U,
College basketbO ticoes
No. 20 Penn St. 76, Minnesota 61 Tempe 62,,Dayton46
No. 3 Kansas 69, Florida 54 Tulane 68, S. Florida 63
No. 4 Cincinnati 75, S. Miss.~ 70 Ill-Chicago 63, 01ev. St.. 83'
No. 9 Memphis 74, Oepaul 55 'Butler 71, Wright St. 68
Page 9
Fdday,
January 12, 1996
._ _
. ,.
gee paying
gvel4 should
MICHIGAN VS. MICHIGAN STATE
BRESLIN CENTER
EAST LANSINC
SAT.,
12:07 P.M. (CH. 7)
be praised
not heckled
Things that make you go
T hmmm..
Senior guard Dugan Fife
14vided a reminder Tuesday night
against Illinois how valuable he is to
this year's Michigan squad.
Fife went through the traumatic
experience of losing the starting job
that he had held for 65 straight games
over two years. He didn't sulk,
though.
He's come out and played hard and
has found more ways to help the team
wn he ever did as starter.
"It's a
different role
that you have to
accept," Fife
said two nights
ago after he
scored 11 points
against Illinois.
- "I was hurt by it
ANTOINE at first, but I've
PI TS put it behind
ltts me."
The Wolver-
ines will need
hissaperience down the stretch. If
yoU think about it, he's the only
player on the team that's really been
through an NCAA Tournament. Fife
played on teams that went to the
championship game and the round of
eight during his first two years.
It'sa shame that the Michigan fans
&n't always appreciate what he does
onthe floor. It's unbelievable that
every time he touches the ball
huidrgds of people jump out of their
seats to yell, "SHOOT" at the top of
their lungs.
Fife's doing what he can do and
more important he's doing what Steve
Fisher and the other coaches are.
telling him to do.
He doesn't need to be heckled on
s home floor. You can let the away
ns do that.
* At Michigan football games the
attendance is announced following
the phrase, "You are part of the
largest audience watching a college
football game anywhere today."
For,basketball games an appropri-
ate announcement would be: "You
are part of the quietest, weakest
audience watching a college basket-
911 game tonight."
There definitely is a difference
between Michigan fans and others in
the Big Ten. I've been in buildings
that feel like they are about to move
off their foundations as fanatics root
for their Hoosiers or their Spartans or
their Hawkeyes.
It-hard to find empty seats in most
buildings around the Big Ten, yet you
always can find them at Crisler
'rena.
Everyone is guilty of this practice,
though. Alumni, students and even
University President James J.
Dudgstadt have eaten their tickets
morettimes than not this season.
Duderstadt has some of the prime
seats in the arena yet they have often
been left empty.
Don't people care enough about
their team enough to make sure they
re at every game making as much
Woise as humanly possible?
In other college towns around the
nation people really get up games, yet
around Ann Arbor the games seem to
be taken for granted. It's got to bother
the Wolverines that they can't get the
sam.e support at home that other
teems in the conference get.
Most of the games are announced
as sellouts. However, I'm a believer
in "quality over quantity."
* Michigan hasn't been hindered by
it lately, though. Despite the home-
court "disadvantage," the Wolverines
have managed to reel off 13 consecu-
tive wins at Crisler.
r It's funny, I seem to remember
Tshimanga Biakabutuka sitting at the
interview table after the Ohio State
game giving a different message.
A reporter asked him if he would
be back at Michigan for his senior
ear and Biakabutuka answered,
"Absolutely."
Obviously a lot changed after that
exhilarating 313-yard performance
against the Buckeyes.
One thing weighing on his mind
has to be what he witnessed first-hand
I'or
Michigan to battle a
different Michigan
State cast tomorrow
. . ,
By Michael Rosenberg
Daily Editor in Chief
Not much has changed about the
Michigan State men's basketball team
since last season - except the coach,
the starting backcourt, the starting small
forward and the uniforms.
Oh, and the record, too.
The Spartans, who finished the 1994-
95 regular season with a 22-6 mark,
have slipped to 8-6 this season. And
Michigan Statehasn't exactly been play-
ing national powerhouses. Heck, they
haven't even been playing state power-
houses. The Spartans have suffered
home losses to Detroit and Central
Michigan.,
But Michigan State must have made
New Year's resolution to play well,
because January has been good to the
Spartans. They have won their first two
Big Ten games - including a win at
then-No. 13 Illinois - heading into
tomorrow's noon contest against Michi-
gan at the Breslin Center. The game
will be televised on Channel 7.
"State's probably playing as well as
anybody in the league," said Michigan
coach Steve Fisher, whose team is com-
ing off its own victory over the Illini
Tuesday.
The Wolverines (2-1 Big Ten, 12-4
overall) aren't playing so badly them-
selves. They have cruised to easy wins
over Northwestern and Illinois since
falling 51-46 at Wisconsin Jan. 3.
"We've rebounded well afterourloss
at Wisconsin," senior guard Dugan Fife
said.
One key reason the Wolverines have
rebounded well is that they have, well,
rebounded well. Michigan grabbed 45
boards Tuesday, 12 more than the Illini.
The Wolverines are not likely to con-
tinue that kind ofsutcess against Michi-
gan State. The Spartans' strength is
their inside play, led by senior center
Jamie Feick, who is leading the Big Td
in rebounding with 9.9 per game. Fel-{
low big man Quinton Brooks is the
Spartans' top scorer, with 17.9 points
per game. Brooks has led the team in
scoring in eight of the last 10 games.
Michigan counters with a trio of tal-
ented big men - Maurice Taylor;
Maceo Baston and Robert TrayloW.
Taylor's range and quickness will make'
it difficult for the slower Brooks to stay
on him. Feick will guard Baston an&,
Traylor, who have each dominated at
various points this season. The 6-foot
8, 300-pound Traylor banging bodies
with Feick down low may be the game's
most intriguing matchup.
Michigan may also have revenge oti
its mind. The Spartans swept the Wol-
verines last season. Fortunately for
Michigan, Shawn Respert will not be
on hand to score 30 second-half points,
as he did last year at Crisler Arena
Spartan guards Ray Weathers and Th-
mas Kelley don't figure to explode like
that; they combine for only about 1$
points per game.
Unfortunately for Michigan, 14,000-
plus fans will be on hand to cheer on the
Spartans, who enjoy one of the biggest
homecourt advantages in the confer-
ence.
"State's a tough place to play," Fife
said. "We've got to be ready."
Illinois coach Lou Henson has been
impressed with both clubs.
"I have to judge them on how they
played against us," Henson said. "'It
.will be a terrific ballgame."
Michigan's Maceo Baston and the Wolverines' other big men will need to come up big to beat the Spartans tomorrow.
Ns
scouting -]
report
, 8.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg).......... .....Forward...........Quint
3-9, 12.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg)......Center.......Jami
2, 13.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.8 apg).. Guard...........T horr
-5, 4.8 ppg, 2.9'rpg, 4.7 apg)......Guard..............Ray
llhnois-Chicago worries Wolverines
Berenson says Flames historically play hard, well against Michigan
By John Leroi
Daily Sports Writer
If you looked up "total domination" in
the latest copy of Webster's dictionary,
last weekend's Michigan box scores
would probably be the first listing.
The Wolverines dominated two of the
CCHA's cellar-dwellers, whipping Ferris
State, 10-3, and then demolishing Miami
(Ohio), 13-0, on their way to third place
in the conference standings, six points
behind league-leader Michigan State.
No.3 Michigan (11-3-0 CCHA, 16-4-
0 overall) will try to continue its trend of
success with a weekend series against
lowly Illinois-Chicago, beginning tonight
at 7 o'clock at Yost Ice Arena.
The Flames (4-9-1, 7-10-3) occupy
ninth place in the conference standings
but battled then-firstplace Western Michi-
gan to two overtime games, taking a point
from the Broncos with a 3-3 tie Friday.
And although Illinois-Chicago ranks
near the bottom ofal most every statistical
category in the CCHA, it certainly won't
hop on the first zamboni out of town
when the Wolverines take the ice.
"We're looking at these games against
Chicago as being tougher than the games
we played (last) weekend," Michigan
coach Red Berenson said. "Why? Well
because Illinois-Chicago plays their best
hockey against Michigan. They did last
year. All three games were decided either
in overtime or in the last minute."
The Flames lost two 5-4 games to
win of their own. One person that might
keep this weekends' games close again is
Illinois-Chicago goaltender Adam Lord.
The sophomore lived up to his last name
in the weekend series against the Bron-
cos, turning away 80 shots, including 45
in Sunday's 3-2 loss.
But as well as the Flames have been
protecting their own net recently, they
haven't had any success on the other end
of the rink. Illinois-Chicago is second
only to last place Ohio State in scoring
futility. Michigan has more than doubled
the Flames scoring output, 79-38.
A sweep of the weekend series and
another win in Tuesday's home matchup
with Alaska-Fairbanks wouldgive Michi-
gan the six points necessary to tie Michi-
gan State for first place in the CCHA.
The Spartans are off this weekend and
Western Michigan entertains fourth place
Lake Superior State.
As Berenson put it, "someone has to
lose."
"We're looking at the standings and
anytime you play teams lower than you,
those are games you should win,"
Berenson said. "For us to be a serious
competitor in this league, we have to win
these next three games that Michigan
State has already played."
Fortunately for the Wolverines, the
conference schedule maker made Janu-
ary and February late Christmas presents.
Between Jan. 5 and Feb. 16 the Wolver-
ines have only one game against a team
with arecord over.500 in BowlingGreen.
And of those 13 games, only four of them
are on the road.
But after Feb. 17, Michigan has two
games against Michigan State, two up-
state against the Lakers and one matchup
versus Bowling Green.
So now, more than ever, Michigan
needs to continue its stellar play.
See FLAMES, Page 10
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