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COLLEGE
BASKETBALL
No. 1 North Carolina
60,
VIRGINIA 45
No. 17 WEST VIRGINIA
80,
No. 6 Connecticut 62
NO. 8 KENTUCKY 80,
Tennessee 74
NO. 14 SOUTH
CAROLINA 74,
Alabama 63
No. 16 MISSISSIPPI
87,
Vanderbilt 76
No. 25 MARYLAND 78,
North Carolina State
63
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Tracking 'M' teams
The Michigan women's tennis team plays tonight
against Tennessee at the Varsity Center at 6 p.m.
Admission is free. An AATA bus stops there, but you
can also walk if you're too cheap to pay the bus fare.
Thursday
February 12, 1998
iDA
Bucking the system
Michigan holds off late Ohio
State rally to secure victory
.
By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Editor
While losing a star player can hurt even an experienced
team, losing focus can cause even greater problems.
Last night, playing without injured forward Maceo Baston,
Michigan's attention span dissolved against the Big Ten's
doormat, Ohio State, but the Wolverines managed to survive
after nearly turning the game over in the second half.
Fortunately for the Wolverines, after allowing Ohio State to
climb into a close game, they were able to regroup and stave
off the hungry Buckeyes, 76-68, before 12,342 fans at Crisler
Arena.
Playing its first game without Baston, who was sidelined
with a fracture in his foot,
Michigan relied on a clutch 3-.
pointer from Travis Conlan with Michigan 76
48 seconds left to secure the victo- Ohio State 68
ry.
"I'm proud of our guys in the way we competed without an
integral part of our team," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said.
The victory ended a difficult stretch for Michigan. The
Wolverines played the Big Ten's bottom three teams and fin-
ished with two close victories - over Northwestern and the
Buckeyes -and one disappointing loss - to Minnesota.
The frenetic pace of the final minutes last night was a scene
Michigan has replayed all season, but the scenario leading up
to it created the drama.
A 16-point Michigan lead dissolved in a sea of bad passes
by the Wolverines and clutch shots by the Buckeyes, as Ohio
State closed the gap with a 10-minute, 20-4 run midway
through the second half.
"In a Big Ten game, every team's going to make a run,"
Louis Bullock said. "If we could have finished with the same
intensity (we started with) we could have finished stronger."
With four minutes to go and Ohio State's Michael Redd
having tied the score at 62, Michigan searched for a savior.
Saving grace came in the right hand - the shooting hand
- of Louis Bullock.
In the next minute, Bullock continued his sweet stroke from
the outside, nailing his sixth 3-pointer of the night to re-estab-
lish the Michigan lead, and then followed it up with a layup.
A 10-point halftime margin was not enough to put
Michigan out of harm's way. Michigan slipped and slithered
into a close game against the winless Buckeyes with a flurry
of mistakes in the final minutes.
The Buckeyes slowly picked away at the lead until, with 5
1/2 minutes left, Ohio State guard Neshaun Coleman hit a 3-
pointer to close the gap to just three points and make the score
62-59.
The ensuing Michigan possession resulted in a Robert
Traylor miss inside of five feet and on the rebound, Ward coni-
mitted a foul allowing numerous opportunities for the
Buckeyes.
"It's hard having Jerod play down low," Traylor said.
In an effort to find anyone who could shoot the ball in t
early going of the second half, the Buckeyes turned to guard
Jon Sanderson. As if to epitomize the streaky nature of the
game, he scored eight straight in a three-minute span - they
were Sanderson's only tallies of the half.
Entering the game, Traylor knew he would have to play a
larger role in the paint for Michigan than in recent games. And
in the first half he held his own on the offensive end, con-
tributing 12 points. But Traylor only scored five points after
halftime, playing acrucial role in allowing Ohio State to come
back.
The first half became Michigan's opportunity to slip intc
Baston-less comfort zone. The adjustment process came to
fruition from beyond the 3-point arc and with Ward's aggres-
sive play in the paint.
Redd did all he could to singlehandedly keep Michigan off-
balance. And after his 4-of-13 performance in the first 20 min-
utes, Michigan was glad to let him keep shooting.
"Everybody has to step up every aspect of their game to
compensate for (Baston's) loss," Bullock said.
Bullock, after shooting just 2-of-6 from behind the line in
Minnesota last Saturday, rediscovered his touch. He had 23
points. 0
Without Baston as the last line of defense, Michigan was
forced to search for other avenues of denial.
Michigan challenged entry passes and made simple dishes
into an adventure for Ohio State. The philosophy paid off with
nine steals. On a 2-on-1 Ohio State fast break with eight min-
utes left in the first half, Robbie Reid literally kicked away the
scoring opportunity as he sealed off the Ohio State passing
lane.
And the effort was contagious - the Wolverines were all
aggressive in the first half reducing Ohio State's opportunities
on the offensive end.
"We got a little better defensively," Ellerbe said. "We got
our hands on a lot of balls and got a lot of deflections."
WARREN ZINN/Daily.
Michigan guard Louis Bullock swoops to the basket for two of his 23 points in yesterday's 76-68 victory over Ohio State. The
Wolverines needed all of Bullock's points as the Buckeyes rallied from a 16-point deficit to tie the game in the waning min-
utes. The loss maintained Ohio State's perfect record in the Big Ten (0-10).
Tennessee has first serve for
Michigan's intense weekend
By Mark Francescutti
DAy Sports Writer
All around campus, people are
whining because they are "sooo" busy
this week with exams, papers and par-
ties.
one of the m
cess both on
So the que
level stay th
matches agai
"I think ti
Quit complaining._ same, but rig
The Michigan women's tennis team Thursday,"
most likely has a busier week than any- Terry Ann Za
one with three dual meets -- ----.__________
in four days against two Tonigh's matchup
high-ranked teams and one
bitter rival. WhD:Michigan v&Tennessee
No. 28 Michigan (2-0)
begins its stacked schedule Where: Varsity Tennis
tonight at 6:00 p.m. against Center;
No. 12 Tennessee (3-1) at 6
the Varsity Tennis Center.
But the Wolverines can't Notable: The Wolverines
rest for long, because No. willtry to defend their
55 Syracuse and its 0-4 perfect 9-0 record at their
record comes into Ann new home against the 12th
Arbor next for a Saturday ranked Volunteers.
afternoon matchup. And if
that's not enough, the Wolverines must 1997 Rolex
wake up early the next day and travel and could b
to rival Michigan State (1-1) for their NCAA cham
first Big Ten match of the season, or doubles.
Sunday afternoon. "They'ret
Oh yeah, they also have to sleep, eat, Zawacki said
practice and study during this weekend for the girls to
ost vital to the team's suc-
and off the court.
estion is, can the intensity
e same for three straight
nst tough opponents?
he intensity will stay the
ht now we're focusing on
Michigan assistant coach
awacki said. "We're taking
one match at a time."
Michigan's first
opponent, Tennessee, is
also the strongest of the
three. Ranked 12th in
the nation, the
Volunteers have an
experienced team with
two nationally ranked
doubles tandems and
three nationally ranked
singles players, includ-
ing All-American
Manisha Malhotra.
Malhotra won the
Southeast Regional title
be a frontrunner for an
pionship in either singles
a well-coached team,"
. "It's a great opportunity
o show what they can do."
Syracuse, on the other hand, is suf-
fering from inexperience, with five out
of eight players still underclassmen.
The Orangemen are winless in their
first four dual meets and have been
shut out twice. Just one player, Nicole
Strnadova at No. 1 singles, has a win-
ning percentage above .500.
The Spartans, too, have had a string
of tough matches. Last weekend in its
first two matches, Michigan State
earned a close win against Duke, 5-4,
but was also blown out, 7-2, by
Marquette -- a team the Wolverines
pummeled one week earlier.
So even after the Wolverines deal
with their nationally-ranked oppo-
nents, they have to play their biggest
rival on the road.
But, Zawacki knows her team has
two advantages this weekend.
"We will be ready" to play the
Spartans," Zawacki said. "We did not
play Tennessee or Syracuse last year so
the girls know (Michigan State)."
Michigan is also at the Varsity
Tennis Center for its first two meets,
where it has a 9-0 record.
In nine matches at the home, the
Wolverines have dominated the oppo-
sition, 67-4, in match points.
Grapplers
poised fot
Gophers
By Evan Braunstein
Daily Sports Writer
Jeff Catrabone and Airron
Richardson - the co-captains of the
Michigan wrestling team's - don't
lose too often. Richardson is undi
feated in dual meet competition tK
season and Catrabone has only one
loss to No. 1 Mark Smith of
Oklahoma State. Neither wrestler
has failed to secure a victory against
a Big Ten foe.
In a tumultuous season in which
the Wolverines have been able to
count on very little, Catrabone and
Richardson have provided much
needed stability.
When the team travels
Minnesota on Saturday, that stability
will be tested.
The Golden Gophers are ranked
third in the nation and have lost only
two matches all season. They have a
FILE PHOTO solid lineup with a nationally-ranked
wrestler in all but one weight class.
at the Four of those Gophers are ranked in
the top five. Their weaknesses are
few and far between.
Last season, when the Goph@
came to Ann Arbor, they defeated
the Wolverines 28-10. In that meet,
both Catrabone and Richardson lost
See GOPHERS, Page 13A
The Michigan women's tennis team has it's hands full this weekend. The
Wolverines host No. 12 Tennessee today and No. 55 Syracuse on Saturday
Varsity Tennis Center. Then Michigan travels to Michigan State on Sunday,
I
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