8 - Friday, February 17, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam 8 - ridy, Fbrury 1, 212 Te Mchign Dily mihigadaiyco Michigan coach John Beilein and the Michigan basketball team dropped a 64-49 decision to Ohio State in Columbus on Jan. 29. Wolverines look for payback Sgainst Oh10 State at Crisler A ga rivals - payback nificant implicat in town, it all? The Center be lack energy urdayni That': Michiga John and hi welcome 3 Ohio to Ann in the game of Wolveri perate f prevail,I low leag while a put the' game of ence. But to an easyI Wolveri When Columbi was clos before t will and That: extende more gi couldn't (though By BEN ESTES against Ohio State). Daily SportsEditor Hardaway Jr. seemed to break out of his funk in the win over me between two fierce Illinois last weekend, making his one of them looking for first 3-pointer since Feb. 1 and - complete with sig- going 2-for-3 from deep. Sopho- Big Ten championship more forward Evan Smotrycz ions and ESPN GameDay also had his best game in weeks. to cover Their performances give Michi- Ohio State gan (9-4 Big Ten, 19-7 overall) Crisler hope that a more cohesive attack won't at Michigan could result in a better offensive ing for Matchup: output against the Buckeyes this on Sat- OSU 22-4; time around. ght. Michigan 19-7 "Our whole team right now s when When: Sat- is starting to jell together," said in coach urday 9 P.M. senior guard Zack Novak. "In the Beilein past week, this might be the big- s team :Center se gest leap I've seen (this season), e No. just in terms of guys playing bas- State TV/Radio: ketball the way we play, especially Arbor ESPN, ESPN3 offensively. It's good. It's heading biggest in the right direction." the season to date for the A week ago, it appeared Ohio nes. Both teams are des- State (10-3, or a win. If the Buckeyes 22-4) might they'll keep pace with fel- come limp- ue leader Michigan State, ing into Ann " Michigan victory would Arbor. The Wolverines within a half team narrow- oppori first place in the confer- ly beat Pur- due at home against gpping Ohio State won't be before play- task, and the 17th-ranked ing one of its teai nes know that first-hand. worst games the two teams met in of the season - us on Jan. 29, the game last Saturday e for the first 25 minutes against visiting Michigan State. he Buckeyes exerted their The Spartans bullied their way to rolled to a 15-point win. a 58-48 win, snapping the Buck- matchup came during the eyes' 39-game home winning d stretch when sopho- streak in the process. uard Tim Hardaway Jr. In those two subpar perfor- manage to hit a shot mances, Ohio State revealed one he did have 15 points of its potential weaknesses, doing a poor job of defending the high ball screen. Michigan runs the screen regularly with freshman point guard Trey Burke, and if the Wolverines can exploit it on Sat- urday, their chances of winning will go up dramatically. Burke had a decent game the last time the teams squared off, going 5-for-11 from the field, but he struggled - as did his team- mates - with Ohio State's length. The Buckeye trio of 6-foot-9 Jared Sullinger, 6-foot-7 DeShaun Thomas and 6-foot-6 William Buford consistently disrupted Burke's penetration the last time around. Ohio State still has that length, and its solid win at Minnesota on Tuesday indicates the team is back in form. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten and are tied for 14th in the country, allowing just 0.93 points per pos- session. Sophomore a great point guard Aaron Craft tunity - who'll be matched up a great with Burke much of Satur- M . day night - is another big rea- son why. "He is a tre- mendous part of their success," Beilein said. "He plays like a senior that prioritizes winning, prioritizes defense and prioritizes making the next pass. ... (Novak and senior guard Stu Douglass) feel the game before the opponent does, and Craft is a specialist at that." On the other side of the ball, the Wolverines have held their last two opponents to 39-percent shooting. But reboundingremains a problem, and Ohio State abused Michigan in that area last time, especially on the offensive glass. Beilein, too, still hasn't fig- ured out a way to fully contain Sullinger, who's a favorite to be named first team All-Big Ten at the end of the season. But the Michigan coach has had plenty of time to devise a defensive plan to help stymie the Buckeyes. The Wolverines have been off a full six days, resting and prepar- ing for Ohio State - their longest such period since winter break in December. Beilein said he planned to treat the first few days like training camp, focusing on his team only, before beginning to prep for the Buckeyes later in the week. In a bit of a surprise, the usu- ally reserved Beilein also admit- ted that he'd be addressing the fact that a Big Ten championship is within reach for Michigan. It'd be the team's first conference title since 1986. "(The team) knows the stand- ings, so you just do the math and see right away, if you win, we have a great opportunity here against a great team." Michigan has done much this season to confirm its standing as a program to be reckoned with again. In primetime on Saturday, the Wolverines have an opportu- nity to prove it to the nation. MEN'S BASKETBALL Q&A with ESPN College GameDay producer Engle By LUKE PASCH basketball. Bet you can figure that Daily SportsEditor one out. TMD: I wonder ... To follow last season's historic TE: We're there for basketball Michigan-Notre Dame under-the- obviously, but I don't think you lights matchup at the Big House could ignore Denard Robinson may be a bit like following the and what he means to the Univer- Beatles. sity and the success he's had on the But ESPN College Gameday team. So there will be a little bit of won't be intimidated as the show him sprinkled in a couple times makes the trip to Ann Arbor on throughout the show. We've had Saturday for the first time since some really funny things planned September. That's right - the for him and our guys. weekly basketball edition of the TMD: Onto the matchup, what show will stop at Crisler Center is your opinion ofthis year's Mich- (for the first time ever) for Michi- igan squad? A lot has been said of gan's showdown with Ohio State. the Wolverines finally rebounding On Saturday, students will be from the Ed Martin scandal - is permitted to line up outside of Michiganbasketball finallyback? Gate D of Crisler Center at 5:00 TE: I think they're on their way a.m., and the doors will open at back. There's no denying it with 7:30 a.m. Sacrificing sleep is a what they've done on the court. big price for students to pay the Their record so far this year kind weekend before midterms, but of speaks for itself, and I don't Maize Ragers may do anything think there's any denying that to get their silly posters on televi- they're moving in the right direc- sion. College Gameday producer tion. I'm not an analyst, so I can't and Ohio State alum Tom Engle really get into Xs and Os on Michi- spoke with The Michigan Daily gan basketball, but I think record- on Thursday night to preview the wise and with some of the wins upcoming matchup. they've had this year - they're The Michigan Daily: The basket- definitely working their way back. ball edition of Gameday has never TMD: Most people say the made the stop inAnn Arbor before Michigan-Ohio State rivalry isn't - how'd you decide to make the nearly as big in basketball as it is in trip this year? football. Is there merit to that, and Tom Engle: We look at the what do you think the atmosphere schedule before the season and in Crisler will be like? kind of pick out games of interest TE: Well, I hope the atmosphere as the season plays out, and for- is great. We've had some really tunately for us, this turned out to good atmospheres this year so far. be a really big game. We got lucky You know, the more people that withthatdecision. Unlikefootball, are there, the better the atmo- we do this before the season starts sphere, and our guys on the set or as the season begins - it's not a thrive off of that. As far as the week-to-week basis. So we're for- rivalry, and I'm speaking as an tunate that we have a really good Ohio State alum - I wasn't going matchup this week in Ann Arbor. to tell you that, but I am - I don't TMD: On the morning show, think it's anywhere near football you guys usually do something fun and that's for a couple reasons. with the team, sometimes a how- One, they play two times every well-do-you-know-your-team- year, and win or loss doesn't really mate segment - can we expect to impact your year nearly as much see that on Saturday? as whenyouplay12 football games TE: Yeah, that's kind of a weekly a season. segment that we've done all year, TMD: So, as an Ohio alum, and we're going to do it again at what are your opinions of Buckeye Michigan. We've had a lot of fun coach Thad Matta and what he's with it, and we've actually started done for the program there? to keep score of how these kids are TE: He's been tremendous. It's doing. They've done tremendous proven to be a really good hire, this year. I'll wait and let you find he's been an excellent recruiter, out, but there are two players who and year-in, year-out, they've won have agreed to do it. 20 games or more. I think the next TMD: C'mon, you won't tell us step for him is to get it done in the who? (NCAA) Tournament. But as an TE: It's a bigsecret. alum speaking strictly as an alum, TMD: What else is on tap for I can't imagine anybody else I'd Michigan fans on Saturday morn- rather have there than him. ing? TMD: Score prediction? TE: Therewilllbe an appearance TE: I have none. I hope it's a by probably the most popular ath- great game and a lot of people lete on campus, who doesn't play watch! OurAirpoit Shuttle GOING TO is CHEAP, EASkand RELIABLE THE . A lotlesssthan acab-save upto 50% when AIRPORTP compared to cabs. * Door-to-doorservice -don'tschleppyour bags all overAnn Arbor " Guaranteed Service-if we fail to getyou to For a Reservation, Call 734.971. 5555 Or go on-line @ www.customtransit.com uv 0 0 Seniors to play last home series By MATT SLOVIN Daily Sports Editor A small but talented senior class will play its last sched- uled home games for the No. 4 Michigan hockey team at Yost Ice Arena N. Michigan this weekend. at Michan But if the series against North- Matchup: ern Michigan- NMU 14-10-6; goes better for UM18-10-4 the Wolver- When: Friday ines than the 7:35 p.m., Satur- last time the day 5:05 p.m.. two teams met, Where: Crisler they will earn Center more dates TV/Radio: in the arena's BTN, FSD friendly con- fines. Senior defenseman Greg Pateryn acknowledged that it's always hard to watch team- mates skate off the Yost rink for the last time - now it's his turn. "In years past ... guys were getting pretty sad about it," Pateryn said. "It's (our) favorite place to play in the country.... It's kind of weird to think about how yot were just a freshman a few years ago." When Michigan (12-8-4 CCHA,18-10-4 overall) traveled to Marquette for an October series against the Wildcats (9-9- 6, 14-10-6), conference play got off to a rocky start. In the series opener, Wolverine fifth-year senior goaltender Shawn Hun- wick was ejected for throwing a punch in a second-period brawl. Northern Michigan plans on keeping its emotions in check while playing in a hostile envi- ronment this weekend, with six critical CCHA points hanging in the balance. "I think it's good that there's a rivalry between us," said Wildcat senior forward Andrew Cherniwchan in an interview with ESPN 970. "(It) brings a lot of emotion to the game. But at the same time, you can't let your emotions get the best of you and you just got to keep a level head." Cherniwchan went on to say that he feels the Wolverines are usually the instigators. "We're hard working and we're physical," Cherniwchan said. "Sometimes they take offense to that." Awaiting Northern Michi- gan after its long bus ride from the Upper Peninsula will be a team that hardly resembles the one that the Wildcats took four out of six points from in Octo- ber. Michigan's leaders have emerged, and Hunwick knows he can't afford to lose his head and place his team in a vulner- able position. In his weekly film session, what stood out the most to Michigan coach Red Berenson was the Wildcats' special-teams prowess. Northern Michigan ranks near the top of the CCHA in both power-play and penalty- kill percentages. But to Beren- son, it's just another stage of a gauntlet through tough special teams opponents recently. "Every week, we look at another team with good special teams," Berenson said. "Notre Dame, Miami (Ohio), Michigan State - and now Northern." Wednesday, the Wolve-ines ran a 5-on-3 drill, rotating play- ers from offense to defense to simulate a tough kill or a crucial man advantage. "In practice, you can stop the drill and figure things out," said junior forward Lindsay Sparks. "In the games, you can't really do that. So it's a good tool." During the series in Mar- quette, the Wolverines strug- gled to find the net on the power play, going 0-for-6 with an extra skater in the Friday night loss to the Wildcats. The next night wasn't much better, though Michigan did manage a shootout win. In that game, it was the penalty kill's shortcom- ings that made the difference, as Northern Michigan notched two power-play goals. "It's the little things on spe- cial teams," Pateryn said. "I think what it comes down to is our work ethic." Berenson scoffed when asked if special teams will determine the winner this weekend - "It usually decides weekends," he said. But for this one, it seems especially important that the Wolverines manage to cut down penalties, which have engulfed them at their worst this season. He also expects emotions to play only a marginal role on senior night. Berenson believes the tears and memories are best saved for the last time his skat- ers take their jerseys off. With playoff positioning - as well as an outside shot at the CCHA title - on the line, Michigan should have all the incentive it needs to earn another home series in March. j ADAM GLANZMAN/Daily Defenseman Greg Pateryn on the ice.