Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Friday, February 20, 2015 — 7 ‘M’ travels to Tuscaloosa By TED JANES Daily Sports Writer With mixed results against two southern powerhouses already, the No. 5 Michigan softball team will look for another early-season statement against No. 3 Alabama. The Wolverines travel to Tuscaloosa this weekend looking to keep their eight-game win streak alive. For the third time in three weeks, the Wolverines (8-1) are going up against a top-10 opponent. Michigan has shown it can play with the best, beating No. 6 Florida State twice in one day. Next in line is the Crimson Tide. Throughout the weekend, the Wolverines will also play two games versus the Lipscomb and one against James Madison. While those games might not present the same challenge that the Crimson Tide pose, Michigan’s approach will be the same. One of the Crimson Tide’s best assets this season has been pitcher Alexis Osorio. Last Sunday, the freshman ace threw a no-hitter against Pacific in a 10-0 victory and has a 4-0 record to start her career. Michigan will be ready, though, having already faced some very talented pitchers, most notably Florida State’s Lacey Waldrop. Osorio will surely be another tough test, but Michigan coach Carol Hutchins is making sure to keep her players calm while at bat. “(Hutchins) is still focusing on staying loose and not trying to make too much of our swings,” said sophomore left fielder Kelly Christner. “A lot of what we’ve been practicing has been situational hitting. So not always thinking about trying to hit a home run but thinking that if there’s a runner on third, you need to try and hit to the outfield to score them.” For Christner, consistency in the batter’s box has been key. She has managed to reach base in all nine games so far this season, finding a way to hit against every pitcher she’s faced. “I just try to see a lot of pitches,” Christner said. “It really depends on the pitcher. If she’s trying to attack you first and you want to swing at that first one, go ahead, but whenever you see more pitches, at least for me, I feel better in the at-bat. I feel like I can see the ball better, and I’m not just giving her an easy out. I want to make her work for that out.” While the team is always focused on improving its hitting, Hutchins turned to the defense as the focus of practice this week. In the first game against the Seminoles last weekend, Florida State managed to hit its way back to a one-run lead by three consecutive infield singles. “We want to show up with our short game defense,” Hutchins said. “It wasn’t very good last weekend. It’s just a matter of getting a little more certainty. It’s tough, especially when you have to deal with slappers and bunts. We’ve worked on that a bit now.” The battle for starting infield spots has been evident thus far into the season. Hutchins has not determined any starters at these positions, and multiple infielders have seen playing time, including freshman Taylor Swearingen. Swearingen, who has started six different games in three different spots, is hoping to get into the starting lineup more consistently. “In the beginning of the year, I would’ve said I play best at first base,” Swearingen said. “But I’ve been getting a ton more comfortable at all of my positions now, and I’ve been practicing all over the field. I want to prove my consistency and be a little more aggressive.” Because of the star power in both dugouts, fans will be able to watch the games against the Crimson Tide online. Friday afternoon, the Wolverines will play at 5 p.m. on ESPN3. Michigan has already made clear it can compete with the best, but this weekend it will have the chance to let fans everywhere see that live. “I hope fans think, ‘Wow, Michigan has incredible energy,’ ” Christner said. “ ‘They’re always playing every pitch to win, never letting an inning up.’ ” Easton Bama Bash Matchup: Michigan 8-1; Alabama 11-1; Lipscomb 5-4; James Madison 3-2 When: Friday- Sunday Where: Tuscaloosa, Alabama TV/Radio: ESPN3 (Friday 5 p.m., Satur- day 2:30 p.m.) RUBY WALLAU/Daily Sophomore outfielder Kelly Christner has reached base safely in all nine games this season for Michigan. Big Ten announces 2015-16 matchups Michigan to play MSU, OSU only once next season By LEV FACHER Managing Editor The Big Ten announced the outline of its men’s basketball schedule for 2015-16 on Thursday, unveiling a slate that is, at least for Michigan, light on rivalry games. After playing home-and-home series against Michigan State and Ohio State this season, the Wolverines will play each of those teams just once next year. The clash with the Spartans will take place at Crisler Center, while Michigan will travel to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes. The Wolverines have home- and-home series scheduled with Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Penn State and Purdue next season. One of the contests with the Nittany Lions, though, will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York. Per MLive. com’s Brendan Quinn, the New York game will be Penn State’s home game, and the teams will also meet in Ann Arbor. Single-play games at home, in addition to Michigan State, are Indiana, Northwestern and Rutgers. Maryland’s visit to Ann Arbor will be its first as a member of the Big Ten. To round out its schedule, Michigan will travel for single- play games at Illinois, Nebraska and Wisconsin. All schedule dates — with the exception of the “Big Ten Day” clash in New York — have yet to be determined, as have game times and television broadcast information. The 2016 Big Ten Tournament will be held at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis after spending the 2013 through 2015 at the United Center in Chicago. The Big Ten’s schedule has changed substantially in recent years as the conference’s membership increased from 11 to 14. Nebraska joined the conference in the summer of 2011, while Maryland and Rutgers joined the conference in the summer of 2014. The additions forced a drastic increase in single-play competition. With an 11-team membership, the conference was able to facilitate home-and- home series for the vast majority of pairings, an ability that vanished when the membership grew by three teams and the conference schedule held steady at 18 regular-season games. Since the league’s expansion, Big Ten teams play five opponents twice and eight opponents once. Michigan had single-play pairings just twice per season in 2009-10 and 2010-11, the years before Nebraska’s addition to the conference. In both seasons, the Wolverines played Purdue and Illinois once each, alternating venues each season. In 2011-12, the first year of the Cornhuskers’ membership, Michigan played four teams — Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Iowa — only once each during the Big Ten regular season. The Wolverines’ home schedule features four of the seven teams currently in the top half of the Big Ten standings: Maryland, Michigan State, Purdue and Indiana. Similarly, the road schedule features four teams currently in the bottom half. MEN’S BASKETBALL Behind Enemy Lines with center Amanda Zahui B. By MINH DOAN Daily Sports Writer The Michigan women’s basketball team desperately needed a win Wednesday night to stay in the NCAA Tournament picture. And it got one in the form of a 68-52 victory over Indiana at Crisler Center. Freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty got her first start since November and excelled, scoring 21 points while senior guard Shannon Smith and sophomore guard Siera Thompson totaled 16 and 15 points, respectively. Down low in the post, senior forward Cyesha Goree was able to operate with her usual intensity. She only picked up one foul, unlike her last two games, in which she fouled out. After knocking off Indiana on Wednesday night, the Wolverines (7-8 Big Ten, 15-11 overall) had to quickly change their mindset and focus on traveling to Minneapolis to play the last team on its regular- season schedule ranked higher than them in the Big Ten. Currently ranked No. 4 in the Big Ten and No. 37 in the RPI, the Golden Gophers come into Saturday’s game riding a four-game winning streak including, most recently, an impressive 93-80 win over No. 13 Iowa on Tuesday, and a win over Minnesota would give the Wolverines a big win before the Big Ten Tournament begins in two weeks. The Golden Gophers (10-5, 21-6) have played a majority of the season without Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year guard Rachel Banham, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament on Dec. 10 against North Dakota and is out for the season. In the absence of Banham’s 22.1 points per game last season, Golden Gopher center and 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Amanda Zahui B. has taken over the bulk of the scoring. Zahui totaled a career-high 39 points and 29 rebounds in Minnesota’s win over Iowa. Zahui is also in the hunt for the John R. Wooden Award, given to the best player in the nation, as she was named to the Top 20 list last week. The Daily sat down with Zahui at Big Ten Media Day in October to discuss her upcoming season, the weather in Minnesota and the transition from Swedish to American basketball. The Michigan Daily: It’ll be your second year at Minnesota. How do you improve on last year’s All-Big Ten First Team performance? Amanda Zahui B.: Well, this year, I just want to become more versatile and become faster and quicker on the court, so I can match up against the bigger players. TMD: Coming from Sweden, what was the biggest difference in the style of play between American and Swedish basketball? AZ: Well it’s quicker, fast- paced and it’s rougher, if I can put it that way. TMD: Like more physical? AZ: Yeah, more physical, but definitely the pace is the biggest difference. TMD: You were on the Swedish national team. How did playing internationally help you out when you came to Minnesota? AZ: I got to play against players that played professionally, while on the national team, that had more experience playing against some of the best players in the world in the Euro League. I also got to play against other players in college. It was fun, it really helped me develop my game because you mixed a lot of cultures of basketball together. Wolverines seek historic win over Fighting Irish Michigan 0-16 all- time vs. ranked teams; plays Notre Dame on Saturday By BRANDON CARNEY Daily Sports Writer The men’s lacrosse team is already enjoying a historic week. For the first time in program history, Michi- gan received votes in the Inside Lacrosse rankings, while sopho- more attacker Ian King was voted Big Ten Offensive Play- er of the Week after earning a school single- game record of eight points against Detroit last week. Saturday, the Wolverines will have the opportunity to make more history when they play No. 2 Notre Dame in front of an expected record crowd at Ooster- baan Field House. In its brief three plus years of existence, Michigan is 0-16 against ranked opponents. An overtime defeat at the hands of then-No. 15 Cornell last year was the closest the Wolverines have come to knocking off a top-20 team. “After our Cornell game last year and how we prepared that week, we’re all looking forward to this game,” said senior attacker Will Meter. “This year it’s differ- ent. We’re not saying we can hang with this team anymore, we’re saying we can beat them.” After opening the season with two comfortable victories, confi- dence is flowing among players and staff. The Wolverines cur- rently lead the country in caused turnovers per game, own 52 shots on goal and have outscored oppo- nents 18-3 in the second half. “Something we’ve never been able to do in the past is put together a complete game, espe- cially in the second half,” Meter said. “It shows the confidence we’re all playing with.” While Michigan had little trouble taming Bellarmine and Detroit, Notre Dame is a whole different animal. The Fighting Irish return three All-Americans from their NCAA runner-up team. The fourth-ranked incoming fresh- man in 2014, Mikey Wynne, started his collegiate career by scoring six goals in a 14-12 victory over Georgetown. “(Wynne’s) IQ of the game and the way he goes about the game really makes him effective and unique,” said freshman midfield- er BJ Mattheiss, Wynne’s high school teammate. “He helped us win in so many ways. I can’t speak enough of him.” For years, the Fighting Irish have been best known for their airtight defense, but recently, Notre Dame’s attack has been grabbing all the headlines. Led by attacker Matt Kavanaugh, who earned 75 points last sea- son, the Fight- ing Irish will bring one of the country’s most dynamic offenses to Oosterbaan on Saturday. “Right now, you watch them on film, and their offense might be scarier than their defense,” said Michigan coach John Paul. “They are a complete team. For us to compete in a game like that at the stage we’re at right now, we’ve got to play a mistake-free game.” Saturday’s matchup has the potential to be a high-scoring shootout, especially if the Wol- verines’ offense can maintain its recent form. Michigan’s new offense includes fast-paced transition, and the Wolverines have already created more opportunities in transition than all of last sea- son. Overall, Michigan’s 31 goals are the second-most the team has ever scored in a two-game stretch. “We’re pushing it a lot more now,” Paul said. “We have the athletes to do it. It fits what we’re trying to do in our game, and the guys love it.” The odds may not be in the Wolverines’ favor heading into Saturday, but that could help Michigan’s cause. With nothing to lose and everything to gain against Notre Dame, the lack of pres- sure combined with recent success and growing confidence could be enough to spark an upset for the Wolverines’ history books. “I think the excitement and the morale of playing the big, No. 2 team in Notre Dame makes our team that much more motivated and to go out and get the win,” Mattheiss said. BEHIND ENEMY LINES RITA MORRIS/Daily Cyesha Goree faces a tough test in Minnesota’s Amanda Zahui B. on Saturday. Notre Dame at Michigan Matchup: Notre Dame 1-0; Michigan 2-0 When: Sat- urday 1 P.M. Where: Oosterbaan Field House MEN’S LACROSSE “We’re all looking forward to this game. This year it’s different.” BY THE NUMBERS Michigan Men’s Lacrosse 8.1 Average margin of defeat in 16 games against ranked teams (232-107 total) 14 Goals for Michigan in its closest loss, 15-14 to Cornell in overtime in 2014 15 Largest margin of defeat in such games (22-7 at Penn State in 2014)