Glenn Robinson III had a much needed monster game (Carlos Osorio, AP)

On a day Michigan fans celebrated the history of the basketball program with former stars like Cazzie Russell, Glenn Rice, and Phil Hubbard in the house for the re-dedication of the refurbished Crisler Center, this year’s team slogged its way to an eight-point victory over the still winless-in-the-Big-Ten Penn State Nittany Lions.

Sunday seemed to be the perfect day to welcome back past players as athletic director Dave Brandon cut the ribbon on his crown masterpiece of a basketball facility, but for 30 minutes or so, the Wolverines seemed tired, off, and perhaps lacking effort before finally pulling out a win to end their first losing streak since the end of last season. Penn State has been downright awful in coach Pat Chambers’ second year leading the program, and despite great effort over the past couple games, the Lions simply lack the talent, size, and athleticism to compete in the Big Ten, much less against the cream of the conference. And despite Chambers’ constant bickering with the officials over the 25 fouls called on his players, they once again came up short in the talent department on the court.

With Penn State’s last win coming nearly two months ago at the end of December, the Nittany Lions are running out of time to tally a victory in the new year; a win today would have been huge, but Trey Burke simply would not let it happen.

As fans and players alike welcomed back past heroes with open arms, Michigan’s current All-American point guard set the stage to state his case for his own jersey number to be retired years down the line. Trey Burke has been the unquestioned best floor general in the country, and he continues to prove his worth, this time with a 29-point (9-of-16 FG, 3-of-4 3p., 8-of-9 FT), five-assist, zero-turnover gem as his point guard counterpart, Tim Frazier, could do nothing but watch from Penn State’s bench. Interestingly enough, Burke himself would be at Penn State today if not for a change of heart his last couple years in high school. It’s hard to imagine them still being winless in the Big Ten if that were the case today.

It was pretty clear throughout Sunday afternoon’s contest that no one from Happy Valley would be able to check Burke on the offensive end of the court, but Penn State also had its hands full with freshman running mate Glenn Robinson III.

Robinson, who emerged early this year as one of the premier freshmen in the country with eye-popping athleticism and a knack for always finding the ball around the rim despite his very quiet nature on the floor, has been in a well-publicized struggle throughout Michigan’s last four games, three of which ended as road losses. Today, he finally came around again, providing countless sparks for the laid back afternoon crowd to erupt as he threw down five “He just did that?!” throwdowns on his way to 21 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting mark from the field and 9-of-11 mark from the free throw line. He also managed to grab 10 rebounds to record his second career double-double.

Trey Burke had a season-high 29 points (Carlos Osorio, AP)

In Michigan’s most difficult stretch of the year, a four-game gauntlet that included three road games at top-25 teams and one top-15 home matchup, Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr. were the only two Michigan players that seemed to belong on the same court as the competition. Robinson III, who was rolling beforehand, hit the wall hardest, tallying just 18 points in those four games on a horrendous 7-of-24 mark from the field. Today, Robinson III found his game again and got back in his groove by getting behind and jumping above the defense; his teammates found him time and time again.

Joining Robinson III’s comeback effort was fellow freshman Nik Stauskas, who struggled himself to a lesser extent over the same difficult series of games. His three-point stroke continues to regress to the mean, but Stauskas manages to find offense through other routes as commentators continue to pen him as “not just a shooter”. Today the Canadian scored 18 points on nine shots as he made all three of his two-point attempts and got to the line at a solid rate with his penetrating ability.

Michigan fans at this point can only hope that today’s performances ended the cold shooting spells of Michigan’s two offensive-minded freshmen, but the worries do not end there. Burke, Robinson III, and Stauskas combined for a far-too-many 68 of Michigan’s 79 points. The rest of the team was notably absent from the scoring column, including star junior wing Hardaway, Jr., whose eight points don’t look so good knowing that it took him 11 shots to get there. After that, only two more Wolverines combined to score three points.

Perhaps most concerning of all for John Beilein is the play he got from big men Mitch McGary, Jordan Morgan, Jon Horford, and Max Bielfeldt. That foursome combined to score zero (yes, zero) points on five shots and only grabbed seven rebounds total in 47 minutes of playing time. The biggest worry for Michigan was not the relatively small winning margin, as the outcome was hardly in doubt for such a lop-sided matchup, but rather the fact that Penn State was able to grab 36 percent of their own misses and 77.4 percent of Michigan’s clankers. One of the Wolverines’ biggest strengths all year has been in their ability to compete on the boards and turn rebounds into points; being out-rebounded by a smaller, less athletic team at home is a problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

If Michigan is to compete for a second consecutive Big Ten championship, or at least another share of the title, today’s effort will need to be improved upon. There were plenty of good signs throughout, especially from the aforementioned freshmen scoring wings, but the big men and Tim Hardaway especially need to find their game over the remaining five games.

Still sitting two full games out of first place in the Big Ten, Michigan will probably have to win out to achieve their preseason goal of a Big Ten title. With everybody on their games, the Wolverines have the firepower to do that. If anyone is not playing up to par, however, games against Michigan State and Indiana are going to be difficult to pull out, even in the friendly confines of the christened Crisler Center.

Today’s back-and-forth game with Penn State didn’t do much to convince critics that Michigan has what it takes. But that doesn’t matter now. All that counts are two letters: Ws and Ls. Five more of the former and Michigan is right back in the thick of things. Today was a start.

#2 Michigan v. Iowa
Sunday, Jan. 6 | 12pm ET | Big Ten Network
14-0 (1-0)	Record	11-3 (0-1)
Slippery Rock 100-62 IUPUI 91-54 Cleveland State 77-47 Pittsburgh 67-62 Kansas State 71-57 NC State 79-72 Bradley 74-66 W. Michigan 73-41 Arkansas 80-67 Binghamton 67-39 West Virginia 81-66 E. Michigan 93-54 C. Michigan 88-73 Northwestern 94-66	Wins	UTPA 86-55 C. Michigan 73-61 Howard 66-36 Gardner-Webb 65-56 W. Kentucky 63-55 Texas A&M-CC 88-59 South Dakota 87-63 Iowa State 80-71 Northern Iowa 80-73 S. Carolina State 90-46 Coppin State 80-50
	Losses	Wichita State 63-75 Virginia Tech 79-95 #5 Indiana 65-69
81.1	Points Per Game	76.1
59.0	Scoring Defense	61.7
423-for-818 (51.7%)	Field Goal %	360-for-814 (44.2%)
317-for-788 (40.2%)	Def. Field Goal %	310-for-838 (37.0%)
125-for-297 (42.1%)	3-point %	81-for-263 (30.8%)
90-for-289 (31.1%)	Def. 3-point %	78-for-280 (27.9%)
164-for-226 (72.6%)	Free Throw %	264-for-369 (71.5%)
11.7	FT Made/Game	18.9
37.6	Rebounds Per Game	41.4
28.6	Opp. Reb. Per Game	34.5
16.4	Assists Per Game	16.7
9.9	Turnovers Per Game	13.7
5.4	Steals Per Game	7.2
2.6	Blocks Per Game	5.2
G – Trey Burke (18.1) G – Tim Hardaway Jr. (16.2)	Leading Scorer	G – Devyn Marble (15.6) F – Aaron White (13.7)
F – Glenn Robinson (5.9) F – Mitch McGary (5.8)	Leading Rebounder	F – Aaron White (6.4) C – Adam Woodbury (5.4)

After dominating Northwestern in the Big Ten opener on Thursday night, Michigan returns home on Sunday afternoon to face the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten home opener at noon on the Big Ten Network.

Iowa comes in with an impressive-looking 11-3 record, although when you examine their schedule you’ll see an utter lack of quality opponents. The highest ranked team the Hawkeyes have beaten is Iowa State, which is No. 47 according to Pomeroy. Aside from the Cyclones, Iowa lost to Pomeroy No. 20 Wichita State and lost by just four to 5th-ranked Indiana. The latter was certainly impressive, as Iowa may have pulled it off had leading scorer Devyn Marble shot better than 1-of-14. Still, he scored 14 points thanks to a 12-of-13 performance from the free throw line, but if he had merely shot 21 percent from the field, it may have been good enough.

As a team, Iowa shoots just over 44 percent, but is a good rebounding team, averaging 41.4 per game. That’s good for 19th nationally. By comparison, Michigan averages about four rebounds fewer. On the other hand, Iowa gives up about six more rebounds than Michigan does. The Hawkeyes also average nearly 17 assists per game, which is 24th nationally, but they also turn the ball over nearly 14 times per game.

As mentioned above, Devyn Marble is the main man, averaging 15.6 points per game. He’s also third on the team with 4.5 rebounds a game. The 6-6 guard from Southfield, Mich. dropped 30 and 27 in consecutive games against Northern Iowa and South Carolina State. In those two games, he connected on 10-of-17 threes and 14-of-27 shots overall. But like his poor shooting outing against Indiana, when he’s off, he’s off. He also went 2-of-10 against Iowa State and scored just six points. Perhaps not so coincidentally, those two poor outings were against the best teams Iowa has played so far. Add in his 4-of-12 performance against Wichita State and he shot a combined 10-of-36 against the top three opponents.

Sophomore forward Aaron White is the only other Hawkeye averaging double figures at 13.7 points. He also leads the team in rebounding with a 6.4 average. Unlike Marble, he stepped up in big games, scoring 15 against IU and 18 against Iowa State. Despite being 6’8″, he has the ability to step out and hit the three every now and then, though he’s just 21.7 percent.

Freshman point guard Mike Gesell averages 9.6 points and 3.3 assists. He scored 23 against Northern Iowa, hitting 4-of-6 threes. But he had a 2-of-10 outing against Iowa State and 0-of-8 against Gardner-Webb, so he’s prone to poor shooting nights as well. He’ll have a tough time keeping up with Trey Burke.

Junior forward Melsahn Basabe averages 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. His season high is 17 points against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and he only has one other double-digit scoring game on the season.

Freshman guard Anthony Clemmons leads the team with 3.9 assists per game and also has the ability to knock down the three, shooting 41.2 percent.

The center is 7’1″ freshman Adam Woodbury out of Sioux City, Iowa who averages 6.4 points and leads the team with 5.4 rebounds per game. His season high was 13 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. If there’s someone on the team you want to foul, it’s him as he shoots just 51.9 percent from the line.

Iowa is a team Michigan has had some struggles with in the past few years, but that has been on the road. With this game being in Ann Arbor, there should be no cause for concern. The only thing that may make this closer than expected is a letdown from the big 28-point win at Northwestern. Michigan is bound to have a poor shooting night one of these nights, but it shouldn’t matter in this one. The Wolverines have too much talent for the overmatched Hawkeyes and should win by around 15 points.

After another dominant performance in last night’s NIT Preseason opener over IUPUI, Michigan will face a Cleveland State team tonight (8pm on ESPN2) that has made a name for itself as a mid-major that no one wants to play in the non-conference season. The Vikings lost four starters and looked pretty shaky in an overtime win over Bowling Green, but they will certainly play their hearts out as they face the No. 5 team in the country. Here are a few things to mull as the game approaches:

Glenn Robinson III has made 81.2 percent of his attempts so far (photo by Carlos Osorio, AP)

1. Turnovers: Everyone knows by now that John Beilein stresses an approach that maximizes possessions by limiting turnovers, thus giving his team more chances to put points on the board. In last night’s blowout of the Jaguars, Michigan again seemed a little bit anxious and turned the ball over 13 times while putting up only 55 shots. Beilein will generally tell people that a single-digit turnover number is acceptable, but anything over 10 is dangerous when playing a quality opponent. Not only should Cleveland State be a decent opponent tonight, though – they also pride themselves on wreaking havoc on the opposing offense by pressuring the ball and using active hands in passing lands to create turnovers and limit the other team’s opportunities. In two games so far, the Vikings have forced 31 turnovers, a tremendous number, and while those opponents were Grambling State and Bowling Green, Michigan has yet to prove that they will value the rock like a top-five team. Trey Burke has already turned the ball over eight times in two games and backup Spike Albrecht looked hesitant at times in last night’s game when he faced three-quarter court pressure. Burke’s problems have come more in forcing passes and moving too fast than in his ball-handling, so I don’t expect major problems with him in the turnover department tonight, but Albrecht lacks the quickness and the first speed that Burke can use at will to get by his defender. Trey may see himself playing 35-plus minutes tonight if Beilein senses problems early.

1. Taking Advantage of Aggressiveness: We now know that Cleveland State will do all it can to limit Michigan’s shot attempts by pressuring the ball, but how can the Wolverines take advantage of that? The answer is easy – play smart, fundamental basketball. A team that pressures the ball will frequently give up open passing lanes and driving lanes to the hoop by being too aggressive, and when Burke is able to get into an open lane, there is not a team in the country that will be able to stop one of his drives or a kick-outs to the plethora of good shooters this Michigan team looks to have. In last night’s narrow win over the Falcons, Cleveland State gave up alley-oops on three straight possessions late in the game, partially because of their aggressiveness. And while A’uston Calhoun looked very good for Bowling Green, he certainly does not have the hops of a Glenn Robinson III or Tim Hardaway, Jr., who have both sent home some powerful dunks already in this young season. Burke should come close to tying his career-high nine assists for a second straight night and Nik Stauskas, Matt Vogrich, and the rest of the shooters should see plenty of open shots on the wings.
   

   Cleveland State forced a lot of turnovers, so Burke will need to stay under control (photo by Carlos Osorio, AP)

1. Balance: One more thing Michigan and Beilein will have to prepare for tonight is defending a balanced attack. It’s pretty easy to game plan against teams that have one or two star players taking the majority of shots on offense, but it’s very difficult to stop a team that can look to five or six different players to make shots. All five of Cleveland State’s starters have been in double digits in their first two games of the season, both wins, and freshman Bryn Forbes (Lansing Sexton) came off the bench in the first game to score 14 points. Seventh-year head coach Gary Waters will again look for his whole team to contribute tonight in an effort to take down the Wolverines, and though Michigan has the strength and depth to have a balanced offense as well, Beilein will focus on the defensive end of the court in stopping Cleveland State. Forward Tim Kamczyc has been hot so far from downtown, shooting a combined 7-of-12 from downtown in two games, but he appeared a little streaky last night. The rest of the team won’t take a ton of deep looks, so Michigan’s interior defense will be critical to their success.

Prediction: Matt Vogrich will be the team’s leading three-point shooter tonight and Michigan will again run away in the first half from an inexperienced and overwhelmed Viking team on their way to Madison Square Garden. Cleveland State should hang tough for a half or so, but the Wolverines’ firepower will prove to be too much in the end. Hardaway, Jr. will lead the team in scoring as Michigan rolls, 86-61.

#5 Michigan v. Cleveland State
	Tuesday, Nov. 13 8pm ET ESPN2
2-0	Record	2-0
95.5	Points Per Game	85.5
58.0	Scoring Defense	61.0
71-for-121 (58.7%)	Field Goal %	61-for-129 (47.3%)
46-for-128 (35.9%)	Def. Field Goal %	40-for-108 (37.0%)
25-for-40 (62.5%)	3-point %	17-for-36 (47.2%)
14-for-44 (31.8%)	Def. 3-point %	4-for-29 (13.8%)
24-for-35 (68.6%)	Free Throw %	32-for-41 (78.0%)
12.0	FT Made/Game	16.0
42.0	Rebounds Per Game	42.0
27.0	Opp. Reb. Per Game	31.0
18.5	Assists Per Game	18.5
11.0	Turnovers Per Game	12.0
4.0	Steals Per Game	10.5
2.0	Blocks Per Game	3.5
G – Trey Burke (21.5) G – Tim Hardaway (17.5)	Leading Scorer	G – Charlie Lee (17.0) F – Tim Kamczyc (16.5)
G – Tim Hardaway (8.5) F – Mitch McGary (7.0)	Leading Rebounder	F – Marlin Mason (9.0) F – Tim Kamczyc (6.5)

Michigan opened the NIT Season Tip-Off on Monday night with a win over IUPUI. Tonight, the Wolverines face Cleveland State in the final regional matchup of the preseason tourney.

Cleveland State beat Bowling Green 79-73 in overtime in the Crisler Center. Forward Tim Kamczyc scored a game-high 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point range. Guard Charlie Lee and forward Marlin Mason each tallied a double-double with 14 points, 10 assists and 11 points, 13 rebounds, respectively.

The game was fairly back and forth throughout as Kamczyc hit a three to send the game into overtime. Another Kamczyc three gave CSU the lead in overtime and the Vikings never looked back, converting their free throws down the stretch.

The win advanced Cleveland State to 2-0. Their first win was a 92-49 thumping of Grambling on Friday.

Cleveland State was predicted to finish fifth in the Horizon League this year after going 22-11 last season. The year ended with a NIT opening round loss to Stanford. The Vikings return just one starter, Kamczyc, from that team. The four that departed – Trey Harmon, Jeremy Montgomery, D’Aundray Brown, and Aaron Pogue – combined to average 40 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 8.1 assits per game last season.

Kamczyc averaged 9.1 points and 3.9 rebounds. He’s the lone senior on a roster that currently has a combined nine freshmen and sophomores. Last year’s sixth man, Anton Grady, was named to the preseason Second Team All-Horizon team. He averaged 8.5 points per game last season, but was even better (10.5) in conference play. He scored 10 on Monday night and 14 in the opener.

CSU is shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 47.2 from three-point range, while Michigan has been lights out so far this season (58.7 and 62.5 percent, respectively). One stat that stands out is CSU’s ability to get steals. The Vikings have forced 32 turnovers resulting in 21 steals so far.

Both teams will be fighting for a trip to New York to participate in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off. The winner will likely face Pittsburgh next Wednesday, while the loser will play a consolation game.

#5 Michigan v. Slippery Rock
	Friday, Nov. 9 8:30pm ET BTN.com
24-10	2011-12 Record	17-10
79.5	Points Per Game	79
47.5	Scoring Defense	56
56-for-114 (49.1%)	Field Goal %	29-for-56 (51.8%)
37-for-103 (35.9%)	Def. Field Goal %	19-for-66 (28.8%)
24-for-58 (41.4%)	3-point %	5-for-17 (29.4%)
16-for-40 (40.0%)	Def. 3-point %	6-for-23 (26.1%)
23-for-40 (57.5%)	Free Throw %	16-for-26 (61.5%)
11.5	FT Made/Game	16
42	Rebounds Per Game	47
25	Opp. Reb. Per Game	42
20	Assists Per Game	11
7.5	Turnovers Per Game	16
5	Steals Per Game	3
3	Blocks Per Game	4
G – Trey Burke (16.0) F – Glenn Robinson III (15.0)	Leading Scorer	F – Tabari Perry (18) G – John Bayardelle (14)
F – Jordan Morgan (9.5) F – Mitch McGary (9.5)	Leading Rebounder	F – Devin Taylor (13) C – Luiz Santos (10)
*Michigan’s stats are from the two exhibition games this season *Slippery Rock’s stats are from one exhibition game this season

After a pair of exhibition matches against Division II schools in the past week, Michigan finally gets to open the season tonight in the Crisler Center. Another Division II foe comes to town, but this time it’s none other than the school we all cheer for on Saturdays when their scores are announced in the Big House: Slippery Rock.

Just because they’re not a Division I squad doesn’t mean Michigan can take The Rock lightly. Four starters return from last season’s 17-10 team. They’re picked to finish second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division this season behind Indiana (Pa.).

The Rock are led by senior forward Devin Taylor, who averaged a team-high 13.5 points and PSAC high 9.8 rebounds per game last season. Junior forward Tabari Perry averaged 9.5 points and seven rebounds per game. Both were 2011 All-PSAC-West second-team selections.

Point guard Aubin Reeves also returns, after finishing second on the team in scoring last season with an average of 9.6 points. Luiz Santos, a 6’10″ center from Sao Paulo, Brazil averaged 6.5 points and tied Perry for second on the team with seven rebounds a game, while senior guard John Bayardelle averaged 7.5 points off the bench.

Perhaps the best player on the team is a newcomer, transfer Gerald Brooks. The senior forward isn’t eligible to play until Dec. 18 because of his transfer from conference rival Indiana (Pa.), but he was selected to the Basketball Times NCAA Division II Pre-Season All-America list. He averaged 15.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last season.

Guard Jermaine Edwards transfered from Barry University, where he started, while forward Darious Clark transfered from Division I’s Illinois State. He played in 14 games for the Redbirds who played in the NIT.

As you can see, this is a team that has a lot of talent despite being at the Division II level. In their first exhibition game on Sunday, Slipper Rock beat Navy 79-56. Perry scored 18 and Bayardelle added 14. Two players, Taylor and Santos recorded double-doubles (13 points and 13 rebounds for Taylor, 10 and 10 for Santos). Before you get worried, realize that Navy went just 3-26 last season.

Michigan’s “fresh five” got their feet wet against Northern Michigan and Saginaw Valley and now will get their first test that actually counts. Stay tuned for Sam’s quick thoughts later this afternoon.

Michigan opens the 2012-13 basketball season tonight with its first exhibition game against Northern Michigan at 7pm. In past years coach John Beilein has opted to play a closed scrimmage and one exhibition game, but because of the Wolverines’ lofty No. 5 overall ranking, the lack of a Midnight Madness event, and a beautifully-renovated Crisler Center, Beilein decided to schedule two exhibitions this season to get the team ready to go before officially kicking off the season next Friday against Slippery Rock. Obviously, this game will not count for anything in the final standings, but no team wants to be the one to lose a preseason game to a lower division squad. And while it’s tough to take anything away from what is ultimately a dress rehearsal, here are three things to look for tonight:

Michigan's heralded class will take to the court for the first time tonight (photo by the Detroit News)

1. The Freshmen: Michigan’s freshman class consisting of Spike Albrecht, Nik Stauskas, Caris LeVert, Glenn Robinson III, and Mitch McGary is easily the most hyped group of players that Beilein has ever assembled in one recruiting year, and while they aren’t quite at the level of the Fab Five, Beilein did hint in a recent open practice that all five freshmen could see the court at the same time due to the versatility they possess and their projected positions. Check out the player previews on each of the freshmen to learn all about their games and what to look for early on, but be sure to pay special attention to McGary, who is dealing with a nagging leg injury. In addition, Albrecht should see extended minutes tonight due to Trey Burke’s suspension for a violation of team rules. So pay close attention to how well the man who’s role is to provide Burke a rest throughout the season can far in a leading role.

1. 

   Crisler will have a brand new look to it tonight (photo from MGoBlue.com)

   Lineups: Beilein has already answered hundreds of questions about what he plans to do with added depth in the front court, and the truth is he still does not know exactly how he will use all of Jordan Morgan, Mitch McGary, Jon Horford, Max Bielfeldt, and Blake McLimans down low. He has openly said that he is experimenting with a two-big offense in practice but he is still learning the intricacies of the style because of his personal unfamiliarity with it. Expect to see the lineups shuffled quite a bit tonight with some four-out, one-in prototypical Beilein offense as well as some three-out, two-in sets mixed in. Horford won’t be playing, but Beilein will still want to see how he can successfully run the offense and defense with two big men at once.

1. New Jerseys: Adidas is coming out with new jerseys for Michigan for the second time in three years, and tonight will be everyone’s first chance to see the players don them under the bright lights. There have been complaints and there have been cries of approval on internet boards based off the pictures from media day; now people can decide for themselves from an in-person view.

Bonus: If you can, make the trek to Crisler tonight to see the newly-renovated arena for yourself. The pictures at MGoBlue.com look stunning, but I’m just as excited as everyone else to see what appears to be a brand-new building in person. You will be able to find me riding the escalator before and after and playing in the waterfall in the new entrance lobby area.

#5 Michigan v. Northern Michigan (exhibition)
	Thursday, Nov. 1 7pm ET BTN.com
24-10 (13-5)	2011-12 Record	9-17 (5-14)
66.3	Points Per Game	66.3
61.5	Scoring Defense	71.0
808-for-1,777 (45.5%)	Field Goal %	603-for-1,401 (43.0%)
756-for-1,768 (42.8%)	Def. Field Goal %	618-for-1,404 (44.0%)
276-for-788 (35.0%)	3-point %	131-for-416 (31.5%)
203-for-588 (34.5%)	Def. 3-point %	173-for-491 (35.2%)
363-for-503 (72.2%)	Free Throw %	386-for-555 (69.5%)
10.7	Free Throws Made/Game	14.8
30.8	Rebounds Per Game	34.6
31.6	Opp. Rebounds Per Game	34.5
12.7	Assists Per Game	8.2
10.9	Turnovers Per Game	15.3
4.9	Steals Per Game	5.5
2.1	Blocks Per Game	3.5
G – Trey Burke (14.8) G – Tim Hardaway (14.6)	Leading Ret. Scorer	G – Haki Stampley (14.0) F – Matt Craggs (8.8)
F – Jordan Morgan (5.6) G – Tim Hardaway (3.8)	Leading Ret. Rebounder	F – Matt Craggs (5.5) F – TJ Cameron (3.2)

Michigan opens the preseason portion of its schedule on Thursday night against the Northern Michigan Wildcats. It will be the first chance to see the heralded freshman class in action even though the game won’t actually count for anything more than a tune up.

Northern Michigan is coming off a 9-17 season in which it finished in last place in the North division of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Only Ohio Dominican (in the South division) finished with a worse record.

Eight players return for the Wildcats including three starters. The leading returning starter is guard Haki Stampley, who led the team in minutes played (742), threes made (50), assists (47), and steals (34), and was second in scoring (14 points per game). However, he is redshirting this season. That leaves forward Matt Craggs as the leading returning scorer who will see the court. He averaged 8.8 points per game and also led the Wildcats in rebounding with 5.5 per game. Alongside Craggs in the frontcourt is TJ Cameron who averaged seven points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He was named the team’s MVP a year ago.

The backcourt will be handled by sophomores Quinten Calloway and Spencer Huss along with redshirt freshman Terry Nash. Calloway played in 16 games last season, averaging 6.9 points per game, while Hass was named the team’s most improved player.

The biggest unknown are three junior college transfers, Scooter Johnson (Kent State), Jeron Lee (Lewis), and Michael Smith (Grand Rapids Community College).

Northern Michigan likely won’t fare much better than last season and was picked to finish eighth in the GLIAC North division again this year. Head Coach Doug Lewis, in his third year at NMU, will have his work cut out for him to compete and his Wildcats shouldn’t put up much of a fight in the Crisler Center.

The Wildcats gave up 10 more points per game than Michigan did against lesser competition and didn’t shoot the ball very well either. They also averaged over 15 turnovers per game compared to just eight assists. Bad defense, poor shooting, and a terrible assist-to-turnover ratio is a recipe for disaster for any team and that’s what NMU had. Look for Michigan to light up the scoreboard with a big win as it prepares for the season opener next Friday night.

Tim Hardaway Jr led all scorers with 26 points (photo by MGoBlue.com)

Michigan opened Big Ten play on Thursday night with a convincing 71-53 win over Penn State. It was Michigan’s sixth-straight win since losing to Virginia exactly a month ago.

It took the offense a few minutes to get going, but once it did, it pulled away. Evan Smotrycz scored the first bucket of the game, but Michigan went scoreless for the next three minutes. Tim Hardaway Jr hit a jumper and Trey Burke scored twice to put Michigan ahead and the Wolverines never relinquished the lead. The defense forced nine turnovers in the half.

Michigan took a 36-22 lead in the locker room and then widened the lead to 20 on a Jordan Morgan dunk three minutes into the second half. The lead got to as many as 22 at 54-32 and the closest Penn State could get was 16 as Michigan cruised to a comfortable win.

Hardaway led the Wolverines with 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, despite connecting on just 1-of-7 three-pointers. Smotrycz turned in his third consecutive double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Burke was the only other Wolverine in double figures with 13 points. He also added a team high seven assists.

Michigan shot 47.2 percent from the field and hit 13-of-15 free throws, while holding Penn State to just 26.7 percent shooting from downtown.

Michigan now has a couple of days off before hosting Minnesota (12-2, 0-1) on Sunday at 4pm.