Ebe 1chfrign Dai~l hi Ai L., -N/ -A moolh-L 43 v"0 Eu .i.o"" 4 I i Il i with the raylor is solid, as freshmen go COLUMBUS - You keep hearing that Robert Traylor's arrival at Michigan is the most overrated basketball event since Shawn Bradley's selection in the NBA draft. You hear derision of Traylor from opposing fans when the Wolverines go on the road. "Fat boy!" they shout. "Go get a burger!" You hear it from those stodgy types that hated the enthusiasm Jalen Rose and Chris Webber brought to the game. You hear it from the people who whine because "players these days are all talk and no game." He's too fat, these people keep saying, and he 's too slow, and he's too foul-prone, and he 's too emo- tional, and he 's just not going to be a force in the Big Ten this year. It's time to turn to the boorish guy I next to you - the one who just can't B NT see past Traylor's waistline to the McINTOSH 300-pound center's game - and Mcintosh point out politely, in your best Oh- Classics but-I-beg-to-differ voice, that Traylor is already a force in the Big Ten. Not next year. Not once he drops some rnds. Right now. Certainly he's not headed for this year's All-Big Ten first team. He's npt even the main drive of Michigan's offensive engine. But to say Traylor's not a force in the Big Ten is folly. He's too fat and slow. Opponents barely have time to say that as he spins past them on the baseline to dunk or dump the ball to Maceo Baston for a jam of his own. Traylor is quick: not "quick for a man his size," but flat-out quick. His post moves are well-developed for a freshman - especially since young men rarely develop those moves in high school, where they often can dominate games through strength alone, despite a lack of technique. Traylor spins well in the lane, finding shots for himself or open teammates when he draws a double-team. More often than not, though, he gets called for charging on that play. This is a valid criticism of the freshman. He does get caught charging a time or two every game, and blocking See McINTOSH, Page 58 Wolverines halt skid in Columbus Cagers quash Buckeye rally, 77-58 I By Michael Rosenberg Daily Sports Writer COLUMBUS - While you were busy putting off studying late last week, the Michigan men's basketball players did something far more impressive. They became Purdue. Just three days after getting crushed by Purdue, the Wolverines whipped Ohio State, 77-58, Saturday night be- fore 13,276 at St. John Arena. The Buck- eyes never came within seven points of Michigan in the game's final 32 min- utes. The Boilermakers had beaten the Wolverines, 80-59, Wednesday at Crisler Arena. Purdue jumped out to a 44-22 halftime lead on the way to, in Michigan coach Steve Fisher's words, "manhandling," "humiliating" and "em- barrassing" the Wolverines. Fisher decided that if Ohio State was going to similarly blow out the Wolver- ines, it would be a different set of Wol- verines. Fisher replaced three of his starters in the lineup. In-Robert Traylor, Willie Mitchell, Dugan Fife. Out - Maceo Baston, Albert White, Travis Conlan. Down and out - Ohio State. "It's the same old story for us," Ohio State coach Randy Ayers said. "We turned the ball over way too many times." Way too many, in this case, was 26. This time, it was Michigan doing the manhandling, the humiliating and the embarrassing. Not to mention the open-heart sur- gery. "This was a game for us to plug an artery that was bleeding profusely," Fisher said. "We didn't have time to see a doctor. Sometimes you don't have a chance to do that." Michigan jumped out to early leads of 12-4, 18-8, 25-12, 37-18 and 45-22. The Wolverines (5-4 Big Ten, 15-7 overall) were so dominant, the first half turned into a Pick the Most Ridiculous Stat Contest: Every one of Michigan's starters outscored his Ohio State counterpart. Ohio State had more turnovers (15) than field goals (11). The Buckeyes' top two scorers, Damon Stringer and Rick Yudt, were a combined 2 for 6 for 8 points. Despite all that, Ohio State (2-7,9-9) still managed a comeback of sorts. The Buckeyes scored the last eight points of the half to make it 45-30, then stayed hot to start the second half. Jermaine Tate hit a layup. Damon Stringer hit a three. Everything seemed to be going right for Ohio State; on the next posses- sion, with just three seconds left on the shot clock, Shaun Stonerook dropped in a bucket from eight feet. But that's all the streak was -a drop in the bucket. Ohio State was still down eight, and Michigan would soon regain control of its offense and the game. Willie Mitchell hit a 15-foot jump shot, the first Wolverine basket in more than seven minutes. After Rick Yudt nailed an 18-footer for Ohio State, Louis Bullock hit a 3-pointer to start a6-0 run for Michigan. The Buckeyes were buried again - See BASKETBALL, ge 5B WALKER VANDYKE/Daily Maurice Taylor and Michigan were head and shoulders above Ohio State Saturday, winning, 77-58. Ohio State comes back to steal point from icers after blowout By Alan Goldenbach Daily Sports Writer News from the office of the CCHA. *e conference playoffs don't begin until March 8. That's too bad, because it seems that Michigan and Ohio State are either late in receiving the word or a bit antsy to get the postseason rolling. The No.4 Wolverines (16-4-2 CCHA, 21-5-2 overall) and the cellar-dwelling Buckeyes (3-14-5, 5-14-5) played any- thing but a typical pair of midseason mes between a national powerhouse a conference patsy. Friday Michigan took it to Ohio State, 7-0, in what could have been seen as a revenge of sorts for the surprising 4-4 tie that the Buckeyes gave the Wolver- ines last week in Columbus. But Saturday, Ohio State proved that its performance of a week ago was no fluke as the Buckeyes tied Michigan again, this time by the count of 2-2. The four combined goals Saturday matched the lowest output of any Wol- verine contest this season. Michigan played both games without injured cen- ter, Brendan Morrison, whose absence from the lineup undoubtedly had an effect on his team's scoring output. However, the play of Buckeye goaltender Tom Askey Saturday night was the story of the weekend. The se- nior, who seemed to thrive off the jeers of the Yost Ice Arena crowd, stopped 50 of the Wolverines' 52 shots on goal and was absolutely brilliant throughout the contest. Not as flashy, but equally as stingy in net, was Michigan goalie, Gregg Malicke, making the first start of his career as a Wolverine. Malicke turned aside 22 Ohio State shots and seemed to have the confidence of a seasoned vet- eran right from the start. "As the game went on, I was feeling a bit more comfortable," Malicke said. "I wasn't nervous at all. I knew I had to do a job." Askey and Malicke put on a goaltending clinic for the first two peri- ods, holding their respective opponents scoreless. But that's not to say that each team didn't have its chances. Ohio State had the first golden op- portunity, coming about nine minutes into the game. The Buckeyes had a 5- on-3 man advantage for 1:53, as they drew penalties on Michigan defensemen Steven Halko and Blake Sloan seven seconds apart. But the Wolverines' penalty killing unit, led by the tremendous work of Bobby Hayes, John Arnold and Kevin See ICERS,_Page 4B q ( - I cea c'rI ILLWIP~I'n/LJEY SARA STILLMAN/Daily Michigan defenseman Chris Fox clears the puck from his own end in the Wolverines' 2-2 tie with Ohio State. lue doubles upBucks on way to sweepF By Chris Murphy ly Sports Writer nstead of facing the same Big Ten schedule year in and year out, the Michigan women's swimming and diving team has the privilege of travelling around the country and competing in many different locales. Fortunately for the Wolverines, they still have the privilege of facing teams like Indiana and Ohio State at home. Buckeyes get better of series with M While hockey games against Ohio State might not seem like a huge event to people at Michigan, the folks in Columbus look at them much differently. Only when the Wolver- ines come to town does Ohio State sell out its rink - and the capacity is a mere 1,400. Ohio State enjoys playing Michi- gan. And although it might seem that would mean the Buckeyes like getting trampled - they haven't came away with a win in the past 28 games - it actually has more to do with the excitement of playing its biggest rival. Any game with the Wolverines is a fight, and this year, the Buckeyes ,. . . stomping. But as cliched as it may be, the Buckeyes stole away the moral victory, tying Michigan, 2-2, Saturday after the two teams played to a 4-4 deadlock last . weekend. Even more impressive, the JOHN Buckeyes came LEROI from behind to Out of tie the Wolver- Bounds ines in rowdy Yost Ice Arena. Ohio State coach John Markell pumped bothfists in the .,... .nriw n rrcr Rn.a - aside 50 shots, bowed to the crowd after his amazing performance. "The bottom line is Askey played' incredibly. He was just standing on his head," Michigan center John Madden said. "He kept them in the game." Although Askie played exception- ally well, the real bottom line is that Ohio State stole a point from the Wolverines this weekend. And the Buckeyes swiped one last weekend too. So while pair of ties and a loss may not seem like a great series, you'd better believe the Buckeyes' ride home from Ann Arbor was an enjoyable one. Ohi.o . Cna s a. ia fr .a lvnf WALKER VAN DYKE/Daily Swimmers make a splash! The Michigan women's swimming and diving team got in on the Buckeye beating, trouncing Ohio State 73- I