8A - Wednesday, March 12, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Basketball bv the numbers
*1
By DANIEL WASSERMAN
Daily Sports Editor
It has been 108 days since
Michigan lost to Charlotte in
Puerto Rico - the days since
the men's basketball program
shed significant weight off its
bandwagon following a runner-
up performance in last year's
NCAA Tournament.
In the meantime, the
Wolverines turned their season
around. Aside from wins and
losses, isolated numbers rarely
tell the full story of a season, but
together, they help paint a more
complete picture.
42: Days outside the AP Top
25 poll.
Following a 10-point loss to
Duke, which came on the heels
of Michigan's stunningloss to the
49ers, the Wolverines dropped
out of the rankings on Dec. 9,
six weeks after debuting as the
nation's No. 7 team.
Less than two weeks later,
sophomore forward Mitch
McGary played his final
game and soon after, it was
announced that he would likely
sit out the remainder of the
regular season following back
surgery. Sophomore guard Nik
Stauskas had yet to emerge as
the team's clear go-to scorer
- a void left large by the NBA
departures of Trey Burke and
Tim Hardaway Jr.
It wasn't unreasonable at
the time to assume Michigan's
absence from the poll would last
the rest of the season, and the
Wolverines' NCAA Tournament
hopes were in serious question.
But Michigan's turnaround
jumpstarted with a Dec. 21 win
over Stanford in Brooklyn, the
first of a 10-game win streak that
would land the Wolverines back
in the poll Jan.20 after six weeks.
1.5, 9.9: The combined
production (points, rebounds)
from fifth-year senior Jordan
Morgan and redshirt junior
Jon Horford after McGary's
final game.
The numbers aren't eye-
popping, or hardly noteworthy,
for a pair's output. But for
Michigan's one-big man system,
they were enough to score the
Wolverines an outright Big Ten
title.
Had McGary stayed healthy
for the duration of the 2013-14
campaign, little would've been
asked of Morgan and Horford.
McGary's NCAA Tournament
run last year was enough to
earn him preseason All-America
honors, while the veteran
forwards combined to average
just 5.6 minutes in that span.
I But with McGary out, serious
questions emerged as to whether
Michigan's talented backcourt
and wings would be enough to
carry the team. Stauskas and
sophomore guard Caris LeVert
certainly did the brunt of the
work, but the near double-double
average from the Wolverines'
frontcourt was often more than
enough to produce wins.
12.0: Stauskas' points per
game in Michigan's seven
losses.
The Big Ten's consensus
Player of the Year finished
fourth in the league with 17.4
points per game. Though many
expected sophomore forward
Glenn Robinson III to carry the
Wolverines, it didn't take long
for Stauskas to assert himself
as Michigan's top weapon. But
throughout the season, especially
in an earlyFeburary stretch when
the Wolverines dropped three of
five games, it became clear that
they were only as good as their
best player.
On average, Stauskas' point
production dropped by more
than five in losses - in three of
those games, he failed to score
more than 10 points. Don't
expect things to be any different
come tournament time, as the
sophomore will certainly enter
the postseason with a chip
on his shoulder following his
performance in March and April
last year. Stauskas had a breakout
' -nnin+ -,hnwinv nani+t
Florida in the Elite Eight, but
was otherwise held completely
in check. In two games at the
Final Four, he made just one field
goal - a 3-pointer - for his only
points in Atlanta.
1.161: Michigan's points per
possession.
With two thirds of its
backcourt depleted thanks to
early departures to the NBA -
including the reigning consensus
National Player of the Year
in Burke, whose point-guard
replacement is a true freshman
- the Wolverines would've
had ample excuses should their
offensive efficiency have taken a
major dip.
Michigan's points per
possession did take a dip, but
not the expected one. After
finishing last season's regular
season ranked No. 3 in efficiency
at 1.130 points per possession,
the Wolverines fell to No. 4
this season, but the offense's
efficiency actually rose by
.031 points per possession - a
nnt+-nr+hv -arori
FOOTBALL TiCKETING
U' announces new
ticket, seating policy
By ALEJANDRO ZUI
Daily Sports Editor
General admission is n
Tuesday afternoon,
Student Government ann
a revamped policy for
seating at home football
In the new format, s
will be rewarded with
seats for their attenda
previous year.
Business senior P
Proppe, CSG presides
Public Policy junior
Dishell, CSG's vice pr
worked
closely with
the Athletic
Department "Th
on the
changes. The of
result, Proppe
said, is "the
best of both
worlds."
Under the new po
individual's accu
attendance points thisf
be the sole determinan
or her seat location i
Students will earn thre
for attending a gamea
collect three more if the
atleast30minutesbefore
That pattern will conti
the foreseeable futurE
seat location assigned
individual's points frc
previous year only.
This fall will be a tr
season, in which seats
assigned in the followin
Students who attended
five home games on,
2013 are deemed "Sup
and will sit closest to t
in order of seniority, an
who did not will be behi
based solely on seniority
The attendance
accumulated this seas
be tallied automaticall
tickets are scanned.
The new reserved ti
NIGA format will also allow students
to form seating groups of up to
100 people. This fall, a group
o more. will sit closest to the field if
Central they are all SuperFans and
ounced will otherwise be placed via
student seniority; in following years, it
games. will be determined by taking
tudents an average of the attendance
better points of the group members
nce the from the prior season.
Football season tickets this fall
Michael will cost $280 with a $15 service
it, and fee, matching prices from last
Bobby year. Both seasons feature seven
esident, home contests.
"This is
certainly a
policy that's
is is the best consistent
with what
)Oth worlds." students said
they wanted,"
Proppe said.
CSG and
the Athletic Department have
licy, an been meeting regularly since
mulated September 2013 to assess the
fall will now scrapped general admission
t of his policy. On-time attendance
n 2015. increased in 2013, according
e points to Proppe, but "the effect was
and can negligible" and "did not achieve
y arrive the Athletic Department's goals"
kickoff. ofhavingafull studentsection at
nue for kickoff.
e, with A survey conducted by CSG
via the released Oct. 16 revealed that
om the 76 percent of respondents
said they were opposed to
ansition general admission, with many
will be indicating their displeasure
.g order: at not being able to form
at least reserved groups to sit with
time in friends. Seventy-seven percent
erFans" indicated that they preferred
he field the policy in previous years, in
id those which seating was assigned and
nd them determined by credit hours.
Y. But Proppe believes the new
points policy will make students happy.
on will "Students are getting the
y when main things they wanted," he
said. "Some of the nightmare of
icketing general admission will be over."
PATRICK BARRON/Daily
Sophomore guard Caris LeVert was voted second-team All-Big Ten by coaches and media. He is averaging 13.4 points.
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