T g l hW S The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, November 7; 2012 -- 9A Michigan unveils rotation By NEAL ROTHSCHILD Daily Sports Editor Shed was the operative word for the No. 5 Michigan basketball team's preseason. Mitch McGary shed some pounds to get into playing shape. The Wolverines' prized fresh- men shed their gift wrapping and revealed what they can do at the college level. The team took two Division-II weaklings to the woodshed. And Michigan coach John Beilein shed some light on how his new pieces would figure into this team's rotation. After sophomore point guard Trey Burke announced last spring that he would bypass the NBA Draft to return to Ann Arbor, there seemed to be two givens in the startinglineup. Burke would return at point guard and junior Tim Hardaway Jr. would be on one of the wings. After that, there were questions. Fans wondered whether McGary or oft-injured redshirt sophomore Jon Horford would replace the only other returning starter, Jor- dan Morgan, in the post. Or would Beilein get innova- tive and depart from his one- post offense to accommodate the influx of size? Many suspected that freshman Glenn Robinson II would be found in the starting five, but who knew? Would expe- rience or expectation triumph in deciding the final starting spot? Eighty minutes of crisp basket- ball settled most of the questions, and what remains to be seen is how players react to roles, which will dictate how Beilein will switch things up as the season progresses. Morgan's spot in the starting five is secure. He's a steady pres- ence. Though he isn't a dynam- ic scorer, he defends well, has improved his rebounding, shoots for a high percentage and stays within himself. 'M' releases '15-'16 football schedules Home-and- all-time record against the Utes, including an infamous 25-23 home series with defeat at Michigan Stadium in 2008. The Wolverines have faced Arkansas to begin Oregon State four times (4-0), Brigham Young once (0-1) and have never played UNLV. The next fall, Michigan will By STEPHEN J. NESBITT open with consecutive home Daily Sports Editor games against Hawaii, Miami (Ohio), Colorado and Ball State. The Athletic Department Michigan has played Hawaii released Michigan's finalized 2015 twice (2-0), Colorado four times and 2016 football schedules on (3-1) and Ball State once (1-0). Tuesday and announced a home- That game against Ball State was and-home series with Arkansas on Nov. 4, 2006, when Michigan beginning in 2019. squeaked out a 34-26 victory at With the looming hiatus of the Michigan Stadium. The head Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry coach on the Cardinals' sideline in 2015 and beyond, the Athletic was Brady Hoke. Department filled the non-con-. The home-and-home series ference schedule with several between Michigan and Arkan- new opponents. sas will fall on the respective In 1015, the Wolverines will opening weekends in 2018-19. face Utah in Salt Lake City for The Wolverines have faced the the season opener before coming Razorbacks just once, a 45-31 home to play Oregon State, UNLV victory at the Citrus Bowl on and BYU. Michigan holds a 1-1 Jan. 1, 1998. Michigan coach John Beilein has more options to call off the bench this year after landing a bluckbuster freshman class. He'll see less time on the look like he'll ever lose it. He's I know those two will be early floor than last season though, hardly looked like a freshman and entries, either as starters or com- assuming McGary and Horford scored with ease from the inside ing off the bench." fully recover from their aches and outside, averaging 15 points. Though freshman point guard and pains. Horford ,sat out the He's shot 71 percent from the Spike Albrecht will be used pri- preseason with an ailing knee, floor and 63 percent on3-pointers marily to give Burke a breather, though Beilein expects him to be in the two exhibition contests. he may play some minutes as an back for Friday's opener against Beilein opted for experience off-ball guard as he did in Mon- Slippery Rock, while McGary with the last starting lineup spot day's exhibition. The final fresh- missed some practice time with a by entering senior 3-point spe- man, Caris LeVert, may see time balky foot. cialist Matt Vogrich, but he indi- sparingly, but given his athleti- Beilein did indeed show his cated that though he is happy cism and potential, it may be real- intention to implement a 2-post with the starting five so far, it is istic for him to redshirt. With a offense,thoughhelater expressed still under discussion. Vogrich's slight frame that can grow into some reluctance, explaining its spot in the lineup would seem to his talent, LeVert could be best off drawbacks. Morgan and McGary be the most in jeopardy if Beilein using his eligibility starting next shared the floor for three minutes opted for a switch. season. in both halves during Monday Freshman sharpshooter Nik of the four senior guards, only night's 76-48 exhibition win over Stauskas and McGary, if they're Vogrich figures to contribute on Saginaw Valley State. not starting, will see the floor the court. Add some young guards "When Jordan and Mitch were early in games. to the equation and you could get in there, where we could score "I like having that shooter a team that will run opponents 2s, they were hitting 3s," Beilein come off the bench," Beilein said. out of the gym. lamented. With a bigger lineup, "That's why I used to hold Stu "We definitely have more piec- the Wolverines eschew a faster, (Douglass) back and I ended up es this year," Burke said. "With more versatile five that can get putting him in, having a guy who G-Rob and Nik and Vogrich, out quickly on perimeter shoot- will go in there and has the con- we're more flexible. We're able to 2015 SCHEDULE 2016 SCHEDULE ers. As expected, Robinson was given a starting spot and it doesn't fidence to go in and shoot it right away. Those two, whether we change the starting lineup or not, get out more into transition more than we were last year. It's a little different out there." Mac Bennett earns CCHA weekly defenseman honors By MICHAEL LAURILA Daily Sports Writer After a weekend that saw the No. 12 Michigan hockey team give up eight goals and escape with just two points - a shootout victory on Friday night - against No. 16 Northern Michigan, there was little to be pleased about, especially defensively. But junior defenseman Mac Bennett's performance on the weekend was nothing to be scoffed at. Bennett tallied'a goal and an assist in each of the games in Marquette. His four-point weekend and defensive performance were enough to earn him the title of CCHA Gladiator Defenseman of the Week for the first time in his career. Despite his impressive per- formance, the defensive corps, struggled to control the slot around the crease and suffered too many missed assignments, ultimately leading to a flurry of easy, point-blank Wildcat goals. Michigan coach Red Beren- son has continuously said the Wolverines' struggles this past weekend were attributed to problems in the "defensive-zone coverage." Bennett argeed. "I think we need to take pride in D-zone coverage," he said. "It's just little things. It's for- wards picking up their points or defensemen having better sticks in the D-zone. I think if we can build off the D-zone our offen- sive firepower will just come." One area where the offensive firepower hasn't been a problem is Bennett's offensive produc- tion this season. His four-point performance against North- ern Michigan moved his sea- son totals to three goals and six assists - nine points total. Ben- nett leads all CCHA defenseman in points and is fifth overall in the conference. Only senior for- ward A.J. Treais has more points than Bennett on the team. Offensive success isn't an unexpected result from Ben- nett, though. The Narragansett, R.I. native finished with four goals and 17 assists for a total of 21 points last season. But the impetus behind Bennett's high numbers so far might be the diminished defensive corps. Senior defenseman Jon Mer- rill - a pre-season all-CCHA team selection - was injured during Michigan's preseason exhibition against Windsor and has yet to see the ice. There have also been other injuries and issues - fresh- man defenseman Jacob Trouba of a suspension for a hit he had Friday night and sophomore defenseman Brennan Serville missed the entire weekend with a "facial concussion" - which have resulted in Bennett and senior defenseman Lee Moffie filling in for holes in the defen- sive zone. "He's a rushing defenseman," Berenson said. "(He) skates real- ly well and carries the puck really well. The way the game is played now, if you're playing hard in the other team's zone, sooner or later the puck comes back to the point and they've got to get it through. Mac is one of those guys that's findinga way to get it through." Berenson also noted that Ben- nett's wrist shot and not "big slapshots," has been important for him to.get the puck to the net. Along with increased offen- sive productivity, Bennett has also found himself in a different role. The absence of Merrill, a unit boasting just one senior in Moffie and a plethora of young defensemen has given Bennett a "I'm more of a mentor now than I was learning as a younger player," Bennett said. "I think what I can try to do is if I can bring consistency night in and night out, hopefully guys like Trouba, or (sophomore defense- man Mike) Szuma or someone like that can kind of pick up from it." Michigan has boasted the highest-scoring offensive attack this season in the CCHA. But it also comes out of the weekend in Marquette with the conference's second-worst goals against aver- age. Bennett knows the defensive corps will need to pull it togeth- er and perform at a higher level if the Wolverines hope to keep games from becominghigh-scor- ing contests. He also knows that accolades such as defenseman of the week are pointless if it comes after Michigan had a losing weekend. "It's an honor but the bigthing is that we just lost four points up at Northern," he said. "It's kind PATRICK BARRON/Daily Junior defenseman Mac Bennett scored two goals and added two assists against Northern Michigan over the weekend.