TOWSON, Md. - The Towson Tigers (0-1) are back in action on Monday night to face another BCS school with a lot of tradition and a national title (1989) - No. 18 Michigan.
The Tigers will face Michigan at Crisler Arena at 8:30 p.m. as part of the Maui on the Mainland Invitational. The Wolverines are coached by John Beilein, the former West Virginia and Richmond coach, who is 67-67 in his four seasons in Ann Arbor. Beilein is a very accomplished coach with a 544-342 record at the Division I level.
Michigan has had great moments over the years, including the "Fab Five" back in the early 90s, but the program has not reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 1994.
Beilein is known for a motion offense, which includes a lot of back-door cuts and emphasizes good passing and precision shooting. On defense, Beilen may mix up his defenses with a lot of man and 2-3 zone, but he will also thrown in some 1-3-1 depending on the matchup.
It's taken a while for the Wolverines to recruit players who fit Beilein's style, but he appears to have found a comfort level. Michigan went 21-14 last year and lost in the NCAA Tournament third round to Duke. The Wolverines return four starters, but have to replace junior point guard Darius Morris (15 ppg, 6.7 apg), who left early for the NBA.
Despite the loss of Morris, Michigan was ranked 18th in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today preseason polls.
Michigan opened the season with a 59-33 win over Ferris State on Friday, a Division II team. The Wolverines struggled early on as they led by just 22-16 at the half and shot 39.3 percent for the game. They did limit Ferris State to 14-for-50 shooting (28%) and forced 17 turnovers.
Towson last faced Michigan in 2000 when the Wolverines had to rally for a 73-71 win. The Wolverines have won all four meetings since 1997.
Michigan is trying to find Morris' replacement, which was expected to be 6-1 freshman Trey Burke. But, Burke came off the bench on Friday and shot 1-for-7 with three points in 18 minutes because he was late to the team's morning walkthrough.
Senior Stu Douglass (6-3, 190) started in his place and scored 14 points. Last season, Douglass averaged 7.1 points per game in 30.4 minutes per game while shooting 41% from the field and 36 percent from three-point range.
Michigan is very solid at the other four positions, especially at shooting guard where junior Tim Hardaway, Jr. (6-5, 185) is one of the top wing guards in the Big 10. Hardaway was second on the team in scoring last year by averaging 13.9 points per game; he also played 30.7 minutes per outing. He shot 42% from the field (37% from beyond the arc) and 77% from the line.
Senior Zack Novak (6-4, 210) is one of the leaders on the team who can stroke it from three-point range or defend bigger players at the wing or power forward spot. Last year, Novak averaged 8.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 39% from beyond the arc and 38% from the field in 35 minutes per game.
Up front, sophomore Evan Smotrycz (6-9, 235) was a solid role player as a freshman, averaging 6.3 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per game, but will be counted on for more production this year. He had 14 points and two blocks in the season opener.
At center, sophomore Jon Horford (6-9, 250) received the start on Friday night. He averaged 2.0 points per game in just seven minutes per game last year and did not score in 15 minutes against Ferris State. Horford is the younger brother of Atlanta Hawks' star Al Horford and son of former pro Tito.
Sophomore Jordan Morgan (6-8, 240) came off the bench to score seven points in the opener. He averaged 9.2 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game while playing 24 minutes per game as a freshman last year.
Junior guard Matt Vogrich (6-4, 190) is a key performer off the bench who averaged 3.2 points per game and shot 39% from beyond the arc last year.
The game will be broadcast on WBAL-AM 1090 and shown live on ESPN3.
