Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, January 27, 2015 — 7

‘M’ hosts surging Nebraska

Wolverines 

continue to battle 
injuries coming off 
heartbreaking loss

By MAX BULTMAN

Daily Sports Editor

Fighting to stay afloat in the 

Big Ten standings, the Michigan 
men’s basketball team is gearing 
up for a team that’s just now 
hitting 
its 

stride.

Following 

an 
overtime 

loss to then-No. 
6 Wisconsin on 
Saturday, 
the 

Wolverines 
will try to avoid 
an 
untimely 

hangover when 
Nebraska visits 
Crisler Center 
on Tuesday.

The 

Cornhuskers (4-3 Big Ten, 12-7 
overall) lost their first two games 
in conference play but have been 
much improved since, winning 
four of their last five and holding 
Illinois, Rutgers and Minnesota 
to under 50 points each. Against 
an 
injury-plagued 
Michigan 

team still looking for consistency 
on offense, their stingy defense 
could pose a significant threat.

“(Nebraska is) maybe the best 

defensive team in the league 
right now, if you look at their 
numbers,” said Michigan coach 
John Beilein. “They’re staggering 
with what they’ve done with 
their field-goal percentage both 
at the 3-point line and defensive 
field-goal percentage.”

Beilein said Monday that the 

Wolverines (5-3, 12-8) could once 
again be looking at a change to 
the starting lineup as a result of 
injury, but did not specify which 

players are ailing this week.

The player Michigan can 

least afford to lose, it seems, 
is sophomore guard Derrick 
Walton 
Jr., 
who 
led 
the 

team with 17 points against 
Wisconsin, including a game-
tying 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds 
left. He has been nursing a toe 
injury 
since 
late 
November 

and appeared to be limping in 
overtime Saturday.

If Walton can’t play, freshman 

guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman might need to step 
in. He has looked increasingly 
comfortable on the floor since 
the beginning of Big Ten play 
and could be a candidate to start. 
Abdur-Rahkman 
chipped 
in 

nine points against the Badgers 
and looked impressive on a pair 
of drives and finishes at the rim.

But picking the right bodies 

for the starting five is only half 
the battle. Even if the lineup 
stays in tact, the Wolverines are 
sure to be worn out after a long, 
physical game Saturday against 
the class of the conference.

“We put a lot of energy 

into that game,” Beilein said. 
“Coming back on two days rest is 
not as easy as you’d think. We’re 
a tired group right now, and 
we’re going to have to find a way 
to find energy right now.”

Looking 
to 
capitalize 
on 

Michigan’s 
exhaustion 
will 

be Nebraska forward Terran 
Petteway, who scored 32 points 
in Nebraska’s 79-77 win over 
Michigan State on Saturday.

Petteway was named to the 

Preseason All-Big Ten team 
after a breakout season in 2013-
14, during which he averaged 
18.1 points and 4.8 rebounds. 
This season, he has upped 
those numbers to 19.6 and 
5.1, respectively. The 6-foot-6 
swingman poses a mismatch 
problem 
for 
Michigan, 
but 

keeping him in check will be key 
to the Wolverines game plan.

“You have to pay a lot of 

attention to him,” Beilein said. 
“No matter what defense you’re 
in, you better mark him well 
when he doesn’t have the ball. 

When he gets the ball, he should 
see 10 eyes looking at him. … He 
can just get baskets where you’re 
gonna shake your head and say, 
‘How did that go in?’ ”

But 
while 
Petteway 
will 

attract all the attention when 
the Cornhuskers have the ball, 
Michigan will try to spread its 
scoring around the floor.

Sophomore 
forward 
Zak 

Irvin continues to work through 
a shooting funk, but he leads 
all active Wolverines with 13.6 
points per game. And while the 
emphasis on Irvin’s struggles has 
fallen on his 3-pointers, Irvin has 
actually shot a higher percentage 
from beyond the arc (34.1) than 
he has on 2-pointers (32.8) since 
conference play began.

But as will be the case for the 

rest of the season, Michigan 
will take any kind of scoring 
wherever it can get it.

“This is one of those years 

where I don’t think we’ve ever 
had the rotation figured out,” 
Beilein said. “Hopefully we’ll get 
to that point.”

Nebraska at 
Michigan

Matchup: 
Nebraska 12-7; 
Michigan 12-8

When: 
Tuesday 7 P.M.

Where: Crisler 
Center

TV/Radio: 
ESPN

Behind Enemy Lines: 
Nebraska’s Tim Miles

By SIMON KAUFMAN

Daily Sports Writer

Nebraska coach Tim Miles 

and his Cornhuskers were get-
ting a little more attention before 
this 
sea-

son start-
ed 
than 

they 
had 

received 
the previ-
ous year.

Nebraska was picked by the 

media to finish fourth in the Big 
Ten at the beginning of the sea-
son. The year before, the Corn-
huskers were picked 12th out of 
12 teams in the 
preseason con-
ference predic-
tions.

The 
press 

had 
taken 

notice, 
and 

after 
mak-

ing the NCAA 
Tournament 
last year, Miles’ 
table at Big Ten 
Media Day in October was a little 
more crowded than in past years. 
His newly acquired popularity 
prevented the Daily from ques-
tioning the coach about how he 
plans on covering Michigan’s big 
men and his thoughts on wheth-
er junior Terran Petteway will 
come back for his senior season 
or declare for the NBA Draft, but 
we still fired off some questions 
regarding the more serious issue 
at hand: How does Miles always 
give the best press conference?

It was true at his 2013 Big Ten 

Media presser when he light-
heartedly discussed his wife 
giving him a hard time for not 
recruiting enough and made self-
deprecating 
comments 
about 

being picked to finish last. It was 
true at his postgame interview 

after losing at Michigan in Feb-
ruary, when he muted himself 
in place of using a curse word 
and referenced Seinfeld. And it 
was true at Big Ten Media Day 
in October when he suggested a 
happy hour for the media.

Miles had to run from Media 

Day early to catch a flight back 
to Lincoln to make an afternoon 
practice, but that didn’t stop us 
from learning the art of a good 
press conference from the guy 
who practically invented it.

The Michigan Daily: Who 

gives your favorite press confer-
ence?

Tim Miles: I don’t watch any; 

I should prob-
ably. I’d prob-
ably get some 
good tips on 
how to act.

TMD: After 

last year’s per-
formance 
at 

Big Ten Media 
Day, did you 
prep at all for 
today?

TM: Nope.
TMD: Honest?
TM: I don’t prep.
Nebraska Sports Informa-

tion Director: He didn’t prep. 
He has actual Big Ten knowledge.

TMD: What’s the best ques-

tion you’ve ever been asked?

TM: Yours. That one right 

there.

TMD: If you could ask any 

basketball personality a question, 
who would you pick and what 
would you ask them?

TM: I would ask Bo Ryan how 

he does it. I think he is an unbe-
lievable coach. (The Big Ten) has 
all of them. But Bo, being a guy 
that’s gone from a small college 
like me, and being so successful 
in the Big Ten, (getting) inside 
into his world would be great.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

BEHIND
ENEMY
LINES

Defense still ranks 
near nation’s worst

By ERIN LENNON

Daily Sports Editor

The No. 13 Michigan hockey 

team’s offense is the reason 
this team has earned its highest 
ranking since 
the 
home 

opener Oct. 18.

The offense is the reason the 

Wolverines overcame a four-
goal deficit Friday, en route to 
its second straight series sweep. 
In doing so, it proved the recent 
scoring 
outburst 
— 
which 

culminated in a 10-goal rout of 
Ohio State — was more than just 
a hot streak.

It leads the nation in scoring 

with a commanding average of 
4.36 goals per game.

But Michigan coach Red 

Berenson won’t soon forget a 
coach’s favorite mantra: defense 
wins championships.

“It’s the defensive part I’m 

concerned 
about,” 
he 
said 

Monday.

Prior to the series opener, 

the Badgers had scored just two 
first-period goals in 18 contests 
this season. In the first period 
Friday, they scored three.

In stark contrast to the 

offense, Michigan carries the 
No. 44 defense in the nation. 
It allows three goals per game 
and kills penalties at a rate 
under 80 percent. And given the 
inconsistency in net — junior 
goaltender Steve Racine lasted 
only one period in his only 
start against Wisconsin — that 
number has the potential to go 
up.

Michigan’s 
recent 
streak 

hasn’t seen tight games, but the 
numbers suggest this offense 
can’t afford to have an off night.

An 
NCAA 
Tournament 

appearance hinges on it.

ONE-GAME WEEKENDS: 

It will more be than one month 
until the Wolverines play on a 
Saturday.

In the middle of a seven-

week stretch away from Yost Ice 
Arena, Michigan will have two 
straight one-game weekends 

to close out the first half of 
conference play. The Wolverines 
will take on Michigan State in 
the “Duel in the ‘D’” on Friday 
before the in-state rivals travel 
to Chicago to face off in the 
Hockey City Classic at Soldier 
Field.

Given 
their 
recent 

dominance, 
the 
Wolverines 

would like a chance to win 
every night in order to maintain 
their position to make the 
NCAA Tournament, especially 
with the weakness of the Big 
Ten.

“We’d like to play more,” 

Berenson said. “The Big Ten 
sets the schedule, so we’re at 
their mercy.”

The Wolverines will return to 

a two-game weekend schedule 
in a rematch with Minnesota in 
Minneapolis on Feb. 27.

STARTLING STATS: After 

Saturday’s 6-0 blowout win, 
Berenson compared his current 
team to the 1997-98 national 
championship squad. And he 
had good reason to do so, given 
the tear this offense has been on 
of late.

For 
starters, 
after 

relinquishing an early lead, 
the 
Wolverines 
scored 
12 

unanswered 
goals 
in 
four 

periods, stifling any and every 
Badgers offensive rush in the 
neutral zone.

Michigan’s 
seven-game 

winning streak is now its longest 
since March 2011, back when 
the Wolverines made the NCAA 
Tournament year after year. In 
addition to leading the nation in 
scoring, the Wolverines record 
the third-highest average of 
shots per game (35.14).

The Wolverines have also 

had the luxury of beating up on 
a noticeably weak Big Ten.

After 
dropping 
its 
first 

conference 
matchup 
against 

Penn State at home, Michigan 
went 7-0 against its next three 
opponents — including then-No. 
12 Minnesota and Ohio State — 
scoring 52 times for a stunning 
average of 6.5 goals per game.

Weekend sweep proves depth

By ERIN LENNON

Daily Sports Editor

On more than one occasion 

Saturday night, Alex Talcott’s 
shot rang off the goalpost, inches 
from his first career goal.

Prior 
to 
the 
game, 
the 

freshman forward hadn’t played 
in a game since Nov. 1.

Of course, Michigan didn’t 

need the tally. The 13th-ranked 
Wolverines 
had 
already 

established a commanding five-
goal lead over Wisconsin, and 
soon finished off a sweep on the 
road having scored 13 goals.

But scoring chances from 

Talcott 
and 
several 
other 

forwards showed that an offense 
that averages more than 4.36 
goals is as deep as it is top-heavy.

“We’re pretty well-balanced,” 

said 
Michigan 
coach 
Red 

Berenson. “It seems like when 
we need a goal, we’ll get it from 
one of our top nine.

“We’ve had different players 

step up on our lines.”

In 
fact, 
the 
Wolverines’ 

success in Madison came despite 
noteworthy absences from the 
lineup.

Senior forward Travis Lynch 

— the fourth-line center and 
key feature of the penalty kill 
— did not make the trip after 
undergoing wrist surgery last 
week. Sophomore Evan Allen, 
who has seen playing time on 
the line this season, was also out 
with a concussion.

Senior 
defenseman 
Mike 

Chiasson also stayed in Ann 
Arbor with a concussion.

In 
Lynch’s 
place, 
junior 

forward Boo Nieves was set to 
anchor the fourth line before 
getting sick and missing out both 
games. His absence forced the 
Wolverines to roll three lines 
out, more or less, each night, 
putting added pressure on the 
offense.

“It’s been a work in progress,” 

Berenson said. “Boo has shown 
some spurts of his potential. … I 
think he’s starting to come into 
his own.”

Without those players, senior 

forward Zach Hyman continued 
to put on a clinic around the net, 
while fellow scoring leaders 
Dylan Larkin, Alex Kile and 
Andrew Copp all contributed big 
weekends.

But the offensive production 

wasn’t limited to the top five 
forwards.

Junior 
forward 
Justin 

Selman, for example, tied his 
career high of five goals in a 
season Friday by virtue of his 
first career hat trick. Selman 
missed several weeks in October 
with a broken wrist and has 
shown significant improvement 
since. He and Nieves both have 
double-digit 
points 
totals, 

which was not the case in the 
two seasons prior.

“He’s a different player now,” 

Berenson said. “This is the best 
hockey I’ve seen Justin Selman 
play since he came to school.”

Scoring isn’t just limited to 

the forwards, either.

Michigan’s final goal of the 

weekend came from freshman 
defenseman 
Zach 
Werenski. 

With two goals on Saturday, 
Werenski now has 18 points on 
the year — second among Big 
Ten freshmen behind Larkin.

He is one of four blue-liners 

with more than nine points this 
season.

As a unit, the defense has 

tallied 67 points, accounting for 
a quarter of Michigan’s offense 
this season.

This offense is so deep that 

reigning Big Ten Freshman of 
the Year JT Compher — who led 
the team in scoring last season 
— ranks No. 9 on the team in 
scoring. He’s not struggling, but 
on a team whose goal-scoring 
leader sits among the top five in 
the nation in scoring, Compher’s 
mediocre four goals don’t tell the 
whole story.

“I feel like whoever is on the 

ice has a chance of scoring,” 
Berenson said.

The offense is so deep that 

when Talcott’s shot rings off the 
crossbar, it’s more likely than not 
that a Wolverine will be there to 
redirect it in.

ICE HOCKEY

NOTEBOOK

PAUL SHERMAN/Daily

Justin Selman recorded a hat trick in the Michigan hockey team’s 7-4 comeback win at Wisconsin on Friday.

RUBY WALLAU/Daily

Zak Irvin leads all healthy Michigan players with 13.6 points per game and is shooting 35.8 percent from 3-point range.
“I think (Bo 
Ryan) is an 
unbelievable 

coach.”

