Women's Basketball vs. Michigan St. Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Crisler Arena SPORTS Men's Basketball vs. Indiana Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m. CrislerArena ThmicianDil ona,Jaur 1,193Pg Michigan passes history lesson Ryan Herrington Blue gets revenge, beats Wisconsin easily, 98-73 Road vi*ctorites show 'M means business MADISON - It was a see-saw battle through much of the first half of Saturday's Michigan-Wisconsin matchup. By Wisconsin coach Stu Jackson's own admission, the Badgers were an undermanned squad, and yet the Wolverines were struggling on offense, turning the ball over 11 times in the opening 20 minutes. It was the Big Ten and Michigan was on the road. The sellout crowd at the Wisconsin Field House was vocal and into the action. At the 7:26 mark of the first half, the third-ranked Wolverines had a scant two-point cushion as the officials called for a TV time-out. It was the type of game that in the past Michigan has faltered in - facing a lesser opponent in a game the Wolverines expected to win. The Wolverines had to look no further than last season's contest in Madison to understand that simply being talented doesn't guarantee anything. Despite sporting a 3-9 record in the Big Ten at the time, the Badgers humiliated Michigan, 96-78. Yet, this was a game the Wolverine squad had to win if it wants to seriously contend for the conference title. Big Ten champions do not falter at Wisconsin. Unlike in the past, Michigan understood what it had to do. Steve Fisher and his crew had to pick up their game mentally and overcome the various distractions they faced. Excuses no longer would suffice. The Wolverines had to find a way get out of Madison with a road victory. And they did, convincingly, 98-73. The two-point lead quickly grew after that time-out at 7:26. The Wolverines took advantage of their greatest asset - size - and went on a 7-0 run. For the rest of the afternoon it was Michigan's inside trio - Chris Webber, Eric Riley and Juwan Howard - who dominated the game. It was as if the three took it upon themselves personally to leave Madison this year with a victory; to avenge last year's mental lapse. On countless occasions, the three simply outperformed their opponents on the offensive glass, making put-backs for easy baskets. The numbers *, speak for themselves. Webber: 20 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes. Riley: eight points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes. And then there was Howard. Before the game, the sophomore had made a bet with assistant coach Perry Watson that he would have 20 rebounds against the Badgers, a strong statement considering his previous single- game best had been 13 against Notre Dame last season. Today, Howard is collecting. Eighteen points and 20 rebounds in 31 minutes. Howard's performance was made all the more impressive by the fact that the entire Wisconsin team finished with only five more boards than the See WISCONSIN, Page 11 by Andy De Korte Daily Basketball Writer MADISON - While the Duke rematch illustrated few signs of a maturing basketball team, Michigan showed everyone it has indeed learned much since last season's 96- 78 drubbing against Wisconsin. The Wolverines (2-0 Big Ten, 12-1 overall) hounded the Badgers (0-1, 7-3), grabbing more than dou- ble the rebounds, 57-25, forcing a 39.4 percent shooting percentage, and running away with a 98-73 vic- tory. What caused the 43-point swing? How could two teams whose major players remained unchanged play such a vastly different game? "The biggest difference was in- tensity," said forward James Voskuil, starting in place of the in- jured Ray Jackson. "Last year they came out strong and played good. We were in the middle of the Big Ten race and they kind of embar- rassed us." .Juwan Howard not only felt the heat from the last trip to Madison, but also was not pleased with his performance last Thursday vs. Pur- due. He responded to his own pres- sure with a career-high 20 rebounds. In the first half he outrebounded the entire Wisconsin team. "The Purdue game, I was upset I only got three rebounds and I had to make that up somehow," Howard said. "My attitude today was to go out and attack the boards. Chris (Webber) has been doing a great job rebounding, and I feel I haven't helped him out enough." Help abounded Saturday. Four starters scored in double figures, led by Webber's 20. Senior center Eric Riley played a key role in establish- ing the dominance of the Wolverine big men with eight points and nine rebounds. After having slow starts after in- termission in a number of games be- fore the beginning of the Big Ten season, an 8-0 streak highlighted by short shots increased the Michigan lead to 52-32. The run forced even the Badger diehards to accept the in- evitable defeat. The crowd would never again become a factor and the team never got any closer than 17 points. Throughout the second half Wis- consin toiled long for each scoring opportunity. While they managed to shoot over 41 percent in the second; half, Michigan answered with a blistering 55 percent. The Wolveri- nes' running scoring summary read like a shooting drill - lay-up, lay- in, driving lay-up, and dunk. Wisconsin's leading scorers, See MICHIGAN, Page 11 MICHIGAN (98) FG FT Rob. Min. M-A K-A 0-T A F Pts. Voskuil 21 1-2 0-0 0-5 1 3 2 Webber 26 8-11 4-4 2-5 2 4 20 Howard 31 6-13 6-8 5-20 2 1 18 King 32 6-11 4-4 6-7 3 2 16 Rose 32 7-18 4-6 1-4 6 2 18 Riley 18 4-5 0-0 6-9 0 2 8 Pelinka 18 2-5 3-3 0-1 0 2 7 Fife 12 0-1 1-2 1-0 0 1 1 Derricks 6 0-1 2-4 0-0 0 0 2 Bossard 3 3-4 0-0 1-1 0 0 6 Dobbins 1 0-0 0.2 11 0 00 Totals 200 37-7124-33 25-57 14 17 98 FG%- .521. FT%- .625. Three-point goals: 0-7, .000 (Rose 0-2. Bossard 0-1, King 0-1, Pelinka 0-1, Voskuil 0-1, Webber 0-1). Team rebounds: 4. Blocks: 6 (Riley 2, Webber 2. King. Voskui). Turnovers: 21 (King 6 Howard 4, Voskul 3, Webber 3, Rose 2, Derricks, Fie, Riley). Steals: 7 (Webber 2. Fife, Howard, King. Rose, Webber). Technical fouls: none. WISCONSIN (73) FG FT Rob. Min. K-A M-A OT A F Pt.. Kelley 15 0-4 1-2 1-1 0 3 1 Finley 33 7-16 1-1 4-8 6 4 17 Harrell 18 0-1 2-2 0-3 0 1 2 Webster 38 9-20 4-4 0-3 5 3 25 Kilbride 17 1-4 0-0 0-1 0 4 3 McGee 16 2-4 0-0 2-3 1 3 4 Ely 15 1-2 1-3 0-0 0 3 3 Johnsen 23 2-5 0-1 0-3 1 1 6 Carl 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Johnson 10 0-2 2-2 1-1 0 1 0 McDuff le 7 1-2 0-0 1-1 0 2 2 ata 2 002 1 -1314 S f26 T FG/- .394. FT%-.765. Three-point goals: 8- 26, .308 (Webster 3-9, Finley 2-8. Johnsen 2-5, Kilbride 1-4). Team rebounds: 1. Blocks: 1 (Finley). Turnovers: 17 (Finley 5, Webster 4, Harrell 2, Carl, Johnsen. Kelley, Kilbride, McDuffie. McGee). Steals: 6 (Finley 2, Webster 2, Kilbride, McGee). Technical fouls: none. Michigan ................ 44 54 - 98 Wisconsin .......32 41 - 73 At Wisconsin Field Hou se; A-il1,500 (paid) DOUGLAS AN I cWIy Chris Webber lays in two of his team-high 20 points dUring Saturday's game at Wisconsin:The Wolverines 98-73 victory was their 11th consecutive win. Goalie Steve Shields stops a shot during the Friday night victory over UIC. Flames burn Blue In weekend series WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Purdue cruises, 99-64 by Jaeson Rosenfeld Daily Basketball Writer The Purdue women's basketball team gave Michigan a lesson in the meaning of the word execution in yesterday's 99-64 thrashing at Crisler Arena. Going into the game, Michigan coach Trish Roberts knew her team had matchup problems. When the game was over, it was obvious that Boilermaker coach Lin Dunn had done her homework. Because of the indefinite disci- plinary suspension of guard Jen Nu- anes and the loss of guard Tannisha Stevens, the Wolverines were left with only one true ballhandler in se- nior Stacie McCall. While McCall faced only occasional pressure against Indiana on Friday night, Purdue applied full-court pressure for most of the game. "In the full court we were able to do what we wanted to do, pressure number 10 (McCall)," Dunn said. "I played four different people on her. Every time a sub came in she took her." McCall did an admirable job, turning the ball over only five times while facing 40 minutes of intense presssure from the Purdue defense. But the defensive pressure resulted in 24 turnovers overall for Michigan, and knocked the Wolverines' of- fense out of sync. "They knew after scouting the game Friday night that we had one basic ballhandler," Roberts said. Wn Take a Spring Break reality check. Trash the trappings of winter and school, and don the warmth of a tropical island. Next, slip into the rippin' blue waters of South Padre. Soak up the sun on our 34 miles of white sand beaches. Our playground has beach volleyball, sand castle : building contests and n lots of really cool entertainment. by Chad A. Safran Daily Hockey'Writer CHICAGO - All seemed to be going the way of the Michigan Wolverines in their game Saturday against Illinois-Chicago. Despite the absence of junior center Brian Wiseman, who re-aggravated his ailing back during warm-ups, the Wolverines jumped out to a 3-1 first-period lead. But at the 16:23 mark of the first stanza, all began to fall apart for Michigan. Cam Stewart's fighting major, which resulted in a game dis- qualification, was the turning point of the game. The Flames capitalized on the absence of two of Michigan's top three scorers to topple the Wolverines, 6-4, and sDlit the weekend series. Michigan a 2-on-1 bearing down on Michi- gan goalie Steve Shields. Right wing Link 'Bessert grabbed the puck along the boards, skated in and slid the puck to Cory Hextall, who one-timed it into the net. Flames 4, Wolverines 3. "That was a big letdown," said Michigan center Mike Stone. "We came out fired up, but we let up. It took us a while to bounce back." Unfortunately for the Wolver- ines, that bounce came much too late. Just 19 seconds into the third period, Bessert scored his second goal of the game as his shot hit Shields in the chest and then rolled behind the fallen goalie. If the short-handed goal was demor- alizing, then this one was devastating. "We gave up goals that hurt f'/lR1ti " 7 #Mir Ilatmtr frnm the haarh anri ' A / i ,l ~