8 - Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
8- Tuesday, November13, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
I
Michigan blitzes JUPUL
MEN'S BASKETBALL
'M' advances to 2nd
round of NIT Tip-Off
By COLLEEN THOMAS
Daily Sports Writer
For the first 20 minutes of
Monday night's game, the Michi-
gan men'sbasketball team looked
like it was still basking in its sea-
son-opening victory over Slip-
pery Rock on Friday.
The Wolverines looked lead--
footed on
defense IUPUi 54
and they MICHIGAN 91
settled for
the outside shot on offense, let-
ting Indiana University-Purdue
University Indianapolis stay
within four points for the major-
ity of the first half. At times,
IUPUI was simply playing hard-
er than the Wolverines, especial-
ly on defense.
But with three seconds
remaining before halftime, soph-
omore guard Trey Burke stole
the ball and took it to the rim,
getting fouled in the process - a
defensive effort that was a rare
occurrence in the first half. He
sank the two free throws and
gave the fifth-ranked Wolverines
some momentum going into half-
time.
And it showed. Freshman for-
ward Glenn Robinson III nailed a
3-pointer on Michigan's first pos-
session of the second half, sopho-
more guard Trey Burke made a
layup in transition 30 seconds
later, and the Wolverines defeat-
ed IUPUI in the first round of the
NIT Season Tip-off, 91-54.
"The first half, there were
some moments (where) I thought
we were goingto be ina long bat-
tle," said Michigan coach John
Beilein.
"They were shooting the ball
well and guarding us well -
putting pressure on us that we
hadn't seen yet. Once we got
accustomed to it, we were fine.
Early, we had some adjustments
we had to make, just personally,
to get ready for that type of pres-
sure."
Though the game looked like
a routine victory, Michigan had
issues on defense for most of the
game. The Jaguars broke the
Wolverines'man-to-man defense
By EVERETT COOK
Daily Sports Writer
With a 91-54 victory over
IUPUI on Monday night, the
Michigan basketball team moved
on to the second round of the 2012
NIT Season Tip-Off, matching up
against Cleveland State on Tues-
day.
The winner of Tuesday's
game will earn a coveted spot
in the semifinal round of the
tournament,
which takes
place in New CleVeland
York's Madison Stat
Square Garden
next week. Michigan
In the early Matchup:
game Mon- CSU 2-0;
day at Crisler Michigan 2-0
Arena, the When: Tues-
Vikings needed day 8 p.m.
overtime to beat Where: Crisler
Bowling Green, Center
79-73. Cleve-
land State was TV:
led by forward ESPN2
Tim Kamczyc,
who scored 21 points to go along
with seven rebounds. The Vikings
also got a big game from forward
Mason Marlin, who notched a
double-double with 11 points and
13 rebounds.
Even with the performances of
the Cleveland State forwards on
Monday, Tuesday figures to have
a heavy emphasis on the back-
courts of each team.
Cleveland State's leadingscorer
is 5-foot-9 sophomore pointguard
Charlie Lee, who plays along-
side sophomore guard Sebastian
Douglas. Together, the duo has,
averaged 30 points per game so
far this season, which is more
than a third of the team's total
points. And it's not just points
- as a team, the Vikings have 37
assists on the season, 17 of which,
belongto Lee.
It's hard to make a straight-
up backcourt comparison with
the Wolverines (2-0) since they
technically start four guards, but
the main positional battles will
be with whatever two of the four
guards are tasked with guarding
Lee and Douglas.
Those two guards could be
sophomore Trey Burke and fresh-
man Glenn Robinson III, who
could both have stopped playing
at halftime on Monday and had
big games. When the first half
ended, Burke and Robinson had
a combined 29 of Michigan's 454
points, and Burke had seven of
Michigan's nine assists.
Burke ended up setting a
career-high with nine assists to
go along with his 22 points, while
Robinson scored 21 points on
8-of-9 shooting from the field and
3-for-3 shooting from beyond the
arc.
Tuesday still presents the pos-
sibility of a trap game for several
reasons for Michigan, the biggest
of which being that the Wolver-
ines will play back-to-back games
for the first time this season.
Michigan won't have its usual
rest days, which means fatigue
could be a factor, but perhaps
more importantly, it means Mich-
igan won't have its usual prepara-
tion days.
"You've been practicing hard
and you have two teams going, but
the carrot of New York City wait-
ing for the winner will hopefully
get enough people through it,"
said Michigan coach John Beilein.
"Both Michigan and Cleveland
State have to be very careful
tomorrow about how long people
play because two games back-to-
back, nobody is used to that."
For a team that has played
sharper and with more energy in
the second half than in the first
half for every exhibition and game
this season, losing that prepara-
tion day could be big tomorrow.
"Just trying to finish strong
as hard as we can, and I think
we just need to do a better job of
having that intensity the whole
game," said junior guard Tim
Hardaway Jr. "It's kind of hard
for both teams to get going in the
first half, the anxieties are there,
so just trying to do a good job of
having that momentum going the
whole game."
Freshman forward Glenn Robinson II scored 21 points in the Wolverines victory on Monday
early in the game with screens
and beatcits zone by making extra
passes to open shooters. And at
one point in the second half, the
Wolverines were caught on their
back foot as IUPUI broke into a
three-on-one fast break.
"Credit to IUPUI, they did a
great job of getting us uncom-
fortable at the beginning of the
game," said junior guard Tim
Hardaway, Jr. "They did a great
job of breaking us down. That's
one thing that we really need to
focus on on the defensive end
- once the team is breaking us
down, we have to do a great job
of just staying mature and mov-
ing on to the next play. Justbeing
able to adapt to their offense and
get a little more reps throughout
the game, we really caught on to
what they're doing.
"I think we just did a great job
of making plays down the stretch
and throughout the game to get
better looks - that's just the
maturity of this team."
Michigan also struggled to
control the ball, coughing it up
13 times, but it allowed just seven
points off of turnovers. IUPUI
played tenacious defense in the
first half, and the Wolverines just
didn't have energy.
But the offense stole the show.
Shots were falling for the Wol-
verines all game as they have
been all season - Michigan hit
60 percent of its field goals and
went 13-for-21 from beyond the
arc in Monday's game.
Burke led the Wolverines,
scoring 22 points and dishing
nine assists, and Robinson tal-
lied 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting
- he was perfect from the field
until the six-minute mark of the
second half.
With a slew of terrific shoot-
ers, the Wolverines saw five
players in double digits - fresh-
man guard Nik Stauskas had 11,
and redshirt junior forward Jor-
dan Morgan and Hardaway, Jr.
tossed in 10 - and had plenty of
contribution off the bench. The
reserves had 28 points, and the
bench was almost cleared, except
for freshman guard Caris LeVert,
with three minutes left in the
game.
"I don't think this year our
problem will be scoring," Burke
said. "That's just the reality ofthe
situation. (But) the defensive side
is something that we're work-
ing towards ... I think that's one
thing we need to mature on."
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Depth plays key
role in NCAAs
4
4
By STEVEN BRAID
Daily Sports Writer
Entering the 2012 season, it
was no secret that one of the most
valuable- assets the Michigan
women's soccer team possessed
was its depth.
Michigan coach Greg Ryan
frequently said he was looking .
forward to playing17or 18 players
every game, trying to take advan-
tage of his deep bench as much as
possible.
"I think we are going to be able
to run teams off the park because
we've got so much talent and so
much depth," Ryan said in early
September. "We're talented and
fast and skillfulatceveryposition."
And against Central Michigan
on Saturday, the importance of
the bench to the Wolverines' suc-
cess could not have been more
clear. Though
pewa reserves, who contributed
just one shot in109 minutes.
And in the extra period, it was
play from the reserves that cre-
ated scoring opportunities and
set up the victory. Just minutes
into overtime, Jaffe dribbled deep
into Central Michigan territory to,
set up Ezurike for an easy game-
winning score.
"I've got to give credit to our
players that came off the bench,"
Ryan said. "Our depth tonight
was huge."
SCARY MOMENT: Early in the
second half, junior midfielder Tori
McCombs went up for aheader on
the Wolverines' side of the pitch
in what turned out to be a scary
moment for Michigan. Contest-
ing a header, the do-everything
midfielder collided with Central
Michigan defender Emily Baston
in mid-air, causing both players to
hit the ground.
Senior quarterback Denard Robinson has missed the last two starts and is still day-to-day entering Michigan's home finale on Saturday againstI owa
Robinson resilient despite injury
A
Ryan didn't
play 18 players
- he played just
14 - the depth
enabled Michi-
gan to control
the tempo of
the game. The
reserves offered F
tunity to play fr
times withoutccor
team's ability on t
"I think we
(Michigan)outwii
the players comini
Ryan said after
victory against t
"Corinne Harris,
a fantastic game
bench and (so did
Shelby (Chamber
ing off the bench.'
The bench
attacked Central
match. Chambers-
senior midfielder1
freshman defens
Raguse combined
and an assist in,
the bench, oppos(
Though
McCombs lay
Our depth motionless
, for a moment,
tonight was huge. she was able
to walk off the
field under her
own power.
Ryan an oppor- "If you review the film, it was
esh legs at all a horrific play, where she headed
mpromising the the ball past and a player hit her in
he field. the head," Ryan said.
wore Central *McCombs, who made her ninth
th the depth and start of the season and first since
g off the bench," a 3-0 victory against Indiana on
Michigan's 2-1 Sept. 15, played just 27 minutes
he Chippewas. before exiting the contest. The
I thought, had injury sidelined her for the rest of
coming off the the match, and her health will be
junior forward) monitored on a day-to-day basis
s-Garcia) com- before the team's second-round
matchup against Portland.
aggressively "She wasn't able to go back in
Michigan all the game which means the train-
-Garcia, Harris, er was concerned that she has a
Emily Jaffe and concussion because you can't risk
seman Sydney taking two concussions one after
I for six shots another," Ryan said. "So, we had
181 minutes off to leave Tori off and we just got to
ed to the Chip- play it by ear."
By STEPHEN J. NESBITT
Daily Sports Editor
Perhaps the final chapter of
Denard Robinson's Michigan
career has already come to a
close.
The storybook narrative
began four years ago at Michi-
gan Stadium, in front of a sea of
109,910 in the most storied build-
ing in college football, And it
began with a rookie mistake, one
that birthed the legend of No. 16
as one of college football's most
electric quarterbacks.
Robinson muffed his first snap
in a winged helmet. He hurriedly
picked the ball off the turf, sped
right and weaved through the
Western Michigan defense for a
43-yard touchdown.
You might remember his last
appearance at the Big House.
It, too, saw the ball on the turf.
But that was only because Rob-
inson's emphatic spike put the
Wolverines in position to topple
Michigan State on a chilly Octo-
ber night for the first time in four
years.
It may have been Robinson's
last appearance as quarterback
at Michigan Stadium. Robin-
son's nagging ulnar-nerve injury
has kept him out of consecutive
games and the coaching staff
remains mum as to Robinson's
.status or whether he is practic-
ing, saying only that he is "day-
to-day."
Meanwhile, the Michigan
offense hasn't slowed, guided by
the steady hands of junior back-
up quarterback Devin Gardner.
Robinsonhas participated lightly
in warm-ups, but has traded in
his helmet for a trucker cap and
headset on the sideline.
"(Robinson has) been a great
leader," said Michigan coach
Brady Hoke. "I mean, he's been a
terrific leader."
With the senior class of Michi-
gan's 'Team 133' facing its final
home game on Saturday against
Iowa, it's becoming increasingly
apparent that Robinson may not
get another snap in the stadium
that made him famous.
"Everybody wants to go out
the way they dreamed coming
into Michigan," said fifth-year
senior offensive guard Patrick
Omameh. "But however things
unfold, it's out of our hands. We
just have to play the hand we've
been dealt and keep moving for-
ward.",
Robinson is Michigan's all-
time leader in total offensive
yardage and one of just eight
players in college football his-
tory to compile 40 rushing and
40 passing touchdowns in their
career. Hoke recognized that
while Robinson has "made a
mark" at Michigan, missing
the tail end of his senior season
would be devastating.
"I think anytime a guy can't
finish, because of injury or what-
ever, you're disappointed," Hoke
said.
Hoke has not ruled out the
possibility of using Robinson at
a different position if his injury
should continue to keep him out
of action at quarterback. He was
on the field for one kick return
earlier in the fall, but, for now,
he's Michigan's biggest cheer-
leader from the sideline - and
that's a title he's held for some
time now.
"He's a source of encourage-
ment," Omameh said. "He's the
kind of guy who whatever he can
do for the team, no matter what
capacity it is, he'll tryto do it"
Robinson has indisputably
been the face of Michigan foot-
ball for the past three .seasons
since he took over for Tate Forci-
er at quarterback. That attentidn
was unnatural for the soft-spo-
ken Robinson, a native of Deer-
field Beach, Fla., but he's grown
into the role.
"Denard's a guy that has
thrust himself into the talk of
some of the greats at the Uni-
versity of Michigan," said senior
defensive end Craig Roh. "He's
been a guy since day one that's
been a huge factor in everything
that we've done. Just the day-to-
day energy that he brings - I've
almost never seen him in a bad
mood."
Roh joked that while Rob-
inson's energy is contagious,
"sometimes it's annoying." Even
in the last two weeks since
Robinson was injured against
Nebraskahis moodhasn'tdamp-
ened.
"(His attitude) really hasn't
changed," Roh said. "He really
hasn'tchanged at all. The guy is a
team player, when you really get
down to it.
"It's great to see that someone
is always able to keep coming
back again and again with that
great positive attitude he has."
/F p