Sports Monday Trivia What was the team to win a Bowl? last AFC Super Inside Sports Monday 'M' Sports Calendar 2 AP Top 25 2 Athlete of the Week 2 Q&A 3 Sheran My Thoughts 3 Women's Gymnastics 3 Wrestling Supplement 4 Ice Hockey 5 Track 6 Swimming 7 Men's Volleyball 7 Fencing 8 (For the answer, turn to page 2) ' - i' 4 , ,.,. 4:- # 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 ..