Trey Burke Is Lights Out for Michigan in Win over Minnesota; Pitt Loses Third Straight

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, January 1, 2012

The Michigan Wolverines are hoping to get back to the kind of quality team that was a regular at the NVAA tournament, but they've only been to the tournament twice since 1998 - in 2009 and 2011 - both times being beaten in the second round.

This season's vintage of Wolverine basketball may make a better showing, especially if they begin shooting the ball better. In Sunday's 61-56 win over Minnesota, the Wolverines shot just 38.5% from the field, but were bailed out by Trey Burke's sharpshooting.

The 6'1" freshman guard scored a game high and career-best 27 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including going 2-for-2 from outside the 3-point line and making 9 of 11 free throws. While Burke was efficient, the rest of the Michigan squad sot a combined 12-for-41 for the game, making just 4 of 18 3-point attempts and hitting 6 of 12 from the foul line.

The Wolverines, ranked 18th in the latest AP poll, won their seventh straight, improving to 12-2 and 2-0 in the Big Ten. Their next two games are both against ranked opponents. Michigan travels to Indiana on January 5 and then returns home for a meeting with Wisconsin on January 8.

NOTABLE: Once a top 10 team, the Pittsburgh Panthers have hit a rough spot in their schedule, losing their last three straight, including Sunday's 66-63 loss to 13-2 Cincinnati. The two previous losses were to Wagner and Notre Dame, after the Panthers had won nine straight and were cruising with an 11-1 record. Now, at 11-4, he Panthers are in danger of falling out of the Top 25.