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February 12, 2016 - Image 7

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The Michigan Daily

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Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, February 12, 2016 — 7

SOFTBALL
‘M’ prepares for
first tournament

By TYLER COADY

Daily Sports Writer

Michigan softball coach Carol

Hutchins isn’t dwelling on last
year’s Women’s College World
Series loss to
Florida.
She

also
hasn’t

been thinking
about
the

rematch slated
for
Saturday

against the top-
ranked Gators.

“The
only

team
I
am

excited for is
Michigan,”
Hutchins said.
“I never care
who we are
playing.”

While

Hutchins is firmly focused on
her Wolverines, the attention
of collegiate softball fans this
weekend will be on Tampa, Fla.,
as the USF Wilson-Demarini
Tournament
will
pit
No.
2

Michigan against South Carolina,
Illinois State, Florida, South
Florida and Virginia Tech.

For
the
Wolverines,
this

weekend not only marks the
beginning of Hutchins’ 32nd year
at the helm, but provides Michigan
with an early chance at revenge.

The Gators, who won their

second
straight
national

championship last June, return a
bevy of starters from last year’s
team and boast a highly touted
pitching
staff
that
includes

Saturday’s probable starter, right-
hander Aleshia Ocasio.

Ocasio has already racked up

several
memorable
moments

against
the
Wolverines.
Her

highlights
include
recording

three strikeouts against Michigan
in the first game of the 2015
Women’s College World Series
championship series and earning
her first-ever victory for Florida
against Michigan last February.

While Ocasio is sure to stir up

bad memories among Wolverine
hitters, junior outfielder Kelly

Christner feels her team has
shed the skeletons of last year’s
disappointments.

“We do not need to go into

any game any differently than
before,” Christner said. “We have
enough skill, we have enough
talent … (to go) in there with high
confidence and play normal.”

While talent will be abundant

in the title-game rematch, it won’t
be restricted to just that game.
Both South Carolina and Virginia
Tech also made last year’s NCAA
Tournament.

Friday morning, Michigan will

take on South Carolina, and with
no time to rest, the Wolverines
take
on
Illinois
State
that

afternoon. Last year, Michigan
defeated the Redbirds, 4-1, in the
same tournament.

The big question for the

Wolverines is who will be on
the mound. With right-hander
Megan Betsa picking up an injury
in practice this week, there is no
indication she will be healthy in
time or who will fill in the gap.
Hutchins is adamant that she
will use the full depth of her
pitching rotation, considering
the team is welcoming back
fifth-year
right-hander
Sara

Driesenga and sophomore right-
hander Tera Blanco.

“We have at least 50 games

scheduled,” Hutchins said. “We
have a pitching staff … and for
(Betsa) to be effective, we need
a staff.”

If Betsa pitches against the

Gators, the onus will fall on either
Blanco or Driesenga on Saturday
afternoon against South Florida.
Last year, Michigan defeated the
Bulls, 4-3.

While an early-season win

against the No. 1 preseason team
would be a statement victory
for the Wolverines, Hutchins
reiterated the fact that she
refuses to focus on the hype and
speculation that fill up the days
leading into a new season.

“I am not going to focus on

the other teams,” Hutchins said.
“This is not about Florida, or
anybody, but Michigan.”

Wolverines head to Madison

Michigan looks to
avoid another bad
loss in two-game
series at Wisconsin

By MINH DOAN

Daily Sports Editor

With every trip the Michigan

hockey team takes to Madison,
a slightly different challenge is
presented.

The
Kohl

Center’s
ice

is
12
feet

longer
than

the
Yost
Ice

Arena’s
rink.

To combat the
difference, the
sixth-ranked
Wolverines
have
been

practicing
at
the
Ann

Arbor Ice Cube
all
week
in

preparation for
the weekend series.

But
Michigan
coach
Red

Berenson doesn’t think it’ll be
too much of a concern.

“You just have to get your

bearings out there,” Berenson
said. “If the rink is very narrow,
you get used to that. If the rink
is really wide, you get used to it.”

The Wolverines are coming

off a split weekend against
Michigan State that saw them
lose 3-2 in overtime at Joe
Louis Arena on Friday, before
winning in East Lansing, 4-1, on
Saturday.

In Friday’s game, Michigan’s

potent offense, which averages
4.89 goals per game, mustered
just two goals, both coming
off the stick of junior forward
Tyler Motte.

Saturday, scoring was a little

more
balanced,
with
goals

coming from Motte, line mate
junior forward JT Compher and
senior forward Justin Selman.

“We have to play better,”

Berenson said of Friday night’s
game. “You’re not always going
to get four or five goals, and the
other part is we have to play

better hockey. We’re getting
goals from one line most nights.
It was good to see the difference
in Saturday’s game was we got
two goals from Selman, and
those were big goals for us.”

The Wolverines only gave up

four goals last weekend in their
best defensive effort of 2016,
but Berenson knows Michigan
can still improve, even with the
offense playing the way that it is.

“If
we’re
playing
well

offensively, we’re not playing
in
our
(defensive)
zone,”

Berenson said. “But we can’t
rely on offense. We have to be
a legitimate defensive team in
addition to being an exceptional
offensive team.”

Against
the
Badgers,
the

Wolverines
will
once
again

be without freshman forward
Cooper
Marody,
who
has

mononucleosis
and
has
not

played since Jan. 17.

In his absence, Berenson has

shifted around the lines, moving
sophomore forward Dexter Dancs
to senior forward Boo Nieves’
line and moving Selman to center
a line with sophomore forward
Tony Calderone and freshman
forward Brendan Warren.

“I think Dexter’s got a good

chance at helping Boo’s line,”
Berenson said. “I really like
what Selman’s doing with the
other line.”

And in goal, senior Steve

Racine will protect the net.
Racine
has
played
well
of

late, and last Friday’s loss to
Michigan State was his first loss
since mid-October.

But even in the loss, Racine

had 38 saves,
and
kept

Michigan
in

the game when
it needed him
the most.

“(Racine’s)

playing well,”
Berenson said.
“He’s been a
factor
in
all

of our games.
I could show
you the Penn State games.
There were turning points and
saves he made when the score
and the game could’ve gone

either way, so even at Michigan
State, that game could’ve gone
either direction. He’s giving us
a chance every night, and that’s
what we want from our goalie.”

On the other side of the ice,

Wisconsin comes into the game
coming off a sweep of Alaska.
However, Big Ten wins have
been a little bit harder for them

to
come
by.

The
Badgers

have only one
win
in
the

conference.

Forwards

Grant
Besse

and
Luke

Kunin
lead

Wisconsin in
scoring.
The

duo was a big
part
of
the

reason the Badgers were able to
put the Wolverines on the ropes
twice at Yost Ice Arena back in
December.

Wisconsin went up by at

least a two-goal margin in both
games, but Michigan was able to
come back twice, once winning,
6-4, and once tying, 6-6.

With just nine games left

before the Big Ten Tournament,
the
Wolverines
have
put

themselves in a good position
so far to contend for the Big
Ten title and make it back to
the NCAA Tournament after a
three-year hiatus.

However, as evident by last

weekend’s
matchup
against

Michigan State, Michigan can’t
take its foot off the gas pedal.

“We’ve always been a team

that got better in the second
half, and we’ve started to get
better,” Berenson said. “But I
still think we got to get better
in the upcoming games. We
have five tough conference
road games we’ve got to take
advantage of. If we do that, we’ll
be ready.”

USF Wilson-
Demarini
Tournament

Matchup:
Michigan vs.
South Carolina,
Illinois State,
Florida,
South Florida,
Virginia Tech

When: Friday-
Sunday

Where:
Tampa, Fla.

Michigan at
Wisconsin

Matchup:
Michigan 17-4-
4, Wisconsin
6-12-6

When: Friday
8 P.M.,
Saturday
8 P.M.

Where: Kohl
Center

TV/Radio:
BTN2Go

Michigan’s path to the ‘Big Dance’

By KELLY HALL

Daily Sports Editor

By winning Wednesday night’s

down-to-the-wire contest at Big
Ten bottom feeder Minnesota,
the Michigan men’s basketball
team avoided a near disaster that
would’ve considerably damaged
its NCAA Tournament hopes. As a
projected No. 9 seed in ESPN.com’s
Bracketology, the Wolverines (8-4
Big Ten, 18-7 overall) aren’t on
the bubble, necessarily, but it’s
difficult to label them as safe.

Michigan has six conference

games left until the Big Ten
Tournament. Some of the contests
are must-wins if the Wolverines
want to land a NCAA Tournament
berth, but others against top-25
teams can preemptively be marked
as big ‘L’s in the record book.

That is, unless Caris LeVert

returns and makes an immediate
impact. The senior guard has been
sidelined with a lower-leg injury
for the past 11 games.

The day before the Wolverines

took down the Gophers in Williams
Arena,
Michigan
coach
John

Beilein indicated that LeVert’s
practice time was increasing, up
to an hour at a time, but it would
be LeVert’s decision to play. LeVert
ultimately watched from the bench
in a game where Michigan could
have used his help in combating
sluggish second-half drama.

Regardless of whether LeVert

returns, games will continue to
be played. The Daily broke down
Michigan’s upcoming schedule
and what it needs to do to make
it to the Big Dance.

Gotta Have It

Northwestern (4-8, 16-9):

The Wildcats have experienced

senior leaders in guard Tre Demps
and forward Alex Olah, but they
somehow manage to keep losing.
The two combine for 25.3 points

per game and average 8.6 rebounds,
but it’s not enough to overcome any
Big Ten powerhouse.

Northwestern had a few close

games against Ohio State and took
then-No. 7 Maryland to overtime
on Jan. 19, but the Wildcats failed
to close any of the nail-biters.

This is a must-win game.

Toss-ups

Ohio State (7-5, 15-10):

Any rivalry game comes with

caveats, and though Michigan
should be the favorite in this
matchup, the contest will be held
in Columbus in front of a fired-
up crowd.

The Buckeyes have only one win

against teams in the top-100 RPI,
with their only impressive victory

being a 74-67 defeat of then-No. 4
Kentucky. But the Buckeyes have
tripped more often than usual this
season and aren’t the powerhouse
they were the past two years, so
don’t give them too much credit.

Michigan will have to watch

out for forward Marc Loving,
who’s still averaging 13 points and
5.3 rebounds in a very competitive
conference. But the Buckeyes
just don’t possess the standout
firepower that other teams have.

Wisconsin (7-4, 15-9):

Wisconsin had a tumultuous

start to the season. The Badgers
lost early games against Western
Illinois,
Milwaukee
and

Marquette, and lost longtime
coach Bo Ryan suddenly on Dec.
16 when the 68-year-old coach

announced his retirement.

Since then, Wisconsin has

perked up, collecting wins against
then-No. 4 Michigan State and
then-No. 19 Indiana in January.
The Badgers are riding a six-game
winning streak in the conference,
an impressive feat for any team,
and are led by forward Nigel
Hayes, who’s having a strong
season, averaging 17.3 points, 5.8
boards and 3.4 assists.

The Wolverines will take on the

Badgers in Madison, potentially
spelling trouble for Michigan.

Major Brownie Points

No. 18 Purdue (8-4, 20-5):

Michigan already met with

Purdue this season, and it wasn’t
pretty.

A well-balanced attack guided

four different players to score
in double-digits that day, led by
forward A.J. Hammons, who
scored 17 on 7-for-10 shooting.
Though
sophomore
guard

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman
proved himself as a valuable guard
with a game-leading 25 points,
his teammates were virtually
rendered useless.

It was an 87-70 clobbering in

Mackey Arena. This time, the
game will be held in Ann Arbor,
but the Boilermakers will still
have a steady advantage.

No. 2 Maryland (10-2, 22-3):

The
Terrapins
have
just

two conference losses, and the
Wolverines dealt one of them.
Michigan
upset
Maryland
at

home in a 70-67 thriller, with
junior forward Zak Irvin scoring
22 points and guard Duncan
Robinson adding 17 on 5-for-9
3-point shooting.

But the Terrapins haven’t lost

at home since December 2014,
and it’s unlikely the Wolverines
will be the ones to put an end to
that record. With five players
averaging double-digit scoring, it’s
hard to imagine Michigan having
a chance unless it hits better than
50 percent from beyond the arc.

No. 4 Iowa (10-2, 19-5):

When the Wolverines traveled

to
Carver-Hawkeye
Arena,

they knew they’d be fighting
an uphill battle. Michigan lost,
82-71, and witnessed forward
Jarrod Uthoff’s offensive prowess
firsthand. Uthoff posted 23 points
against the Wolverines.

The Hawkeyes’ showdown with

Michigan will be the Wolverines’
last contest before the Big Ten
Tournament
and
will
prove

important in conference seeding.

Prediction

Michigan
will
beat

Northwestern and Ohio State
to earn its berth at the NCAA
Tournament. All of the other
games are losable, but if LeVert
returns,
the
Wolverines
will

find a way to win in one more
of the contests to finish out the
conference
schedule
with
21

victories. A win over Wisconsin
is the most likely upset, but
any win against the Badgers,
Purdue, Maryland or Iowa will be
considered an unlikely bonus.

A
strong
showing
that

includes two wins in the Big
Ten Tournament would help the
Wolverines, as well. Right now, if
Michigan can continue on track
in an admirable conference, it will
find a way to March Madness as a
7-10 seed.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Red Berenson’s team wraps up a six-game road trip this weekend at Wisconsin.

“We’ve always
been a team that
got better in the

second half.”

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Michigan coach John Beilein’s team, at 18-7 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten, is in good position for the NCAA Tournament, but needs more wins to lock up a bid.

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