Sports
6A — Thursday, February 12, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

PAUL SHERMAN/Daily

Michigan coach Red Berenson has been impressed with the quality of Big Ten hockey, despite the conference’s struggles.
Wolverines maintain 
hope for conference

By JEREMY SUMMITT

Daily Sports Editor

For the old diehards of the 

Central 
Collegiate 
Hockey 

Association, this year might be as 
good as any to wish for its return, 
even if only as a replacement for a 
lackluster Big Ten season.

It isn’t the drama and intensity 

that has held back the Big Ten, 
but rather its teams’ combined 
poor showings in non-conference 
games paired with plenty of 
inconsistency that has kept it 
in the lower echelon of college 
hockey leagues.

Even with what has been 

a 
season 
of 
underachieving 

for many Big Ten teams, the 
spectacle of Big Ten hockey 
hasn’t faded for Michigan coach 
Red Berenson.

“I just think it’s a new level,” he 

said. “I can’t tell you all the teams 
are better than the teams in the 
CCHA, but the venues are. And 
it just seems like it’s a big-league 
environment, so that’s what I like 
about the Big Ten.”

Berenson might be a man of 

few complaints this year, as his 
12th-ranked 
Wolverines 
and 

No. 19 Penn State hold the top 
two spots in the conference 
standings. But even with two 
ranked teams and Minnesota on 
the verge of breaking into the 
national polls, the Big Ten still 
might send only one program to 
the 16-team NCAA Tournament.

“These programs, just because 

they’re in the Big Ten, (it) 
doesn’t give them an automatic 
entitlement to be, you know, a 
top-10 or top-20 (program),” 
Berenson 
said. 
“We 
all 
go 

through cycles.”

Wisconsin has been stuck in 

an infinite loop of disastrous 
proportions this year, winning 
just two games — the fewest 
of any team in the country. 
Ohio State has been plagued by 
injuries, Michigan State is just 
now starting to find a groove 
with a month left in the season, 
and Minnesota had been in a two-
month slump before sweeping 
the Buckeyes last weekend.

“Minnesota is better than 

their record,” Berenson said. 
“They’re going to surface, they’re 
going to be there, and we’re 
hoping to be there. And we’ll see 
if Ohio State and Michigan State 
get something going. It could be 
a down year, but wait until it’s 
over.”

In the meantime, it’s best to sit 

back and enjoy the ride.

“We just have really good 

programs, really good recruiters, 
really good coaching, and it’s a 
really 
good 

league,” 
said 

senior forward 
Zach Hyman.

When 
the 

CCHA 
still 

existed, games 
were 
rarely 

televised. 
Now, the Big Ten Network 
carries games every weekend 
throughout conference play.

“I think that playing against 

big name schools every night, 
I think that’s huge,” Hyman 
said. “I think Big Ten Network 
is awesome, being on that and 
getting that kind of publicity. We 
didn’t have that in the CCHA.”

Along with publicity come 

new rivalries, too, and those 
rivalries become amplified with 
a larger viewership. Berenson 
and Hyman admitted that the 
games against Miami (Ohio) and 
Notre Dame were notable losses 
that came with Big Ten hockey, 
but those games rarely reached 
the same levels of regional and 
national audiences.

“It’s too bad we don’t play 

those teams,” Berenson said. 
“Now, maybe we will in the 
future in some non-conference 
games, but that’s the way it is.

“In the meantime, we get to 

play Minnesota and Wisconsin 
every year, and Penn State will 
become a rivalry, Ohio State is 
getting better and Michigan 
State is Michigan State, so they’re 
always going to be a rival.”

And 
without 
conference 

realignment, a team like Penn 
State might not have had the 
chance to prove itself on the 
biggest stage. In just their second 
year as a Division I program, the 

Nittany Lions have tripled their 
win total from last year and rank 
22nd out of 59 teams in RPI.

The Big Ten has been a sound 

base for recruiting and has held 
an instrumental role in garnering 
more interest around college 
hockey. Conference expansion 
might not be in the immediate 
future, and the six current 
programs will have to cope with 
a significantly smaller conference 
than the rest of the leagues. But 

the 
Big 
Ten 

region 
offers 

just as much 
opportunity 
for growth.

Nebraska, 

Iowa 
and 

Illinois 
offer 

logical choices 

for expansion opportunities in 
the next decade. All three schools 
currently 
have 
club 
hockey 

programs and reside in regions 
with strong hockey fan bases.

Sure, 
Iowa 
and 
Nebraska 

don’t have NHL franchises, but 
Iowa does boast seven teams in 
the USHL, a recruiting hotbed 
for top programs around the 
country. Michigan sophomore 
defenseman Michael Downing 
was a product of the Dubuque 
Fighting Saints before enrolling 
at Michigan.

Nebraska, 
too, 
has 
three 

USHL 
teams, 
including 
the 

Omaha Lancers, who have a 
league-record seven titles. If they 
became a Division I program, the 
Cornhuskers would have a natural 
rival in Nebraska-Omaha, a team 
enjoying great success this season 
as the No. 4 team in this week’s 
USCHO.com poll.

Much work must to be done 

to bring the Big Ten into the 
realm of the CCHA’s dominance 
throughout its 42-year history. 
Big Ten hockey might never 
reach the prominence of Big Ten 
basketball and football, either. 
It’s a work in progress and stands 
as a reality many hockey fans will 
have to accept.

It’s not hard to tell that Big Ten 

hockey remains in its infancy, but 
don’t sleep on its potential just 
yet.

‘M’ heads to Illinois 
on three-game skid

By DANIEL FELDMAN

Daily Sports Editor

Spike 
Albrecht 
had 
been 

thinking about holding a players-
only meeting. The Michigan 
men’s basketball team’s 72-54 
home 
loss 

to 
Iowa 
last 

week gave him 
the 
perfect 

opportunity.

In addition 

to the junior 
guard, 
senior 

forward 
Max 

Bielfeldt, 
junior 
guard 

Caris 
LeVert, 

sophomore 
guard Derrick 
Walton Jr. and 
sophomore forward Zak Irvin 
each spoke up as well, delivering 
a simple message.

“(Make) sure everyone knows 

the expectations here,” Albrecht 
said. “And don’t fall into that 
trap of (thinking) what we’re 
doing is acceptable.”

With Michigan (6-6 Big Ten, 

13-11 overall) fresh off three 
straight losses and traveling to 
Champaign on Thursday to take 
on Illinois, a lot is on the line. 
Expectations are still high, and 
an NCAA Tournament bid is still 
the goal.

At ninth place in the Big Ten, 

Michigan’s chances of climbing 
back into the top half of the 
standings with six games to go 
in conference play are slim to 
none. Still, Michigan coach John 
Beilein remains hopeful his team 
can make some noise.

“This is a year where you 

could be in the middle of this 
pack and still get into the NCAA 
Tournament, because you look 

nationwide, and also just look at 
our league,” Beilein said. “What I 
love about our opportunity is we 
have the opportunity now with 
Illinois — who we’re fighting 
with somewhere in that pack 
— Michigan State, Ohio State. 
All (are) opportunities that you 
wouldn’t get at another level to 
really increase our résumé if 
we’re going to have any chance 
at the postseason.”

The focus of Wednesday’s 

practice was Illinois (6-5, 16-8), 
which is led by guards Malcolm 
Hill and Kendrick Nunn. In the 
last nine games, Hill and Nunn 
have accounted for 52.9 percent of 
the Illini’s scoring. The purpose 
of Tuesday’s 
practice, 
though, 
was for the 
Wolverines 
to 
improve 

on 
the 

basics, 
even 

if 
it 
meant 

practicing 
drills usually 
reserved for September, like ball-
handling drills.

“We’ve got to keep working, 

but at the same time, if you saw 
(Tuesday’s) practice it was about 
catching on two feet,” Beilein 
said. “You can do all the game 
planning you want for Illinois, 
but if we still drop a two-on-
one fast break and bobble it, it 
doesn’t work.”

Michigan could have been 

in a different position if a 
couple of possessions had gone 
differently in recent games. 
According to Bielfeldt, despite 
mental 
mistakes 
from 
the 

younger players and injuries to 
LeVert and Walton, expectations 
remain just as high for the 

Wolverines. And the NIT is not 
part of such plans.

Whether Michigan eventually 

makes the NCAA Tournament 
or the NIT, one priority will stay 
constant for the Wolverines: 
improve every day and take it 
game by game.

“That’s the most important 

thing right now,” Albrecht said. 
“It’s 
just 
making 
Michigan 

better. … We’ve got to work out 
some kinks, and as we continue 
to develop and figure that out, 
we can look more into other 
teams and their tendencies.”

While the next couple games 

will reveal if Michigan has 
even the slightest chance for an 

at-large 
bid 

to the NCAA 
Tournament, 
there 
are 

other 
implications 
as well.

“It’s 

important 
that we see 
this part of 

the future,” Beilein said. “I’m 
looking so forward to that, but in 
the meantime, I’m not giving up 
on today.”

NOTES: Beilein said Walton 

has “been getting every day, but 
certainly (is) not ready yet” to 
return to action. His hope is for 
the sophomore to come back 
before the season ends, but he 
does not have a timetable.

“When he can run pain-free, 

he’s going to get back out there,” 
Beilein said. “Now obviously 
there’s some rehab involved for 
him to get his cardio back up — 
he can’t do that yet, but when 
he can, I would say two to three 
days later we would put him in a 
game.”

Michigan 
at Illinois

Matchup: 
Michigan 13-11; 
Illinois 16-8

When: Thurs-
day 9 P.M.

Where: State 
Farm Center

TV/Radio: 
ESPN

“It’s important 
that we see this 

part of the future.”

Michigan in the final countdown

By BRAD WHIPPLE

Daily Sports Writer

It has become a rocky road 

for 
the 
Michigan 
women’s 

basketball team.

Two 
weeks 
ago, 
the 

Wolverines (6-7 Big Ten, 14-10 
overall) lost to both Nebraska 
and No. 5 Maryland. Then, last 
Thursday, Michigan narrowly 
defeated Michigan State despite 
allowing the Spartans to trim a 
22-point lead to six.

Sunday, against then-No. 21 

Rutgers, the Wolverines almost 
grabbed their second lead of the 
game with 3:10 left, when senior 
guard Shannon Smith pushed 
through three defenders under 
the basket, made a layup and 
narrowed the deficit to two. But 
even a nearly impossible play by 
a 5-foot-7 guard wasn’t enough 
to ignite Michigan to an upset.

Two days later in Columbus, 

Smith continued to spearhead 
the offense. With a layup, she 
topped off a 13-point lead over 
the Buckeyes for the Wolverines’ 
largest of the night, but they 
squandered that cushion in the 
final nine minutes, ultimately 
losing by four points.

Michigan 
has 
just 
five 

opponents to face before Big 
Ten Tournament — three below 
the Wolverines in the standings 
and one that they have already 
defeated once this year. But 
even then, a lot is coming into 
question.

It’s 
hard 
to 
say 
which 

Michigan squad will show up 
on any given night. It’s hard to 
say if the Wolverines’ lights-
out shooters will be lights-out. 
It’s hard to say if this team’s 
defense can hold steady and not 
allow two different players on 
two different teams to score 19 
second-half points.

And given the inconsistencies, 

it’s hard to say if Michigan will 
reach the NCAA Tournament. 
With a question mark hovering 
over the Wolverines’ postseason, 
the Daily breaks down this year’s 
team as it approaches the end of 
the regular season.

THE 
FULL 
40: 
Though 

Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico has stressed to her team 
that it needs to put together a 

full 40 minutes of basketball, the 
Wolverines haven’t done so in 
their past two games.

Michigan ran out of gas when 

it nearly upset Rutgers and held a 
large lead over Ohio State before 
giving it away. Winning one or 
two of those would have been a 
much-needed résumé booster. 
Instead, the Wolverines let both 
teams stomp on them as their 
defense shut down, and allowed 
Buckeye guard Kelsey Mitchell 
to score 26 total points.

The defense is going to need 

to better pinpoint and eliminate 
the main scoring threats before 
it’s too late. Michigan will also 
need to fight past the fatigue 
with time winding down and its 
season on the line.

DOWNTOWN SHOOTING: 

At the beginning of the season, 
Barnes Arico said freshman 
guard 
Katelynn 
Flaherty 

doesn’t play like a freshman. But 
recently, she has started look 
like one.

In the last two games, Flaherty 

has gone a combined 6-for-28, 
with only one 3-pointer, missing 
all of her open looks against 
Rutgers. Meanwhile, sophomore 
guard Siera Thompson hasn’t 
been able to make up for the loss 
in scoring, as she too has been on 
a cold streak, going 7-for-31 in 
the last two games.

Though 
Flaherty 
and 

Thompson combined for 21 
points from beyond the arc 
against Michigan State, they 
have gone downhill since. For 
Michigan to win out, it’s going 
to need its best shooters to be 
efficient from long range.

THE 
BOARD 
GAME: 

Though the Wolverines shot 
26.2 percent against the Scarlet 
Knights, 
double-digit 
leads 

were hard to come by as a result 
of Michigan’s efforts on the 
glass.

Senior 
forwards 
Cyesha 

Goree 
and 
Nicole 
Elmblad 

have 
been 
getting 
batted 

around in the paint, but they’ve 
been 
important 
contributors 

nonetheless. Elmblad posted her 
second double-double (14 points, 
15 rebounds) against Ohio State 
alongside Goree’s 14 boards.

Elmblad’s 
aggressiveness 

allows her to draw fouls often, 
and Goree’s toughness fares well 
against almost any matchup. If 
both can stay out of foul trouble 
late in the game, they will 
continue to be the staples for a 
team trying to keep its NCAA 
Tournament dream alive.

HOT OFF THE BENCH: 

While some of Michigan’s better 
players have had to come off the 
court due to foul trouble, Barnes 
Arico has been getting a lot of 
production from her bench.

Freshman 
forward 
Jillian 

Dunston has played 30 minutes 
in the last two games, collecting 
12 total rebounds. She played a 
big role against Rutgers, filling 
in for Goree, who had to leave 
the game with four fouls.

Against Ohio State, junior 

guard 
Madison 
Ristovski 

replaced 
sophomore 
guard 

Danielle Williams, who has been 
scoreless in four of her last five 
starts. Ristovski finished with 
five points against the Buckeyes, 
including one triple.

If necessary, Barnes Arico has 

efficient options to fall back on.

ROBERT DUNNE/Daily

Katelynn Flaherty has gone cold from 3-point range in the past two games.

“I just think it’s 

a new level.”

