place Fighting Illini - who
lost 12 straight games prior to the
Big Ten Tournament - led 10-2,
and the third-seeded Wolver-
ines (10-7 Big Ten, 17-12 overall)
couldn't buy a bucket.
"It was extremely important
(to start off the game strong),"
Law said after the game. "I knew
what we were looking for, I knew
Michigan was going to come out
and probably be aggressive."
Illinois (4-14, 9-22) never
trailed, and the Fighting Illini
became the first-ever 11 seed to

make it to the tournament semi-
finals.
And things only got worse for
Michigan after the first five min-
utes. By the time the first-half
buzzer sounded, Illinois had all
but run the Wolverines out of
Conseco Field House with a 37-16
lead - the Illini's biggest halftime
lead of the year.
"Any time you're not doing well
on the offensive end of the court,
the other team's offense does real-
ly well;" Michigan coach Kevin
Borseth said. "The more you
struggle offensively, the better the
other team's offense works. That
was what, in my opinion, it came

down to."
Sixteen points was the few-
est that Michigan has scored in a
half this season. Illinois forward
and Detroit native Amber Moore
nearly equaled Michigan's point
total with 14 first-half points.
The Wolverines shot an atro-
cious 13.3 percent from behind
the arc, and just 26.9 percent from
the field. The Fighting Illini, on
the other hand, shot 44.4 percent
from behind the are and over 51
percent from the field - more
than 10 percent higher than their
season average in both categories.
"I don't necessarily think we
See ILLINI, Page 3B

Michigan coach Kevin Borseth and the Wolverines have an uncertain post-
season future.

i

Afterfinishing at the top of the CCHA
regular season standings, Michigan is
preparing for the conference tournament
as definite title contenders. Page 2B
4 4

The Michigan softball team has won
22 straight games to start the season
and Michigan coach Carol Hutchins has
reached a new coaching plateau. Page 4B