Michigan

Iowa State women’s basketball: 3 things to watch in Cyclones-Michigan March Madness game

Published

1 year ago

March 20, 2025

Iowa State women’s basketball: 3 things to watch in Cyclones-Michigan March Madness game

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After the Iowa State women’s basketball team survived a close call with Princeton in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday night, Cyclones coach Bill Fennelly told his team he wanted them to celebrate the victory and not worry about Friday’s opponent.

His staff had already been preparing for the game.

The 11-seed Cyclones (23-11) will take on 6-seed Michigan (22-10) in the first round of March Madness on Friday at 10:30 a.m. CT, at Purcell Pavilion. It’s a matchup Fennelly’s staff had already been getting ready for since Selection Sunday since the Wolverines would be waiting for the winner of Wednesday’s game.

Watch Iowa State women’s basketball vs Michigan live on Fubo (free trial)

“That was the one thing, if you were lucky enough to win, you knew who you were going to play,” Fennelly said. “It wasn’t the winner of a certain game. So, we did have some information.”

Every minute of preparation helps this time of year with quick turnarounds. Because Iowa State was in one of the First Four contests, the Cyclones knew exactly what would be awaiting them if they made it to the first round.

So, Fennelly had several of his assistant coaches, Latoja Schaben, Emily Hatfield and Rob Jenkins prepare a scouting report. That way, the Cyclones could hit the ground running right after Wednesday night’s win.

The group of coaches met later Wednesday evening and broke things down. Fennelly stood in front of a whiteboard while his staff yelled out to him things that stood out about Michigan.

That way, his players could rest up and enjoy the victory over Princeton. Fennelly and his staff didn’t even bring Michigan up to the team until they met Thursday morning. By then, the coaching staff had a good grasp of the opponent.

“They’re a really talented team,” said Iowa State guard Emily Ryan. “Lots of scoring weapons all around and defensively, they’re really solid and aggressive as well. So, a really good team.”

Here are three things to watch in Friday’s contest.

Michigan plays five guards

The Wolverines often play with five guards, which Iowa State has yet to encounter this season. That allows Michigan to play fast and efficiently. It ranks 25^th in the nation in scoring, averaging 78.1 points per game. The Wolverines shot 45% from the field and despite relying so much on guard play, do the bulk of their scoring from inside the perimeter.

“It’s (a matter of) can we keep them out of the lane, off the dribble,” Fennelly said. “The other thing that they do that we haven’t seen a lot is, they’ll rebound with all five guys. I mean, they’ll send five. Their guards go hard. That’s a challenge for us.”

Iowa State could have a mismatch opportunity with Audi Crooks

The Cyclones usually have the edge in the post with Crooks. The sophomore center led the Big 12 Conference in scoring and was a big reason for Iowa State’s come-from-behind victory Wednesday night. Her 6-foot-3 frame could pose plenty of problems for Michigan and its smaller lineup.

Iowa State, ironically, had a similar encounter in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament against Maryland. Crooks shot 18-of-20 from the floor and finished with 40 points.

“They start five guards, so obviously we have to change a few things, defensively,” said Iowa State guard Arianna Jackson. “I would say that goes both ways. They have to plan regarding Audi. When we get the ball to Audi, that’s a good matchup.”

The tempo will be much faster than Wednesday

Iowa State played a remarkably slow and methodical team in Princeton on Wednesday night. That won’t be the case for Friday’s matchup. The Wolverines will push it and go, go, go. One of the keys for Iowa State will be to keep Michigan from dictating the pace of the game.

That hasn’t been easy for opposing teams who sometimes tend to get sped up trying to keep up with Michigan.

“Just staying and going back to what we know, our type of offense, I think is going to be key, especially how fast Michigan plays,” Jackson said.

Iowa State women’s basketball vs. Michigan prediction

The season has been full of ups and downs for Iowa State, but it has found a groove lately, winning eight of the last 10 games. Both losses came to Baylor. While Michigan will be a tough matchup, the Wolverines don’t do many of the things that typically pose problems for the Cyclones.

Strong 3-point shooting and physical defenses are usually Iowa State’s biggest bugaboo. With a matchup that benefits Iowa State, the Cyclones likely will end up one win away from the Sweet 16.

Iowa State 79, Michigan 71

Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.

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Michigan

Man gets prison for fake signatures that roiled Michigan governor race

Published

10 hours ago

April 1, 2026

Press Room

Man gets prison for fake signatures that roiled Michigan governor race

A Florida man was sentenced to two to 20 years in prison Tuesday, March 31 for his role in a fraudulent petition scandal that derailed the candidacies of five Republican candidates for Michigan governor in 2022, according to online court records.

Macomb County Circuit Judge James Maceroni also ordered Willie Reed to pay nearly $334,000 in restitution to the campaigns that were victimized, records show. The judge ordered about $137,000 of that amount to go to Oakland County businessman Perry Johnson, who was disqualified from the primary ballot for governor in 2022 and is running again this year, and about $119,000 to former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, whose bid for Michigan governor ended when he was disqualified from the 2022 primary ballot.

“The actions of the defendants deliberately undermined our electoral process and denied voters their choices in our primary,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a news release. “I hope this outcome serves as a deterrent to others who attempt to subvert our system.”

In February, a jury convicted Reed, co-owner of Mack Douglas LLC and owner/operator of Petitions Reed LLC, of about a dozen fraud-related charges and conducting a criminal enterprise, while acquitting him of about 17 other charges. Convicted of 22 fraud-related charges, including conducting a criminal enterprise, was co-defendant Shawn Wilmoth of Warren, owner/operator of First Choice LLC and co-owner of Mack Douglas LLC. A third defendant, Jamie Wilmoth of Warren, was acquitted of all charges.

Prosecutors said the defendants charged campaigns more than $700,000 for valid signatures but knowingly delivered tens of thousands of forged signatures on nomination petitions to eight campaigns, including three judicial campaigns. The fraudulent signatures were later discovered by Michigan Bureau of Elections officials, after which the Board of State Canvassers ordered disqualifications. The candidates themselves were not accused of wrongdoing.

“He was treated fairly by the judge,” Reed’s attorney, Wright Blake of Detroit, told the Detroit Free Press after the March 31 sentencing.

However, Reed wants to appeal his convictions, Blake said, and the judge granted him an appeal bond to allow him to do so.

Shawn Wilmoth was sentenced to four to 20 years in prison on March 18 after a jury convicted him Feb. 9 of conducting a criminal enterprise and defrauding gubernatorial candidates Johnson, Donna Brandenburg, Mike Brown, and Michael Markey, as well as three judicial candidates. Shawn Wilmoth was acquitted on charges related to Craig’s petition signatures.

Maceroni ordered Wilmoth to pay $376,601 in restitution to the victims.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com

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Michigan

Michigan backup QB Colin Hurley no longer on roster

Published

22 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Michigan backup QB Colin Hurley no longer on roster

Michigan backup quarterback Colin Hurley is no longer on the roster.

“Colin has departed the program,” Michigan football spokesman Dave Ablauf confirmed Tuesday.

Hurley, who has not yet played a game in college, transferred to the Wolverines from LSU. He participated in winter conditioning and spring practice, which is ongoing.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham had said Bryce Underwood, who started every game last season as a freshman, is the starting quarterback.

Whittingham also praised early enrolled freshman Tommy Carr when asked early in spring practice about who might be the backup.

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, a graduate transfer from Colorado State, is expected to arrive in Ann Arbor this summer. He has started 27 games.

achengelis@detroitnews.com

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Scouting the Pioneers: Three Denver Threats Michigan Must Neutralize in Las Vegas

Published

1 day ago

March 31, 2026

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Scouting the Pioneers: Three Denver Threats Michigan Must Neutralize in Las Vegas

Michigan must shut down Pohlkamp’s offensive blue line presence, Lorenz’s momentum-building play, and Hicks’ rookie goaltending to advance.

Video Transcript

Give me, yeah, give me like 30 seconds to a minute.

obviously their overall record, Michigan, let’s see here.

They’re running right now at 22 and 4, I think.

They’re 10 and 2 at home.

They’re on a six-game win streak.

and in conference right now they’re 13 and 3.

So they did play Michigan State twice already.

they split the series.

I think, the first game it was in Ann Arbor or whatever.

They won the, against, in the opposite place, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And they split the series, so- Each home, each home team won a game, right?

That’s it, right.

Yeah, exactly.

and so I was looking this up earlier ’cause I was looking up probably the most interesting stat ear- when I first, you know, the season started, Michigan was oh, way in ahead with the most goals overall for Division I hockey.

and I looked up again and I refreshed that and they’re still 26 games played, 125 goals scored, 56 goals scored against them.

That’s- I mean, that’s- Whoa.

That’s, that’s amazing.

That’s Yeah.

The next, the next best team is Quinnipiac, and they’ve played two more games and they have 115 goals and 62 goals scored against them.

So- Wow I think, I think you got the top five teams are all in the Big 10 right now.

You got Michigan, Michigan State, Western Wisconsin, and I think Penn State was up there, but I know they just lost two games to Michigan State, and then Gavin McKenna might be going to prison, so.

Yeah, I saw that.

That’s kinda crazy.

Yeah.

Anyways, but the thing about it is some of the players like Michigan has right now, Will Horkoff, he has Let’s see.

He has the most goals.

He has 20 goals right now.

TJ Hughes, he’s right behind him with 13.

Michael Hage, another great player.

You’re gonna, guys You guys are obviously are, is familiar, so those are probably three of the names you’re gonna hear.

Jayden Perron, one of the best defensemen.

His name’s Dakota, so you’ll probably hear him too.

but the way they play- Gotta sneak that in, huh?