Michigan Wolverines

After two-and-a-half seasons where Michigan has been mostly healthy save for a lingering hamstring issue for Manny Harris and nicks and bruises to other players, the Wolverines are starting to be hit with injuries.

And just as Michigan looks like it might get one player -- Jon Horford -- back from a stress fracture in his right foot, another -- Eso Akunne -- went down with an injury to his left foot.

Michigan coach John Beilein said Friday he would have Horford, a sophomore forward who has missed the past six-plus weeks with the stress fracture, go full-go in practice Friday.

"We may give him a breather here or there but we all found out that playing in practice and being in a water tank running is very different," Beilein said. "He’s got to feel comfortable and have to play at a really high level in practice for us to say ‘Hey, let’s burn this medical redshirt.’"

Beilein wouldn't commit to playing Horford on Sunday against Ohio State -- and from the way he made it sound, it will be a game-by-game decision the rest of the season until the Wolverines actually put him in a game.

Meanwhile, Akunne was scheduled to have surgery on his left foot Friday after injuring it during the first half against Purdue. While the junior guard only played sparingly, he had been inching his way into the rotation.

"Eso had really been playing well in practice, that’s why that was so disappointing," Beilein said. "He had been making in-roads. I had put him in in the first half. So now it is Matt Vogrich and Carlton (Brundidge), unfortunately there is a perimeter guard who is out for most of the season if not all of it.

"As a result, those two, they have more opportunities now."

Beilein said Vogrich has been working on handling the ball more, but he has played sparingly this season after being one of Michigan's top 3-point threats a season ago. This year, he has made just 7 of 31 3-pointers -- and only three 3-pointers in Big Ten play.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan sophomore forward Jon Horford will miss at least the Big Ten opener Thursday against Penn State as he continues to try and return from a foot injury.

Horford had an MRI last week, which showed a stress fracture in his right foot. He hasn’t practiced in more than two weeks, doing nothing more on a daily basis than sitting in a chair and shooting on a lowered basketball hoop.

Michigan coach John Beilein said Horford won’t be playing for at least a week.

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No. 15 Michigan trailed by just one point at halftime to Virginia, but a 15-0 run from the Cavaliers and Virginia’s ability to slow the pace of the game gave Michigan a 70-58 loss in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Sophomore guard Tim Hardaway Jr. picked up two early fouls and spent about 15 minutes of the first half on the bench after Michigan coach John Beilein pulled him out of the game. But even without Hardaway Jr., the Wolverines were able to keep it close -- something they weren’t able to do against Duke when the sophomore had zero first-half points.

The Cavaliers, who had 16 assists to Michigan’s eight, executed their offense mechanically against Beilein’s 1-3-1 zone defense and exploited the mismatches in the man-to-man, specifically with fifth-year senior Mike Scott. The 6-foot-8 forward picked up his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Virginia’s defense kept Michigan from establishing any rhythm and kept the Wolverines from scoring for nearly seven minutes in the second half. It was Michigan’s first true road game of the season, as the Wolverines got a very rude awakening from a spirited Virginia crowd.

1. Beilein ran with a deeper rotation. Twelve different guys played for Michigan, but there was no real bench production for the Wolverines. Outside of the starting five and senior guard Stu Douglass, only six points came from the bench. And those six points came in the final minute on 3-pointers by juniors Blake McLimans and Eso Akunne both hit 3-pointers after Virginia had already solidified its victory.

2. Foul trouble made major trouble for Michigan. Hardaway’s two early fouls kept him out of the first half and sophomore Evan Smotrycz, who scored 10 points, only played nine minutes in the second half after picking up his fourth foul early. He ended up fouling out with 1:35 remaining in the game, but Virginia was up 11 by that point. The Cavaliers attacked the paint and Scott drew fouls from several Wolverines. Virginia shot 17-for-22 from the charity stripe, while the Wolverines only got to the free-throw line seven times.

3. Hardaway Jr. never got going. Even when he came back into the game after halftime, the sophomore didn’t make up for lost time. The 6-foot-5 guard, who was averaging 15 points a game before Virginia, finished the game with five points off 2-for-9 shooting. He didn’t grab a single rebound despite playing 25 minutes. In Michigan’s loss to Duke, when Hardaway Jr. was held scoreless in the first half, he came out and exploded for 19 second-half points, but against Virginia there seemed to be a lid on the basket for the sophomore, as he struggled to produce.