Page 8-Tuesday, February 5, 1980-The Michigan Daily 5-5 MICHIGAN TRAILS BY TWO GAMES: The B By ALAN FANGER As awkward as it may seem, Rich Falk and his Northwestern Wildcats must be commended for performing ne function this far into the Big Ten basketball season. At least they've con- firmed the forecasts of many critics by remaining in the conference cellar. i With the exception of the Wildcats' meemingly annual dive to the bottom, owever, it is virtually impossible to etect any true behavior patterns in the onference. Seven teams, including ichigan, are within two games of the My major is math Mymino is Zen I know m a9 But you al0. a 4 r 09 deserve - Especially for Valentine's Day. So if you've got a 10 on 1 your mind, now is the time to send him or her a very special Valentine: The FTD Valentine Bud FTD Vat ine bud Vase. It'll work, be- cause 10's know they deserve the best. the FTD Valentine Bud Vase is usually available for less than $10.00. As an in- dependent businessman, each FTD Florist sets his own prices. Service charges and delivery may be additional. Most FTD Florists accept American Express and other major credit cards.'x1 980 Florists' Transworld Delivery. We send flowers worldwide. Helping you say it right. Ten: tussle at the top conference lead, with only eight games left to play. PURDUE, BEHIND the steady play of center Joe Barry Carroll, has emerged at the top of the heap with a 7-3 mark. The Boilermakers garnered two important victories last week, as they defeated Iowa, 70-56, and Indiana, 56-51. It wasn't such a pleasant week for Ohiot 'ate, which fell to both Michigan State and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes, who only one week earlier were ranked sixth in the nation, now sport a 6-4 con- ference record. They have come out on the wrong end in four of their last five encounters. Minnesota, meanwhile, has surprised even its own followers by staying in the second-place contingent. Forward Kevin McHale .has received plenty of support from guards Mark Hall and Trent Tucker, whose outside shooting has kept the Gophers alive in some tough contests. THE RACE IS so tight, in fact, that Falk said after the Michigan game Saturday, "Five losses will tie for the .*.*.*. 5; :.' .d .''.+ i . " i{. . Big Ten Stan dings Purdue Minnesota Indiana Ohio State Iowa MICHIGAN Michigan State Illinois Wisconsin Northwestern Conf. W L 7 3 6 4 6 4 6 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 6 4 6 2 8 Overall W L 14 5 13 6 13 6 14 5 14 5 12 7 11 8 14 8 12 9 7 12 Big Ten championship. Whoever peaks now, who plays well, and stays healthy is going to win it. "Anybody with five losses is still in the race," continued Falk. "It's going to be a great race, and it's going to go down to the last weekend of the season." Michigan coach Johnny Orr, who couldn't avoid being swept up in the ex- citement of the race, believes the home- court advantage, a prime factor in the first half of the conference season, will weigh even greater upon the fortunes of contenders in the latter half of the slate. "I told you last week that it would be Indiana, Purdue and Minnesota because they had not lost a game at home. Now it's going to be Indiana and Purdue because Minnesota lost at home," said Orr. "NEITHER OF those two teams, (Indiana and Purdue) has lost a game at home yet," added Orr. "I think, when it comes down to the wire, you're going to see those two teams up at the top." Indiana and Purdue have the benefit of playing both Ohio State and Min- nesota on their home courts. The Buckeyes face the unenviable task of playing all three teams away from home. The Wolverines, back in contention at 5-5 after wins over Wisconsin and Nor- thwestern, meet the Hoosiers and Boilermakers here later this month, but they must also contend with Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, and Minnesota, on the road. 'The Spartans have had recent success at home, defeating Ohio State and Illinois rather handily, to even their record at 5-5. U MICHIGAN GUARD Mark Lozier, the lone Wolverine senior, prepares to 6 unload a shot from the baseline. The Blue cagers, 5-5 in the Big Ten and 12-7 overall, find themselves in a three-way tie for fifth place in the conference, two games behind Purdue. Ohio State, one of the pre-season favorites to win the title, sits uncomfortably at 6-4 with a tough road schedule remaining. full court SPRES L t j q jr t N l t o S , i f A ; ' + . " , s " 's 10's deserve flowers Especially for Valentine's Day. So if you've got a 10 on your mind, now is the time to send him or her a very special Valentine: The FTD Vlentine Bud Vase NORTON'S Florists and Greenhouses Open 7 Days -k\ i 2900 WASHTENAW between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti 434-0020 9 tS MJVE1 * _ _ t 10's deserve flowers Especially for Valentine's Day. So if you've got a 10 on your mind, now is the time to send him or her a very special Valentine: ' c The FTD? Valentine Bud Vase $10.00 NEILSON'S FLOWERS AND GREEN HOUSE DOWNTOWN Briarwood 1021 Maiden Lane 769-6361 994-6112 U ke By SCOTT M. LEWIS " HIS YEAR we'll have TWO national champions." ISuch was the refrain heard on the Ohio State campus last December, when the 11-0 Buckeye football team was ranked first in the land and the basketball team was breezing along at a 6-0 clip. Everything was rosy when Earle Bruce's squad took off for Pasadena to face USC on New Year's Day. The OSU gridders came one point away from a national championship. From recent indications, the Buckeye basketball team won't come nearly that close. The cagers from Columbus have thus far refused to follow the script laid out for them by the OSU faithful. After winning their first five games, the Buckeyes were stunned in overtime by an emotional Michigan team, 75-74, in Crisler Arena. The Big Ten Syndrome -(anyone can win at any time on its home court) - had finally struck Ohio State. When the Bucks won at Illinois the following Thursday, most observers figured they were back on the victory track. Not so, however. The chartered flight to the peak of the Big Ten has been thrown off-course, OSU having lost its last three. games to fall to 6-4. It will take expert navigation by Coach Eldon Miller to guide OSU to its scheduled destination. What has gone wrong with this vaunted, obviously talen- ted unit? Is Miller to blame? Why isn't Kelvin Ransey shooting as often as last year? And why isn't Clark Kellogg doing for Ohio State what "Magic" Johnson did for Michigan State? All these questions have been raised by angry Buckeye fans, who have been receiving a variety of answers from the Columbus media and OSU brass. A few Ohio State supporters are screaming for Miller's scalp. They complain the former Western Michigan mentor is a "poor game coach," and cite the 75-65 loss to Louisville as a case in point. In that contest Miller rested his starters after the Buckeyes had opened up a ten-point lead. By the time the starting unit had returned to the floor, the lead was dissolved. The uptight fans might also point to last Saturday's loss at Wisconsin, the second time the Bucks had fallen to the 4-6 Badgers. With OSU ahead by five and 5:19 remaining, the Buckeye bench (Miller and his assistants) drew a technical foul after a three-point play by Wisconsin. The Badgers sank both foul shots and scored the next basket to grab the lead. It is ridiculous, I believe, to contemplate the dismissal of a man who in four years has made Ohio State a basketball ep sliding... who's to blame? power. When Fred Taylor retired from coaching after a 6-20 season, Buckeye basketball was at its lowest ebb. In two years Miller had infused the program with new talent - Herb Williams, Kelvin Ransey, Jim Smith and Carter Scott. And last spring, he landed what was considered the biggest prize of all - Kellogg. Those who cite Ransey's scoring "slump" hasten to point out how his average has slipped from 21.4 ppg in 1978-79 to 14 this season. He's also taking five'f0% shots per game. On the other hand, the 6-1 senior is averaging seven assists per contest, nearly doubling last year's figures. To pin the team's current problems on Ransey is unfair and unwise. At present neither Ransey nor Miller has been the main target of fan ridicule. This unfortunate distinction goes to Kellogg, an intelligent, engaging youngster who was highly coveted by Michigan coach Johnny Orr. Kellogg was hailed by some as "the next Magic Johnson" who would bring the NCAA crown to Columbus as Johnson did for the Spartans. Such talk was premature then and seems even more foolish now. For one, Magic, as you may recall, had some help along the way in the person of Greg Kelser. Michigan " State's rise to the top was not a one-man effort. Second, Johnson and Kellogg are .different types on the court. Both players stand 6-8, but at 225 pounds Kellogg belongs in the front court, while Johnson was (and.is) most comfortable at guard. Instead of situating Kellogg outside, asO he has done frequently this season, Miller might toy with the idea of placing him closer to the basket. Kellogg's talents have not been integrated into the Buckeye system. His 42 per cent field goal percentage belies a deft shooting touch. Despite his talents from long range, however, the freshman may actually be hurting the OSU of- fense. As one veteran Cleveland sports writer noted, Miller has a pair of outstanding perimeter-shooting guards, plus Williams, a center who can hit consistently from 15-18 feet. The Bucks simply don't need another outside shooter. Ohio State reached the NIT semi-finals last spring without Kellogg. If the current trend continues, even that level of achievement will not be reached. The fans know this and have begun to jeer Kellogg, a reaction they usually save for coaches and more experienced players. The Cleveland writer expresses confidence that Kellogg would eventually perform up to his advance billing. What the Bucleye fans need most, he says,is patience. But with the Big Ten season more than halfway over, patience in Columbus seems to be wearing a bit thin. 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