Sports Monday Trivia Prior to this season's sweep by Indiana, what was the last Big Ten team to sweep a regular-season series with the *Michigan men's basketball team? (For answer, see page 2) ( 1 [E' (tljigittll ttt Men's Swimming Q&A Blame it on Niyo Men's Basketball Women's Basketball Gymnastics Ice Hockey Women's Tennis Indoor Track Wrestling 2 3 .3 4 5 5 6 6 7 8 'M0 N D A Y 'M' reveng Late comeback holds little comfort for Blue BLOOMINGTON - When it was 89-78, life was the pits. In my mind, I arranged my agenda for the next two or three hours: write a violently bitter column calling the Wolverines' collapse a disgrace to humanity, and, while I was at it, blaming them for this damn recession; spit on the Assembly Hall floor; and take my own life. When the buzzer sounded, 1:08 later (that's Ken basketball time, of course; in real time I had managed to Davidoff grow a full beard during this interval), my mood had turned considerably for the better. Sure, I thought, Michigan lost, but what resiliency, the Wolverines can still compete with the best. There will be a "Home Alone 3" and Ross Perot will be back and better than ever in 1996. Life was good. I entered the Michigan lockerroom expecting to see frustrated but upbeat faces. What a comeback, right, guys? You sure displayed that Steven Seagal never say die attitude, didn't you? That's when I discovered the reason that the Fab Five will probably be on the cover of a Wheaties box ' sometime soon, while I'll be trying to impress mpress people by telling them that I was the voice of the genie in Aladdin. "That's no satisfaction," Juwan Howard said. "What we're satisfied with is a victory." "We don't believe in moral victories," Jalen Rose said. "Even though I think we played well enough to win in a given situation we didn't." "It's like being paralyzed and being able to move your fingers - you still can't walk," Chris Webber said. Well, in that case, this game didn't have many redeeming aspects at all. Yes, the Wolverines put on an incredible display of basketball for the first 33 minutes, but no one doubted that Steve Fisher's troops were capable of that sort of play. Minutes 34 through 39 were awful, and that's why Michigan lost its fourth game of the season. This contest wasn't for all the marbles, but there was quite a lot at stake. Staying alive in the Big Ten race. Revenge. And, thanks to Kentucky and Duke losses a chance to return to the nation's No. 1 ranking. Now, all the Wolverines can do is pick up the pieces, triumph in the rest of their regular season games and focus on the NCAA tournament, where they'll likely head out West while the Hoosiers relax within the confines of the Midwest. See DAVIDOFF, Page 4 mission fails, 93-92 Poor six-minute span -- allows IU to triumph by Ryan Herrington Daily Basketball Writer BLOOMINGTON - This time at the buzzer, Michigan hit the three. However, the Wolverines, in a showdown for the No. 1 ranking in college basketball, again fell a point short, as top-ranked Indiana pre- vailed in Michigan's second Hoosier heartbreak, 93-92. Indiana (11-0 Big Ten, 22-2 overall), after trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half, clamped down against a larger Michigan squad and used numerous second- chance opportunities to overtake the fourth-ranked Wolverines (8-3, 19- 4). "We didn't do nearly the job we needed to do with getting rebounds and getting loose balls," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said. "It was a hard-fought game and we never gave up, but we just didn't make the plays when we had to." Leading, 70-61, with seven-and- a-half minutes to go, the Wolverines allowed the Hoosiers to crash the of- fensive boards. In a four-minute span, Indiana scored 11 straight points on second-chance opportuni- ties, including eight in a row from senior center Matt Nover, to cut the lead to 74-72. "Nover did a great job," Indiana coach Bob Knight said. "He went to the boards well and took advantage of his agility. He was a key for us." "They sent four men to the of- fensive glass and we sent at least two or one," Michigan center Juwan Howard said. "If you have that type of disadvantage, there's no way that you can't let a team outrebound you offensively." The Hoosiers continued pressur- ing the Wolverines, tying the score at 76, before Jalen Rose regained the lead with two free-throw shots at the 6:01 mark. Those would be the last points Michigan would score until 68 seconds remained in their effort to retake the No. 1 ranking. The Wolverines proceeded with costly turnovers on two consecutive possessions and failed to convert when they actually got a shot on offense. "I thought for the first 20 minutes of the first half, and the first 13 min- utes of the second half, we played really well," Fisher said. "Then they went on a huge run and statistically, that was the difference. We haven't had that happen to us this year, even in the games that we've lost. We didn't do a good job of stopping the run and getting on a run of our own." Michigan found itself down, 89- 78, with a 1:08 remaining before the team's leading scorer, Chris Webber, would hit the first of a series of three-point baskets in the game's final minute. Following the Webber three, the sophomore fouled Indiana's Damon Bailey, who hit one of two shots from the free throw line. On the next Michigan possession, Webber hit another three, this time from 23 feet, See CAGERS, Page 4 AP PHlU Michigan's Chris Webber hooks over Indiana's Calbert Cheaney in the first half of yesterday's Hoosier 93-92 victory in Bloomington. Wrestlers stumblelose to Gophers, Buckeyes by Michael Rosenberg Daily Sports Writer After fifth-ranked Michigan faced No. 6 Ohio State and No. 8 Minnesota this weekend, the murky Big Ten wrestling picture got ... even murkier. Friday, Michigan lost to Ohio State, 19-14, just three weeks after the Wolverines had defeated the Buckeyes, 22-14, in the Cliff Keen Team Duals. Then, two days later, Michigan fell again, this time to the Golden Gophers, 20-12. The highlight of the Ohio State meet was the 177-pound match, when Buckeye Kevin Randleman, the defending national champion, defeated his nemesis, Michigan's Lanny Green, 8-4. At the Keens, Green had handed Randleman his only loss in the past two years. It was Randleman's first defeat of Green. "He got two quick takedowns," Green said. "He got the ball rolling earlier. I had him tired, but I just couldn't convert at the end. He seemed a little more confident than he usually is." "Lanny had a tough time," Michigan coach Dale Bahr said. "He started out slowly, and he couldn't recover. He made the mistake of not staying with (Randleman) early and trying to get a takedown for the win at the end." At 158 pounds, Wolverine Sean Bormet, currently ranked third in the nation, defeated Ohio State's fourth- ranked Mike Schyck by a major decision, 9-0. Bormet was not so successful against Minnesota, when No. 2 Mike Marzetta beat him, 7-1. "I let him control my head," Bonnet said. "That was my mistake. I couldn't recover." "Any guy can lose on any given day to anybody," Marzetta said. "You can't let one match give you a swelled head, but ... I think I'm the best in the country." Bonnet strongly disagreed. "I can beat that guy," he said. Heavyweight Steve King, ranked eighth in the country, was defeated by No. 7 Billy Pierce of Minnesota. "I was horrible in the first See WRESTLERS, Page 8 SHARON MUSHER/Daily Michigan defenseman Chris Tamer gains control of the puck in the Wolverines' 8-1 win over Bowling Green Saturday night. Blue shoots down low-fying FalconRs Brains and Brawn by Bob Abramson Daily Sports Writer by Tim Rardin Daily Hockey Writer BOWLING GREEN - Fol- lowing Michigan's 8-1 drubbing of Bowling Green Saturday, there was perhaps no better summary of the whole affair than a series of events that developed late in the second period. Shortly after a Wolverine power- play goal by center Kevin Hilton, the Falcons embarked on their sev- enth and eighth power-play opportu- nities of the night, including 36 sec- onds with a two-man advantage, looking to come back from a five- goal deficit. At this point though, amidst a flurry of errant passes and unforced miscues by the home squad, the Bowling Green faithful began booing their team rather vocifer- ously, 'as if to highlight BG's ane- mic play all night. Indeed, the Wolverines (18-5-2 CCHA, 21-5-3 overall) simply out- hustled and outmuscled Bowling Green (9-15, 14-18), particularly on The Wolverines set the tone early, scoring just 1:53 into the game. On its first power play, Michigan displayed flawless puck movement, as defenseman Pat Neaton worked it down the right side to forward David Oliver at the right circle. Oliver drew a BG defender, then slipped the puck across the mouth of the net to Cam Stewart, who easily beat Falcon goaltender Aaron Ellis for his 14th tally of the season. The Wolverine power-play would go relatively unchallenged all night, evidenced by Michigan's final two goals with the man advantage in the third period. Just 12 seconds after Bowling Green's Craig Mittleholt was whistled for tripping, Oliver scored his 27th goal of the season, and his ninth power-play conversion, off a Brian Wiseman pass from the left circle. Less than three minutes later, after another Falcon tripping pen- alty, winger Dan Stiver ripped a He may not have the smoothness of a basketball player gliding to the hoop or the grace of a top running back. To put it plainly, his wrestling style could be described as anything but pretty. He claws. He grabs. He clutches his opponent until finally, he gets a takedown. And when it comes down to the third period, and the match is close, he begins to over- power his opponent and wear him down. Eventually, he will get on top, throw in the legs, and pull out an- other victory for his team at 177 pounds. Senior Lanny Green has been a mainstay on the Michigan wrestling team for the past four years, pulling out victory after victory with a style all his own. "He isn't blessed with great ath- letic talent," Michigan coach Dale Bahr said. "He has size 13 feet and he looks like a big puppy dog out there. He is kind of clumsy some- time-ani he is no~t real nickei Former walk-on Lanny Green makes his mark reer record against Green 1-1-2. "There is no doubt about it, I think Lanny can win the national ti- tIe," Michigan assistant coach Joe Macfarland said. "I don't even want to call it an upset, but he beat the defending national champion. He is right in there will all those guys. There are a handful of guys that could win at that weight class and Lanny is certainly one of them.' "Lanny's tough," Ohio State coach Russ Helleckson said. "He has given Randleman more prob- lems than any other wrestler in his career. He has got power, size, and good defense, which makes him ve- ry hard to attack. I just think Kevin hasn't been able to adapt to him." Besides Randleman, Green may also have to contend with Matt Johnson of Iowa State and Corey Ellison of Nebraska in his quest for the title. Green lost to Johnson, 7-4, at the National Team Duals this year and is 1-2 lifetime against him. Ellison, who finished second at the NCAA championships last season, lost to Green last season. ., ;