The Exponent - Purdue's Student Newspaper

The Wolverines are the second team in the country to beat No. 1 Duke this season and also have a win against No. 17 UCLA. But the Wolverines have also lost four of their last five games and have a losing Big Ten record.

“They’re a good team, and they’ve beat some real good teams,” sophomore forward Robbie Hummel said. “I guess it’s just the conference is real good, and it’s tough to win games.”

Before conference play began, the Wolverines climbed as high as No. 23 in the nation and averaged more than 74 points per game, while hitting 44.7 percent of their shots. Over the last nine games, all against Big Ten opponents, the Wolverines have dropped to 62.2 points per game, ninth-best in the Big Ten, and are hitting a Big Ten worst 38.9 percent of their field goal attempts.

Michigan (14-7, 4-5 Big Ten) is also allowing opponents to score more, up from 62.2 points per game to 65.5.

“Around this time, either you’re pinning runs together or you’re trying to get off a losing streak,” senior forward Marcus Green said. “They’ve been on a losing streak, but that doesn’t matter. Especially in the Big Ten, where it’s tough from top to bottom, we’ve got to be prepared for a war with Michigan.”

The Wolverines are led by one of the Big Ten’s best scorers in sophomore guard Manny Harris. He’s averaged 17.8 points per game this season, but he has struggled of late. Harris has hit just eight of his last 31 field goal attempts.

“He’s a tough opponent,” Green said. “He’s always on the attack, always on the hunt. He’s going to play hard on both ends of the floor, looking to lead his team. He’s basically the heart and soul of their team.”

The No. 16 Boilers (16-4, 5-2) and Wolverines tip off at 1 p.m. Saturday in Mackey Arena. The game will be televised by CBS.

HUMMEL PRACTICES

Hummel was excited to return to the practice court Thursday afternoon. The Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year has practiced sparingly since injuring his back in early December.

“It’s doing better,” he said before Thursday’s practice. “I’m going to practice today and do some stuff, but I’m still wearing a brace.

“It will be my first practice since – I practiced before (Jan. 11’s) Wisconsin game, but nothing full contact. I don’t know if I’ll do everything today, but we’ll see.”

The 6-foot-9 forward has been wearing a plastic back brace that looks similar to a corset when playing. He said it doesn’t feel like he’ll be playing without it for a while.

“It just makes me sit up straighter, so it kind of limits my back,” he said. “But it makes me feel better. When I take it off I can feel it; it starts to hurt again until I put it back on.”