+ . . 0 0 0 S 0 The Daily basketball beat offers its predictions for the conference standings (in order from first to worst, from left to right) Michigan basketball is finally on the rise. After a season of defying expecta- tions, the Wolverines must now live up to them. In his fifth season at the helm, John Beilein will have to adapt to life without star point guard Darius Morris. Luckily for him, everyone else returns from a team that nearly beat Duke in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, and a talented crop of freshmen will join them. The only question - how big of a leap can Michigan take? TABLE OF CONTENTS BEWARE OF BURKE: Luke Pasch tells you why Michigan's freshman stud will impress; BIGS BULKING UP: The front- court looks tough after adding muscle this offseason. 4 THE SHADOW OF A NAME: With his father's legacy behind 4 him, Tim Hardaway Jr. is poised to take his game - and Michigan basketball - to the next level. 6 BIG TEN PREVIEW: We break down every Big Ten team and * weigh in on what the conference standings will look like by year's end. Center spread design by Helen Lieblich and Arjun Mahanti Cover photo by Marissa McClain Daily Basketball Beat Ben Estes, Luke Pasch, Neal Rothschild, Daniel Wasserman No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year Hometown 0 Zack Novak G 6-4 210 Sr. Chesterton, Ind. 1 Stu Douglass G 6-3 190 Sr. Carmel, Ind. 2 Carlton Brundidge G 6-2 200 Fr. Southfield, Mich. 3 Trey Burke G 6-1 175 Fr. Columbus, Ohio 5 Eso Akunne G 6-3 220 Jr. Ann Arbor, Mich. 10 Tim Hardaway, Jr. G 6-5 185 So. Miami, Fla. 13 Matt Vogrich G 6-4 190 Jr. Lake Forest, ll. 15 Jon Horford F 6-9 250 So. Grand Ledge, Mich. 20 Josh Bartelstein G 6-2 205 Jr. Highland Park, Ill. 22 Blake McLimans F 6-10 240 Jr. Hamburg, N.Y. 23 Evan Smotrycz F 6-9 235 So. Reading, Mass. 24 Sai Tummala F 6-7 200 Fr. Phoenix, Ariz. 32 Corey Person G 6-3 200 Sr. Kalamazoo, Mich. 44 Max Bielfeldt F 6-8 240 Fr. Peoria, Ill. 45 Colton Christian F 6-6 215 So. Bellevue, Wash. 52 Jordan Morgan F 6-8 240 RS So. Detroit, Mich. After three years of ineptitude, Indiana will no longer be an easy win thanks to the arrival of 6-foot-11 forward Cody Zeller - ESPN.com's 14th- ranked incoming freshman. In fact, if Zeller lives up to the hype, the Hoosiers have a chance to equal, or even exceed, the eight con- ference wins head coach Tom Crean has in his three seasons at Indiana. But a shadow was cast on the off- season when the Hoosiers lost junior guard Maurice Creek to a season-ending injury. Creek, a double-digit scorer, has now missed at least half of three straight seasons due to injuries. Still recovering from the mess left by former coach Kel- vin Sampson, Crean finally enters a season with experi- ence. After last year's roster featured just one senior, this year's team has five seniors and four juniors, which should make playing against Crean's vaunted defense increasingly difficult. Bottom line: Another bad season will turn the shade of Crean's chair from crimson to red-hot. . ' L/ 6/ /L /S l r i Northwestern missed its chance to reach the NCAA Tournament last year. The program had never made a trip to March Madness, but there was promise with then- senior point guard Michael "Juice" Thompson break- ing school records. After a quick start in . conference play, though, the Wildcats fell flat down the stretch and finished with a losing record against league opponents for the 43rd consecutive season. Senior forward John Shurna, who shot an impressive 43 percent from 3-point range last season, is expected to fill the leadership void left by Thompson's departure. And regardless of his success or failure in that regard, he will inevitably draw national attention for his awkward shooting form. For now, head coach Bill Carmody is dealing with question marks at point guard, which doesn't bode well for a team that runs the Princeton offense. Quote: "I think that good things are on the horizon. Or near horizon. Is there such a thing as near horizon? I don't know, help me out." - Bill Carmody The tough part is over for Fran McCaffery. The sec- ond-year Iowa coach won't have to worry about instill- ing a new offensive system, or about getting his players used to a new coaching staff, the typical growing pains when a new coach takes over a team. The Hawkeyes strug- gled to a 10th-place finish in the conference, though they did upset Michigan State and Purdue. The challenge this season is to take a step forward. Melsahn Basabe will be a big part of that. The forward surprised the Big Ten as a freshman, showing great athleticism. The back- court should be solid with the return of point guard Bryce Cartwright and run- ning mate Matt .Gatens. The main issue right now is depth - Andrew Brommer and Devyn Marble both won't be able to start the season on time. But the program is on the rise, recruiting is improv- ing, and the fans are starting to get on board. Bottom Line: For the first time in a while, the basket- ball team might actually be better than the football team if things fall into place. STAFF PICKS The Daily basketball writers do their best to predict what will happen in the world of college basketball this season. Ben Luke Neal Daniel Estes Pasch Rothschild Wasserman Michigan regularseason record 23-8 21-10 23-8 22-9 BigTen Champion Ohio State Wisconsin hi State Ohio State BigTen second place Michigan Ohio State Wisconsin - Wisconsin BigTen third place Wisconsin Michigan Purdue higan Big Ten Tournament champ Ohio State Ohio State Wisconsin Ohio State .Big nM.PJred Sullinger, Ohio State Sulling dn Taylor, WNisconsin Sulinger . BigTen CoachoftheYear John Beilein, Michigan Bo Ryan, Wisconsin Ryan Thud Matta, Ohio State BigTen s priseteam Minnesota Iowa Indiana Indiana Michigan MVP Tim Hardaway Jr Hardaway Jr Hardaway Jr. Hardaway Jr. National Player of the Year Sullinger Harrison Barnes, North Carolina Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut Sullinger National Freshman oftthe yea Austin Rivers, Duke Anthony Davis, Kentucky Rivers Davis Michigan's season ends here NCAA Elite 8 NCAA Sweet Sixteen NCAA Sweet Sixteen NCAA Elite 8 NCAA "Bracket Buster" Belmont Harvard Long Beach State Richmond NCAA Final Four North Carolina North Carolina Florida North Carolina Vanderbilt Kentucky North Carolina Duke Ohio State Arizona Wisconsin Ohio State Connecticut Baylor Baylor Syracuse 25 Tipoff - November 1, 2011 It's hard to imagine the It'll be especially difficult Illini as non-factors in the for a program that hasn't Big Ten, but that's what made the NCAA Tourna- they could be if they don't ment since 1998 to join a find someone who can put league that sent seven teams the ball in the basket. Illi- to the big dance last year. nois lost its top three scor- The upside for Doc Sadler's ers from last season and Cornhuskers is experience. doesn't have a lot of options There's lots of it on this ros- for players who can pick up ter, and the conference as a the slack. Guards Brandon whole is relatively inexperi- Paul and D.J. Richardson enced. Expect junior center have shown flashes of abil- Jorge Brian Diaz to impress. ity, but not the type that The guy can bang under- can carry a team. Sopho- neath, drain the midrange more 7-foot-1 center Mey- jumper, and Sadler - in his ers Leonard will be the perfected Southern drawl Illini's go-to guy in the - says Diaz is in the best post, but he hardly saw the shape of his career. With court as a freshman. Lead- him, the frontcourt will be ership will also be hard to defensively sound as well. find on the young Illinois Nebraska's weakness will roster. The only senior is be the backcourt. The ros- point guard Sam Manis- ter features a couple solid calco, who transferred from combo guards, but lacks the Bradley last year, using the leadership of a true point rule that allows a player to guard. And sometimes, transfer, provided he has you're only as good as your already graduated and will point man (see: Minnesota). be in a graduate program Quote: "When every- not offered at the previous thing is said and done, these school. guys are going to have had Bottom Line: Bruce the opportunity to play in Weber's voice could get some of the greatest are- even raspier if the Illini nas in college basketball. can't find a true leader this There's so much history in season. this league." - Doc Sadler IVF After reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years last sea- son, Penn State's basketball program must be on the upswing, right? Well, when you take into account that the NittanyLions lost every- thing from last year, the future at Penn State looks dreadful. Big Ten teams will rejoice knowing that guard Talor Battle - the program's best ever player - is gone, along with three other senior starters, leav- ing the Nittany Lions with less than 23% of last year's scoring. To make matters worse, coach Ed Dechellis left Penn State for Navy in a move that had even mid- major coaches scratch- ing their heads. Enter Pat Chambers, who arrives after a two-year stint as Boston University's head coach. With little talent and even less experience - Penn State has just one senior and 11 underclassman - the Nittany Lions are likely the conference's worst team. Bottom Line: Penn State should beat Slippery Rock in its opener. That may be it. TheMichiganDaily - www.michigandaily.com 175