8A -- Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
8A - Wednesday, February 27, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
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IRW
ADAM GLANZMAN/Daily
Redshirt junior Jordan Morgan hasn't looked the same after injuring his ankle earlier this season, but he has made progress in his recovery recently.
~Morgan close to full strength
Michigan's big
man looked "99.9
percent" in practice
before Penn State
By STEVEN BRAID
Daily Sports Editor
At first glance, forward Jordan
Morgan's stat line from the Mich-
igan men'sabasketballteam's 71-58
victory against Illinois on Sun-
day ks -l like
nothingspecial:
one point, two Michigan at
assists. and six Penn State
rebounds.
The magni- Matchup:
_ tude of the red- Michigan 22-4;
shirt junior's Penn State 8-18
performance When:
wasn't captured Wednesday
'by how many 6:30 P.M.
points, assists Where: Bryce
or rebounds Jordan Center
he collected TV/Radio:
but rather by Big Ten Net-
the minutes he work
spent on the
floor - the 17 minutes he played
was the first time he's logged dou-
ble-digit minutes in a month.
Hampered by a nagging ankle
injury suffered in late January,
Morgan spent the majority of his
time on the bench during Michi-
gan's previous six contests. But
his ability to play extended min-
utes is a promising sign as the
fourth-ranked Wolverines pre-
pare to play Penn State (0-14 Big
Ten, 8-18 overall) on Wednesday.
The Wolverines (9-4, 22-4) held
Illinois without an offensive
board in the second half Sunday
and outscored the Illini 45-20
when Morgan was on the court.
"We had been very hopeful
coming out of this mini-camp
that he would be back to his old
self - he wasn't," said Michigan
coach John Beilein after the vic-
tory on Sunday. "He played very
well on the scout team on a few
occasions, and I said 'we're going
use him and see what he does.'
And right from the get-go, I knew
that even if he's not 100 percent,
he's better than he's been."
In Michigan's 79-71 victory
against Penn State on Feb. 17,
Morgan was inserted back into
the starting lineup for the first
time since he injured his ankle.
But after struggling to keep up
with the Nittany Lions' ball-
screen-heavy offense, Beilein
elected to play him just nine min-
utes.
Against Illinois, another team
with a ball-screen-heavy offense,
his defensive mobility appeared
much improved and his presence
on the court was a big boost for
the Wolverines. He could be seen
directing the defensive lines in
front ofhim, and even thoughhe'd
been playing limited minutes, his
anticipation in the passing lanes
and on help defense was much
quicker than that of the younger,
more inexperienced bigs.
"Jordan Morgan looked like
he was 99.9 percent today, so that
was good,"sophomore guard Trey
Burke said. "Hopefully he will be
all the way back on Wednesday."
Though the Nittany Lions
shouldn't pose much of a problem
- they're winless in the confer-
ence and losers of their past 14
contests - they're improving as
the season continues, and it's only
a matter of time before they pick
up avictory. Penn Statehaslostits
last three games by an average of
five points.
The Nittany Lions are led by
swingman D.J. Newbill. The
sophomore guard is averaging
15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and four
assists a game.
Michigan knows firsthand that
if it relaxes, Penn State will be
able to play a competitive game.
In the last matchup between the
two teams in Ann Arbor, the Wol-
verines came out a little flat and
the Nittany Lions took advantage.
They shot 46 percent in the first
half and were tied with Michi-
gan at the end of the first. The
Wolverines needed an aggressive
second half to pull out the victory
and finished the game connect-
ing on 27 of their 35 free-throw
attempts.
In that contest, Burke led the
Wolverines with 29 points and
five assists. Over his past three
games, the floor general is aver-
aging more than 24 points and
five assists, shooting better than
60 percent from the floor, includ-
ing knocking down eight of his
12 attempts from beyond the arc.
He's also turned the ball over just
three times over that stretch.
"He's playing the game the
right way," Beilein said. "He has
this confidence about when it's
time for himto go in and get buck-
ets or shoot a three."
The new
Moffie Man
By GREG GARNO answer the call when needed. He
Daily Sports Writer just hasn't been.
"I'm still pretty confident that
If any of the members of I can help out this team offen-
the Michigan hockey team has sively," Moffie said. "But scoring
embodied its unexpected sea- goals isn't our problem, it's giv-
son, it's Lee Moffie. ing up too many."
The senior defenseman, in the And he's right. Michigan has
midst of preparing for his final sat in 57th place in the nation
regular-season series against since Feb. 1 with 3.59 goals
Ferris State, has been unable allowed per game. Moffie and
to reproduce results similar the Wolverines (9-15-2 CCHA,
to his sophomore and junior 12-18-2 overall) allowed three
campaigns. But now with his goals in both of their victories
collegiate career very much over Ohio State last weekend.
dependent on his, as well as his But to be fair to the former
team's, performance, the pres- risk taker, his fellow defen-
sure to win has mounted. sive corps members have been
Using a conservative approach injured or shifted around for
and smart defensive plays much of the season. The absence
uncharacteristic of his past per- of juniors Jon Merrill and Mac
formances, Moffie has become a Bennett prevented Moffie from
factor in the Wolverines' recent building chemistry.
success. The result put an increased
"I think Moffie has brought a amount of pressure on the Wall-
lot of elements to ourteam," said ingford, Conn. native this sea-
Michigan coach Red Berenson. son, in addition to his role as an
"He's an offensive puck-moving alternate captain.
defenseman, who has pretty "I just think it's a combina-
much led our team in defensive tion of things," Berenson said.
scoring the pastthree years." "He's in sync with the team, and
During his days as a member when the team isn't playing well
of the Waterloo Black Hawks defensively he's part of it.I think
from the United States Hockey he takes a lotof responsibility for
League, Moffie earned a reputa- that. So he puts a lot of pressure
tion for taking the puck and dis- on himself.
tributing it to his teammates. He "We don't need him to score,
recorded 35 assists in his time in we need him to play rock-solid
junior hockey and 25 assists in defensively. But he can score and
his senior year of prep school. he can create offense."
"He's been a reliable play- But his best hockey is com-
er for this university for four ing at one of the most important
years," said senior forward A.J. times for the Wolverines, even
Treais. "Right when he came in, if it comes without registering a
I think he was a little confused. point. After recording a plus-six
He was a high-risk player, tried rating on Saturday - he was on
to do a little too much and play the ice for all six Michigan goals
out of his element. against the Buckeyes - Moffie
"Now he's just kind of settled was making all the necessary
in as a reliable guy, reliable lead- plays and no more. Instead. of
er and a locker-room favorite." moving the puck into the oppos-
Yet this season, Moffie hasn't ing zone himself, there was Mof-
always been the reliable point- fie making the pass to a forward
scorer on the team and has on the wing.
struggled to be a leader in gener- Now, his history will have to
al. Freshman Jacob Troubaleads be set aside in order to salvage
defensemen in points with seven his future.
goals and 14 assists, but Moffie's "He's an important part -
leadership no longer comes from you saw him this weekend,
giving advice. Berenson said. "I think his game
Instead, Moffie has conceded stepped up, and he's playing his
his offensive output to Trouba for best hockey of the season right
a more unselfish and quietgame. now."
Enteringhis finalregular-season It's a good thingfor Moffie his
home series, Moffie has totaled mentality shift is coming now
two goals and eight assists. when senior night approaches,
Moffie first shined on offense with his family coming into Ann
in his sophomore season, when Arbor to watch him in his final
he tallied 17 points on eightgoals regular-season series.
and nine assists. He peaked in "It'll be fun - nice having
his junior campaign, racking up family here," Moffie said. "It's
32 points on seven goals and 25 our last games at Yost, if we can
assists. end up with two wins, it'll be
Moffie knows that he can really nice."
0
0
T'.Tough Tulsa team to test tennis
0
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
For The Daily
Two years ago, the then-No.
12 Michigan men's tennis team
- was taken by surprise, upset by an
unranked Tulsa squad. Wednes-
day, the 23rd-ranked Wolver-
ines (4-3) get
the rematch a
they've been
waiting for. Michigan
The 17th- Matchup:
ranked Golden Tulsa 5-5;
Hurricanes Michigan 4-3
mark the When'
'sixth ranked Wednes-
opponent the day 7 p.m.
Wolverines (Autographs
have faced in 6:30 P.M.)
their last eight Where:
matches. Varsity
Tulsa (5-5) Tennis Center
has started the
dual-match sea-
son strong and has been proven
tough to beat - having defeated
Michigan's rivals such as Illinois
and Minnesota.
"If (playing tough matches)
doesn't break you, it only makes
you stronger," said Michigan
coach Bruce Berque. "The only
way we can improve as a team
is by playing strong competition
every match and getting exposed
in an ideal way."
Playing tougher, highly rated
opponents will likely help Michi-
gan players increase their nation-
al rankings as such matchups
help create more opportunities
for the team to improve. Schedule
strength is the greatest determi-
nant in ITA college rankings.
"They have always been a team
that consistently qualifies for the
Sweet 16," Berque said. "They
have a lot of experience on their
team right now. They have a lot of
international players who have a
lot of experience. We are expect-
ing another very tough match."
Michigan will look to its dou-
bles to set the tone early. The
Wolverines have won the doubles
point in five ofseven dual matches
this season. The point is critical,
as Michigan is 4-1 when it wins
the nnint andi 0-7 when it inses_
Senior Evan King and junior
Shaun Bernstein own a 5-1 record
at the No. 1 doubles spot. Michi-
gan will also expect strong play
from redshirt sophomore Justin
Rossi, a steady contributor in the
doubles lineup. The rising sopho-
more tandem of Michael Zhu
and Alex Petrone has also shown
promise at the No. 3 spot with its
fusion of differentplaying styles.
King will look to extend his
singles winning streak to 11
matches, and a victory versus
Tulsa's No. 52 Japie De Klerk
would be extra special. Not only
would this be King's 99th victory
as a Wolverine, but it would also
move him into a tie with Michael
Leach (1979-82) for fifth place in
the program's history in career
victories.
A win versus Tulsa could give
the Wolverines much-needed
momentum as they close in on the
start of the Big Ten season.
"Our guys want (to play tough
competition)," Berque said. "They
think of themselves as a team
who ran comnete against the best
teams, and we have an opportu-
nity to show our strength against
Tulsa."
NOTES: Michigan football
junior wide receiver Drew Dileo
and sophomore cornerback Blake
Countess will sign autographs
from 6:30-7 p.m. at the Varsity
Tennis Center before the match.
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