The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2020 THE WOLVERINE 43 THE FIVE BEST PLAYERS MICHIGAN WILL FACE 1. Iowa senior center LUKA GARZA Michigan fans are already all too familiar with how good Garza can be, after he scored 44 points in a Dec. 6 U-M victory at Crisler Center last season. That total marked the most any opponent had ever scored in Michigan's home venue. The 23.9 points per game he averaged last year were 3.8 more than any other player in the league, while his 9.8 boards checked in as the fourth-highest total. He has been tabbed as the 2020-21 preseason Big Ten Player of the Year. 2. Illinois junior guard Ayo Dosunmu Like Garza, Dosunmu also burned the Maize and Blue last season, hitting a game-winning jumper with only 0.5 seconds left in the Illini's 64-62 triumph at Crisler Center Jan. 25. His 16.6 points per game checked in as the fifth-best mark in the Big Ten, and he scored 20 or more on eight separate occasions. Dosunmu was named to the Associated Press' preseason All- America team Nov. 11, becoming the first Illini to receive the honor since Dee Brown in 2005-06. 3. Illinois sophomore center Kofi Cockburn He took home the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week Award seven different times last year, tied for second most in league history. Cockburn's 8.8 rebounds were the sixth most in the conference last season, and he pulled down 10 or more boards 12 times. After he burned Michigan for 19 points and 10 rebounds the first time the two teams met last year Dec. 11, the Wolverines did a much better job of containing him the second time around (just five points and three boards Jan. 25). 4. Indiana sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis He earned third-team All-Big Ten recognition from both the coaches and media last year after averaging 13.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest, both of which led the club. Expectations will be even higher for Jackson-Davis in 2020-21, with the 6-9, 245-pounder garnering pre- season second-team All-America honors from Watch Stadium and CBS Sports. He was a nonfactor the lone time Michigan and Indiana met last year, scoring just five points and pulling down only two boards in an 89-65 loss at Crisler Center Feb. 16. The Michigan men's basketball team will begin its second season under head coach Juwan Howard Nov. 25 with a game against Bowling Green at Crisler Center. The Maize and Blue have three total non-conference opponents set, and reports are that each Big Ten team will play 20 conference games, though the slate had not been released as of Nov. 16. U-M has a 1-0 all-time record against the Falcons, with the lone win coming in November 2010. Bowling Green posted a 21-10 overall record and 12-6 mark in the MAC last season. U-M is also set to take on Oakland Nov. 29 at Crisler Cen- ter. The Grizzlies had been on U-M's original non-conference schedule, though the original date the two were scheduled to play was Dec. 21. Oakland went 14-19 during the 2019-20 season. Despite residing just an hour apart, this will be the two schools' first meeting since 2011. The Maize and Blue lead the all-time series, 7-1. The only other known opponent and date is U-M will square off with NC State Dec. 9 in Ann Arbor in the ACC/Big Ten Chal- lenge. NC State finished last season with a 20-12 overall record and went 10-10 in conference play. The showdown will mark the third time since 2012 the Wol- verines and Wolfpack will be facing off in the annual event. Michigan has won each of the prior meetings, with one matchup occurring in Ann Arbor and the other in Raleigh. Finally, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee an- nounced Nov. 16 the NCAA Tournament will be played in one geographical area to enhance the safety and well-being of the event. NCAA staff are in preliminary talks with the state of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis to potentially host the 68- team tournament around the metropolitan area in March and April. Indianapolis was already slated to host the Men's Final Four from April 3-5, 2021. — Clayton Sayfie What We Know About Michigan's Schedule As Of Mid-November 2020-21 BASKETBALL PREVIEW 5. Iowa junior guard/forward Joe Wieskamp He has been a staple in Iowa City each of the past two years, starting all 66 games of his collegiate ca- reer. The 6-6, 212-pounder was the best free throw shooter in the league last year, connecting on 85.6 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe. That helped him finish second on the team with 14.0 points per game and tally 20 or six times, including a 20-point, five-rebound performance in a 90-83 win over Michi- gan Jan. 17. Wieskamp, who also ranked among the league's top 15 in rebounding with 6.1 an outing (14th), was one of 10 players selected to the preseason All-Big Ten team Nov. 9.