U-M’s Hillmon, Livers garner Big Ten Player of the Week awards
Michigan’s Naz Hillmon (women’s basketball) and Isaiah Livers (men’s basketball) were each named the Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
Hillmon, a junior forward, scored a careerbest 50 points on 20 of 30 shooting and added 16 rebounds in the 11th-ranked Wolverines’ loss at Ohio State on Thursday.
It was the most points anyone has scored in Michigan history; Hillmon topped the previous program record set by Diane Dietz (45 points; Feb. 27, 1982), and broke the men’s record for most points, held by Cazzie Russell and Rudy Tomjanovich (48 points).
Additionally, Hillmon set a program record with 20 made field goals — also the most ever by a Big Ten player during conference play.
According to Michigan, it was the third 50point game by a player in the NCAA this season and the third in Big Ten history. Hillmon is the second Division I player over the past 20 seasons to accrue 50 points and 15 rebounds, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
This is the third time Hillmon has been named Big Ten Player of the Week this season and the fourth in her career. She is currently averaging 26.3 points and 12.3 rebounds and led the Wolverines to the best start in program history.
Livers, meanwhile, helped the men’s team — which reached No. 4 in both the AP Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll on Monday — beat Maryland by 24 points on Tuesday and Purdue by 17 points on Friday.
Livers scored over 20 points in each game, averaging 21 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists on the week. He shot 12 of 22 (54.5%) and made 7 of 10 3s.
Livers has now scored 20 points in four games this season. He is averaging 14.6 points — second-most on the team — and six rebounds, 2.4 assists and 0.9 blocks. It is the first Player of the Week award for Livers and the program’s first since Jon Teske was named Player of the Week on Dec. 2, 2019 last season.
Both Livers and Hillmon and their respective teams will be sidelined for the next two weeks as Michigan’s athletic department paused all activities due to confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 COVID variant.
U-M men up to No. 4 with coaches
The top three teams in the Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll hold steady this week, but a rash of upsets caused considerable shuffling throughout the rest of the top 25.
Gonzaga and Baylor continue to hold down the first two spots followed by Villanova, which finally got back on the court this week. The Bulldogs again claim 29 of 32 first-place votes with the Bears retaining the other three.
Michigan basketball vaulted to No. 4, edging out No. 5 Texas by a single poll point. Longhorns coach Shaka Smart announced Monday he will be in isolation after testing positive.
Houston is back up to No. 6 as Iowa slips three places to No. 7 after a midweek loss to Indiana. Alabama and Virginia continued their hot streaks this week and move into a tie for eighth. It is the highest ranking for the Crimson Tide since the 2006-07 season. Texas Tech moves up three notches to round out the top 10, nudging out fellow Big 12 member
West Virginia by five points.
U-M women drop a spot in AP poll
The Michigan women’s first loss of the season dropped the Wolverines one spot to 12th in the Associated Press poll.
Louisville and North Carolina State both survived upset bids by unranked teams to remain the top two teams in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll released Monday.
The No. 1 Cardinals needed a late basket from Dana Evans to stave off Wake Forest on Sunday while the second-ranked Wolfpack had to rally from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Virginia Tech a few hours later.
Louisville received 22 of the 30 first-place votes from a national media panel while N.C. State garnered five. The two teams will meet next Monday in a makeup of their game postponed because of COVID-19 issues.
N.C. State was playing its first game since Jan. 3 after the team was paused because of the coronavirus. The Wolfpack were still missing their star Elissa Cunane because of the virus. They are hoping to have her back by the beginning of February.