_ _ _ i } a'H©3 eam t31CAPS 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 Zee mk4hym 3 ait I rI7 s 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 READ 'FARAH's FAUCETT' IN TODAY'S WEEKEND, ETC. At Northwestern College of Chiropractic, we feel strongly about the quality of education we provide to our 650 students and their preparedness for satisfying careers. As our 3,000 alumni know, we can provide you with an unmatched educational experience featuring: * A well-rounded, rigorous educational program; " Emphasis on clinical, hands-on education and experience; " 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio, individual faculty attention; * Clinical internships in 100+ community and four Collegie clinics; Time's Runninq OutMEN -E .RL