Zack Novak News

Marquette turned team speed into an early season upset. Lazar Hayward scored 22 points, and Jimmy Butler had 17 to lead Marquette past No.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - While the Michigan basketball team struggled through the second half, being careless with the ball and missing a bunch of shots, one player kept the Wolverines in their Old Spice Classic opener.

Manny Harris had 20 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead No. 15 Michigan to an 83-76 overtime win over Creighton at the Old Spice Classic on Thursday.

DeShawn Sims plays against Houston Baptist on Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. The past three weeks have almost felt like an extended preseason for the Michigan men's basketball team.

The Michigan basketball team hasn't been challenged since it was ousted from the NCAA Tournament last season by Oklahoma.

Manny Harris led all scorers with 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as 15th-ranked Michigan hammered Houston Baptist, 77-55, at Crisler Arena.

It was a historical night for Michigan's Manny Harris. The standout junior recorded just the second triple-double in the history of Michigan basketball in U-M's 97-50 rout of Northern Michigan at Crisler Arena Saturday night.

Ann Arbor -- A year ago, Laval Lucas-Perry had a hard time remaining patient as Michigan's season got underway.

As he climbed the coaching ladder, John Beilein's system became proven by results.

For two weeks, Michigan coach John Beilein has handled Manny Harris gingerly. From the moment Harris injured his hamstring, Beilein was overly cautious, only gradually allowing the intensity to rise.

Manny Harris scored 25 points and Zack Novak had 15 to lead No. 15 Michigan to a 73-54 victory over Wayne State on Friday night in an exhibition game.

Shortly after tiny LeMoyne College upset Syracuse last Tuesday night in a basketball exhibition game, Michigan coach John Beilein's cell phone started ringing.

Zack Novak has come a long way in a little over a year. Novak, a sophomore at Michigan, was just admitted to the University of Michigan Business School.

While he was home over the summer, DeShawn Sims would hear some crazy things. His Michigan team had finally returned to the NCAA tournament after a decade-long hiatus and all of a sudden, the bandwagon fans were back.

Among those watching Michigan's open basketball practice early Saturday afternoon was Mike Gansey, who starred for coach John Beilein at West Virginia.

The first Michigan Madness season-opening event since 1996 didn't draw an NBA All-Star crowd -- about 3,500 attended -- but it followed a similar script -- with one notable exception.

These are Michigan coaches John Beilein and Kevin Borseth getting down with their bad selves during Midnight Madness last night.

Leading into the college basketball season openers, Sporting News will preview each of the top 25, counting backward from our preseason power poll.

For the first time in 13 years, the University of Michigan men's and women's basketball teams tipped off the season hosting "Michigan Madness" on Friday night at Crisler Arena.

From left: Michigan's Zack Novak, DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris, shown here answering questions during last season's NCAA Tournament run, are all expected to help fill the leadership void left by departed seniors.