The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/230001
MICHIGAN BASKETBALL egories through Dec. 15. Sophomore guard Nik Stauskas was third in scoring, with his 18.3 points per game behind only Penn State's D.J. Newbill (19.0) and Tim Frazier (18.4). Sophomore guard Caris LeVert stood 15th (14.0 points per contest) and sophomore forward Glenn Robinson III 22nd (13.0). Sophomore forward Mitch McGary ranked fifth in rebounding in the league, averaging 8.3 per game. McGary also stood tied for sixth in field goal percentage (54.4). Sophomore guard Caris LeVert checked in at No. 7 in the league in free throw percentage (83.3), while McGary's 1.9 steals per game slotted him sixth in the conference. Stauskas' 48.1-percent three-point shooting put him third in the league behind only Michigan State's Keith Appling (51.5 percent) and Ohio State's Lenzelle Smith Jr. (48.9). Stauskas' 2.8 three-pointers made per game tied for most in the Big Ten with Wisconsin's Ben Brust. Stauskas also lingered on the cusp of the league's top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio, 12th at 2.0. McGary's 2.9 average on offensive rebounds had him fourth in the league, and his 5.4 defensive rebounds were good for sixth. Meanwhile, the Wolverines featured a pair of players in the top 10 in minutes played, with Stauskas fourth at 34.3 minutes on average and LeVert eighth at 33.0. FIT TO BE TIED AGAIN IN BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE The Big Ten needed only the No. 1 team in the nation to hold serve on its home court, in order to win a fourth Big Ten/ACC Challenge in five years. That didn't happen, with North Carolina running off a 79-65 win over Michigan State in the Breslin Center. The Spartans, complaining of cramping up at various times in the game, put a crimp in the conference's plans to win the challenge once again. The Big Ten still hasn't lost the battle between the two high-profile basketball conferences for the past five years, but hasn't won it the past two, either. The ACC rolled off 10 straight victories at the start of the challenge, before the Big Ten posted three straight triumphs. This year's results made for a second straight season featuring a 6-6 deadlock in victories. Michigan nabbed the toughest draw of the tournament, and couldn't overcome Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium, bowing 79-69. The Wolverines were hamstrung by injuries and the fact that sophomore big man Mitch McGary is still getting back into the flow following a back injury. Leading scorer Nik Stauskas, another sophomore, came off an ankle injury to play in the game, but went 0 of 2 from the floor in 34 minutes of action. "They really tried to keep Stauskas' touches low and not let him get in a rhythm," Michigan head coach John Beilein said. "We were missing Nik's normal game and we had trouble scoring points without him." McGary, meanwhile, did muster 15 points and 14 rebounds as the Wolverines' strongest presence inside, but it