Michigan

Battle of the bigs could be at center of Michigan-Saint Louis clash

Published

6 days ago

March 20, 2026

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Battle of the bigs could be at center of Michigan-Saint Louis clash

Billikens coach Josh Schertz called the Wolverines the best team in the country.

Buffalo, N.Y. — It’s no secret that stretch bigs have given Michigan problems this season.

And it’s no secret that Saint Louis runs a five-out offense with one of the premier shooting big men in the country in Robbie Avila, who sports goggles and has an endless supply of color nicknames.

When push comes to shove in Saturday’s NCAA Tournament second-round matchup at KeyBank Center, the battle between the centers could be at the center of determining who secures a spot in the Sweet 16.

“We’ve learned that against pick-and-pop bigs, if you allow a direct pass, they’re going to shoot about 25% to 30% better. If they make one or two, you need to be prepared to go to your contingency plans quicker than usual,” Michigan coach Dusty May said. “We’ve played this defensive philosophy for several years, so we know what can beat it on a given night. We know what the holes in the defense are. But it’s just like everything else, there’s a give and take.

“We’ve got to be OK giving up what we’re going to give up. And if we feel like that’s not going to put us in a position to win, we’ve got to be adaptable enough to pivot and change it on the fly. But that’s kind of where each game is a little bit different. You take all this information and try to predict what’s going to happen, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.”

The 6-foot-10 Avila — who has monikers like “Cream Abdul-Jabbar,” “Larry Nerd” and “Milk Chamberlain” — has been a long-range threat throughout his college career, from his time at Indiana State to his two seasons at Saint Louis.

But he’s as dangerous as ever as a trailer and pick-and-pop option, knocking down a career-best 63 3-pointers at a career-high 41.7% clip. That, according to May, has added “a whole other element” to his game and certainly has Michigan’s attention.

It also creates defensive predicament for the Wolverines, with big man Aday Mara, the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year and top shot blocker, possibly being pulled away from the rim at times against a Saint Louis team that was cutting and getting to the rim at will in its 102-77 obliteration of Georgia in the first round.

“I think I can guard outside, too,” Mara said. “It’s going to be a tough matchup, because how talented he is, he can do everything. I just got to be ready for everything.

“I like the way he plays, because he reminds me a little bit of me. I think we have similar style of game. I like to see another big being able to create and pass the ball. It’s fun to watch him.”

Maybe not as fun to defend him, though. Forward Morez Johnson Jr. has experience with that, crossing paths with Avila as the two grew up in the same area in Illinois.

“I’ve been knowing Robbie forever. Robbie can pretty much do everything,” Johnson said. “But I think we’ve played a lot of good frontcourt players.”

Stretch bigs gave Michigan’s defense fits in both games against Wisconsin. In the first meeting, the Wolverines played the percentages and didn’t guard 6-10 forward Aleksas Bieliauskas out on the 3-point line. They ended up paying a price.

Bieliauskas, who entered that matchup shooting 29.6% from deep (8-for-27) and with one 3-pointer in the previous five games, burned Michigan with a season-high five 3-pointers. Combined with 6-11 forward Nolan Winter, a 30.2% 3-point shooter on the season at that point, the two made nine of Wisconsin’s 15 3-pointers in an upset and handed Michigan its only Big Ten loss during the regular season.

In the rematch between the teams in the Big Ten tournament semifinals, Wisconsin’s bigs once again were a thorn in Michigan’s side. Bieliauskas hit three 3-pointers, but this time it was 6-10 Austin Rapp who went nuclear. Rapp tied his career high with six 3s, all coming in the final 9:26 and many of those coming on drive and kicks.

There were several lessons to take from those experiences. May, for starters, said Michigan needs to do a better job of challenging passes, being prepared to rotate or switch depending on the game plan, and disrupting the opponent’s timing and rhythm.

Forward Yaxel Lendeborg cited giving Mara more help when he’s in off-ball defense and fanning out when he’s on ball to force the ball handler away from the middle of the court.

Forward Will Tschetter, Johnson and Mara all pointed to the importance of guarding the ball and not giving Saint Louis — a team that ranks in the top 10 in both 2-point shooting and 3-point shooting, with five players shooting at least 40% from 3-point range — any advantages on dribble drives.

“After you overhelp, there’s going to be players wide open for 3,” Mara said. “I think if we do a better one-on-one defense, that is not going to happen. I’m not going to need to maybe help the rim, so they’re not going to find those wide-open shooters. By doing that and being quicker when they get the ball to be there with one hand up, those things are very important.”

It all has the makings for an intriguing chess match between Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz and May, who are close friends that talk weekly and often share ideas.

Schertz called the Wolverines the best team in the country, with their elite talent, their ability to hurt teams in different ways on offense and their knack to make things hard for opponents defensively.

Michigan has a unique team with its frontcourt size across the board. Saint Louis is unique because its offense revolves around Avila rather than a traditional point guard.

The key question is who is going to guard Avila?

“Is it Mara, is it Johnson, is it Yax? Where do they put Mara?” Schertz said. “The thing with Robbie is he can find mismatches and he does a good job of triggering a layering offense. His ability to provide spacing, he’s obviously an incredible shooter and passer. He’ll be a focal point for us, regardless. He always is.

“I think (Avila’s) ability to provide horizontal spacing, take bigs away from the basket, opens up driving and cutting lanes, and we’ll need all of that. … We’ll need the best version of him and everybody else against Michigan.”

The same could be said for the Wolverines, who will need to be on top of their game defensively and find an answer to a problem they’ve struggled with at times.

“(Avila) is like the hub. Everything runs through him,” guard Nimari Burnett said. “At the same time, they all play well off each other. He’s a big part of what they do, and we look forward to the challenge.”

NCAA Tournament

NO. 1 SEED MICHIGAN VS. NO. 9 SEED SAINT LOUIS

▶ What: Second-round NCAA Tournament game

▶ When: Saturday, 12:10 p.m.

▶ Where: KeyBank Arena, Buffalo, New York

▶ TV: CBS

▶ Records: Michigan 32-3, Saint Louis 29-5

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

@jamesbhawkins

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Michigan

List of active weather alerts as severe weather moves through Southeast Michigan

Published

9 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

List of active weather alerts as severe weather moves through Southeast Michigan

Severe storms bring risk of tornadoes, hail, flooding

4Warn Weather – The severe thunderstorm warnings in Monroe and Lenawee counties have expired.

A ground stoppage has also been deployed.

Click here for the latest forecast from our 4Warn Weather team.

Here’s a list of the alerts by county.

Wayne County

No active weather alerts.

Oakland County

No active weather alerts.

Macomb County

No active weather alerts.

Washtenaw County

No active weather alerts.

Monroe County

Severe thunderstorm warning expired at 8 p.m.

Livingston County

No active weather alerts.

Lenawee County

Severe thunderstorm warning expired at 7:45 p.m.

Lapeer County

No active weather alerts.

Genesee County

No active weather alerts.

St. Clair County

No active weather alerts.

Sanilac County

No active weather alerts.

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Michigan football emphasizes return of discipline under new regime

Published

22 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Michigan football emphasizes return of discipline under new regime

The buzzword continued to come up in Schembechler Hall, from each one of the captains.

From Bryce Underwood to Jordan Marshall, Rod Moore to Trey Pierce − Michigan football players around for the previous regime and in the case of the latter two, the one before that too − each said Wednesday, March 25, that there’s a noticeable difference within the program under new coach Kyle Whittingham.

For Moore, a sixth-year player who will likely become a third-time captain when the official leaders are voted on later this summer, he recognized the vibe.

“I would say it’s kind of a similarity to coach Harbaugh’s regimen,” he said. “It’s a lot more strict than the past two years, and the weight room has kind of been a night-and-day difference than the past two years. We feel a lot stronger, a lot more progress.”

The Wolverines finished winter conditioning and Whittingham graded it with an “A+.” Hope is often the dominant mode at this time of year and adding a new coaching staff to what’s generally a positive time creates little surprise that the Wolverines are raving about the new system.

But beyond the platitudes and clichés, there are tangible examples. Take Pierce: The projected starting defensive tackle has trimmed his weight to 300 pounds while adding muscle mass to his overall frame.

“Something new that we have now is that whenever we start meetings, there’s like a loud air horn that goes off throughout the whole building,” Moore said. “The past two years, we would start the meeting at 2:30, but now we start the meeting at 2:25, even though it’s a 2:30 meeting. Just everyone being five minutes early. The coaches are holding everyone accountable in the meetings, going to class.

“Just the little things that makes a team great, not just the big, broad things that everyone sees.”

There was an implication from everyone, though nothing said explicitly, that the past two seasons featured little enforcement. Most players would show up on time for lifts, but there were those who didn’t, with few repercussions.

“It’s the little things,” Pierce said. “Guys being late for lifts, guys not being where they’re supposed to be, whether it’s [missing] class. Just enforcing that a little bit heavier, that type of thing. … A lot of coaches say that when you’re being recruited in front of your parents. But for [Whittingham] to say that in front of the huddle after practice and say, ‘That’s why I’m here,’ I would say, ‘OK, he cares. He gets it.’”

Throughout the offseason, some who’ve spent time inside the facility said the weightlifting sessions had notably more juice. The past two years felt like a carryover of the previous years in terms of style, but accountability and discipline wavered.

Now, with Doug Elisaia leading the strength and conditioning room, there are different philosophies.

Practices are a bit shorter these days – two hours – but as Marshall said, “I don’t stop moving at practice, like, we’re always doing something that’s not only going to help with us competing with teams, but our conditioning.”

Marshall believes it can take the Wolverines to the next level, he said.

Just more than a week into spring ball, players are oozing confidence. Not just in their skills − the running back room is deep, the wide receiver room has as much raw talent as at any point the past decade, the offensive line returned multiple key pieces, the secondary added depth and the defensive tackles feel underrated − but in mindset.

U-M had early, demanding lifting sessions during winter conditioning, with a clear organization.

“It introduces that factor of toughness, like we’ve been through this at 6:30 a.m., 6:15 a.m., all these days in the grind together,” Pierce said. “It improves team bonding, and puts you in the headspace of, we’ve done harder stuff than this, and nothing can break us.”

The difference between winning and losing can often be razor-thin. Will this pay off when it counts during the season?

“If I can trust you to do things maybe you don’t want to do,” Marshall said, “then I can trust you on the field when it’s the fourth quarter and we have one minute left.”

Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

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Michigan school bus driver wins national hero award

Published

1 day ago

March 25, 2026

Press Room

Michigan school bus driver wins national hero award

LANSING, Mich. (InvestigateTV) — A Lansing school bus driver has won a national award for going above and beyond behind the wheel.

Jackie Wilkerson-Brown, known as Miss Jackie by students, transports children to and from Lansing’s Gardner and Lewton schools. She recently became the first recipient of the 2025 School Bus Driver Hero Award.

“I was like, seriously, seriously, seriously, and I just started crying,” Wilkerson-Brown said.

The award was presented by School Bus Fleet Magazine. Teachers and parents nominated Wilkerson-Brown for the honor.

Known for being fun and firm

Wilkerson-Brown is known for being fun and firm with students. She hands out candy and leads students in games like the name game on rides home.

“Being a mirror bus driver is just sitting in your bus and, ‘Sit down, stop doing that, stop jumping over the seat,’” Wilkerson-Brown said. “You have to sometimes get up out of your seat and face-to-face with your children.”

Posters of positivity line the inside of her bus.

“I keep it on my bus, and I just try to remind the kids that, you know, smile,” she said. “Kind vibes, happy lives.”

‘Unbelievable honor’

Patrick Dean, president of Dean Transportation, said the recognition is significant.

“This is an unbelievable honor for Jackie,” Dean said. “Jackie exemplifies everything it means to be a superhero bus driver.”

Todd Sharp, operations manager for Dean Transportation, said Wilkerson-Brown treats students as her own.

“When those students step up on her bus, she treats them as her own. They’re her children while they’re in her care,” Sharp said.

Wilkerson-Brown said she loves her job.

“I’m trying not to get emotional, because I love my job, I love what I do,” she said. “If you call my phone right now, the message is going to say, ‘Hey I’m busy being awesome.’ So, because I am awesome, I am awesome, and then to receive this award, and then it came and I’m employed by Dean Transportation, oh, my God, it doesn’t get any better than that.”