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