The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, January 13, 2017 — 7
Wolverines return to Crisler to face
Nebraska and head coach Tim Miles
Though the conference season
is still young, few teams in the
country have had a better stretch
of
games
in
the past couple
weeks
than
Nebraska.
After
a
bumpy
non-
conference
slate
that
included a loss
to
Gardner-
Webb,
the
Cornhuskers
(3-1 Big Ten,
9-6
overall)
have
found
new life and
been the surprise of the Big Ten
thus far in conference play.
Nebraska has earned road wins
at Indiana and Maryland, and
will look to add a win at Crisler
Center to its resume when it faces
Michigan (1-3, 11-6) on Saturday.
Senior guard Tai Webster has
led the Cornhuskers’ resurgence.
The senior is currently the fourth-
highest scorer in the Big Ten,
averaging 17.7 points, while also
producing four assists per game.
Stopping Webster and the
rest of the offense will be a high
priority for the Wolverines, and
based on some news this week,
that job may be easier than
Michigan originally anticipated.
Nebraska forward Ed Morrow
has been ruled out indefinitely
with a foot injury. Morrow
currently leads Nebraska with
7.9 rebounds per game, and was
one of three sophomores who
started for the Cornhuskers in
their last outing, a home loss to
Northwestern.
The Daily sat down with
Nebraska coach Tim Miles at
Big Ten Media Day in October to
discuss his young roster and his
relationship with Michigan coach
John Beilein and the rest of the
conference’s coaches:
The Michigan Daily: What
should fans expect when they’re
watching “Nebrasketball” this
year?
Tim Miles: I like our group.
We’re young and there are some
real unknowns because eight
of our top 10 guys are freshmen
and sophomores or new. I think
if we can handle ourselves, if we
can get off to a really solid start,
that will bode well for us. Last
year we played 21 games in this
league. We were 8-13. There was
a .2 difference between our points
against and our points scored per
game. That’s insane. It just tells
you about the depth of our league.
TMD: What comes to your
mind when you see these stats
and realize how close you are in
so many games?
TM: I immediately go, what
are we weak on defensively? What
are we weak on offense? How
can we correct that? What can
we get better at? For this year, I
don’t think there’s any way we’re
going to make as many threes as
we made last year, so where are
we going to get our points from?
But at the same time I think we’re
going to defend the three much
better. So scoring might be down
on both sides, but if it’s more
favorable for us, I don’t care.
TMD: Can you give us some
insight into what goes on at the
coaches’ dinner before media day?
TM: We go out and all have
a nice dinner with the coaches.
Quite frankly, Coach Beilein,
who should be a good friend of
mine because we’re both St. Louis
Cardinals fans, was upset with
me because I don’t follow the
Cardinals as closely as he does. I
also have young kids, and I’m not
as veteran a guy as he is — which
means old. If I’m not paying
attention to what the Cardinals’
rotation is this week, he’s mad.
He’s just sensitive.
TMD: Do you call or text Beilein
about the Cardinals frequently?
TM: I will text him and on
occasion he will text me back. I’m
a true Cardinals fan. John Beilein,
I don’t know. He’s like my father
who listens to every game, lives
and dies with them.
TMD: Does your relationship
with Beilein reflect the dynamic
between all the Big Ten coaches?
TM: No question. I think
there’s a great relationship. Guys
are highly competitive, yet no one
is easily insulted so you can give
each other a hard time. We got a
lot of energetic guys, and some
guys aren’t. You look at a calm guy
like Coach Beilein and, when you
get to know him, he’s a passionate
person about things. If you
were just a common viewer, you
wouldn’t see that every day. I love
our league. I love the coaches.
BRANDON CARNEY
Daily Sports Writer
Nebraska at
Michigan
Matchup:
Nebraska
3-1 Big Ten,
9-6 overall;
Michigan
1-3, 11-6
When:
Saturday
2 P.M.
Where: Crisler
Center
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Nebraska coach Tim Miles will lead his team into Ann Arbor to face a reeling Michigan team Saturday at Crisler Center.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Michigan seeks to
extend home streak
This weekend, the Michigan
women’s basketball team (3-1 Big
Ten, 14-4 overall) will be looking
to
defend
its
undefeated
9-0
streak
at
Crisler
Center
this season. The
Wolverines will
be
squaring
off
against
Minnesota (1-3,
10-7) on Sunday,
the only contest
between the two
teams this year.
The
Wolverines are coming off a hot
win against Indiana, something
sophomore center Hallie Thome
attributes to focus.
“We have a lot of growth (this
season),” Thome said. “And to pull
it out against a Big Ten team is
something special. To pull it out
means we’re still locked in at the
game and locked in throughout
the entire game to be able to take
away what (the opposing team)
wants to do.”
Michigan has been averaging
83.7 points per game on 49.2
percent shooting at home, and
junior guard Katelynn Flaherty
has done most of the damage.
Flaherty has 1,614 career points
and stands fourth all-time at
Michigan, though she is just 33
points away from overtaking
Trish Andrew, who played from
1989-93, for third place.
The last time the Wolverines
faced
the
Golden
Gophers,
Michigan
swept
Minnesota
and ended the Golden Gophers’
three-game winning streak in the
series — the record stands with
Minnesota in the lead, 34-27. This
year, Minnesota is coming off an
88-point performance in a win
against Wisconsin, but it hasn’t
played a game in over a week
Notably, the Golden Gophers
hold a 31-4 record when scoring
at least 80 points. The Wolverines
will try to stop them from
reaching that number, most likely
with the help of Thome and junior
guard Jillian Dunston. Thome
boasts 129 total rebounds on the
season, and Dunston leads by one
with 130.
Thome has been praised for
her dominant performances since
conference play started. She has
notched two double-doubles in
the past four games and anchors
Michigan on both the defensive
and offensive ends, averaging 20.3
points per game.
She currently ranks sixth in
the conference in scoring, and
is shooting 69 percent from the
floor.
Thome has started all 18 games
this season, along with Flaherty,
Dunston and senior guard Siera
Thompson. New to the starting
lineup is freshman guard Kysre
Gondrezick,
who
is
quickly
becoming one of Thome’s biggest
allies on the court.
“I trust her,” Gondrezick said.
“I trust all my teammates. I know
one thing that I do well is getting
the ball to my teammates to make
everyone else around me better —
something (Michigan coach Kim
Barnes Arico) stresses all the time.
“It allows Thome to be visible
and present; it definitely is a game
changer in the interior.”
Yet, Minnesota’s offense is
nothing to scoff at. The Golden
Gophers hold two of the Big Ten’s
top-11 scorers in guards Carlie
Wagner and Kenisha Bell. Wagner
and Bell are averaging 18.2 points
per game and 17.3, respectively.
This is Barnes Arico’s fifth
season as head coach, and her
record at home is an impressive
59-22. The key to this season’s
success has been its ability to
dominate competition in the first
10 minutes of the second half.
The Wolverines have outscored
opponents, 229-108, in that time.
But as far as Barnes Arico is
concerned for this game—and
future games — she’s repeating
one mantra about the team’s
performance.
“Keep it going. Just keep it
going.”
SYLVANNA GROSS
Daily Sports Editor
Minnesota
at Michigan
Matchup:
Minnesota 1-3,
10-7; Michigan
3-1, 14-4
When: Sunday
4:30 P.M.
Where: Crisler
Center
‘M’ set to resume season in Minnesota
The last time the Michigan
hockey team faced off against
Minnesota was in March of 2016,
when
the
Wolverines
left the ice in
Minneapolis
as
Big
Ten
Tournament
champions
after
a
5-3
win
over
the
Golden
Gophers.
This
weekend,
in
their
first
series
matchup
of
the season, the
Wolverines
will travel to Mariucci Arena
to resume Big Ten play against
No. 9 Minnesota on Friday and
Saturday. Michigan (1-3-0 Big Ten,
8-9-1 overall) is coming off a two-
week break after the Great Lakes
Invitational on December 29 and
30, where it finished third overall.
“You’d like to say that you keep
the same mentality whether you’re
playing on a weekend or not, but
it’s just a different feel around the
rink,” said senior goaltender Zach
Nagelvoort. “I feel like we haven’t
been playing consistent hockey
games in months because we’ve
been off for a couple weeks, so I’m
excited to play this weekend. … I’m
hungry to play hockey.”
The Golden Gophers (3-1-0,
11-5-2) are currently riding a four-
game win streak and won five of
six in the month of December.
Captain
and
forward
Justin
Kloos has been imperative to the
program’s recent success, tallying
nine points in Minnesota’s past
four games with three goals and
six assists.
Kloos also boasts a record of 129
career points in 135 games, ranking
him third in the NCAA and first in
the Big Ten among active players.
But it is forward Tyler Sheehy who
leads Minnesota in points and
goals so far this season with 25 and
12, respectively.
“They score a lot of goals at
home, they’ve got the home crowd
just like everyone does,” said
Michigan coach Red Berenson.
“If we can keep them off the
scoresheet, that means they’re not
having a good game and we are. So
that’s the bottom line. We’ve got
to shut their best forwards down,
they’ve got guys with 12 goals and
so on, so it’s going to be a good
challenge for us.”
Michigan isn’t without a strong
roster, either. Junior forward Tony
Calderone leads the Wolverines
in goals with 10, while freshman
forward Will Lockwood leads in
points with 13. And sophomore
defenseman Joe Cecconi has just
returned to Michigan’s lineup
after winning a gold medal at the
World
Junior
Championships
with the U.S. team.
However, the Golden Gophers
do
have
one
interesting
challenge
for
the
Wolverines:
Minnesota’s rink
is Olympic-sized.
To prepare for
the
different
atmosphere,
Michigan
has
been
practicing
at The Cube, an
Olympic-sized ice
rink in Ann Arbor.
“Practicing here (at the Cube)
is big for us,” said Nagelvoort.
“The only thing I really notice is
the angles are a little different on
the power play because the ice is
wider. They have more room to
play with the puck on the sides, so
you have to change your angles a
little bit. But I feel confident after
skating here the
last
couple
of
days.
We’ve
worked on those
kinds of things.”
That work will
come into play
this weekend, and
while this series
isn’t determining
a
tournament
title, it does decide
which team will
tack on additional conference
wins. With much of Big Ten play
coming in the next few months,
both teams could use a step in the
right direction.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Senior goaltender Zach Nagelvoort and the Michigan hockey team will return to action in Minnesota on Friday.
They’ve got
the home
crowd just like
everyone does
Michigan at
Minnesota
Matchup:
Michigan
1-3-0 , 8-9-1;
Minnesota
3-1-0, 11-5-2
When: Friday
8 P.M. CT,
Saturday 7
P.M. CT
Where:
Mariucci
Arena
LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Editor
With a two-week break after the Great Lakes Invitational behind it,
Michigan will travel to Minnesota to start the second half of its season
FOOTBALL
Michigan officially
hires Pep Hamilton
The
time
for
speculation
has ended. Pep Hamilton has
officially been hired as the
Michigan football team’s assistant
head coach and passing game
coordinator.
“Pep Hamilton is a proven,
outstanding
football
coach,
husband
and
father”
said
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
in
a
released
statement
on
MGoBlue.com. “His teaching and
mentoring skills have produced
quality athletes and quality young
men, including some of the finest
quarterbacks and wide receivers
in the country. We are thrilled and
excited to have Pep and Nicole and
their children — April, Jackson
and Elizabeth — as members of
our Michigan family.”
Hamilton
is
joining
the
Wolverines’ coaching staff after
spending the 2016 season as the
Cleveland Browns’ assistant head
coach and quarterbacks coach.
His move to Ann Arbor has felt
probable for roughly a week, but
the report only became offical
Thursday.
This
isn’t
the
first
time
Hamilton
has
coached
with
Harbaugh — he was a part of
Harbaugh’s staff at Stanford in
2010, where he served as the wide
receivers coach.
Hamilton’s arrival helps to
fill the staff vacancy created by
Jedd Fisch’s departure from the
program, as he recently accepted
a position as the new offensive
coordinator for UCLA.
It appears Hamilton could
be a perfect fit to replace Fisch,
who
served
as
Michigan’s
quarterbacks
coach,
wide
receivers
coach
and
passing
game coordinator. Hamilton has
significant experience coaching
both positions, as he has served
as an offensive coordinator at
numerous stops throughout his
career. Like Fisch, Hamilton
brings
a
unique
blend
of
experience at both the collegiate
and professional level.
Hamilton began his career
at Howard University, where
he served as the quarterbacks
coach and later as the offensive
coordinator before moving on to
the professional level — coaching
with the New York Jets, San
Francisco 49ers and Chicago
Bears. He returned to college
football in 2010 to join Harbaugh’s
staff at Stanford.
Under
Hamilton,
Cardinal
receivers
combined
for
129
catches for 2,026 yards and were
part of an offense that scored 40.3
points per game that year, making
Stanford the ninth-ranked offense
in the nation.
After Harbaugh’s departure
from
the
program
following
the 2010 season, Hamilton took
over as the Cardinals’ offensive
coordinator for the next two years.
With him at the helm, Stanford’s
offense averaged 43.2 and 27.9
points per game, respectively, in
2011 and 2012, before he left for
the NFL once again.
Before his stint with the
Browns,
Hamilton
was
the
offensive coordinator for the
Indianapolis Colts, calling plays
for
former
Stanford
players
Andrew Luck and Coby Fleener.
He joined the Browns after being
fired by the Colts in 2015.
But now, he has landed with
Michigan for the next step in his
coaching career.
“It is an honor and privilege
to be part of one of the most
storied
programs
in
college
football history,” Hamilton said
in a released statement. “I look
forward to working with Coach
Harbaugh and members of the
staff at Michigan. I am excited to
get to work meeting our players
so that I can assist with their
development on the field and in
the university community.”
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor