The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/100794
��� athletics Inside Michigan J Michigan Basketball Slate Includes Huge Matchups ohn Beilein���s basketball team won���t be sneaking up on anyone in its attempt to reach the NCAA Tournament for the third season out of the last four. The Wolverines have everyone���s attention, and that���s worth a scan of U-M���s recently released schedule. Highlighted early by a trip to the Maui Invitational and a Big Ten/ACC Challenge road contest at Virginia, the ��� 2011-12 Michigan Basketball Schedule DateOpponent Time/TV Nov. 4Wayne State* 7 p.m./BTN.com Nov. 11 Ferris State 7 p.m./BTN.com Nov. 14Towson 8:30 p.m./ESPN3.com Nov. 17Western Illinois 8:30 p.m./ESPN3.com Nov. 21 vs. Memphis^ 10 a.m./ESPN2 Nov. 22 vs. Duke/Tennessee^ 2 p.m./ESPN Nov. 23 vs. TBD^TBD/TBD Nov. 29 at Virginia 7 p.m./ESPN2 Dec. 3 Iowa StateNoon/BTN Dec. 10Oakland#TBD/TBD Dec. 13 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 7 p.m./ESPN3.com Dec. 17 Alabama A&MNoon/BTN Dec. 22Bradley 6:30 p.m./BTN Dec. 29 Penn State 7:30 p.m./BTN Jan. 1 Minnesota 4 p.m./BTN Jan. 5 at Indiana 9 p.m./ESPN2 Jan. 8WisconsinTBD/CBS 6:30 p.m./BTN Jan. 11Northwestern Jan. 14 at Iowa 1 p.m./BTN Jan. 17 Michigan State 7 p.m./ESPN Jan. 21 at Arkansas 2 p.m./CBS Jan. 24 at Purdue 7 p.m./ESPN Jan. 29 at Ohio State 1 p.m./CBS 6:30 p.m./BTN Feb. 1 Indiana Feb. 5 at Michigan State 1 p.m./CBS 8:30 p.m./BTN Feb. 8 at Nebraska Feb. 12 Illinois 1 p.m./CBS Feb. 18Ohio State 9 p.m./ESPN Feb. 21 at Northwestern 8 p.m./BTN Feb. 25 Purdue 6 p.m./BTN, OR Feb. 26 PurdueTBD/CBS/ESPN March 1at Illinois 7 p.m./ESPN (or 2) March 4at Penn StateTBD/TBD * Exhibition; ^ EA Sports Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii (field includes Chaminade, Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, Memphis, Michigan, Tennessee and UCLA); # at Auburn Hills, Mich. 12��� the wolverine��� ������ October 2011 schedule features one big break when the conference season arrives. The Wolverines don���t play at Wisconsin���s Kohl Center, where visitors have won just 11 times in 163 games (a Wisconsin winning percentage of .933) during Badgers head coach Bo Ryan���s tenure. The Wolverines also avoid Minnesota���s Williams Arena, although Beilein���s teams have won there three straight years. U-M skips two of the conference���s lesser programs of late ��� Iowa and Nebraska ��� at Crisler Arena. Here���s a look at a handful of showdowns worthy of extra attention, along with one potential not-to-be-missed matchup. Five Games To Watch 1. Michigan State at Michigan, Jan.��17 ��� The Spartans and head coach Tom Izzo will enter Crisler Arena breathing fire after the Wolverines swept the season series last year. Michigan State will again be viewed as a team contending for the Big Ten title, despite last season���s slide back in the conference pack. A reconfigured Crisler Arena should feature a crowd that tests the soundness of the structure. 2. Michigan at Michigan State, Feb.��5 ��� The rematch will be no less intense, with fans in the Izzone eagerly waiting for the team that pulled a stunner in the Breslin Center last winter. There could be a little extra on the line as well. If Michigan holds serve in Crisler, the Wolverines could be shooting for a fourth straight win over the Spartans, which hasn���t occurred since the Wolverines won five in a row from 1995-98. 3. Ohio State at Michigan, Feb. 18 ��� The Buckeyes, led by standout center Jared Sullinger, will be looking to defend their 2010-11 Big Ten championship. The Wolverines hung with OSU for long stretches during the regular season last year, and they will look to get over the Jordan Morgan and the Wolverines defeated Michigan State twice last season, and in the matchups with the Spartans on Jan. 17 and Feb. 5, U-M will look to continue the streak. Photo by Lon Horwedel top in a home showdown. 4. Wisconsin at Michigan, Jan. 8 ��� A Big Ten matchup early in the conference schedule brings Ryan and his ever-rugged Badgers to Crisler Arena. Michigan���s increasingly muscled-up young big men will be put to the test against a perennially strong conference opponent, in a game that could give an indication of how seriously the Wolverines can compete for a top-three spot in the league. 5. Michigan at Virginia, Nov. 29 ��� Yes, Michigan performs in the Maui Invitational prior to this Big Ten/ACC battle, meaning the younger Wolverines will have seen great competition. But this one represents the first true road game for freshmen Trey Burke, Carlton Brundidge and Max Bielfeldt. The Wolverines will be looking to find the right mix following the departure of Darius Morris, while the Big Ten seeks a third straight Big Ten/ACC Challenge title. Bonus ��� Biggest Potential Matchup ��� Depending upon what Michigan and Duke do in their opening-round Maui Classic games in Lahaina, fans might get a rematch of the third-round NCAA Tournament contest that went down to the wire last spring. Michigan would definitely like another shot (one that goes in) at Duke. ���