Michigan
Visit to Nebraska is perfect time for Michigan to shake shooting slump
ANN ARBOR — Against Nebraska, Michigan will likely need to shoot well in order to rebound.
The Wolverines, who control their own destiny in the Big Ten men’s basketball title race, play in Lincoln on Monday night (8:01 p.m. ET, FS1) aiming to do something they haven’t had to in four weeks: bounce back from a loss.
It would be a great time to break out of their recent shooting slump.
Michigan is shooting just under 30 percent from 3 over its last nine games. Head coach Dusty May isn’t happy about the trend but wants his players to keep firing if the shots come from passes out of the paint.
Nebraska’s zone defense allows a ton of 3-pointers. Close to half of opponent’s field goals against Nebraska have been 3s; per kenpom.com, only 16 of the 364 teams in the country have allowed a higher percentage of 3s.
Can Michigan take advantage? Nimari Burnett has been a consistent catch-and-shoot threat. Tre Donaldson is at 40 percent from deep on the season but has looked out of sync the past few games. Fellow guards Rubin Jones and Roddy Gayle Jr. have been cold from deep all year. Gayle has missed 22 of his last 23 3-point attempts and is passing up some open looks.
For the most part this season, 3-point shooting has determined how teams have fared against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers (17-10, 7-9) lost at Penn State on Wednesday 89-72 but have still won five of their last seven to join the NCAA Tournament bubble. ESPN lists them as one of the last four byes.
Brice Williams, a 6-foot-7 wing averaging 19.4 points per game, is an All-Big Ten candidate. He gets to the foul line often and converts at 90 percent. Forward Juwan Gary is at 13.3 points per game. Both players are in their fifth season and sixth year of college; they’re physically mature and have been through plenty of Big Ten battles.
Connor Essegian, a Wisconsin transfer, is averaging 10.8 points per game off the bench while shooting 40 percent from 3 on 160 attempts. Sam Hoiberg, the son of head coach Fred, has started the last eight games at point guard. He is a pass-first, second, and third-type player.
Berke Buyuktuncel is Nebraska’s leading rebounder whose contributions, according to his coach, go beyond the stat sheet. The 6-foot-10 center who transferred from UCLA has missed the last three games with a sprained ankle; Hoiberg suggested he’d be back for Michigan, though perhaps on a minutes restriction.
Pinnacle Bank Arena is an underrated environment but not particularly unkind to visitors this season. Nebraska has already lost there to Rutgers, USC, and Maryland. The Wolverines (20-6, 12-3) are 6-2 in Big Ten road games.
Their six-game win streak ended on Friday night at home against Michigan State 75-62. “We’re a half-game out of first place in the Big Ten in mid-February,” May said after. “There’s no time to hang our heads and mope and feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to unify and figure out a way to get better tomorrow, take care of our bodies, and get our edge back.”
Michigan’s players who spoke after the game echoed that sentiment. Because Michigan faces Michigan State again — in what could be an epic regular-season finale — the Wolverines don’t need any assistance to win the Big Ten.
“Everything we want is still ahead of us, but gotta go game by game,” Michigan forward Danny Wolf said. “And now on to Nebraska.”
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Michigan
Michigan trooper hospitalized after car hits patrol vehicle on Detroit’s west side
A Michigan State Police trooper is recovering after the patrol vehicle they were in was hit by a car on Detroit’s west side Sunday morning, the state agency said.
Troopers were investigating a fatal collision on Interstate 96 near Outer Drive when a crash involving a semitruck and an SUV happened at a nearby exit ramp, officials said.
The trooper who was hurt was sitting in the patrol car with its emergency lights on during the investigation into the exit ramp crash when the car hit the passenger side of the law enforcement vehicle, according to the state agency. The trooper was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Officials said the driver of the car that hit the patrol vehicle, identified as a female of undisclosed age, refused medical treatment. Troopers determined while interviewing her that she was “impaired by both alcohol and narcotics,” according to the state agency.
The female was arrested and taken to the hospital for a blood draw, according to officials.
“Please slow down, focus on the roadway, move over for emergency vehicles,” Michigan State Police First Lieutenant Mike Shaw said in a written statement.
Charges against the female are pending.
Michigan
How to watch Michigan vs. Michigan State as the rivalry continues
Michigan and Michigan State conclude their regular seasons with another game in their long and intense men’s basketball rivalry.
Tip-off is Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, and the game will be televised by CBS.
No. 3 Michigan (28-2, 18-1 Big Ten) has already clinched the Big Ten regular-season championship outright, but No. 8 MSU (25-5, 15-4) will look to put a blemish on the Wolverines as both teams head to conference and NCAA Tournament play.
In the first meeting this season, Michigan prevailed 83-71 at the Breslin Center on Jan. 30, snapping a four-game losing streak in the series. It was UM’s first win in East Lansing since January 2018. Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg had 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Jeremy Fears Jr. scored a career-high 31 for the Spartans.
The Michigan vs. Michigan State rivalry began in 1909 and the Wolverines lead the all-time series 98-92.
Michigan State at Michigan
▶ Tipoff: 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Crisler Center, Ann Arbor
▶ TV/radio: CBS/760, 94.7
▶ Records: No. 3 Michigan 28-2, 18-1 Big Ten; No. 8 Michigan State 25-5, 15-4
▶ Outlook: This is the regular-season finale for both teams. Michigan won the first meeting, 83-71, on Jan. 30 in East Lansing and is seeking its first sweep since 2014. The Wolverines will celebrate senior day and their outright Big Ten regular-season title during a postgame ceremony.
More coverage
▶ Wolverines take aim at historic send-off for seniors: ‘They set the standard’
▶ ‘I need him’: How Dusty May’s comments drove Jeremy Fears Jr., Tom Izzo closer
▶ Michigan basketball gets first taste of life without guard L.J. Cason
▶ Jaxon Kohler shares MSU senior night with great-grandfather, Pearl Harbor vet
▶ Michigan basketball beats Iowa to complete rare Big Ten road feat
▶ Carr, Fears lead Spartans out of senior-night trap against Rutgers
▶ Michigan basketball chasing more milestones, history
▶ This is March: Michigan State basketball peaking as postseason looms
Michigan
EF-3 tornado moved through Southwest Michigan city, National Weather Service says
An EF-3 tornado moved through Union City, Michigan, during Friday night’s severe storms in the southwest part of the state, according to the National Weather Service.
The federal agency said three people were killed and 12 others were injured in the Branch County twister, which had a wind speed of at least 165 mph — just 1 mph shy of an EF-4 classification on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
Several homes in the area of Tuttle Road and Prairie Rose Lane were severely damaged by the twister, according to the agency.
Officials said Saturday that only a small portion of the tornado’s possible track has been assessed and that other details, including how far it went and how long it lasted, “will be released as they become available.”
The last EF-3 tornado that touched down in Michigan was in Gaylord in 2022.
A twister was reported in Three Rivers, Michigan, on Friday, though the National Weather Service hasn’t confirmed the report. Three Rivers is around 30 miles southwest of Union City.
Sheriff Clint Roach of Cass County, which is around 30 miles west of Three Rivers, said a 12-year-old boy, identified as Silas Anderson, was killed in Friday’s storms.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Saturday on social media that she would be declaring a state of emergency for Branch, Cass and St. Joseph counties.
According to the Michigan State Police, the Salvation Army and the nonprofit Disaster Relief at Work were going door-to-door on Saturday with meals and cleaning supplies in Union City and Three Rivers.
Anyone who was impacted by Friday’s severe weather and needs resources is asked to call 211.
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