The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/50790
The Race For Second T Ohio State Is A Heavy Favorite In The Big Ten, But Several Are In Pursuit BY CHRIS BALAS he Big Ten's 8-4 showing in the most recent ACC-Big Ten Challenge served no- tice to the country that the once-maligned Big Ten is back with a vengeance. While Michigan contin- ues to improve and recruit with the big boys on a national stage, so too do several of its conference brethren. Big Ten schools boast four of Rivals. com's top 25 2012 recruiting classes, and two in the top five in Indiana (No. 2) and Michigan (No. 5). And that's the future. A glance at the recent ESPN/USA Today rank- ings shows the here and now is just as impressive, with six teams among the top 25 in Ohio State (No. 2), Wis- consin (14), Indiana (18), Michigan (19), Michigan State (20) and Illinois (24), and one other — Northwestern — having received at least one vote. That leaves only four teams — Iowa, Penn State, Minnesota and newcomer Nebraska — not consid- ered among the better teams in the country, and the Wolverines play three (all but the Nittany Lions) only once. "It's going to be a pretty competi- tive league, with one outstanding team in Ohio State," Michigan head coach John Beilein said in mid-De- cember. "I've told everybody that I think there are seven to eight teams that can finish second. We know we're going to have come to play every day to get back in the NCAA Tournament." Highlights for Michigan included the emergence of freshman point guard Trey Burke as one of the Big Ten's best at his position and sopho- more Evan Smotrycz's improvement. The 6-9 forward was shooting 54.8 percent (17 of 31) to stand third in the conference as of Dec. 19 and ranked sixth in rebounding (6.4 boards per contest). Here's a look around the confer- Head coach John Beilein had guided the Wolverines to a 9-2 start to the season, as well as a No. 19 national ranking, as of Dec. 20. PHOTO COURTESY U-M SPORTS INFORMATION 32 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2012 ence at standouts, question marks and more through most of the non- conference season.