The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN BASKETBALL The Wolverines Are Ready For A Chance At A Title third in free throw shooting (75.1). They stood fifth in the league in field goal de- fense (44.1) and eighth in three-point de- fense (36.0). U-M's rebounding margin was ninth in the Big Ten (minus-3.6, on average), a far cry from MSU's 10.2 or Ohio State's 7.2. The Wolverines were also last in the league in blocked shots, averaging 1.3 per game. They were ninth in steals, averag- ing 5.7. But their turnover margin (3.46) was second in the conference and their assist/ turnover ratio (1.2) third. More important than any of those num- bers were the nine Big Ten wins the Wol- verines had put on the board, with just a handful of conference games to play. They were gearing up for their most important conference game this late in the season in many years, and had extra time to rest and prepare. "It seems like, in a lot of our games, the other team has had an extra day to prepare," Novak said. "We've had quick turnarounds, and the other team has had Date John Beilein's team was 4-1 in games decided by five points or less in Big Ten play through Feb. 12, which positioned U-M within a half game of first place with five contests remaining. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN B son, but they echoed a consistently cau- tionary note. U-M might have even had a shot at the Big Ten title, had Darius Morris not bolted early for the NBA, they insisted. Still, the experts acknowledged, the asketball prognosticators liked the Wolverines before this basketball sea- that thinks we can do it, so we're going to keep fighting and clawing, and try to prove everybody wrong." Those who don't think the Wolverines Wolverines could be pretty good. John Beilein's team has been that and more, with a clear shot at the Big Ten title and only five games remaining on the schedule. After Michigan's 70-61 win over Illinois Feb. 12, Beilein's crew stood at 9-4 in the Big Ten, just a half game behind league co-leaders Ohio State and Michigan State. The Wolverines stared down a full week without a game, while they prepared for the Buckeyes at Crisler Center. Most of Michigan's players wanted to take a next game only approach, and not talk about the big picture. Senior captain Zack Novak — who made it clear from day one of practice he wants to win a Big Ten championship — offered some thoughts. "We've got a long way to go, but we're headed in the right direction," Novak said. "I know there's probably no one out there 90 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2012 2011-12 Michigan Basketball Schedule Opponent Nov. 11 Ferris State Nov. 14 Towson Nov. 17 Western Illinois Nov. 21 vs. Memphis^ Nov. 22 vs. Duke^ Nov. 23 vs. UCLA^ Nov. 29 at Virginia Dec. 3 Iowa State Dec. 10 vs. Oakland# can pull it off tend to look at Michigan's roster, compared to those of the league's co-leaders, and wonder how the Wolver- ines have risen as high as they have. A glance at the stats sheet in the Big Ten can cause further head scratching in some areas. The Wolverines were no better than ninth in conference play as far as scor- ing offense (as of Feb. 12), averaging 62.8 points per game. They boasted the league's fourth-best scoring defense, limit- ing league foes to 59.7 points per contest. That scoring margin was also fourth- Dec. 13 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Dec. 17 Alabama A&M Dec. 22 Bradley Dec. 29 Penn State Jan. 1 Minnesota Jan. 5 at Indiana Jan. 8 Wisconsin Jan. 11 Northwestern Jan. 14 at Iowa Jan. 17 Michigan State Jan. 21 at Arkansas Jan. 24 at Purdue Jan. 29 at Ohio State Feb. 1 Indiana best, at 3.1 — paltry, compared to Ohio State winning Big Ten games by an aver- age of 14.4 points per game, or Michigan State knocking off league foes by an aver- age of 11.4. Michigan pulled out a number of close contests, and thus stayed in the race. The Wolverines were eighth in the Big Ten in field goal accuracy (43.7 percent), eighth in three-point shooting (33.6) and Feb. 5 at Michigan State Feb. 8 at Nebraska Feb. 12 Illinois Feb. 18 Ohio State Feb. 21 at Northwestern Feb. 25 Purdue Mar. 1 at Illinois Mar. 4 at Penn State Result/Time/TV W, 59-33 W, 64-47 W, 59-55 W, 73-61 L, 82-75 W, 79-63 L, 70-58 W, 76-66 W, 90-80 W, 63-50 W, 87-57 W, 77-66 W, 71-53 W, 61-56 L, 73-71 W, 59-41 W, 66-64 (OT) L, 75-59 W, 60-59 L, 66-64 W, 66-64 L, 64-49 W, 68-56 L, 64-54 W, 62-46 W, 70-61 9 p.m./ESPN 8 p.m./BTN 6 p.m./BTN 7 p.m./ESPN (or 2) TBD/TBD Mar. 8-11 Big Ten Tournament* ^ EA Sports Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii (field included Chaminade, Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, Mem- phis, Michigan, Tennessee and UCLA); # at Auburn Hills, Mich.; * at Indianapolis