Coatney's Call: Michigan Game Preview

#13 Nebraska (19-3, 8-2) vs. Michigan (17-7, 6-5)
Thursday, Feb. 9, 7:05 p.m. (central)
Bob Devaney Sports Center (Lincoln, Neb.)
Radio: 25-Station Husker Sports Network (Matt Coatney-PBP; Jeff Griesch-Analyst)
B107.3 FM-KBBK (Lincoln); The Wolf 93.3 FM-KTWI (Omaha); 880 AM-KRVN (Lexington); 1400 AM-KCOW (Alliance); 94.1 FM-KNEB (Scottsbluff); 1450 AM-KWBE (Beatrice)
Internet: Free live audio on Huskers.com
Live Internet Video: BTN.com (subscription required) 

I received more messages after last Thursday's epic 93-89 three-overtime Nebraska win at Purdue than after any game in my broadcast career.  It's not surprising. In one of the most thrilling games in Husker history, the Big Red knocked off the then-No. 15 Boilermakers with clutch shot after clutch shot and drama-inducing plot twists aplenty. 

In one of the greatest clutch shots you'll ever see or hear about, Emily Cady sent the game into the third overtime with a buzzer-beating, off-balanced, one-legged 26-foot hoist that swished through the net. The freshman from Seward had her first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds and added a career-high seven assists. 

Junior point guard Lindsey Moore canned two dramatic three-pointers in the third overtime period, the second of which put her over the 1,000 career point mark.  Sophomore forward Jordan Hooper played a career-high 51 minutes, added five three pointers and led all scorers with 27 points.  Hooper was named to the Wade Trophy Watch List on Tuesday, an extremely high honor for a sophomore. 

The Huskers' win at Purdue put them in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten with six games remaining on the schedule.  With this weekend's bye, the Huskers and Ohio State are a half game back of league-leading Purdue, but NU will look to regain a share of the top spot when the Huskers host the Michigan Wolverines Thursday night in Lincoln.

Michigan is coming off a heartbreaking 65-63 loss to Michigan State in Ann Arbor this past Sunday.  The Wolverines lost when MSU's Porsche Poole drained a jumper with four seconds remaining, giving the Spartans their 11th-straight win over UM.  Michigan is 17-7 on the season and tied for sixth in the Big Ten with a 6-5 record.  The Wolverines return four starters from last season's team, but have struggled to replace 2010-11's leading scorer Veronica Hicks.  They are second in the league in scoring defense (57.9 ppg) and lead the league in turnover margin (+4.5).  However, Michigan has struggled on the glass, ranking last in the league in rebound margin on the season (-3.5) and in conference play (-6.5).  When the Wolverines outrebound their opponents, they are 9-0.

Michigan Coach Kevin Borseth is in his fifth season in Ann Arbor and has used the phrase 'Equal Opportunity Offense' to describe his team.  Six different players have led UM in scoring during a game this season.  

Junior Rachel Sheffer, a 6-1 forward, is the team's leading scorer (13.3 ppg).  She has scored in double figures in 17 of the 24 games this year.  Senior Courtney Boylan, a 5-7 guard, had a career-high 22 points in the loss to Michigan State. She has scored in double figures in 20 of 24 games this season and is second on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg). 

Senior Carmen Reynolds is the school's all-timer leader in three-pointers (189).  Earlier this season, the 6-0 wing player became the 22nd player to score at least 1,000 points in Michigan history.  She leads the team in three-pointers this season (33) and adds 7.5 points per game.  Junior guard Jenny Ryan leads the Big Ten Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8) and leads the team in steals and rebounding (6.0 rpg). Ryan adds 7.3 points per game. 

These four players have started every game for Michigan this year. Junior Nya Jordan has started the last nine games for UM.  She missed all but 13 games last season due to an ACL injury.  She adds 3.6 points per game. Michigan has made effective use of its bench, with the reserves outscoring their opponents by an average of about eight points per game.

Borseth was instrumental in putting current No. 9 Wisconsin-Green Bay on the NCAA women's basketball map. He led the Phoenix to seven NCAA Tournaments in nine years before taking over at Michigan.

I cordially invite you to join Jeff Griesch and me for Nebraska women's basketball on the Husker Sports Network. Our radio broadcast Thursday night begins with the Husker Courtside pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. (central) with the tip-off scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on the Husker Sports Network, including Lincoln affiliate KBBK 107.3 FM (B107.3), KTWI 93.3 FM (The Wolf 93.3) in Omaha, KCOW 1400 in Alliance, KWBE 1450 in Beatrice, KNEB 94.1 FM in Scottsbluff, and available to our entire 25 network stations.  All Husker women's basketball broadcasts are also available for free worldwide on the internet at www.huskers.com.  I hope you can join us. 

There are a number of ways to get enhanced information about our broadcast and Husker women's basketball via social media.  You can learn more about the team on the Nebraska Women's Basketball Facebook  page or follow the team on their official Twitter page @huskerswbb.  I also invite you to friend me on Facebook (Matt Coatney) or follow me on Twitter @coatman1.

Go Big Red! 

Matt