0 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - 7 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - 7 ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily Freshman guard Nik Stauskas didn't register a single point in Michigan's 56-53 loss to Ohio State on Sunday, well below his season average of 12.7 points per game. Ine " n Columbus crucible, yout finally exposed for Wol-verine s For first time in 10 years, 'M'.ranked By DANIEL FELDMAN Taking a team that has failed Daily SportsWriter to achieve a Top-25 ranking for a long duration of time and, For the first time since Dec. getting them into the poll is 23, 2002, the Michigan women's nothing new for Barnes Arico. basketball team is ranked by During her tenure at St. Johns, the Associated Press women's Barnes Arico led the Red Storm basketball poll. The Wolverines to their first appearance in the (3-0 Big Ten, 14-2 overall) enter Top 25 at No. 25 in 22 years the poll at No. 25 after a 54-43 in 2006. With that in mind, victory over Wisconsin on Sun- Barnes Arico knows how her day. players should act moving for- "I think it (is) great for peo- ward. ple around the country to see "I want to keep our kids (in Michigan women's basketball the same thought process) and in the Top 25 because of the humble and (make sure they way that our kids have worked remain) the hardest-working and because I think they're team in America and just try- deserving of it," said Michigan ing to get better each and every coach Kim Barnes Arico. "I day," Barnes Arico said. "(We think anytime you get that rec- need to continue) trying. to ognition, it's grind it out great for your one win at a program, and ggtime and try great for your I don't want US to become a university . better team." and it brings toforget how For the exposure to Wegot her " "'Wolve"in . your program weg e and their and your uni- five seniors, versity." including While senior guard Barnes Arico found the media Jenny Ryan, this is the second attention surrounding the rank- major accomplishment that ing to be funny, she nonetheless Michigan has achieved in the believes her team which boasts last calendar year - the Wol- the 19th-best RPI is deserving verines made their first NCAA of a top-25 ranking considering Tournament in 11 years last its quality wins over Florida, season. and Iowa. "When we first got here, we Under the direction of its weren't really known on the first-year head coach, Michigan national level," Ryan said. "I is currently riding a nine-game just think on a program level, it winning streak, the second lon- shows how far we've come." gest in program history after a In addition to the ranking, 10-game streak in the 2001-02 Michigan is also off to its best season. start ever to begin Big Ten play, Though Barnes Arict consid- at 3-0. While these feats are ers the streak an outstanding noteworthy, the team is more achievement, she likes to think focused on the bigger picture about the team's preparation and the early stages of Big Ten and process of gaining success play. rather than the success itself. "It's great to be in that posi- "I don't want us to forget tion, but it's still really early how we got here and what we're in the season," said senior for- trying to do," Bdrnes Arico said., ward Rachel Sheffer. "It's really "That's why we don't talk about early to be looking at those (our ranking) at all as a staff, as kind of things. I think as a team a program, in the locker room. we're not really about rankings We just talk about our next or stats, we just need to keep opponent." moving to the tournament." By COLLEEN THOMAS Daily Sports Editor In a season full of success and promise, the youthfulness of the No. 5 Michigan men's basketball team has been the storyline all season. First, it -was freshman guard Nik Stauskas' impressive shoot- ing abilities that helped earn him a spot in the starting five. Then, it was the development of freshman forward Mitch McGary in the post as he lost weight and learned to control his body. Next, it was freshman forward Glenn Robin- son III who went on a hot streak, scoring at least 10 points per game in a stretch between Dec. 20 and Jan. 9. All of the doubts about a young team struggling early in the season had slowly disappeared over the course of the Wolverines' 16-0 start. But after an ugly 56-53 road loss to No. 11 Ohio State on Sunday, in which Michigan trailed by as 'much as 21 points, the inex- perience in a tough conference game was noticeable. "I don't like to make excuses about our young team, but we found out the way that game started (Sunday) about the speed and the strength of the Big Ten," said Michigan coach John Beilein. "Our young guys - and once again, we have two juniors play- ing, a sophomore playing and five freshmen that are playing a lot of minutes - are going to really learn how this game is played in this league very quickly. It will be a very hands-on experience for them." Stauskas, McGary and Robin- son Have continued their improve- ments on bot] sides of the ball through the first few games of the conference slate. The recent emergence of freshman guard Caris LeVert as one of the team's best defenders coming off the bench and freshman guard Spike Albrecht's career performance against the Buckeyes have made a case for the Wolverines as one of the deepest teams in the Big Ten with eight players - five freshmen - consistently contributing. But Sunday was a struggle for four of the five rookies. Staus- kas was held scoreless -lie went 0-for-3 - due to sophomore guard Trey Burke's inability to penetrate and kick out and Ohio State guard AaronCraft doing his best to deny Burke anything in the lane or passing options on the perimeter. The Mississauga, Ontario native got in foul trouble early, too, which limited his playing time. "The foul trouble is going to limit his touches, and Ohio (State)'s defense is going to limit his touches as well," Beilein said. "You don't know (the limits) until you see it. They did the same thing last year to some of our guys, and they locked the rails and make you play two on two through the middle. "We said that between having Craft and (Evan) Ravenel, those are tough guys to be able to beat. They said, 'Somebody else is going to beat us besides Nik Stauskas.'" Robinson scored eight points, close to his average of 12 per game, but was held to only one rebound. Coming in from the wing, Rob- inson is one of the team's great- est rebounding assets, averaging almost six per game, but struggled against a more physical Buckeye squad. Stauskas and Robinson, the two freshman starters, shot a com- bined 27 percent on Sunday. The duo, along with Burke and junior guard Tim Hardaway Jr., have combined for 59 of Michigan's average of 79 points per game but on Sunday, they tallied just 40 points. In addition to Stauskas and Robinson, McGary, the Wol- verines' leading rebounder, was limited on the boards and LeVert played just nine minutes and missed both of his free throws. So as much as the freshmen struggled on Sunday, how do you prepare the youngsters=for a chal- lenging Big Ten road game? 5 Freshmen who played against OhioState Sunday 21 Cobndpoints bhpthosenfreshmennn Siuda "It's hard to do that," Beilein said. "We thought we did as much as we could by playing Arkansas, by playing North Carolina State, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, going to Bradley, you do everything you can. There's a process, there's some things in the process that you can't speed up, no matter what you do. "They have really performed way above what many freshmen accomplish at this time. (Ohio State) was too difficult a task." Reeling Michigan shuffles lineup, again By GREG GARNO the third time during the season, Daily Sports Writer paired with sophomore Mike Szuma. Berenson also started Michigan coach Red Beren- freshman goaltender Steve son sat down in his office with a Racine in goal after junior goal- coffee mug after a rough week- tender Adam Janecyk allowed end during which the Michigan four goals on Tuesday against hockey team was swept by Alaska Bowling Green. for the first time in program his- For Berenson's final naneuver, tory. freshman forward Andrew Copp inscribed on his mug filled was inserted onto the first line with coffee --black as always, no for the first time in his career. cream or sugar - were the words Copp, raised in Ann Arbor and "Start every day with a smile." originally not offered a scholar- Ironically, though, the Wol- ship, has emerged as one of the verines never received the sues- hardest workers from a team that sage on Monday. Fronm the nearly has disappointed all season. quiet practice on the ice to the The results were mixed, demeanor off of it, Michigan though. Copp managed to tally looked sullen, frustrated and two points - scoring a goal and tired of losing. You can't blame recording an assist - but Racine them for a lineup constantly in allowed four goals in two periods flux, unable to end up with a win. behind a defense that struggled It's clear the Wolverines have to bail him out. struggled to take advantage of "It's a special feeling," Copp extra opportunities, and now said of the chance to start. "Obvi- both coaches and players are ously, being from Ann Arbor, it's searching for a catalyst to jump- pretty cool to be in the starting start the program for a late-sea- lineup where you're growing up son run. from, but it doesn't mean any- During last weekend's series thing unless you start putting against the Nanooks, Michigan wins together." made a handful of changes with Feeling desperate the next the hope of sparking the offense. night, Berenson chose to insert Before Friday's game, missing Janecyk into the starting lineup 0 a pair of defensemen to injuries while moving sophomore for- -junior Mac Bennett and sopho- ward Zach Hyman ahead of more Brennan Serville - Beren- senior forward Kevin Lynch. son moved senior forward Jeff The changes were less effee- Rohrkemper back to defense for tive than previous nights, leaving the Wolverines with scowls and a bitter taste in their mouths. "There's a depressing feeling around the room right now," said sophomore forward Alex Guptil. "It's hard when you're not win- ning games. The older guys need to step up - the guys that have been there before." Added Copp:"We need to bear down on chances. We need to keep working in practice and not take anything for granted. Some games we have it (effort) and some games we don't. We just need to find that consistency." Look for Berenson to make more changes to the lines in his attempt to find chemistry between his young athletes. Though not quantifiable, the 29-year veteran coach is aware of the ability of players to function at a better rate together instead of alone. "We've got the same cast of characters really, but we're try- ing to put players with players on the lines that need whatever they bring to the table," Berenson said. "It might be a player going on the line that you're not worried about the line scoring more, you're worried about them being scored on, or you're worried about them being out-worked." It's worth noting that even with the changes, the top line of Copp, Hyman and senior for- ward A.J. Treais finished with a minus-one rating on Saturday night. The lineup, however, has spent limited time together, most of it coming on the power play that struggled mightily over the weekend. "I wouldn't say we have a first line or a second line," Berenson said. "Our lines are fairly well balanced. You look in terms of experience, in terms of work ethic, in terms of physicality, in terms of offensive skill, I'm look- ing at all those things. But I'm also looking at two guys that can carry a line and compliment a third player." The goaltending core is also failing to produce consistently, as no candidate has managed to solidify the position. Keep an eye out inthe upcomingweeks for the head coach to keep giving Jane- cyk and Racine chances, wait- ing for one to. gain the hot hand. Berenson could also be prompted to insert freshman goaltender Jared Rutledge into the starting sport in the hope that a fresh face may be all that's needed. "We're not giving up on any- one," Berenson said. "We're look- ing for life from our goalies." Most of all, look at the faces of each athlete, as they surely won't have a smile until they put together a winning streak. For now, they won't be starting their days with the sunny outlook Berenson's mug encourages. Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico has the Wolverines ranked for the first time since 2002. LIKE JOURNALISM? LIKE BEING AWESOME? WORK WITH US! COME TO ONE OF OUR WINTER MASS MEETINGS Meetings will take place at 420 Maynard St., behind Betsy Barbour and Newvberry Halls at 7:30 p.m. Wed., Jan.16 Sun., Jan. 20 Thurs., Jan 24 1 , k