The Michigan
FACE SECOND LEAGUE LEADER IN THREE NIGHTS:
Daily-Saturday, February 4, 1978-Page 7
Wolverines high, seek vengeful victor y
By PAVE RENBARGER good part of the nation will be looking h
Special to The Daily
WEST LAFAYETTE - Through-
out the first half of this Big Ten
super-season, the Michigan Wolver-
ines have displayed an uncanny
knack for bouncing back after a
costly loss to register a crucial
victory.
Today, the resilient Wolverine
cagers face a challenge of the oppo-
site nature -- needing to descend
from the heavens and play basketball
less than 48 hours after one of the
most incredible victories in recent
years.
The classic struggle with Michigan
State is past history as far as Johnny
Orr is concerned, as he prepares his
ragged troops for yet another all-
important clash, the rematch with
the Purdue Boilermakers this after-
noon at 4:05.
THE SECOND-PLACE Wolverines
(6-3) have hopes of knocking Purdue
(7-2) out of its share of first, and
could possibly grab a third of the lead
themselves, pending the result of the
MSU/Indiana game in East Lansing.
But the game at Purdue is the one
attracting most of the interest
around the conference. In fact, the
moguls at NBC have seen to it that a
in on the action.
Earlier in the week, the network
decided to telecast the Michigan/
Purdue clash as their Big Ten Game
of the Week, preempting the game
between Iowa and Wisconsin.
With all the pre-game build-up
adding to the importance of the
game, it seems a trifle strange that
the Wolverines should be ripe for a
letdown. But that is precisely what
Orr is most fearful of, given the
emotional high his cagers reached at
State.
Orr's fears, however, are nothing
to take lightly.hFor example, after
Purdue hit new emotional heights
last Monday in their convincing 80-65
decision over Michigan, the Boiler-
makers hosted Ohio State on Thurs-
day and nearly lost, 71-69.
"THEY [PURDUE] were up for us
and then they had a letdown," said
Orr yesterday afternoon as he and
his team were recuperating in their
hotel. "That's the thing I'm worried
about happening to us.
"We were higher than ever the
other night, but now we're all tired
out," Orr continued. "All our guys
are in bed right now."
Of course, the worrisome coach
nas more on his mind than the psy-
chological aspects of the encounter.
Physically, the Boilermakers are one
of the most imposing teams in the
league, clearly intimidating the
smaller Wolverines in their first
meeting.
Across the front line Purdue mea-
sures in at 7-1, 6-8 and 6-7 in the per-
sons of Joe Barry Carroll, Walter
Jordan and Wayne Walls, and the
threesome can rebound with the best
of them. If Michigan center Joel
Thompson finds himself in foul
trouble again, Michigan will be in for
a long afternoon.
IN THE BACKCOURT, Boiler-
maker boss Fred Schaus will go with
Jerry Sichting and Eugene Parker.
The sharpshooting duo found Michi-
gan's defense delightfully porous last
Monday, penetrating with ease to
total 26 points and 12 assists between
them.
"We've got to contain their guards
better this time," said Orr, referring
to the defensive assignments await-
ing Dave Baxter, Tom Staton and
newly-crowned hero Mark Lozier.
"We'll have to be more aggressive
this time and get the foul shots,"
continued Orr, recalling the second
most pitiful statistic of the previous
meeting as Michigan was awarded
but one free throw.
By far the most pitiful stat of the
game had to be the Wolverines' 37.6
per cent field goal accuracy.vThat
kind of percentage will have to
improve for Michigan to return home
a winner.
The Wolverines, however, seemed
to regain their touch at MSU, hitting
at a 54.5 per cent clip.
"I just hope we can play that good
again," said Orr. "I don't know if we
can, but if we do, then you'd better'
watch out for us, by golly."
Joel Thompson
Joe Barry CarrU4
QUICK TWO GOAL LEAD PACES NOTRE DAME:
By GARY KICINSKI Kevin Nugent pounced on a
Blue goal and flipped it pas
' .. J;?
full court
C PRESS
Comic strip game.. ..
joke's on State
By CUB SCHWARTZ
IT WAS A GAME straight out of Gil Thorpe.
The underdog team battling State U. The leader of the team who has
been in a slump for the past few games miraculously snaps out of it. He
rallies the forces in the closing moments of the game until they finally tie the
score with seconds remaining.'
The roar from the crowd is deafening but the team stays cool under the
pressure. And with virtually no time left on the clock a young reserve - the
one who knew he could do it all along but never got the chance - loops a shot
from the top of the key.
Only no one at Jenison fieldhouse had to wait for the next days comics to
find out whether the shot drops. 'All nets' as the court jargon goes. And as
Mark Lozier raced towards the dressing room, as Johnny Orr blew kisses to
the crowd, as Dave Baxter wrestled with Alan Hardy and Joel Thompson -
+ the throng of Statelts tood dumbfounded. .
th"Anyone bt hi" cried a fan sitting behind me. "It just can't be - a
substitute taking the last shot. Goddammit all.
My friends who had finally found something to boast about at State filed
out discouraged. They had the Earvin Johnson Magic Show with impressive
supporting cast, the Sparban Spirits, home court advantage, even a special
appearance by Zeke the Wonder Dog. But it didn't work.
"It was their biggest game in so long," said a jubilant Tommy Staton,
"and they didn't do it"
Not only was it a big one for State. The Michigan locker room was
bedlam. Friends, fans and reporters streamed into the makeshift dressing
room leaving little room for movement.
A guard recovered
It could have beenthe NCAA Championships or the Big Ten clincher
judging from the atmosphere.
Dave Baxter lead chants of "Michigan, Michigan." The senior co-
captain was a happy man Thursday night. He had shaken off the shooting
slump which has plagued him since the beginning of the year by tossing
in seven of ten attempts from the field. Even more important was Baxter's
renewed confidence and leadership. In the first half he kept the assignments
from the bench on path, moving players around on offense and reminding his
teammates of their positions in the zone defense.
He hit the crucial shots which quieted the crowd's, increasing roar as the
State zone prevented inside passes.
And finally he tied the game on a 20-foot shot from the corner with 1:36
remaining. What is important is not so much that he made the shot (which is
obviously important) but that the play was designed to go to him. He wanted
the ball in the crucial situation and Orr wanted him to have it.
"We were moving the ball back and forth looking for him," said
assistant coach Bill Frieder, "and then he got open..."
Baxter was obviously pleased with his play. "Well, its been a while since
I've sunk them like thatin a game," he said. "But I was more selective about
my shots tonight.
"I wanted Coach to play me and I told him so and he did."
But being the team captain he is, Baxter was quick to give credit to the
entire team. It was, after all, a team performance throughout.
A guard uncovered
Hardy's flying slam-dunk a la Julius Erving, Thompson's crowd de-
manded encoure just minutes later, Staton's spirited defense of Earvin
Johnson and McGee's tremendous rebounding job (10) were all part of the
game of games.
Oh, yes - that other fella - Lozier. The guy who can tell his grandkids
40 years from now how he sank the shot that sunk State. Baxter had words
for his backcourt partner.
"All year we haven't had one guy come off the bench and consistently
give us good play," he said. "Lozier's been doing that. He has helped me out
considerably.
Across the room Lozier sat amidst the group of reporters who nearly suf-
focated him. They wanted to know about 'the shot.' The one every ball player
dreams of but has to fear. The shot this group of frustrated athletes never
had the opportunity to take.
"We didn't even get the out of bounds play working," the quiet
sophomore explained. "Alan just saw me, I took a couple of dribbles and
looked at the clock. It said two and I said forget it."
"As soon as I let go it felt so good. I thought it was good, it looked so nice.
If I'd have missed it I couldn't have shot it any better."
A few steps away Hardy yelled out, "Hey can you breath in there Loz?"
The hero let out a nervous laugh and looked up at the group around him,
"I don't know how to handle this," he apologized, "Honest."
He continued to relive the last five seconds of the game as he will un-
doubtedly do countless times in the future. All this time reporters who barely
Only Rip Van Winkle could have had it so bad.
01' Rip would've been hard pressed to match any
nightmares he may have experienced in those 40
years of shut-eye with the nightmare season the
Michigan icers are currently sleeping through.
The slumbering Wolverines were dealt their 10th
defeat in their last 11 conference games last night,
as the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame dazed the icers
7-4 last night at Yost Arena.
The season that had started out with such-
promise has crumbled faster than a stale bag of
cookies. Just about everything is going wrong in all
facets of Michigan's game.
Last night started off as most of Michigan's
game have lately. The Irish scored on their first
shot on goal, added another quick one and Michigan
was down 2-0 before they had a chance to get their
feet cold.
Notre Dame's first goal came while Michigan
was two men short. The Irish fed the puck around
the perimeter and senior defenseman Don Jackson
fired it by freshman netminder Rudy Varvari at the
3:43 mark.
THAT PAROLED Ben Kawa from the penalty
box, but the Irish tallied a minute later while Bill
Wheeler was still serving time. Senior wingman
lead.
"Those two goals wer
game," said a dejected Co
scored on their power playc
MICHIGAN HAD TWO p
own in the first period, b
either. Michigan's only goa
Bill Thayer fed Mike Co
break, and Coffman fired
between the legs of Notre I
Coffman's fourth goal o
to 2-1, but that was as clo
come to the Irish in the gam
Michigan had another p
start the second period, b
came to a goal was a couple
Brennan that didn't quite m,
Irish captain Terry Fai
a two-goal margin at the 4
in alone and beat Varvari.
SOON AFTER Michigan
of the period when Dave D
Mark Miller on the left si
fired a clean hard shot that
rifled off to the right boards
Notre Dame came righ
skid ding.,leers
loose puck in front of the scored when a Dan Byers shot deflected in off- a
st Varvari for a quick 2-0 Michigan player for a 4-1 lead.
The up-and-down action saw Michigan return to
e the difference in the the western side of the areana, where Bill Wheeler
)ach Dan Farrell. "They notched'just his second goal of the year as he de-
chances." flected a point shot from Brennan.
power play chances of its SEVEN MINUTES later Notre Dame's Steve
)ut couldn't connect on Schneider scored on a faceoff pass from Gaoff
Li came when left winger Collier to make the score 5-2.
ffman on a two-on-one Greg Meridith of Notre Dame was sent off at
his patented slap shot 18:04 and Michigan finally capitalized on a power
Dame goalie Len Moher. play opportunity. In fact, they took only five secQn-
f the year cut the deficit ds to do it.as Dan Lerg fired one from the left point
se as the icers were to that eluded a sliding Tom Michalek and beat Molic.
e. BUT THE IRISH got their three-goal' lead right
ower play opportunity to back as Fairholm grabbed a loose puck.t
ut the closest Michigan Michigan's defense was having trouble cleariihd
e of slap shots from Dave jammed it in for a 6-3 lead after two periods. -
make it to the goal. The third period proved to be the most excitihng,
rholm gave Notre Dame as Michigan never gave up despite the deficit Kip
:48 mark when he broke Maurer scored his 19th goal of the sea son when John
Olver pulled up on a breakaway and fed the seior
got its best opportunity center, who beat Moher cleanly. -
)ebol threaded a pass to
de. Miller skated in and
t clanked off the post and
.
it back down the ice and
Meredith wrapped up the scoring and the:gahe
for Notre Dame when he skated in on the right side
and blasted a slap shot to the far side of VarvaO -at
the 18:49 mark.
. .
Stager pessimistic about tanker victory;
, . ' ,
believes tough competition will aide team
By BILLY SAHN
It is often said in sports that con-
sistency counts. In the case of the
Indiana swim team, this is an under-
statement. For example, Indiana
won its first Big Ten swimming title
in 1961 and hasn't lost it since.
Furthermore, the Hoosiers took the
NCAA crown in 1968 and wore it for
the next five years. In all, Indiana
has placed first in NCAA competition
six times and runner-up five times.
"Indiana is swimming extremely
well," said Michigan's swimming
coach Gus Stager. Stager and his
team face Indiana this afternoon at
Robert Royer Pool in Bloomington.
"I DON'T think we'll have a
chance of beating them," comment-
ed Stager. "They're just too good."
Despite the odds against the Wol-
verines being victorious, Stager will
swim his team to full capacity. With
all the snow and cancellations as of
late (Purdue and Illinois), this has
been hard to do.
"We need competition badly,"
remarked the Wolverine's coach.
"The competition will tell us where
we are and what our practices have
done for us. And, no doubt about it,
Indiana is competitive."
Competitive they are and competi-
tive they have been. Indiana's drive
for excellence has been aided by a
variety of superstars over the years.
Among them are Charlie Hickcox,
Mark Spitz, Gary Hall, and the latest,
a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist
at Montreal in 1976, freestyler Jim
Montgomery.
MONTGOMERY, who graduated
last year will be missed. Yet, as typi-
0X
Notre Dame goalie Len Moher
takes refuge inside his own net as
Michigan's Kip Maurer (17) and
Gordie Hampson (19) tangle with
the Fighting Irish's Geoff Collier
(15). Moher was relatively safe
inside the net as he didn't have to
share it with many Michigan
directed pucks. (Number 5 on the
Irish is Don Jackson.) Notre
Dame won the battle between two
of the league's more disappoin-
ting teams, 7-4 before 4,503 faith-
ful patrons. The win was Notre
Dame's first against the
Wolverines this season and it
raised their record to 8-12-1 in the
league as compared to Michigan
at 10-13. Both teams, will lace up
the skates for the second game in
the weekend series tonight at
Yost at 7:30.
cal of the Hoosier coach Doc Counsil-
man, it won't be long until the gext
star emerges. Freestyler and indi-
vidual medleyist Djan Madruga, a
Brazilian, is expected to reach such
status soon.
Yet, nobody is infallible. Stager is
preparing his team in every way
possible to give the Hoosiers some
good races.
"I'm looking 'for surprising re-
sults," said Stager. "We have a tre-
mendous amount of potential."
Among those that Stager seeks po-
tential from are the four swimmers
who will make up Michigan's free-
style relay. Stager expects to choose
from Kevin Morgan, Tom Pederson,
Bob Murray, Fernando Canales, or
Paul Griffith.
r
SCORES
I I
Pro Basketball
Los Angeles 105, New Jersey 99
Cleveland 104, Buffalo 101
Boston 116, Washington 94
Philadelphia 106, Indiana 94
College Basketball
North Carolina Staste 83, Virginia Tech 68
Pennsylvania 82, Cornell 72
Harvard 71, Brown 67
Furman 89,North Carolina 83
~****************4*********
The CCRB will have a permanent
locker sale today, Feb. 4, from
9:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Ninety woIen's
and thirty men's lockers will be sold on
a first-come, first-served basis. Lockers
cost $9.50 for use through April 28 and
$19 for use through Aug. 18.
a
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