- The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 13, 1998
By B.J. Luna
- Daily Sports Witer
It is often said that he who lauihs last. laughs
loudest. Tonight, the Michigan women's basket-
ball team hopes it will be the one leti laughing as
it heads to State College to take on Penn State.
The Nittany Lions were the ones who were
laughing the last time these two teams met, when
the Wolverines squandered a 13-point second-
half lead and lost the game in overtime, 85-84.
Michigan will no doubt be looking to redeem
itself when it faces Penn State at 7 p.m. in Bryce
Jordan Arena.
Revenge "is on our minds, but that's not what
we're focusing on," Michigan coach Sue
Guevara said. "After reviewing the tape for the
900th time, I still can't believe we lost that
game.
This is not the same Michigan team that
allowed a double-digit lead to slip away at home
on Jan. 4. These Wolverines are coming off a
gutsy, come-from-behind thriller at Purdue this
past Sunday. The road victory pushed Michigan
to 7-5 in the Big Ten, 15-7 overall,
"I don't think we've peaked yet," Guevara
said. "I'm hoping we'll gel as a team in these
JOHN KRAFT/Daily next few weeks."
hgan center Pollyanna Johns will be fighting off a host of Nittany Lions in tonight's game. Johns and It just so happens that Penn State also has a 7-
rest of the Wolverines will be looking to avenge a Jan. 4 loss to Penn State. 5 record in the Big Ten to go with a 13-9 overall
slook to turn tables
Ucertain only thing certain
or Michigan men's basketball
V James Goldstein
hiy Sports Writer
Three weeks ago, I was thinking Sweet
for Michigan. Now, I don't know what
think.
What is it about this team that loves to
v with the fans and writers, give
impses of greatness, then just a few
ines later display games of mediocrity?
The Wolverines are 18-7, 8-4 in the
igTen, two days after struggling to beat
e conference cellar-dweller, 0-10 Ohio
ate, at Crisler
rcna. Right now,
ichigan sits in Basketball
urth place in the Commentary
nference, a
ilf-game ahead
r Indiana, with conference leader
ichigan State next on the schedule.
Michigan is one victory ahead of last
ar's pace, after this year's quick 5-1
nference start.
'After 25 games last year, the
biverines were 17-8 and 7-4 in the con-
rence. Michigan was in the middle of a
\-losses-in-seven-games slide that all
it eliminated the Wolverines from the
GAA Tournament.
After watching Michigan allow a team
it has lost 13 consecutive games to
)le back from a 16-point deficit at
isler Arena (which is looking more like
neutral site than a home court nowa-
ys), those visions I had weeks ago of
this team being an NCAA Tourney threat
are fading away as quickly as the Crisler
attendance.
Is this team an NCAA Tournament
team? Maybe that's jumping the gun just
a bit.
Is this team going to make any noise in
the inaugural Big Ten tournament? That's
the more pertinent question. It looks as
though the Wolverines may get trapped in
a first-round matchup against Indiana as
a No. 4 or No. 5 seed.
Michigan already got blown out by the
Hoosiers at Assembly Hall. The
Wolverines get their chance for revenge
against Indiana a week from Sunday, at
Crisler. What if Michigan loses two more
games to the Hoosiers? Losing to the
same conference team three times can't
sit too well when the selection committee
chooses its 64-team pool.
I would hate to be a betting man. I
would like to know the person who is
making any money on this team. Let's
recount the ups and downs.
Michigan started the season with a bad
loss (really bad) against Western
Michigan. But the Wolverines surprised
then-No. 1 Duke in December -- a good
win (exceptionally good).
And throughout the season and down
the winding Big Ten road, Michigan has
had a number of bad losses (against
Bradley, Eastern Michigan and
Minnesota), good wins (over Syracuse,
Michigan State and Iowa) and close vic-
tories that just make you shake your head
(over Towson, Detroit and Ohio State).
One game Louis Bullock will be
unconscious from the field and in anoth-
er, he won't have more than 10 field-goal
attempts. Jerod Ward shows signs of
increasing his aggressiveness, and then
the next game, he looks hesitant.
Without Maceo Baston, there will be
no room for error. Bullock, Ward and
Robert Traylor got off to a good start
without Baston against Ohio State. But
as a team, Michigan looked just OK.
Now, the Wolverines face the Spartans
next Tuesday. Michigan State has thrived
on rebounding and defense all season
long, two of Baston's assets.
Consider this: What if Traylor gets in
foul trouble? OK, then Josh Asselin has
to play more. But what if Asselin is sim-
ilarly plagued with fouls ?
The next big man in the rotation is ....
Peter Vignier.
Without Baston, no game will be a
guaranteed victory for Michigan. That
includes Penn State and also Wisconsin,
which two days ago set a school record
fbr fewest points in a game, with 39.
Count on a low-scoring affair with the
Badgers - there's no doubt about that.
What can we expect from the
Wolverines for the rest of the season? We
can't expect anything - we can only
guess.
The University of Michigan
Department of Recreational Sports
JINTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM
WHAT'S
HAPPENING
U
PRE-SEASON
VOLLEYBALL
ENTRIES TAKEN:
Mon 2/16 to Thurs 2/19
11:00 AM to 4:30PM -
ENTRY FEE:
$30 per team
MANAGER'S MEETING:
MANDATORY
Thurs 2/19, 6:00 PM, IMSB
TOURNAMENT DATES:
Sat & Sun 2/21 & 2/22, IMSB
VOLLEYBALL
ENTRIES TAKEN:
Monday 2/23 ONLY
11:00 AM to 5:30 PM, IMSB
ENTRY FEE:
$65 per team
MANAGER'S MEETING:
MANDATORY
Weds 2/25, 6:00 PM, IMSB
PLAY BEGINS:
MONDA Y 3/9
IMSB
=t.
<I,
w./
t *
f
RELAYS MEET
ENTRIES DUE:
Tues 2/24, 4:30 PM, IMSB
ENTRY FEE:
$25 per team
MEET DATE:
Weds 2/25
U of M Track Building
EVENTS:
1/2 Mile (each runs 1 lap)
3/4 Mile (2 = 1 lap; 2 = 2 laps)
1 Mile (each runs 2 laps)
2 Mile (4 = 2 laps; 2 = 4 laps)
,* .
MINI-SOCCER
ENTRIES TAKEN:
Tuesday 3/10 ONLY
11:00 AM to 5:30 PM, IMSB
ENTRY FEE:
$65 per team
MANAGER'S MEETING:
MANDATORY
Weds 3/11, 6:00 PM, IMSB
PLAY BEGINS:
Thursday 3/12
Sports Coliseum
.
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