8 - Tuesday, March b, 2012

The Michigan Daily - michiganclaily.com

8 - Tuesday, March 6, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Boilermakers take
Big Ten title in Indy

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ADAM GLANZMAN/Daily
Freshman forward Alex Guptill finished the regular season as the Michigan hockey team's leading scorer, collecting a total of 15 goals and 31 points.
Gupti 1 celebratesirthday
with All-Rookie honor

ByMATT SLOVIN
Daily Sports Editor
Alex Guptill certainly didn't
have a case of the Mondays this
week. The freshman forward
entered his third decade of life
and was named tothe CCHAAll-
Rookie team.
Pretty good birthday, eh?
"Definitely," Guptill said.
"Turning 20 and then you hear
that news - it's special. ... I'm
really happy to be able to share
it with myself, my family and my
teammates."
When Michigan coach Red
Berenson was informed of Gup-
till's accomplishment, neither
shock nor glee were evident on
his face. His standout freshman
earned the honor by racking
up 16 goals - tied for the most
among NCAA first-year skaters
- en route to 31 points.
The rookie's campaign was
enough to draw praise from the
league's coaches, but the team-
mates that flank Guptill are the
ones that speak highest of him.
Junior linemate Chris Brown
doesn't simply think his center-
man is one of the best in the con-
ference.
"I think he's one of the most

dominant freshmen in college
hockey," Brown said.
The scoring prowess isn't
something Berenson expected
of Guptill coming in. Berenson
didn't see a future decorated goal
scorer when he saw Guptill play
for the Waterloo Black Hawks
of the United States Hockey
League last year. Instead, he saw
an extremely raw skater who had
to develop if he wanted to see the
ice his freshman season. Beren-
son had a laundry list of Guptill's
shortcomings after his first times
seeing him play.
"He needed to ramp up his
defensive awareness and his
work ethic, shift after shift, and
even puck management," Beren-
son said. "There were a lot of
things that he had to get better
at."
Guptill struggled to find his
hockey identity in the USHL.
Injured and without a serious
role on the team, he turned to
Michigan and Berenson to fine-
tune his game. It didn't take long.
"When he got here, I was
impressed," Berenson said. "He
was ahead of where he was (in
2010). I thought his game was
better - his skating (and) his
puck touches."

But Berenson wasn't the only
one who recognized the poten-
tial in Guptill. Brown sees a lit-
tle bit of senior linemate David
Wohlberg, who was named to
the All-Rookie team during his
freshman campaign, in Guptill.
"He's got a scoring touch I
haven't seen in a long time -
probably since Wohlberg won
(the award)," Brown said.
But the always-humble Wohl-
berg thinks bigger things await
the protegd. Wohlberg has been
riddled with injuries through-
out his Michigan career, only to
finally find his stride this season.
Guptill, he thinks, brings more
to the table, at least at that young
age.
"I think people expect more of
him and he's given more," Wohl-
berg said. "So in that aspect, he's
(more) well-rounded than I was
at that time."
Ever since the trip to Alaska,
when Michigan began to turn
its season around, Guptill and
Wohlberg have been pacing the
Wolverines on their top line
along with junior forward Chris
Brown.
Before Berenson made that
switch, Wohlberg said, Guptill
was more of a "grinder" while on

the fourth line.
"He's really just opening his
eyes and learning from every-
one else around him, " Wohlberg
said. "He's become a really good
player."
Since Wohlberg was also
a highly touted freshman, he
knows firsthand how special it is
to be recognized at such an early
stage.
And though expectations for
Guptill will most assuredly be
higher next year, this honor is
the trademark of the beginnings
of a successful college career.
"It's awesome," Wohlberg said
of the recognition. "It's the cul-
mination of a pretty good year,
and then you have a chance to
win a national title after that and
help your team that way. I know
(Guptill's) looking forward to
that."
Not bad for a Monday.
NOTE: With Bowling Green's
upset victory over Northern
Michigan last weekend, Notre
Dame becomes Michigan's quar-
terfinal opponent. The Fighting
Irish will play in Ann Arbor on
Friday and Saturday, with a deci-
sive game three on Sunday if nec-
essary. Saturday's contest will be
televised on Comcast.

By COLLEEN THOMAS
Daily Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS - It took two
overtimes on Sunday to decide a
winner.
With the game tied at 56,
Purdue junior Courtney Moses
drove to the basket, going for the
game-winning layup. Her shot
was blocked, and a desperation
attempt at the buzzerby Nebraska
sophomore Jordan Hooper came
up short, forcing the first over-
time.
But that wasn't enough. Nebras-
ka senior Kaitlyn Burke missed
an open 3-pointer and Purdue's
final shot was blocked, forcing
the a fifth overtime in the last two
meetings between the teams.
The fourth-seeded Boilermak-
ers dominated the second extra
period. Purdue led 73-70 in the
final minutes, and the sixth-seed-
ed Cornhuskers couldn't find an
open look to tie. Purdue lifted the
tournament trophy for the first
time since 2008.
Sunday night's thriller wrapped
up the four-day, 11-game tourna-
ment at Banker's Life Fieldhouse.
The action began on Thursday,
with four consecutive first-round
games. Seventh-seeded Michigan
and 10th-seeded Illinois opened
tournament play in the morning,
when the Wolverines avenged a
second-round loss in last year's
tournament with a 68-53 win.
Senior guard Courtney Boylan
led all scorers with 17 points, and
junior guard Kate Thompson
and junior center Rachel Shef-
fer chipped in 13 and 12 points,
respectively.
The Fighting Illini duo of
Karisma Penn and Adrienne God-
Bold were limited in Thursday's
game thanks to a combination of
Michigan's consistent defense and
their own foul troubles.
The Wolverines held Illinois
scoreless from the field for nine
minutes in the first half, and Penn
was benched early in the second
half, when she picked up her third
personal with 16:25 on the clock.
That sealed the game for Michi-
gan. There were three more games
that afternoon, with 11th-seeded
Northwestern and sixth-seeded
Nebraska facing off soon after the
end of the first game. The Huskers
opened the game with a 41-10 run
and scored a tournament-record

54 points in the first half, winning
in convincing fashion, 88-56.
The third game featured Big
Ten Freshman of the Year Rachel
Banham, who led eighth-seeded
Minnesota against ninth-seeded
Wisconsin.
The Golden Gophers crushed
the Badgers, 81-49, and Minnesota
went on to face regular-season
champions Penn State.
Thursday's final game pit-
ted fifth-seeded Michigan State
against 12th-seeded Indiana. The
Spartans shot 51 percent from the
field and outrebounded Indiana,
38-29, en route to an easy 97-68
victory.
Friday's first matchup was a
defensive battle, as both the Wol-
verines and Buckeyes were held to
season-lows in points. The Wol-
verines kept it close for most of the
half, but the Buckeyes held on for
a 57-48 win.
In the second game, four Husk-
ers scored in double digits to
end the Hawkeyes' win streak.
Nebraska won, 80-68, and took on
Ohio State in the first semifinal.
The matchup between the
Golden Gophers and the Lady
Lions was arguably the best game
of the tournament up to that point.
Minnesota couldn't hold on to a
13-point halftime lead, but a late-
game push and a 3-pointerby Ban-
ham closed the gap to two points.
ButPenn State sophomore Maggie
Lucas sunk two free throws to ice
the game and win, 78-74.
In the final game of the quar-
terfinals, Rayburn went 7-for-10
from beyond the arc to seal Pur-
due's victory and a matchup with
Penn State in Saturday's second
semifinal.
On Saturday, Nebraska contin-
ued its winning ways, making a
strong push to become the first
team in tournament history to
win four games in four days. The
Huskers dominated the boards
against Ohio State and went on to
win, 77-62.
The second game on Saturday
went down to the wire. With time
winding down, Rayburn drove
to the hoop and hit the game-
winning layup to lift Purdue over
the regular-season champions
in a thriller, 68-66. That set up
Sunday's championship matchup,
where first-year Big Ten member
Nebraska took on but ultimately
fell to the Boilermakers.

Mailbag: Big Ten award snub, Hardaway Jr. draft stock

By LUKE PASCH But I do think Trey Burke
Daily Sports Editor was gypped out of an outright
Freshman of the Year honor. The
The past 24 hours have been a media voted for Burke, and the
whirlwind in Big Ten hoops. coaches voted for Zeller, so the
On Sunday afternoon, Michi- two will share the award, which
gan State, Michigan and Ohio seems outrageous.
State each secured a share of the Zeller's statistics are sexy, no
regular-season Big Ten title. On doubt. He led all Big Ten fresh-
Monday night, Spartan coach men in scoring and rebounding,
Tom Izzo won Big Ten Coach of so if you're going by the book, he
the Year and his senior forward deserves the award. But Burke's
Draymond Green took home stat line was comparable, with
Player of the Year. Michigan's 14.6 points a game - and he led
Trey Burke and Indiana's Cody Michigan to the Big Ten title.
Zeller shared the conference Senior guard and co-captain
Freshman of the Year honor. Zack Novak knows what that
With the recent develop- means.
ments, Michigan basketball fans "You look where we were, los-
are itching to ask questions, and ing Darius (Morris to the NBA
the Daily basketball beat is here draft) ... and now no one really
to answer them. knows what to think," Novak
How did Michigan win a share said on Monday. "Then all of a
of the Big Ten title with just sudden we've got a freshman
one player (Burke) on the first come in, I think he was a three-
two All-Big Ten teams? Are the star. ... To come in and play like
Wolverines really well balanced he has, starting point guard for a
or did they get snubbed by the Big Ten championship team, as a
selection committees? freshman, that's tough."
-Jake Friedman As balanced a team as Michi-
I don't believe that Michigan gan is, the team wouldn't be rel-
was snubbed. Burke was named evant at this point if it weren't for
to the All-Big Ten second team, Burke - the Wolverines could be
and Hardaway Jr. to the third sitting down with Penn State and
team. Based on their perfor- Nebraska in the basement of the
mances and their competition, I conference standings.
agree with those decisions. Without him, senior guard Stu
Balance is a staple of John Douglass - maybe even fresh-
Beilein-coached teams. He's man Carlton Brundidge - would
never recruited superstars - have been left to command the
he relies on a team effort every point-guard position this season.
game, and any one of his players Gasp.
could beat you on a given night. Do you think winning the Big
Even his esteemed counterpart Ten Championship increases Tim
at Duke, coach Mike Krzyze- Hardaway Jr.'s draft stock if he
wski, mentioned after beating decides to go to the NBA, since
Michigan in the NCAA Tourna- he is the "leader" of Michigan's
ment last season that the Wol- basketball team?
verines were a "team" in every -TravisAbro
sense of the word. Of course a championship

helps Hardaway Jr.'s draft stock
- NBA scouts want winners, and
Michigan tends to roll when the
sophomore stud is in rhythm.
But Hardaway Jr. is not nearly
ready for the pros, and I doubt
he'll enter the draft after this
season.
The star has certainly shown
flashes of brilliance. His 25
points on a mere seven attempts
from the field at Illinois last
week displayed the type of effi-
ciency scouts like to see in their
prospects. But it's also the type
of efficiency that has eluded
Hardaway Jr. through most of
the season.
As fun as he is to watch when
he finds his stroke, Hardaway
Jr.'s cold streaks are frequent
and unbearable to watch. Scouts
won't be impressed with his sub-
30 shooting percentage from
behind the arc, and they'll be
underwhelmed with his ball-
handling skills, which have
hardly improved since his fresh-
man campaign.
But I admit I may be speak-
ing too soon. Last week, Grant-
land writer Davy Rothbart asked
Hardaway Jr. if this was his last
season at Michigan, and his elo-
quent response was, "No. We
don't know yet. I'm not sure."
Take that for what it's worth.
The Wolverines may well have
a lot of basketball left to play. If
Hardaway Jr. goes on a torrid
run through this weekend's Big
Ten Tournament in Indianapo-
lis and leads Michigan to its first
Sweet Sixteen since 1994, it may
be enough for him to cash in.
And yes, in that case, having
the regular-season conference
title in his back pocket obviously
helps his draft stock.
How will the absence of a

ALDEN REISS/Daily
Freshman guard Trey Burke was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year along with Indiana freshman forward Cody Zeller.

dominant big man affect the Wol-
verines' chances in the NCAA
Tourney?
-Steven Katz
Not having a premier front-
court is a concern. The elite
programs - the Kentuckys and
Syracuses - have some of the top
big men in the nation, and it's no
coincidence they're ranked so
highly.
How Michigan performs
through March is dependent on

a number of factors, but sopho-
more forward Jordan Morgan's
performance is near the top of
that list. The Wolverine front-
court is thin in the absence of
sophomore forward Jon Hor-
ford, who injured his foot back in
December. And if Morgan finds
himself in foul trouble against
a team that likes to bang under-
neath, Michigan may be in trou-
ble.
But don't forget that Mor-

gan has the ability to turn some a
heads. Against Ohio State in Ann
Arbor last month, he held Jared
Sullinger in check through most
of the contest and added 11 points U
and 11 rebounds of his own.
So, Michigan's frontcourt
could contend, but it's fragile. If a
Morgan has to sit with two fouls
early in the first half of a Sweet
Sixteen matchup against, say,
Kansas, you may want to close
your eyes.