The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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ter how he was being checked (aver- aging 17.0 points per game in league play), while fellow sophomore Caris LeVert emerged as a second-team All-Big Ten talent, averaging 13.6. Unlike last year, when Trey Burke handled the bulk of the scoring from the position, the point guards de- ferred more often than not. Freshman Derrick Walton Jr. and sophomore Spike Albrecht were plenty good enough, though, in complementing their teammates. Walton finished with a 2.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ra- tio, Albrecht a ridiculous 7.6-to-1 in conference play. Morgan and Horford, meanwhile, combined for 11.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in Big Ten games, while sophomore Robinson added 12.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. It all added up to an improbable championship complete with several critical wins. "I don't know that there really was one key moment," Dakich said. "They got off to such a good start. People thought they had Stauskas figured out a little bit, a couple of games in a row with smaller guys guarding him. "I guess I'd have to say a key mo- ment was when Stauskas got going and they lit up Michigan State. That game, to me, was like: 'Wow, here you go.' The book changed on Nik. He wasn't going to be able to be eas- ily guarded by smaller guys. You put a smaller guy on him, and he'd just lower with his dribble and rise up over them." Stauskas' 25-point performance came on the heels of a 19-point show- ing in East Lansing. Sophomore guard Nik Stauskas helped lead the Wolverines to a 15-3 mark in the Big Ten, good for a three-game edge over runners-up Wisconsin and Michigan State. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL