By now you have probably noticed the new look at the top of the site. You may have clicked over and thought for a brief instant that you were on the wrong site. You may found it ugly or you may have been met with surprise that it was better than the clean but bland look of the previous header. Regardless of your first impression, you probably saw clutter. Not an old-grandma’s-old-National-Geographic-magazine-and-cat-litter-cluttered-family-room clutter, but an organized clutter. And that’s the purpose of it.

As we reflect back on a successful 2011 and set our sights on 2012, we wanted to take some time to lay out the direction of this site, and the new header above serves as the first representation of that direction and our goals. The purpose is twofold.

For starters, as you were met with the clutter of words atop the page, you took a closer look and realized that each of those words represents a piece of Michigan history. Whether it be a player, a coach, a phrase or a moment, each is significant both in and of itself and as a collective whole. At an institution like Michigan with a more colorful and successful history than any other in the country, it is impossible to follow and detail the present without revering the past. Without Bo, Team 132 lacks significance. Without Crisler there’s no winged helmet. Without Yost the Big House is just another stadium. And the list goes on.

At Maize and Go Blue, we aim to pay tribute to the past as we trudge ahead into the future. The homerism and soliloquies of the ultimate wordsmith, Bob Ufer, which could not exist in today’s broadcasting landscape, have always been an inspiration of ours and are often referred to in our writing. But the last year or so has seen the quality of writing style drop off slightly in a rush for quantity. We tried to increase our output, but in doing so, decreased the amount put into each post. This year, we aim to take strides to increase the quantity while raising the quality back to what may have drawn you to us from the start.

Secondly, the clutter depicted above represents the enormity of information readily available about all things Michigan football, basketball, and beyond. That is not to say that all of that is clutter, but to say that it’s all part of one giant network of information you have at your fingertips. We know you have plenty of choices to get your Michigan fix and we’re just a small cog in the wheel, but our philosophy is and always has been that the sphere of Michigan content should exist as a team or a family rather than as rivals. Other Michigan blogs and sites may not view it that way, but that’s our position. We understand that one single blog or site simply cannot cover every aspect of Michigan football or basketball, and the individual or collective opinions, style, or focus held by each entity does not appeal to everyone in the vast Michigan fanbase. One might want hard news, another anecdotal stories, and another posts that fuel the hype machine.

MGoBlog is always the cream of the crop. The quality, quantity, and timeliness of content is unrivaled and something to look up to, not to try to overtake. It should be the number one stop for Michigan content. There are also other great Michigan sites out there, each special in its own niche: MVictors for its Michigan history, Hokeamaniac for its enthusiasm, creativity and engagement, UMHoops for its basketball content, and others for their recruiting focus.

It is our opinion that the Michigan fanbase is better off with more quality content from multiple trusted sources than from just one source with one voice, one opinion, and one bias. And so a goal of 2012 is to become and remain one of the go-to trusted sources in the Michigan blogosphere – the stress of that sentence being one of. We don’t want you to only read Maize and Go Blue. We want you to read MGoBlog, MVictors, Hokeamaniac, UMHoops, and many more. You’ll be better informed, and a more well-equiped fan base leads to a better gameday experience as well as more knowledgeable conversation and arguments with those unfortunate enough to root for other teams.

We have never existed for the purpose of making money or of generating hits. While those are welcome byproducts of this site, we want those to come organically and they will never become the end to justify the means. This site exists to enhance the quality of Michigan content for the ravid fanbase, and when it stops doing that, it will cease to exist. We believe in doing things the right way without compromise.

Another core philosophy of ours, which falls in line with our purpose, is that we are not here to break news. The reason behind this was touched upon in yesterday’s MGoBlog’s piece on the false reporting of Joe Paterno’s death. The minute we start chasing the carrot, searching for clicks and page views at the expense of quality and credibility, is the moment of our demise. We’ll leave the news-breaking to the “real” journalists and hit-chasers. It’s not the sexy view, but while sex sells, credibility lasts. And when credibility gets damaged by misinformation or laziness in a rush to be the first to report, it’s nearly impossible to earn it back.

We do this for fun. We do this because we enjoy writing. We do this because in doing so it helps us learn more every day about the team we love, and in turn, educating you. We don’t live in our parents’ basement as some would like you to believe all bloggers do. We all have wives and kids and full time jobs, and thus, cannot dedicate eight hours a day to this craft. We know we, like most blogs, are looked down upon by those in the media who do this for a living, but that’s ok because we’re not in it for the notoriety or the five seconds of fame. It’s a labor of love.

With the above purpose and philosophy in mind, we present to you our goals for the coming year:

To be more engaging. The great thing about sports is that we can all have an opinion even if we’re fans of the same team. We can differ about whether firing Rich Rod was the right choice or not. We can banter about whether Devin Gardner should have seen the field more last season. But we can come together on Saturdays as one.

At Maize and Go Blue, we’re only as good as our readers. We value the opinions of everyone, whether we agree or not. And thus, we want to hear your opinion. In doing so, it will help us come up with new story ideas and better contribute to the Michigan community.

If you haven’t already done so, please take a minute to follow us on twitter and like us on Facebook. Feel free to shoot us an email with questions, comments, tips, advice, inside information, or ask for dating advice. One piece of feedback we received last year was that our contact information was too hard to find, so we added it to the header at the top of the page. Now, there’s no excuse not to engage.

To keep it fun and to reward you. Whether it’s through contests, such as the Michigan Man 5-Spot Challenge that we ran throughout football season, or periodic trivia questions, or just simply rewarding a loyal reader or Twitter/Facebook follower, we want to make it worthwhile for you to keep coming back. We’ll definitely bring the Challenge back next football season, but we’re also looking to develop different unique contests for you to be a part of.

The M Den gift cards, Michigan t-shirts, commemorative pint glasses, and Three and Out books were just the tip of the iceberg. Some came from donations but most were purchased out of pocket. Therefore, we ask that you consider making a donation. As mentioned in our core philosophy, our main goal is not to make money, and we certainly do not want you paying us. Any money you choose to donate will be invested back into prizes, keeping the site functional and upgrading it, and making improvements to the site experience overall. We will never collect a profit from your donations.

Choosing to donate is completely optional and we will never guilt you into doing so, but consider this: you join a March Madness pool at work or a fantasy football league with buddies. You’re usually putting in ten or twenty bucks. So consider this the same.

To take it to the next level. We’re looking to hire a few positions to help grow the site and produce more and better content. If you’re a writer, an aspiring writer, a UM journalism or photography student, or just an avid Michigan fan with some writing background please email us at maizeandgoblue@yahoo.com. We have a lot of ideas that we’d like to implement, but can’t do so without the extra bandwidth.

In closing, we have enjoyed significant growth in 2011 and there are several people who made this possible. As the owner/editor Maize and Go Blue, I would like to thank Chris, Josh, and Matt for their contributions up to this point. The time you guys have put in does not go unappreciated and has been essential to helping this site get to where it is today compared to a year ago. I hope we can add more talent to the staff and continue to provide the kind of information that adds to our readers’ Michigan experience. And to our readers, thank you for reading, participating, and continually coming back. We hope you will continue to do so in 2012.

Hardaway led the way for Michigan with 19 points (photo by Michael Conroy, AP)

Michigan visited West Lafayette on Tuesday night looking for its first true road win of the season and first win in Mackey Arena since 2003. And win it did, reversing the score from Saturday’s loss to Arkansas, and beating the Boilermakers 66-64.

Michigan broke out to a 14-7 lead thanks to seven points from Stu Douglass. The lead then widened to 20-12 with eight minutes remaining in the first half. Purdue fought back, scoring the next seven points to pull within one, but Michigan answered with jumpers from Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway and a pair of free throws by Jordan Morgan. Purdue closed out the half on a 7-2 run to pull within two at 30-28.

The second half began much the same way as the first went: Michigan scoring a few baskets to pull ahead, but never enough to pull away. Each time it looked as if Michigan were poised to put the game away, Purdue would go on a run to get right back in the game.

In the first five minutes of the second half, Michigan built a 10-point lead at 41-31. However, Purdue went on a 20-6 run to grab its first lead since the beginning of the game. A Morgan layup and a Douglass three put Michigan back on top 52-51 with just under seven minutes to play. From there on, the teams battled neck-and-neck, neither leading by more than four points, and trading leads six times.

Trailing by one with a minute and a half left, Zack Novak found Morgan open under the basket and Morgan slammed it home to put Michigan ahead 65-64. Purdue was unable to score and Evan Smotrycz hit the front end of two free throws to give Michigan a two-point lead. A last-gasp attempt by Purdue’s Lewis Jackson missed and Michigan earned its first win at Purdue in its last seven trips. The defense held the Boilers without a field goal for the final 3:54.

Michigan was led by Hardaway’s 19-point effort on 8-of-15 shooting. Morgan and Douglass each added 12, while Smotrycz scored 10. Burke was held to six points, his third lowest output of the season, and lowest in Big Ten play. He shot just 3-of-10 from the field, but dished out six assists.

The Wolverines shot 54 percent from the field and hit 6-of-14 three-pointers while holding Purdue to 44.2 percent overall and 9-of-26 from downtown. Purdue’s stars, Robbie Hummel and Jackson got their points, 16 and 17 respectively, but no one else stepped up for the Boilers.

The win keeps Michigan atop the Big Ten standings and sets up an important road game at Ohio State on Sunday.

After beating rival Michigan State for the third consecutive time last Tuesday, it traveled to Arkansas and laid an egg against a Razorback team that hadn’t beaten a quality opponent to that point. Michigan started slowly, allowing Arkansas to hit its first 11 shots, and dug itself a 20-point hole. While the Wolverines battled back valiantly, it wasn’t enough as Trey Burke’s attempted buzzer-beater rattled in and out.

#22 Michigan v. Purdue
	Tuesday, Jan. 24 7 p.m. ET ESPN W. Lafayette, Ind.
15-5 (5-2)	Record	14-6 (4-3)
Ferris State 59-33 Towson 64-47 W. Illinois 59-55 #8 Memphis 73-61 UCLA 79-63 Iowa State 79-66 Oakland 90-80 Ark. Pine-Bluff 63-50 Alabama A&M 87-57 Bradley 77-66 Penn State 71-53 Minnesota 61-56 #16 Wisconsin 59-41 Northwestern 66-64 OT #9 Michigan St. 60-59	Wins	N. Illinois 96-34 High Point 67-65 Iona 91-90 Temple 85-77 W. Michigan 80-37 Coppin State 78-57 Miami 76-65 W. Carolina 65-60 E. Michigan 61-36 IPFW 81-56 Iowa 79-76 Illinois 75-60 Minnesota 79-66 Iowa 75-68
#6 Duke 75-82 Virginia 58-70 #11 Indiana 71-73 Iowa 59-75 Arkansas 64-66	Losses	#15 Alabama 56-65 #11 Xavier 63-66 Butler 65-67 Penn State 45-65 Wisconsin 62-67 #9 Michigan St. 58-83
68.6	Points Per Game	71.8
60.8	Scoring Defense	60.3
497-for-1,080 (46.0%)	Field Goal %	507-for-1,162 (44.0%)
439-for-1,047 (41.9%)	Def. Field Goal %	438-for-1045 (41.9%)
164-for-480 (34.2%)	3-point %	154-for-434 (35.5%)
128-for-354 (36.2%)	Def. 3-point %	119-for-331 (36.0%)
213-for-301 (70.8%)	Free Throw %	269-for-428 (67.4%)
10.7	Free Throws Made/Game	13.5
33.1	Rebounds Per Game	34.8
31.1	Opp. Rebounds Per Game	34.2
13.3	Assists Per Game	13.5
11.3	Turnovers Per Game	9.7
5.0	Steals Per Game	7.5
2.5	Blocks Per Game	3.7
G – Tim Hardaway (15.1) G – Trey Burke (14.6)	Leading Scorer	F – Robbie Hummel (15.4) G – Lewis Jackson (10.0)
F – Evan Smotrycz (5.9) F – Jordan Morgan (5.6)	Leading Rebounder	F – Robbie Hummel (6.3) G – Kelsey Barlow (4.1)

Thankfully, Michigan doesn’t have to wait long to erase the bitter taste of defeat from its mouth as the Wolverines visit West Lafayette tonight to battle the Purdue Boilermakers.

Purdue enters at 14-6 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten. The Boilers are yet to beat a ranked team but have lost to all three they have played, a nine point loss to Alabama, a three point loss at Xavier, and Saturday’s 25 point beatdown at the hands of Michigan State.

Purdue is led by forward Robbie Hummel, who surprisingly isn’t hurt this season. The senior who missed all of last season and part of the previous season with knee injuries, is having a stellar season so far. He’s averaging 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, having scored in double figures in all but two games. One of those was Saturday when he was held without a field goal on 0-for-11 shooting. His only two points came on free throws and he wasn’t in foul trouble. But every star has his off nights and for Hummel they’re few and far between. He scored 17 against both Alabama and Xavier and has a season high of 24 against Iona and Coppin State. Two years ago, he poured in 35 against Ohio State including eight three-pointers. At this point this season, he’s shooting 35.1 percent from three (39-for-111).

Second on the team is senior guard Lewis Jackson who averages 10 points and nearly four assists per contest. He scored 26 in a win over Temple but has been held to five points or fewer six times. He’s not much of a three-point shooter, averaging just over one attempt per game, but makes 47.1 percent of his shots.

Fellow senior guard Ryne Smith is the team’s sharp-shooter, averaging 43.4 percent from downtown (53-for-122. Against High Point early in the season, he hit 8-of-15 from three-point range and has hit at least three in nine of 20 games. Saturday’s loss to Michigan State was the first game all season that he was held without a three.

The Boilers are very guard-heavy but shoot worse than Michigan from the field (43.6 percent). Tonight’s matchup pits a pair of teams eager for a win following a disappointing loss, and Michigan looking for its first true road win of the season. It’s games like this that need to be stolen on the road in order to win the Big Ten. Look for John Beilein’s team to come out hungry and pick up a hard-fought victory before a brutal stretch at Ohio State, home against Indiana, and at Michigan State.

Zack Novak hit 5-of-7 three-point attempts and led Michigan with 17 points (photo by MGoBlue.com)

Michigan traveled to Fayetteville for a unique midseason out of conference matchup with Southeastern Conference opponent Arkansas. While it meant nothing for the Big Ten race, a win would have allowed Michigan to maintain its momentum from its third straight win over rival Michigan State. But it wasn’t meant to be as Michigan fell 66-64 in front of a packed Bud Walton Arena.

Arkansas jumped out to an early 11-2 lead as Michigan missed four of its first five shots. Zack Novak hit the first of his five three-pointers but through the first 10 minutes of the game, Michigan had fallen behind 29-10. The Michigan offense finally came alive, outplaying the Razorbacks for the final 10 minutes of the first half and went into the locker room down 46-33.

Arkansas opened the second half with a three, but eight straight points by Jordan Morgan and a layup by Novak got Michigan right back in the game, trailing by just six. Michigan then went ice cold, failing to score a point for nearly six minutes, and Arkansas widened its lead  back to 13. But Michigan wasn’t done yet. Morgan ignited a 12-1 Michigan run. Another Novak three pulled Michigan to within two with 3:48 to play.

Over the final three minutes, the teams traded a pair of baskets and Michigan was forced to foul, trailing by two with 21 seconds remaining. Arkansas freshman guard B.J. Young missed a free throw, but the Razorbacks grabbed the offensive board and Michigan had to f0ul again. Once again it was missed and this time Michigan grabbed the board. In the final seconds, Trey Burke got off a three but it rattled in and out at the buzzer and Arkansas pulled off the upset.

Novak led the way for the Wolverines, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds. His 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range was the lone bright spot for the team as Michigan went 8-for-28 from downtown. Morgan contributed 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and Burke was the only other Wolverine in double figures with 13. He also added seven rebounds and six assists for a well-rounded day. Tim Hardaway Jr continued his recent struggles, scoring just nine points on 3-of-8 shooting.

Michigan outrebounded the Razorbacks 35-29 and pulled down 13 offensive boards, but Arkansas attempted 21 free throws to Michigan’s seven and made seven more than Michigan did.

Michigan returns to Big Ten play on Tuesday night with a road trip to West Lafayette, Ind. to battle the Purdue Boilermakers (14-6, 4-3) who just got drubbed by Michigan State 83-58.

Michigan doesn’t get long to celebrate its third straight win over hated rival Michigan State as the Big Ten’s leader returns to action this afternoon with an odd out of conference matchup with Arkansas.

#19 Michigan v. Arkansas
	Saturday, Jan. 21 2 p.m. ET CBS Fayetteville, Ark.
15-4 (5-2)	Record	13-5 (2-2 SEC)
Ferris State 59-33 Towson 64-47 W. Illinois 59-55 #8 Memphis 73-61 UCLA 79-63 Iowa State 79-66 Oakland 90-80 Ark. Pine-Bluff 63-50 Alabama A&M 87-57 Bradley 77-66 Penn State 71-53 Minnesota 61-56 #16 Wisconsin 59-41 Northwestern 66-64 OT #9 Michigan St. 60-59	Wins	S.C. Upstate 83-63 Oakland 91-68 Utah Valley 67-59 Grambling 86-44 Miss. Valley State 97-64 SE Louisiana 62-55 E. Kentucky 71-57 Louisiana Tech 77-63 Charlotte 80-67 Texas Southern 77-49 Savannah State 83-66 #16 Miss. State 98-88 LSU 69-60
#6 Duke 75-82 Virginia 58-70 #11 Indiana 71-73 Iowa 59-75	Losses	Houston 78-87 #10 UConn 62-75 Oklahoma 63-78 Mississippi 63-71 #2 Kentucky 63-86
68.8	Points Per Game	76.9
60.6	Scoring Defense	65.5
472-for-1019 (46.3%)	Field Goal %	456-for-1,037 (44.0%)
415-for-999 (41.5%)	Def. Field Goal %	398-for-1019 (39.1%)
156-for-452 (34.5%)	3-point %	110-for-316 (34.8%)
123-for-343 (35.9%)	Def. 3-point %	97-for-317 (30.5%)
207-for-294 (70.4%)	Free Throw %	285-for-413 (69.0%)
10.9	Free Throws Made/Game	16.8
33.0	Rebounds Per Game	37.9
31.2	Opp. Rebounds Per Game	38.8
13.2	Assists Per Game	15.2
11.3	Turnovers Per Game	13.5
5.2	Steals Per Game	9.3
2.5	Blocks Per Game	6.4
G – Tim Hardaway (15.4) G – Trey Burke (14.6)	Leading Scorer	G – B.J. Young (15.0) G – Mardracus Wade (11.1)
F – Evan Smotrycz (6.1) F – Jordan Morgan (5.5)	Leading Rebounder	F – Devonta Abron (5.1) G – Julysses Nobles (4.1)

The Razorbacks come in with a record of 13-5 but a quick look at the schedule shows that those 13 wins came against a collection of misfits and nobodies. The highest ranked team the Razorbacks beat was 16th-ranked Mississippi State. Other than that, a nine point win over LSU and a 23 point win over common opponent Oakland.

Arkansas did hang with UConn in early December before falling 75-62. The Razorbacks also lost to by 25 to #2 Kentucky last Tuesday as well as Oklahoma, Mississippi and 9-9 Houston.

Arkansas leading scorer, junior forward Marshawn Powell, suffered a season ending knee injury in the second game of year after scoring 19 and 20 points in the first two games, respectively.

The leading healthy scorer is freshman guard B.J. Young, who averages 14.7 points per game. He has been held to single digits in just four games, one being his first career game in which he played just 14 minutes. He scored 28 against UConn and 24 against both Oklahoma and Mississippi State. He’s a capable three-point shooter, having hit 28-of-67 (41.8 percent) so far and he’s shooting 51.3 percent overall from the field.

The second-leading scorer and best three-point sharpshooter is sophomore guard Mardracus Wade. The 6’2″ guard is averaging 11.1 points per game and shooting 49.3 percent from downtown (37-of-75). He has hit at least one three in all but two games so far and has hit multiple treys in 12 of the 18 games.

Inside, the Razorbacks rely on 6’8″ freshman Devonta Abron and 6’9″ senior Michael Sanchez. The pair doesn’t contribute much to the scoring, averaging 5.8 and 4.6 points per game, respectively, but Abron is the team’s second leading rebounder. 6’10″ freshman Hunter Mickelson also adds a solid inside presence despite scoring just 4.4 points per game, as he ranks second nationally with 2.7 blocks per game.

As a team, Arkansas is very young, plays an uptempo style similar to that of Memphis, and rotates a lot of players in and out in order to do so. The Razorbacks shoot slightly worse than Michigan (44 percent) but hold opponents to just 39.1 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from three-point range. They grab a lot of rebounds (five per game more than Michigan) but also give up a lot (nearly eight more than Michigan allows).

Arkansas is the type of team Michigan usually plays very well against, as John Beilein’s system is predicated around taking care of the ball and controlling the tempo. Expect a game much like the Memphis game early in the season where Michigan got the Tigers out of rhythm and picked up a win. It’s a game Michigan should win but if the Razorback pressure causes Michigan to turn the ball over, it could be a lost opportunity for the Wolverines. This type of midseason out of conference matchup obviously does nothing for the team’s goal of winning the Big Ten, but is the kind of game that could impact its NCAA Tournament resume come Selection Sunday, good or bad.

Head Coach John Beilein had plenty of reason to celebrate Michigan's third straight victory over Michigan State, becoming the first Michigan coach to do so since Steve Fisher (photo by MGoBlue.com)

It had been 16 years since Michigan last beat rival Michigan State three straight times, but with Denard Robinson and Roy Roundtree jumping around among the Maize Rage and a host of Michigan NFLers in the stands, the Wolverines did just that on Tuesday night. Michigan squandered an 11 point second half lead but held the Spartans without a field goal for the final 4:23 to win 60-59.

Zack Novak got the scoring started with a three on Michigan’s first trip down the court and the Wolverines jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Another Novak three put Michigan ahead 13-4 before State got its offense going. Michigan maintained a five-to-seven point lead throughout the first half, taking a 36-29 lead into the locker room.

The second half began much the same with Tim Hardaway Jr getting his first bucket of the game on a dunk and Michigan opening up an 11-point lead. But with 12 minutes remaining, Michigan State’s offense got going and its defense clamped down.

A basket by Keith Appling sandwiched between threes by Austin Thornton and Brandon Wood brought MSU within three. Novak answered with a jumper of his own, but State reeled off six more to grab its first lead of the game at 50-49 with just under seven minutes to play.

An Appling jumper widened State’s lead to three before Trey Burke and Thornton traded threes. With just over four minutes left, center Derrick Nix gave the Spartans their biggest lead of the game at 57-53, but it was the last basket the Michigan defense would allow. Burke hit one of two free throws and Hardaway followed with a jumper to pull Michigan within one. A pair of free throws by Thornton took it back to a three point game but Hardaway answered again, this time with a layup.

With under a minute remaining, Burke grabbed a defensive rebound, pushed it up the court, and found Stu Douglass wide open under the basket for a transition layup to put Michigan on top by one. State ran the clock down to 11 seconds before attempting a shot, which Jordan Morgan blocked. However, it went right back into Spartan hands and Draymond Green got of a good but unbalanced look from the free throw line. It clanked off the left iron and a follow-up tip came up short as time expired.

Burke led the way with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from downtown. Hardaway and Novak each added 10. Michigan held Green to just seven points, nine below his season average, and Appling to 10, three below his average. Michigan was outrebounded 31-18, but committed just eight turnover to State’s 14 and shot 51.1 percent form the field, 13 percent higher than MSU’s defense typically allows.

The win keeps Michigan near the top of the Big Ten standings and preserves the Wolverines’ unbeaten home record this season. Michigan now trails Illinois by one game with a lot of basketball left to play. The Wolverines return to action on Saturday with an out-of-conference game at Arkansas (13-5) before visiting Purdue (14-5) next Tuesday.

On Saturday, Michigan traveled to Iowa City and laid an egg in a place it has had trouble winning the past few years. A 75-59 loss to the 11-8 Hawkeyes sent Michigan plummeting down the national rankings and it doesn’t get any easier tonight.

#19 Michigan v. #9 Michigan State
	Tuesday, Jan. 17 7 p.m. ET ESPN Ann Arbor, Mich.
14-4 (4-2)	Record	15-3 (4-1)
Ferris State 59-33 Towson 64-47 W. Illinois 59-55 #8 Memphis 73-61 UCLA 79-63 Iowa State 79-66 Oakland 90-80 Ark. Pine-Bluff 63-50 Alabama A&M 87-57 Bradley 77-66 Penn State 71-53 Minnesota 61-56 #16 Wisconsin 59-41 Northwestern 66-64 OT	Wins	Texas Southern 76-41 Ark-Little Rock 69-47 Milwaukee 68-55 E. Michigan 72-40 Florida State 65-49 Neb. Omaha 110-68 Central Conn. St. 89-69 #22 Gonzaga 74-67 Bowling Green 74-60 UMKC 89-54 Lehigh 90-81 #15 Indiana 80-65 Nebraska 68-55 #19 Wisconsin 63-60 OT Iowa 95-61
#6 Duke 75-82 Virginia 58-70 #11 Indiana 71-73 Iowa 59-75	Losses	#1 North Carolina 55-67 #6 Duke 69-74 Northwestern 74-81
69.3	Points Per Game	76.7
60.7	Scoring Defense	60.8
449-for-974 (46.1%)	Field Goal %	496-for-1,037 (47.8%)
391-for-949 (41.2%)	Def. Field Goal %	376-for-990 (38.0%)
150-for-431 (34.8%)	3-point %	101-for-278 (36.3%)
116-for-328 (35.4%)	Def. 3-point %	109-for-361 (30.2%)
199-for-281 (70.8%)	Free Throw %	287-for-413 (69.5%)
11.1	Free Throws Made/Game	15.9
33.8	Rebounds Per Game	40.7
31.2	Opp. Rebounds Per Game	30.7
13.5	Assists Per Game	16.9
11.5	Turnovers Per Game	13.9
5.0	Steals Per Game	8.3
2.4	Blocks Per Game	4.9
G – Tim Hardaway (15.7) G – Trey Burke (14.3)	Leading Scorer	F – Draymond Green (15.8) G – Keith Appling (12.9)
F – Evan Smotrycz (6.3) F – Jordan Morgan (5.7)	Leading Rebounder	F – Draymond Green (10.0) F – Branden Dawson (4.5)

Hated rival Michigan State invades Ann Arbor ranked 9th nationally, but also on the heels of a disappointing loss of its own. After reeling off 15 straight wins, the Spartans lost at Northwestern on Saturday.

Prior to that loss, Tom Izzo’s squad was arguably the hottest team in the Big Ten. MSU opened the season with a 67-55 loss to 1st-ranked North Carolina in the Carrier Classic and then fell 74-69 to Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic. The Spartans then reeled off 15 straight wins, including a 74-67 road win over #22 Gonzaga and an 80-65 win over 15th-ranked Indiana.

But on Saturday, just like Iowa did to Michigan, Northwestern proved that no matter the records, it’s tough to win on the road in the Big Ten. Thankfully for Michigan, tonight’s matchup is in the comforts of the Crisler Center where Michigan is unbeaten so far this season.

Michigan State is led by senior forward Draymond Green who averages 15.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in all but one game (nine points against Arkansas-Little Rock) and poured in 34 against Gonzaga. The 6’7″ forward has hit 24-of-59 three-pointers (40.7 percent) and hits better than 43 percent of his twos.

Sophomore point guard Keith Appling is second on the team with 12.9 points per game, though he’s just 16-of-53 from downtown. He has been hot and cold scoring-wise this season, but has scored at least 14 points in each of the last six games, including 25 against Indiana. He also put up 22 against Duke.

The only other Spartan averaging in double figures is senior guard Brandon Wood who averages 10.1. His season high is 20 against Nebraska Omaha.

The Spartans’ best three-point shooter is freshman guard Travis Trice who has hit 22-of-50 (44 percent) so far. He doesn’t score much, but gets 19 minutes a game and did put up 20 against Central Connecticut State on 4-of-4 shooting from three.

Inside, junior center Derrick Nix (7.7 ppg) and sophomore center Adreian Payne (6.8 ppg) have had their share of inconsistencies but have been improving throughout the season as replacements for Delvon Roe.

Despite Michigan’s struggles in the last two games (including the poorly-played overtime win over Northwestern), tonight’s game figures to be a hotly contested battle. Michigan won both games last season, sweeping the series for the first time since 1997. Green will be a tough matchup for either Evan Smotrycz or Zack Novak, but he has struggled the last three seasons against Michigan, averaging just six points a game. Michigan State ranks 9th nationally in rebounds per game, which will give the Spartans an edge, while Michigan will need to feed off of the Crisler Center crowd and get a hot hand shooting the three in order to pull off a third straight win over MSU.

Trey Burke hit clutch free throws down the stretch to carry Michigan over Northwestern (photo by MGoBlue.com)

Michigan took to the court in the Crisler Center on a Wednesday night in which the Sugar Bowl winning football team was honored and held off a pesky Northwestern squad that it has had trouble with the last few years. The Wildcats led most of the game, but Michigan fought back with the resolve of Team 132 and picked up its 14th win of the season.

Northwestern started the game with an 8-0 lead before Michigan finally got on the board four minutes into the game. Michigan battled back to a 15-15 tie before Northwestern pulled away again and the Wolverines trailed 34-27 at the half.

In the second half, trailing 44-36, Michigan went on a 10-0 run to grab its first lead of the game. For the final 10 minutes, the two teams went back and forth, neither team leading by more than four.

With 2:44 remaining, Tim Hardaway Jr hit a three to tie the game at 54 and neither team would score again in regulation.

In overtime, Northwestern star John Shurna got scoring started with his first basket since the 9:15 mark of the second half, but Stu Douglass answered with a layup of his own. A pair of Evan Smotrycz free throws put Michigan ahead by two, but NW center Luka Mirkovic tied it up. On Michigan’s next possession, Trey Burke grabbed a pair of offensive boards and finally finished a short jumper to put Michigan back ahead.

Following Burke’s jumper, Jordan Morgan was called for a technical foul, giving Northwestern guard Drew Crawford two free throws. He made one and the Wildcats were unable to take advantage of the extra possession. Burke went to the line and hit a par of free throws to put Michigan ahead by three. Two free throws by each team later, Crawford dunked it to pull NW within one. Burke went back to the line and made both, giving Michigan a three point lead with six seconds remaining.

Northwestern guard Alex Marcotullio put up a desperation three with one second left and Hardaway inexplicably fouled him, sending him to the line for three shots. However, he missed the first, NW was unable to tip in a buzzer-beater, and Michigan escaped.

Hardaway and Burke led the way with 19 for Michigan and Douglass added 10. Hardaway finally broke out of his three-point shooting slump, hitting 5-of-9 attempts, while Burke hit all eight attempted free throws.

As a team, Michigan took 18 more shots than Northwestern and fired up 30 threes to NW’s 13. The biggest key to Michigan’s success was its second chances, aided by 17 offensive rebounds. Northwestern also turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 16 times.

For Northwestern, Shurna got his 21 points, but most importantly, he disappeared for the final nine minutes of the game and overtime. Michigan’s defense did a good job of forcing tough shots and limiting the Wildcats to one shot possessions down the stretch.

Next, Michigan visits Iowa (10-8, 2-3) on Saturday at 1pm Eastern time before the first of two meetings with rival Michigan State on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Michigan dominated then-16th-ranked Wisconsin, ultimately knocking the Badgers out of the ranking. Tonight, Michigan faces a tough trap game against a better-than-you-think Northwestern squad.

#13 Michigan v. Northwestern
	Wed., Jan. 11 6:30 p.m. ET Big Ten Network Ann Arbor, Mich.
13-3 (3-1)	Record	11-4 (1-2)
Ferris State 59-33 Towson 64-47 W. Illinois 59-55 #8 Memphis 73-61 UCLA 79-63 Iowa State 79-66 Oakland 90-80 Ark. Pine-Bluff 63-50 Alabama A&M 87-57 Bradley 77-66 Penn State 71-53 Minnesota 61-56 #16 Wisconsin 59-41	Wins	Texas Pan-Am 60-36 LSU 88-82 Tulsa 69-65 Seton Hall 80-73 Stony Brook 63-58 Georgia Tech 73-60 Miss. Valley State 92-67 Texas Southern 81-51 C. Connecticut St. 70-64 E. Illinois 87-72 Penn State 68-56
#6 Duke 75-82 Virginia 58-70 #11 Indiana 71-73	Losses	#8 Baylor 41-69 #21 Creighton 79-87 #2 Ohio State 54-87 Illinois 56-57
70.1	Points Per Game	70.9
59.6	Scoring Defense	65.6
407-for-856 (47.5%)	Field Goal %	371-for-828 (44.8%)
342-for-847 (40.4%)	Def. Field Goal %	360-for-832 (43.3%)
135-for-370 (36.5%)	3-point %	135-for-367 (36.8%)
105-for-303 (34.7%)	Def. 3-point %	92-for-269 (34.2%)
173-for-248 (69.8%)	Free Throw %	187-for-265 (70.6%)
10.8	Free Throws Made/Game	12.5
33.9	Rebounds Per Game	31.5
30.6	Opp. Rebounds Per Game	36.3
14.0	Assists Per Game	16.7
11.9	Turnovers Per Game	10.0
5.1	Steals Per Game	6.5
2.5	Blocks Per Game	4.3
G – Tim Hardaway (15.9) G – Trey Burke (13.8)	Leading Scorer	G – John Shurna (18.7) G – Drew Crawford (17.3)
F – Evan Smotrycz (6.6) F – Jordan Morgan (5.7)	Leading Rebounder	G – John Shurna (6.1) G – Drew Crawford (5.0)

Northwestern comes in at 11-4 and 1-2 in Big Ten play. Three of the Wildcats’ four losses have been to ranked teams, #8 Baylor, #21 Creighton, and #2 Ohio State. The other was a one-point loss to Illinois, who just upset Ohio State last night. Though Northwestern doesn’t have a win over a ranked team, the Wildcats have beaten 11-4 LSU at home and Georgia Tech on the road in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The rest of the schedule has been made up of cupcakes that Northwestern has handled rather easily.

Northwestern is led by two players, John Shurna and Drew Crawford. Shurna has been in Evanston for an eternity and leads the Big Ten, averaging 18.7 points per game this season.  He also leads the Wildcats in rebounds with 6.1 per contest. He has hit 41-of-97 three-pointers (42.3 percent), although his rate has tailed off a bit in Big Ten play so far, having hit only 6-of-19 (31.6 percent). He scored 37 against LSU, 32 against Eastern Illinois, and 25 against Georgia Tech, so he has the ability to fill it up. Ohio State and Baylor each held him to just 11 points on 5-of-18 and 4-of-19 shooting, respectively, so he can be slowed down.

Crawford ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 17.3 points per game and ranks second on the team in rebounding with five per game. While he has attempted fewer threes than Shurna, he shoots at a slightly better clip, having hit 29-of-67 (43.3 percent) so far this season. He poured in 34 against Creighton, 28 against Tulsa, and 27 against Seton Hall, so like Shurna, he can make you pay. The only game he was held to single digits was last Wednesday’s loss to Illinois when he scored just eight on 3-of-12 shooting.

Outside of Shurna and Crawford, the Wildcats have a bunch of role players. The team’s third-leading scorer is freshman guard Dave Sobolewski at 8.3 points per game. He’s also a pretty good three-point shooter, having connected on 22-of-62 (35.5 percent). Scoring-wise, he’s had his ups and downs. He scored a career high 20 against Penn State, but has been held to six or fewer points seven times this season.

Inside, the Wildcats rely on 6’11″ senior center Luka Mirkovic, who averages 7.4 points and just 4.3 rebounds a game and senior forward David Curletti who averages 3.7 points.

As you can see, the Wildcats aren’t an inside team and love to shoot the three. They have done it to nearly the exact same tune as Michigan, having made the exact same amount in three less attempts. Like years past Bill Carmody’s squad likes to control the tempo and rely on sound fundamentals and outside shooting. Look for Michigan to get the ball down low to Jordan Morgan and try to attack the basket more than usual. But I caution you to look to lightly at this game as Northwestern has won three of the last four meetings.

It has been talked about, written about, and debated for the last month, but tonight’s BCS National Championship game, effectively dubbed “the oversigning bowl” by some because of the two teams’ propensity to sign more players than technically allowed, may not actually crown the proper national champion. And if so, it would be the biggest injustice in the BCS’ 15-year history.

Clearly, the Southeastern Conference is the far and away winner this season for getting two of its own teams into the game, and it will certainly relish the opportunity to pound its chest even more, but reality says the national champion should have already been crowned.

No team in the country has outperformed Louisiana State from Sept. 3 through the SEC Championship game, and that includes the Alabama team they face in tonight’s championship.

Take a look at the resumes of the current top four teams in the BCS rankings. This is assuming Alabama beats LSU tonight. Obviously, if LSU wins, there is no debate.

Record	13-1	12-1	12-1	11-2
Record v. Top 25	8-1	5-1	5-0	2-2
Road Record v. Top 25	3-0^	3-0	2-0	0-0
Record v. Top 10	3-1	1-1	2-0	0-2
Non-Conf. Opp. Record	34-18	30-21	32-19	28-22
FBS Non-Conf. Opp. Record	29-12	19-18	32-19	28-22
Avg. Opponent Rank*	46	46	36	54
Scoring Offense	38.5	36.0	48.7	43.2
Scoring Defense	10.5	8.8	26.8	21.9
* according to Massey rankings
^ also had neutral site victory over Top 25 team

Which of those teams has the best resume? With the same number of losses (again, assuming Alabama wins), LSU has three more wins over Top 25 teams, two more over Top 10 teams, and a better non-conference schedule (especially when throwing out FCS opponents Northwestern State and Georgia Southern). LSU’s one loss would be to the 2nd-ranked team on a neutral site. Alabama’s to the 1st-ranked team at home. Coming into the game, LSU holds the #1 ranking by every single voter. Judging by the above resumes, a very good case could be made for Oklahoma State over Alabama. The only real disparity between the two teams is scoring offense (OSU plus-12.7) and scoring defense (Alabama minus-18).

Some will say championships are won in January, not in November. But that’s not the way the college football landscape is set up. If the season came down to a playoff to decide the national champion, that statement would be correct, but it doesn’t. Every week throughout the season is critical. We currently have one team that ran the table the entire season. One undefeated team. And it already beat the team on the road that it has to beat again in order to officially be awarded the title of national champs.

Barring a West Virginia-Clemson-style blowout by Alabama, Monday night’s game should just be for show. Sure we’ll all watch and the SEC and BCS apologists will point to the TV ratings to show that the BCS got it right, but the 2011 National Champion should be the LSU Tigers regardless of what happens in tonight’s ultra-hyped BCS national scrimmage.