8A - Thursday, January 31, 2013Te c a i m gdy
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam
McGary, Horford
answer the call
Redshirt sophomore forward Jon Horford recorded a season high in both points (10) and rebounds (seven) in Michigan's win over Northwestern on Wednesday.
For u wi is a rout
By STEVEN BRAID
DailySports Editor
Playing in its first game ranked
No. 1Sin the country in 21 years,
the Michigan men's basketball
team certainlylooked the part.
Despite playing without their
starting center, redshirt junior
Jordan Morgan, the Wolverines
(7-1 Big Ten, 20-1 overall) used
a high-
powered N'WESTERN 46
attack to MICHIGAN 68
jump out to
a 15-pointhalftime lead and never
looked back, defeating North-
western 68-46.
"That was huge for us," said
freshman forward Glenn Rob-
inson III of the first-half run. "It
got a lot of people's confidence up,
and coming out on a run like that.
is always great forthe team."
After trailing 7-5 in the early
minutes of the contest, Michigan
used hot shooting and a speedy
offensive attack to take control
against the Wildcats (3-6, 12-10).
Sparked by 14 consecutive points
from freshmen, the Wolverines
electrified Crisler Center with
an 18-4 run, which included two
3-pointers from freshman guard
Nik Stauskas and two dunks from
Robinson.
By the end of its run, Michigan
had connected on 10 of its first
11 shots and sank all three of its
shots from behind the arc.
"Northwestern gave us differ-
ent looks ... so it was importantto
get into the middle and kick it out
to the open man," saidsophomore
guard Trey Burke.
The Wolverines, who played as
close to mistake-free basketball
as possible in the first half, held
a 36-21 advantage at halftime.
Led by Burke's 10 points and six
assists on 4-of-6 shooting, Michi-
gan entered intermission with 10
assists and no turnovers, while
committing just one foul.
The freshman trio of Robinson,
Stauskas and McGary combined
to shoot 9-of-10 from the field in
the opening stanza, totaling 23
points. Stauskas had three of the
team's five makes from deep.
"(In the first half), the assist
numbers were really some-
thing," said Michigan coach John
Beilein. "Trey set the tone early.
He found Nik, he found (junior
guard) Tim (Hardaway Jr.), he
found the big men - he did a tre-
mendous job. That's really how
we have to play."
The Wolverines came out of
the locker room a little flat, and
Northwestern took advantage,
cutting Michigan's lead to nine
points in the opening minutes
of the second half. Even after
Beilein called a timeout five min-
utes into the stanza, the Wolver-
ines continued to display a lack of
intensity.
But with a 10-point lead with
seven minutes gone by in the
second period, the Wolver-
ines revved up their energy.
Sparked by four straight points
from Burke, and hounding team
defense, Michigan went on an
18-7 run to stretch its lead to 21
points with six minutes remain-
ing in the game.
"I think that we just needed
to step up defensively, and that's
what we did," Robinson said.
By COLLEEN THOJ
Daily Sports Editor
With a boot on h
foot, the defensive roc
Michigan men's basketb
walked around the cour
warm-ups, watching hi
mates do their pregame
before taking on Northw
Redshirt junior forwi
dan Morgan wasn't able
Wednesday night agai
Wildcats due to a righ
injury sustained against
but that wasn't an issue
Wolverines. With freshi
ward Mitch McGary as
contributor off the bei
redshirt sophomore fore
Horford back from an inj
1 Michigan had no prob
ing a weak Northwester
court, defeating the M
68-46.
Horford
was called to
start in Mor- 4tY
gan's place 1
but McGary the
and Horford
basically split d
minutes, as
Michigan
coach John
Beilein usually does for
men. The duo combine
points and 18 rebounds
ford even got three bli
Northwestern's Alex Ola
played clean defense,c
ting a total of just four ft
Horford noted that M
assistant coach Bacari.
der stressed playing er
defense to keep from ge
foul trouble, as the dept
have been an issue aga
Wildcats with just two m
wards in the rotation.
"It was a defensiver
(before the game), you
make up for (Morgan's a
you have to be the anchc
defense," Horford said
have to do the stuff Jord
so well, and I feel likev
pretty good job.
"(Defense) is just str
lot because Jordan do
a great job. He's exce
playing tough defense,
fouling. Mitch and mys
a tendency to be more
sive in some areas that
us to get fouls, (and) Jor
a great job reminding us
calm and not to get too ai
McGary played as he t
does, providing energy
bench and grabbing r
MAS - he tied a career-best with 11
r boards on Wednesday - and
got his typical 'minutes. Both
is right McGary and Horford were
k of the effective defensively, holding
all team Olah and Jared Swopshire to
t during just 18 points and 11 rebounds.
s team- Beilein was impressed with
routine Horford's progression since
vestern. returning from injury on Jan.
ard Jor- 13 and noted how well the red-
to start shirt sophomore rebounded
nst the Wednesday night, saying he got
it ankle rebounds "only Jon Horford
Illinois, could get."
for the Sophomoreguard TreyBurke,
man for- who was integral in finding
a solid either of the two forwards post-
nch and ing up in the paint for an easy
eard Jon layup, reflected Beilein's senti-
ury, No. ments, saying how he thought
lem fac- Horford deserved the starting
n front- job on Wednesday.
Wildcats, "Horford did a real phenom-
enal job, we call it 'the next man
up,' Burke
said. "He
)u have to do just came out
playing at a
stuff Jordan high level. He
got us a lot of
)es so well." extra posses-
sions on the
offensive and
defensive end, *
the big got to the free-throw line, hit his
d for 16 free throws. If he can bring that
- Hor- every game, it can be another
ocks on strength forus."
h - and Before Morgan's injury,
commit- though, there had been a lot of
uls. speculation as to whether or not
tichigan McGary would start in place of
Alexan- Morgan sometime down the
ror-free stretch. Recently, Beilein has
etting in shot down any idea of McGary
:h could starting, as he's been consistent
inst the off the bench, but the coach
rain for- asked the freshman on Tuesday
what he felt about starting in
message place of Morgan.
have to "I said to Mitch McGary,
bsence), 'Mitch, what do you.feel about
or of the tomorrow? I don't know what to
d. "You do yet, you (and Jon) both prac-
Ian does ticed well,' " Beilein said. "He
we did a said, 'Coach, I've been coming
off the bench for two years, I'm
essed a cool with coming off the bench.'
es such That really helped us make the
Alent at decision. Jon would've done the
without same thing. ... Talk about sacri-
elf have fice."
aggres- NOTE: When asked about
causes Morgan's status for the top-five
dan did showdown against Indiana,
s to stay Beilein expressed uncertain-
nxious." ty. Beilein said Morgan has
ypically responded well to rehab but did
off the not go through live practice on
ebounds Tuesday.
Sophomore guard Trey Burke had just one turnover against the Wildcats.
Northwestern never got clos-
er than 19 points the rest of the
game. Though Michigan's shoot-
ing wavered late in the contest,
the Wolverines .kept up their
defensive intensity, applying
pressure up until the final min-
utes of the game.
The Wildcats shot just 37 per-
cent from the field, connecting on
four of their 19 3-point attempts.
They were led on the offensive
end by center Alex Olah. The
freshman totaled 10 points and
three rebounds and was the only
player on Northwestern to reach
double-digit points.
Burke ended the contest with
game highs of 18 points and eight
assists, and turned the ball over
only once - half of Michigan's
season-low two giveaways.
Replacing the injured Morgan
in the starting lineup, redshirt
sophomore forward Jon Hor-
ford finished with a season-high
10 points, seven rebounds and
three blocks. He gave a big boost
to the Wolverines, scoring all of
his points after halftime. McGary
came off the bench to contribute
a season-high 11 boards and six
points.
"(Horford) really performed
well," Beilein said. "He's doing a
better job of playing big and was
huge tonight. He got a couple
rebounds tonight that only red-
shirt freshman forward Jon Hor-
ford can get."
ICE HOCKEY
Boo Nieves: scary fast
By LIZ VUKELICH "He's a really dynamic skater,"
Daily Sports Editor Berenson said. "He can just take
off and leave everyone behind.
Just because it's not easy to He's got that burst of speed with
find bright spots in this year's him, and he's got the skills to go
Michigan hockey team doesn't - with it."
mean they're not there. They That couldn't have been more
exist, they are just reflected in evident than during the Wol-
ways other than the team's over- verines' contest with Western
all record. Michigan last Friday night. Just
To find one, just look to for- minutes into the first frame,
ward Boo Nieves, the freshman Nieves skated across center ice,
currently leading the Wolverines weaving in and out of the Bron-
in assists with 12, who finds a cos' defenders. A quick dish
way to be at the right place at the
right time.
Though Nieves - a New York «
Rangers draft pick - was a "He can just
highly touted recruit coming in,
Michigan coach Red Berenson takeoffand
was still uncertain about how
his transition to the college game leave everyone
would be, considering Nieves behind."
was coming in straight from
prep school, instead of playing
with a junior league in the inter-
im - he skated with the Indiana
Ice of the United States Hockey to sophomore forward Phil Di
League for about a month. Giuseppe was all it took to set up
"I think (the transition) is a goal.
going pretty well," Nieves said. It was a seemingly simple
"I think it's definitely the speed pass, but for a team that's been
of everything. Everyone's a little relying on scrappy, garbage goals
bit faster, everyone's a little bit throughout the season, it was
stronger. I wasn't really used to one of Michigan's more beautiful
that at first." plays.
If adjusting to speed was one Nieves registered more ice
of his concerns coming into time than usual this past week-
Michigan, Nieves has done a end, which Berenson said was
good job hiding it - his agility a reward for Nieves' hard work
has quickly set him apart from and playmaking ability.
some of the other Wolverines. In a season in which seasoned
upperclassmen have severely
underperformed, Nieves has
been one of the team's steadier
players. And that's pretty reas-
suring, considering week-to-
week consistency is one of the
hardest things for rookies.
Typically, the freshman class
starts hitting its peak at the
beginning of the second semes-
ter, so the coaches are still
expecting more from Nieves in
the remaining eight games of the
regular season.
It appears that the only hitch
in Nieves' freshman campaign
is the Wolverines' overall per-
formance. 4s Berenson points
out, even when a player has a
fantastic weekend, a team loss
can easily overshadow the acco-
lades - Nieves, along with fellow
standout freshmen Jacob Trouba
and Andrew Copp, hasn't had
the chance to see what a win-
ning Michigan program looks
like since starting their college
careers.
For now, though, it seems like
Nieves is putting his individual
accomplishments on the back
burner, at least until Michigan
finds its footing again.
"It's mostly a team effort,"
Nieves said. "No one guy is going
to carry the team. We've got to
Scome together collectively. It
has been frustrating as a whole,
(and) it's not any few guys that
aren't working hard. We've just
got to apply and put it all togeth-
er."
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