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The Michigan Daily-Sports Monday
January 27, 1992
Blue
. .
thrashes
Wisconsin,
98-83
SFULL COU RT.
PRESS
Webber dominates;
M' improves to 3-3
Laugher is cure
0 t
for road asickness
by Albert Lin.
Daily Basketball Writer
The Michigan men's basketball team returned to
Crisler Saturday. The result: a 98-83 victory over the
Wisconsin Badgers that was not nearly as close as it I
seemed.
After opening the Big Ten season with four of five
games on the road, resulting in a 2-3 record, the
Wolverines needed a breezer like this one - an easy
victory to regain the team's self-confidence
Wisconsin hung tight for the first 11 minutes of the *
game. But with the score 23-20, the Wolverines went
on a quick 8-0 run that put the lead at 11. Jalen Rose had '
two three-point plays and Jimmy King added a gliding
* layup during the streak.
The lead was never less than double figures the rest
of the game, save for a momentary 40-31 Michigan ad-
vantage that lasted all of 16 seconds.
"That's what we wanted to do," King said. "We
needed to come back, especially when we got the home
court. We needed to make a statement."
The Wolverines certainly made their statement,
shooting 67 percent from the floor (91 percent from -
the line), grabbing 12 more rebounds than the Badgers,
and handing out twice as many assists.
How easy was it? Perhaps Chris Webber's play best
demonstrates.
Everyone expects last year's national prep player of
the year to do well, and he was tremendous early in the
season. But Webber has been in somewhat of a funk re-
cently, averaging 10.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per con-
ference game.
Saturday, the funk ended. How does 25 points (on KENNETH SMOLLER/
12-16 shooting), 17 rebounds, six assists, three blocks Michigan forward Chris Webber curls around a Badger in Saturday's 98-83 victory over
See HOME, Page 6 Wisconsin. Webber finished the day with 25 points and 15 boards to lead the Wolverines.
by Jeni Durst
Daily Basketball Writer
Wisconsin guard Tracy Webster
was all over the court Saturday at
Crisler Arena. He finished with 24
points, six assists, and four steals,
shooting 60 percent from the field
- 4 of 5 from 3-point range. As far
as the Badgers were concerned, he
did everything.
Everything but get his team a
victory.
And not only did Wisconsin
lose, but Webster wasn't even the
most impressive player on the floor.
Chris Webber's 25 points, 17 re-
bounds, six assists, three blocks, and
two steals led Michigan (3-3 in the
Big Ten, 11-4 overall) past the
Badgers, 98-83.
"I got my confidence back,"
Webber said. "You really can't
think about the game; you have to
think less and do what you know
how to do. That's what I did in high
school and haven't been doing here."
After a less-than-stellar per-
formance against Indiana, in which
he scored eight points and fouled
out with seven minutes remaining,
Webber's second 20-point game of
his career was a welcome one for
Michigan coach Steve Fisher.
"What I saw Chris doing today
was that he got the ball in the post
where he could catch it and shoot
it," Michigan coach Steve Fisher
said. "He wasn't six to eight feet
out of the lane where he had to drib-
ble in and take a hook shot."
Webber was just one key in the
Wolverines' transition game, which
virtually ran over the Badgers (1-4,
10-8). Michigan's size advantage
helped it outrebound Wisconsin, 21-
8, on the defensive end.
The Wolverines' dominance on
the boards sparked numerous fast-
break opportunities and 67 percent
shooting from the floor.
"They hit some tough shots,"
Wisconsin coach Steve Yoder said.
"But an awful lot of them came
from transition baskets. They were
shooting layup after layup in the
first half. You're going to hit a high
percentage with those type of shots.
We just weren't able to stop the
transition."
With 8:48 remaining in the first
half, Webster needed a rest and came
out of the game. Michigan re-
sponded by breaking the game open.
The Wolverines implemented
their full court press, which led to
two Jalen Rose fast-teak opportu-
nities, the second coming off a steal
by Rose. They took a 6-0 run to go
up 31-20.
Webber then stepped in to spear-
head Michigan's second surge of the
first half, scoring six of his 25
points in a span of close to three
minutes. Webber punctuated the run
by stealing a pass at the Badger end,
pushing the ball up the court, and
threading a bounce pass through his
See WISCONSIN, Page 6
* leers drop
skidding
Buckeyes,.
* 4-2, 9-3
by Rod Loewenthal
Daily Hockey Writer
Stingy goalkeeping and a re-
newed offensive attack propelled the
Michigan hockey team to weekend
victories over Ohio State. The
Wolverines tamed Ohio State in
Columbus Friday night 4-2, and
crushed the Buckeyes at Yost Ice
Arena Saturday night, 9-3.
Unable to rebound from Friday's
loss, Ohio State came out flat
Saturday, digging itself a three-goal
hole to trail, 4-1, at the end of the
first period.
Brian Wiseman led the charge for
Michigan (12-4-3 in the Central
Collegiate Hockey Association, 18-
4-3 overall), the first of his three
goals coming 2:11 into the first pe-
riod. Michigan continued to exploit
the Buckeyes all game.
"I won't find any positives until I
watch the game film," Ohio State
coach Jerry Welsh said. "We had no
composure whatsoever. We treated
the puck like a grenade about to ex-
plode."
Wolverine goalie Chris Gordon,
starting in place of Steve Shields,
prevented any comeback by Ohio
State.
"I thought he looked sharp
tonight," Michigan coach Red
Berenson said. "He helped himself
tonight."
Gordon was pleased with his
strong showing. "It's been a struggle
for me to get in all year," he said.
But Berenson said his team didn't
completely earn its early lead.
"The score flattered us after the
first period," Berenson said. "We
were really sharp with the puck and
really loose without it."
Michigan scored three times in
the second period to go up, 7-1.
Mike Helber's fifth goal of the sea-
son, a one-on-one breakaway,
opened the second-period scoring.
"I guess you call that a definite
See ICERS, page 5
"
_-- ____ -- n- - __- __-_ -
Sharp
Shooter
by Andy De Korte
Daily Hockey Writer
Nearly a year ago, David Oliver
travelled to Columbus with the
rest of the Michigan hockey team
to play a two-game series. Playing
on the same shift with fellow
rookies Brian Wiseman and Cam
Stewart, it was sink or swim for
the young line.
With his linemates' assistance'
last season, Oliver successfully
navigated the rough waters, finding
the net 13 times and adding 11
assists in 27 games. However, the
1990-91 campaign ended
prematurely for the right wing
when he broke his leg in the first
period during the weekend opener
against the Buckeyes.
After his first return trip to
Ohio State last Friday, Oliver has
nearly conquered the memory of
his injury.
"A few guys brought it up this
morning during the morning skate,
'Isn't this where you broke your
leg?' Ijust said 'Shut up, I don't
need to hear about it,"' Oliver said.
"It's in the back of my mind, (OSU
Ice Rink) wasn't too good to me. I
mean, the last time I walked these
stairs I was on crutches. But once
the game started I didn't think
about it."
Despite the injuries (he also
missed four games in November
Oliver combines
talent and drive to
achieve goals
frustrating for him," Berenson
said. "He's fitting in very well and
it's just a matter of keeping it
together. He should become one of
the top goal scorers in the league."
HOME SWEET HOME
Oliver's hockey prowess began
at home in Canada with his two
older brothers. While his British
Columbia homes moved from
Courtenay to Golden to Trail,
hockey remained a constant.
"He started playing when he
was about five years old," his
mother Carol said. "He was
always a very good skater, and he
always scored very, very often."
As a youngster, one of David's
best friends was Matthew Power,
whose father, Garth, was a figure
skating coach. Oliver cites his
skating lessons as crucial to his
early development.
After moving from Courtenay
to Golden, Oliver began playing in
a new league. Even though he was
only in fifth grade, he made the
most of his opportunity to prove
himself. Oliver's new midget team
won in his first game, 12-3, with
him contributing 11 goals and an
assist.
It takes more than skating to
score at will, so where did his
scoring touch come from at such a
young age?
WESTLINSU LEME NT....
Turn to P!age 4 for a pe Nial look at the
Cagers top Gophers,
fall to No. 5 Hawkeyes
by Adam Miller
Daily Basketball Writer
The Michigan women's basket-
ball team, 0-4 in the Big Ten enter-
ing this weekend's games, wished
for its first win in the conference. It
got it Friday night, downing
Minnesota, 83-77.
But when it later wished for a
victory over No. 5 Iowa, too, that
was asking too much. The first-place
Hawkeyes (5-0, 14-1) coasted past
Michigan (1-5 , 5-10) yesterday af-
ternoon, 73-61.
Using a full-court press, Iowa
forced 10 first-half turnovers and
established an effective transition
game. The Hawkeyes scored 10
points off the break in the first half,
and closed with a 12-2 run to lead,
39-23, at the intermission.
"Normally when you press, when
it's done correctly, you get
turnovers," Iowa forward Toni
Foster said, who had 14 points and
nine rebounds. "So I guess we did it
correctly."
Iowa's lead swelled to as much
as 19 points in the second half. A
pair of treys from Wolverine guard
Tan N%1' ,nnc wnhr n,'Ai Mnhiit ron r_
dug for ourselves," Michigan coach
Bud VanDeWege said. "In the sec-
ond half we showed the level of play
that we are. capable of... but we
would have had to get a stretch
where we had a stop, and a couple
easy baskets (to get back in the
game)."
The game was supposed to be a
reunion of sorts for Foster and
Michigan's Trish Andrew, who
competed against each other as high
school students in the Chicago area.
But Foster said it was really just an-
other game to her.
"It's always fun when you play
against people you played in high
school," Foster said. "It's nice to see
old friends. But once the game starts,
it's just competition."
Friday against Minnesota (1-4 in
the Big Ten, 6-8 overall), Michigan
capitalized on 24 points from
Andrew and 23 more from Nuanes
to win its first Big Ten game this
season, 83-77.
"It's a major understatement to
say we needed (the victory),"
VanDeWege said. "It was big in
every way - a big relief, a big
mnrnle h,'nceter_ nhi¢ confidepnce
' v ..