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Novi Neurology 

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Managing Multiple Sclerosis & 
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When:
Saturday, February 21, 2015

9:00 AM Eastern

Where: 

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Ann Arbor, MI 48105 

Free parking or valet available.
A meal will be provided.

8 — Friday, February 13, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines look to solidify place in PairWise Rankings

By JASON RUBINSTEIN 

Daily Sports Editor

The last time the Michigan 

hockey team faced off against 
Minnesota, coach Red Berenson 
recorded his 800th career win. 
Though the milestone won’t be 
as monumental, if Michigan can 
steal two wins in Minneapolis, 
the 12th-ranked Wolverines will 

propel themselves into a very 
steady position in the PairWise 
Rankings.

But that won’t come easily. 

No. 14 Minnesota (5-2-3 Big Ten, 
14-9-3 overall) will be espe-
cially hungry for two wins con-
sidering the Wolverines sweep 
of the Golden Gophers in a two-
game series in January. And a 
win against Michigan would 

significantly further their cause 
in the rankings.

“I’d say this is the biggest 

series of my career so far,” said 
junior forward Andrew Copp. 
“We took care of them when 
they were here in Ann Arbor, 
but we know that they are tough 
to beat out there.”

Added Berenson: “This will 

be the biggest test thus far going 

on the road to play Minnesota.”

Berenson’s sentiment is par-

tially rooted in the fact that the 
Wolverines 
haven’t won in 
Minneapolis 
in seven years. 
The 
drought 

can be partial-
ly 
attributed 

to 
Michigan 

(8-2, 16-8) not 
playing 
the 

Gophers regu-
larly until last 
season, 
when 

the 
Big 
Ten 

conference 
was formed.

But 
per-

haps the los-
ing 
streak 

in Minnesota is rooted in the 
Wolverines’ inability to adapt 
to a bigger rink. The Golden 
Gophers skate on an Olympic-
size ice sheet — 100 feet by 200 
feet — whereas Yost Ice Arena is 
just 85 feet by 200 feet.

And the extra space has 

caused the Wolverines some 
trouble in the past. This sea-
son, though, Michigan is unde-
feated while playing on larger 
ice sheets. Back in January, the 
Wolverines swept Wisconsin in 

its Olympic-size rink, scoring 13 
goals along the way.

“This team is excited to be 

playing on the big ice,” said 
senior forward Zach Hyman. 
“You 
saw 
how 
we 
played 

against Wisconsin in the big 
rink and we were excited that 
weekend.”

To simulate the game condi-

tions this weekend, Michigan 
practiced at the Ann Arbor Ice 
Cube this week, which has an 
Olympic-size rink. The Wolver-
ines did the same thing prior to 
the Wisconsin series.

Heading into the weekend, 

Michigan still leads the nation 
in scoring, tallying 4.21 goals 
per game. The Wolverines are 
also accomplishing this feat 
without one of last season’s 
leading scorers filling the stat 
sheet in forward JT Compher. 
The sophomore has just four 
goals and 13 points this season. 
Berenson isn’t concerned.

“I think JT is coming into the 

best part his season right now,” 
he said.

Despite the offensive prow-

ess, it’s likely that special teams 
will determine a large part of 
this series. Minnesota boasts 
the nation’s best power-play 
unit, converting just above 29 

percent — 30 of 103 — power-
play opportunities.

The last time the two teams 

met, the Gophers converted 
two 
power-play 
goals 
after 

Copp took a five-minute major 
penalty.

“That game was interesting, I 

guess,” Copp said with a smirk.

In recent games, the Wolver-

ines penalty-killing unit, largely 
headed by Compher, has been 
solid. A big reason for that is 
that Michigan takes very few 
penalties — the Wolverines rank 
36th in the country in penalty 
minutes.

“Just 
not 
taking 
many 

penalties 
is 
the 
key,” 
said 

freshman 
forward 
Dylan 

Larkin. “The best penalty kill 
is staying out of the box. That’s 
our mentality. But if we do, we 
are going to have to sacrifice our 
bodies and block a lot of shots.”

Larkin went on to say how 

important this series is for the 
Wolverines, especially consid-
ering the PairWise implications. 
More notably, getting two wins 
on the road at Minnesota would 
considerably boost this team’s 
already high morale.

“It can push this year into a 

special year,” Larkin said, “and 
we are all looking for that.”

Michigan at 
Minnesota

Matchup: 
Michigan 
16-8; Min-
nesota 14-9-3

When: Friday 
9 P.M.; Sat-
urday 8 P.M.

Where: Mari-
ucci Arena

TV/Radio: 
Friday’s game 
is on BTN

PAUL SHERMAN/Daily

Freshman forward Dylan Larkin will be a key player as Michigan looks for a successful weekend in Minneapolis.

‘M’ falters in OT

By JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

CHAMPAIGN — The Big 

Ten championship trophy was 
inside the State Farm Center 
the last time the Michigan 
men’s basketball team played at 
Illinois.

On 

March 
4 
last 

year, 
the 

Wolverines 
traveled 
to 

Champaign and left with the 
trophy and an 84-53 win. They 
scored 35 of the last 52 points of 
the first half, culminating with 
Nik Stauskas’ deep 3-pointer 
just before the halftime buzzer.

Michigan was back inside 

the same building Thursday, 
but with no conference title 
trophy in sight, with assistant 
coach LaVall Jordan out sick 
at the team hotel and with 
injured guards Caris LeVert and 
Derrick Walton Jr. at home.

The Wolverines were in for 

much more of a fight this time. 
Just as they were about to come 
away with a solid road win, Illinois 
battled back from a late second-
half deficit to force overtime and 
eventually win, 64-52.

The two teams also played 

in overtime Dec. 30 at Crisler 
Center, but the Wolverines (6-7 
Big Ten, 13-12 overall) were 
victorious on their home court. 
They haven’t had much luck since 
then in three extra sessions in the 
past six games.

“This is what, our third 

straight overtime loss?” said 
freshman 
guard 
Aubrey 

Dawkins. “It’s tough.”

The Fighting Illini (7-5, 17-8) 

put together a nearly flawless 
overtime 
period, 
outscoring 

Michigan 14-2 and snapping an 
eight-game losing streak in the 
series.

“I think there was a huge 

let-down that we didn’t win 

that game,” Beilein said. “(Our 
kids) didn’t have that same zest 
that I think you need to go into 
overtime.”

The run started with two 

free throws by guard Kendrick 
Nunn on the first possession, 
and Illinois kept its foot on the 
pedal for all five minutes. The 
Wolverines didn’t score until 
freshman guard Muhammad-Ali 
Abdur-Rahkman’s free throws 
with 13 seconds left.

Very little of the rest of the 

setting carried 
over from last 
season, and the 
outcome 
was 

no exception. A 
sellout crowd 
at 
the 
State 

Farm 
Center 

on 
“Orange-

Out 
Night” 

couldn’t 
will 

the Fighting Illini ahead until 
the final moments, as Michigan 
sustained 
momentum 
swings 

throughout the second half.

“We thought we had it,” 

Dawkins said. “We’ve been 
in that situation a lot, so we 
thought we could figure it out 
enough to win the game, but 
obviously it didn’t happen.”

But Illinois made one final 

push in the last two minutes. 
After 
forcing 
a 
five-second 

violation on the sideline, the 
Fighting Illini scored a quick 
bucket, and Nunn added a 
3-pointer with 1:21 left to tie the 
game. The teams traded misses 
— with Illinois’ coming on a 
block by sophomore forward 
Zak Irvin — and Michigan held 
for the last shot.

The Fighting Illini, which had 

three fouls to give, committed 
all three, then intercepted the 
inbounds pass but just missed a 
buzzer beater from half-court.

The 
Wolverines 
rotated 

defenses throughout the second 
half 
to 
keep 
the 
Fighting 

Illini from stringing together 
anything serious. Illinois shot 
just 39 percent from the floor.

“We’re getting better at it,” 

Beilein said. “I think we’re 
getting better at understanding 
our coverages at what we have to 
do. It does open us up for some 
rebounding, which hurt us a little 
bit. We’re working at a lot of things. 
That’s why we have an issue right 
now — we’re trying to do anything 
we can to stay in the game. … 
We’re not great at anything right 

now, and that 
gets 
exposed 

sometimes 
in 

games.”

Still, Illinois’ 

guard Malcolm 
Hill ignited the 
crowd with a 
3-pointer at the 
8:20 mark, but 
soon Michigan 

junior 
guard 
Spike 
Albrecht 

lobbed the ball up, caught it and 
flung it in while falling over on the 
baseline. When the Fighting Illini 
drew within four, Albrecht came 
back with a long triple with just 
over five minutes to play.

“He’s playing with everything 

he’s got,” Beilein said. “He’s 
really upset right now.”

The 
Wolverines 
played 

almost even on the glass starting 
with the first few minutes, 
when both teams went without 
a field goal for the first 4:50. 
An early Illinois run made it a 
10-6 game, but senior forward 
Max Bielfeldt scored two quick 
buckets and Dawkins added a 
triple as Michigan swayed the 
advantage back in its favor.

Moments 
later, 
Dawkins 

silenced the crowd with a 
monstrous dunk over Illinois 
center Nnanna Egwu. Dawkins 
finished 
with 
nine 
points, 

following his career-high 20 
point showing on Dec. 30, the 
first time the two teams met 
this season.

MICHIGAN
ILLINOIS 

52
64

Inexperience dooms Michigan

By LEV FACHER

Managing Editor

CHAMPAIGN — At risk of 

dropping its fifth Big Ten game 
in six chances, the Michigan 
men’s basketball team turned 
to its upperclassmen — all two 
of them — to stem the tide on 
Thursday night at Illinois.

“All 
those 
young 
kids 

shouldn’t be in those situations,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach 
John 

Beilein, referring to the three 
true freshmen he started against 
the Fighting Illini. “They’re 
forced to be. We’ve got to get 
better at it.”

Instead, it was senior forward 

Max Bielfeldt and junior guard 
Spike Albrecht who took the 
reigns for Michigan.

Albrecht, whose health has 

been less than perfect throughout 
the season, gutted out 42 minutes 
in Michigan’s third overtime 
game in as many weeks, scoring 
13 points and recording five 
assists in the process.

Bielfeldt, 
making 
a 
final 

homecoming to the school that 
boasts his family’s name on its 
athletic administration building, 
was equally impressive, scoring 
12 points and recording seven 
rebounds.

But 
the 
upperclassmen’s 

combined effort wasn’t enough 
for Michigan, which continued 
a consistent trend of forcing 
overtime against teams with 
the on-paper advantage before 
collapsing during the added five 
minutes.

On Jan. 24, the Wolverines 

were 
outscored 
12-7 
by 

Wisconsin 
after 
sophomore 

guard 
Derrick 
Walton 
Jr.’s 

3-pointer tied the game in the 
final seconds of regulation.

A 
week 
later, 
Michigan’s 

post-regulation result was much 
worse — Michigan State went 
on a 10-0 overtime run that the 
Wolverines 
never 
recovered 

from. 
Michigan 
was 
held 

scoreless in the added period, 
and ultimately fell, 76-66.

The final five minutes of 

Thursday’s game were a mirror 
image of the Feb. 1 rivalry clash. 
Having already stormed back 
from a 50-43 deficit in the final 
minutes, 
Illinois 
scored 
the 

first 14 points of overtime to 
take a commanding 64-50 lead. 
Freshman guard Muhammad-
Ali Abdur-Rahkman’s pair of 
made free throws in the final 
minute was much too little, and 
far too late.

“These late-game adjustments 

that we have to make … we 
haven’t been able to work at 
those as much because we’re 
still trying to dribble the ball, 
and catch the ball on two feet, 
and shoot the ball with good 
spin and the fundamentals of 
the game,” Beilein said.

One of the fundamentals 

that was severely lacking was 
Michigan’s ability to inbound 
the basketball. Abdur-Rahkman 
failed three times at getting 
the ball past Illinois’ 6-foot-11 
center Nnanna Egwu, seeing his 
first two attempts swatted away 
and committing a five-second 
violation on the third.

With 4.5 seconds remaining 

in regulation, Michigan had 
another opportunity to inbound 
the ball and set up a game-
winning shot. Again, its youth 
posed a major roadblock.

“I 
would 
love 
to 
have 

(freshman forward) Ricky Doyle 
throwing it in, but we do not 
have that type of passing from 
our big guys right now,” Beilein 
said. “Spike’s got to be the one.”

Albrecht’s pass was deflected, 

ultimately ending up in the 
hands of Illinois guard Rayvonte 
Rice. The Fighting Illini couldn’t 
score on their final possession, 
sending the game to overtime.

Had the inbounds play worked, 

Beilein had every intention of 
leaving an upperclassman with 
the final shot.

“We were gonna go with 

(Bielfeldt),” Beilein said. “He 
didn’t play a lot in the last game, 
but he’s a senior, this game means 
a lot to him, and we sort of had a 
hunch that we’d go with him.

“If we’d had the fouls to give, 

he was taking last shot if we 
were allowed to run the offense, 
and might have had three of four 
seconds. I dialed up something 
for him.”

Though Michigan’s best hope 

of closing out the victory — 
which would have been its first 
of the month — was vested in 
Albrecht and Bielfeldt, the sparks 
of the Wolverines’ talented youth 
were 
still 
there. 
Michigan’s 

coaching staff wasn’t shy about 
making sure its underclassmen 
understood their roles.

At 
a 
particularly 
quiet 

moment, 
Michigan 
assistant 

coach 
Bacari 
Alexander’s 

instructions 
for 
Doyle 
rang 

through the State Farm Center. 
“Rick! Rick! You got one job, son. 
Rebound the basketball.”

Doyle came up with a rebound 

on the ensuing possession.

That 
wasn’t 
even 
the 

most promising sign of the 
Wolverines’ impending youth 
uprising — in the first half, 
Andrew Dakich found Aubrey 
Dawkins on a backdoor cut, 
allowing Dawkins to finish 
with a ferocious right-handed 
slam that stunned the record 
crowd of 17,087 at the State 
Farm Center.

Though Michigan’s simple 

lack of depth, which forced 
Albrecht 
and 
sophomore 

forward Zak Irvin to play 42 
minutes and Abdur-Rahkman to 
play 43, was an obvious factor, 
Dawkins 
wasn’t 
willing 
to 

chalk up the repeated overtime 
collapses to a lack of fresh legs.

“It could be that,” Dawkins 

said. “I mean, I’m not going to 
use that as an excuse. We’ve still 
got to come out and find a way to 
win every night.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S BASKETBALL

“I think there 
was a huge let-

down.” 

