8A — Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wolverines prepare for winless Scarlet Knights
By KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Editor
Wednesday,
the
Michigan
men’s
basketball
team
will
play its second game against a
winless Big Ten
team, this time
in the form of
Rutgers. While
the Wolverines
(5-2 Big Ten,
15-5
overall)
have
played
teams at both
the
top
and
bottom of the
conference,
they’ve
had
close
games
against
teams
from both ends
of the spectrum: They hung in
the game before falling to No. 3
Iowa and, more recently, barely
hung on to beat 0-8 Minnesota.
The Scarlet Knights (0-7, 6-14)
will look to replicate the Golden
Gophers’ scrappy play, seeking
a better result. Michigan coach
John Beilein, in typical fashion,
said
regardless
of
Rutgers’
undesirable record, the Scarlet
Knights will still be a challenge
for the Wolverines.
“They may beat us,” Beilein
said. “Our hope is that if they
beat us, it’s only because they
played great and we didn’t
overlook
anyone.
That’s
the
message. Everyone’s a Division
I player, everybody can run and
dunk and (make a) 3-pointer and
(with) foul trouble, anyone can
win a game.”
The Scarlet Knights have
played down to the wire against
No. 17 Indiana, which has lost
only one game in the Big Ten,
but they don’t have very many
other
notable
performances.
Jan. 18, they were crushed by
No. 21 Purdue, allowing the
Boilermakers to score 107 points.
Guard Corey Sanders leads
Rutgers with 14.1 points per game
on 40.4 percent shooting, but the
freshman is also averaging 3.5
assists per game. Sanders has
two teammates who also average
double-digit scoring, guard Mike
Williams and forward Deshawn
Freeman.
Rutgers has lost 22 straight
games to Big Ten opponents, and
it’s not likely that the streak will
stop on Wednesday.
Michigan should be able to
catch its breath during its next
two games against Rutgers and
Penn State before it returns
home for a two-game homestand
against Indiana and No. 12
Michigan State.
BEILEIN
USES
TWITTER
FOR A CAUSE
Beilein helped raise funds
for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine
Glioma research through the
ChadTough Foundation, the rare
form of pediatric brain cancer
that Chad Carr passed away from
in November.
Now, through ESPN’s Infiniti
Coaches’
Charity
Challenge,
Beilein is raising money for the
ChadTough Foundation again.
“We had a great first round,”
Beilein said. “I did a little video
message today, however, that
they don’t give trophies after the
end of the first quarter. We have
three more quarters to play here
to be able to win this.
“I personally tweeted it today
as well — I’m going to tweet it, I
haven’t actually tweeted it yet. I
haven’t hit the send button yet.
I
had
never
heard
the
letters
DIPG
before in my
life, until about
a year ago. …
Every
week
I’m
hearing
more.
It’s
something that
I really want to
support.”
When
asked about his Twitter usage
further, the 62-year-old Beilein
responded that he usually drafts
his own tweets, albeit with
some uneasiness thanks to his
Catholic-school upbringing.
“I do (tweet by myself)
most of the time,” Beilein
said. “Every now and then,
(Associate Basketball Director
Tom Wywrot) tries to do one
and I end up
redrafting
it
anyhow,
so
I
just
said,
‘I’ll
just
do
it by myself.’
But
I
don’t
like doing it
because
I’m
just
worried
about
one
grammatical
error,
which
the nuns and priests would
be mad at me for, 30, 40 years
later, or I’m just going to say
something stupid. I’ve gotta
look it over and look it over and
look it over. I wish I could be
like some people and send out
more.”
DONNAL GETS PUMPED
As most Michigan fans are
aware, forward Mark Donnal
has had a breakout junior season
since Big Ten play began.
Before
his
impressive
performance against Illinois on
Dec. 30, Donnal was averaging
3.9 points and 2.1 boards per
game. Now, the big man is
shooting 57 percent and grabbing
3.8 boards per game.
“If you look at (Donnal’s)
offensive rebounding numbers
right now, they’d be at the
top of the league … in limited
minutes,” Beilein said. “He is
just working his tail off for the
dirty rebounds, just for the ball
that nobody else can get. He is
controlling what he can control.
I think he probably came in here
thinking he was going to shoot a
bunch of 3s, and that’s the way
he was going to get on the court.
Defense was just something you
had to play. He likes playing
defense and for a center, that is
not an easy task.”
His teammates have seen a
change in his play over the past
year, so they aren’t surprised
when they see him produce on
the court.
But according to sophomore
forward
Aubrey
Dawkins,
they’re still taken aback when he
diverges from his usual reserved
self.
“It catches me off guard when
he does (get fired up),” Dawkins
said. “He’s usually really calm
and just quiet, but when he gets
going, you’re like, ‘Oh, OK, let’s
do this.’ ”
LEVERT ALERT
Senior guard Caris LeVert,
who is a midseason Wooden
Award finalist, has missed the
last six games following an
injury to his lower-left leg, but it
appears that the end to his time
on the sideline is near. Though
he
won’t
play
Wednesday
against Rutgers, it wouldn’t be
surprising to see him suit up as
early as Saturday for Michigan’s
matchup with Penn State at
Madison Square Garden.
“Caris has had more testing,”
Beilein said. “Things continue to
go in the right direction, but he
is not ready to play yet. We hope
he is very soon, but he’s moving
in the right direction. … For the
first time, we have a timeline that
we’ve established. When you see
him on the court, you’ll know
what that timeline will look like.”
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Junior forward Mark Donnal has surged to the forefront of the Wolverines’ center rotation since Big Ten play began, averaging 12 points per game since.
Rutgers at
Michigan
Matchup:
Rutgers 6-14;
Michigan 15-5
When:
Wednesday
7 P.M.
Where: Crisler
Center
TV/Radio:
BTN
“Everyone’s a
Division I player,
everybody can
run and dunk.”
East Coast natives looking
forward to New York game
By KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Writer
The game itself has enough
hype around it already.
The Michigan hockey team
will battle the Nittany Lions for
a crucial position in the Big Ten
standings, as both teams are
currently tied for second place
in the conference.
But this weekend, the city
that never sleeps will play host
to Wolverines, adding even more
of an aura around Michigan’s
matchup. The Wolverines will
complete their series against
Penn State in Madison Square
Garden for the Big Ten Super
Saturday — an event in which
the two schools’ basketball
teams will also square off.
To add more drama to the
contest, Penn State has been
largely responsible for keeping
the Wolverines out of the
NCAA Tournament for the
past two years. The Nittany
Lions handed Michigan two
ugly losses just before the Big
Ten Tournament last year,
knocking them out of the
conference tournament in the
first round with a 2-1 overtime
win the year before that.
The stage can’t get much
bigger, as the Wolverines will
take the ice in one of the most
historic arenas in sports.
But
for
a
number
of
Michigan’s
players,
the
opportunity will be a little
more special.
“Some of the guys, it’ll be a
good homecoming-type event
for them, going back out east,”
said
junior
forward
Tyler
Motte. “I’ve never been there.
I know our class and the guys
under us haven’t played in
many events quite like this.
It’s a new thing for the Big Ten
as well, having the back-to-
back here with basketball and
hockey, which I think will be
good for the conference.
“I think it’ll be something
that (the Big Ten will) be able
to turn to in the next couple
years — playing two sports in
the same day. I think that’s
something that really could
separate the Big Ten from other
conferences.”
Five Wolverines are among
the group that will be returning
home.
Senior
forward
Justin
Selman — an Upper Saddle
River, N.J., native — isn’t far off
from the Empire State.
Senior
goaltender
Steve
Racine is from Williamsville,
N.Y., and spent the summer
interning on Wall Street.
Freshman
defenseman
Joseph
Cecconi
calls
Youngstown, N.Y., his home,
and junior defenseman Kevin
Lohan hails from Cold Spring
Harbor on Long Island.
Though Lohan grew up a
fan of the National Hockey
League’s New York Islanders,
he is still looking forward to
playing in the Garden, which
houses the Islanders’ chief
rival, the New York Rangers.
Senior
forward
Cristoval
‘Boo’
Nieves
is
from
Baldwinsville, but the contest
will hold even more weight
given that he has been in the
New York Rangers’ system
since
being
selected
59th
overall in the 2012 draft.
Even Michigan coach Red
Berenson has spent his fair
share of time in the Big Apple,
playing
49
games
for
the
Rangers in 1966 and 1967.
But the Wolverines’ seasoned
leader is more enthusiastic
about
the
opportunity
it
provides his players. To him,
it’s more important for the
team to gain experience in
rinks that foster environments
similar to what they may face
in the future, whether it be in
the National Hockey League or
NCAA Championship games.
“The game in New York will
be important for (Selman and
Nieves),” Berenson said. “But
they had that when they were
freshmen, too. When you have
these games, you really need
to take advantage of them.
Hopefully, it really jumpstarts
both of them. They’ve both
played well, but I’d like to see
this be like a coming-out game
for them.”
The
last
time
Michigan
entered the Garden was Nov.
24, 2012, when the Wolverines
suffered a 5-1 dismantling at the
hands of then-No. 13 Cornell.
The
crowd
favored
the
locally favorited Big Red that
day, but that advantage may
sway in Michigan’s favor this
go around — at least according
to the East Coast players.
“I think my parents ended up
buying — on my mom’s side —
almost like 50 tickets,” Selman
said. “My family has a suite at
(Madison Square Garden), so
I think they filled that up, and
then probably bought a couple
more too, so it should be close
to 100 people.”
Added Lohan: “There will be
a lot of people — friends, family,
family friends. It should be a
good weekend.”
No one was willing to claim
the title of team tour guide for
the little, if any, downtime the
Wolverines will get in the city,
but Nieves suggested splitting
the team into four between
himself, Selman, Lohan and
Racine.
Lohan echoed the sentiment,
explaining that each New York
native has their own go-to
spots.
But Nieves couldn’t pinpoint
the one place he would take his
group if given the time.
“I can’t name one,” Nieves
said. “There’s just too many
good brunch and bagel places
to name one.”
And on fitting the New York
bagel snob stereotype: “Oh
yeah, you have to be.”
So while Michigan will miss
the Children of Yost during
Thursday’s matchup in State
College, the Wolverines may
have a different fan section to
fill the role Saturday.
And with a warm welcome
expected, the Wolverines have
a chance to make a statement
against Penn State.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Boo Nieves will get to play in his home state of New York when Michigan plays at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.