crbe Airbigan & i
PORTS
ONDAY
We're going to Disney World!
Citrus Bowl
bid sends 'M'
to Orlando
By Jim Rose
Daily Sports Editor
Months of speculation and debate came to a boil
yesterday, and for Michigan, the end result - despite a
wild final weekend that rearranged the Bowl
Championship Series - was actually not much differ-
ent from what many fans envisioned weeks ago.
Michigan is going to the Citrus Bowl.
The Wolverines accepted an invitation yesterday to
play a Jan. I game in Orlando, Fla., against Arkansas,
the SEC's second-place team.
"We're thrilled to death to represent the Big Ten
conference," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "All of
the other coaches and players I've talked to have had
the highest regard for the hospitality they've been
extended from the community of Orlando."
Arkansas . coach Houston Nutt, who led the
Razorbacks to a 9-2 record in his
first season as their head coach,
echoed Carr's sentiments.
"Our players have
been pointing to Florida
from day one," he said.
Citrus Bowl Info "They can't wait to get
there, and they're happy
Who: Michigan (9-3) vs. to be representing the
Arkansas (9-2) Southeastern
. Where.rlando, Fla. Conference."
When: 1 p.m. ' nene.
htV: ABC In recent weeks, it
Tickets: ticket information looked as though the
Js available from the Wolverines might get
Athletic Department's bumped from the Citrus
Website at Bowl if Ohio State were
wwwmbuecom excluded from the BCS.
Acommodations: The But losses by UCLA
Orlando Hotel Hotline is and Kansas State on the
(4Q7) 423-2476. final day of the season
meant an at-large BCS
bid was handed to the
Buckeyes, leaving the Citrus open for Michigan.
Arkansas was faced with a similar situation. Had
SEC rival Florida not been selected by the BCS, the
Gators would likely have been selected to face the
Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl, bumping the
Razorbacks from the picture.
As it is, Florida will face Syracuse in the Orange
Bowl.
Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles said the
school had already sold about 12,000 tickets, even
before the bowl situation had been decided.
"The phone's ringing off the hook right now,"
Broyles said. "I've got 28 in my family, and I'm bring-
ing all of them."
Michigan athletic director Tom Goss said his depart-
ment did not have a total for ticket sales, but expected
to have one later this week. Goss said he expected the
University's "large alumni base in the state of Florida"
would lead to a strong showing.
The Citrus Bowl's executive director, Chuck Rohe,
said the area's appeal should be enough to bring both
teams to town early.
"It's 83 and sunny," Rohe said. "You probably could
have played 36 holes of golf down here today."
II
WARREN ZINN/Daily
Tailback Anthony Thomas and the Michigan football team will travel to the Maglc Kingdom for the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1.
The Wolverines will play Arkansas in Orlando. No word on whether Mickey Mouse will make an appearance.
Bowl, baby, bowli
Yesterday, the bowl bids were announced. Here is where everyone plays come Bowl Week:
AP PHOTO
Leon Jones and the rest of the Michigan men's basketball
team was knocked around by Western Michigan yesterday,
losing 81-74 to the Broncos.
Broncos buck
-men'shoops
in Kalamazoo
By Pranay Reddy
Daily Sports Editor
GRAND RAPIDS - Roughly a year ago at Crisler Arena,
Michigan guard Louis Bullock had trouble getting open
looks against Western Michigan in a 68-63 loss. In fact,
Bullock's record of 44 straight games with a 3-pointer was
broken.
But yesterday, in front of 6,685 at Van Andel Arena,
Bullock had no trouble getting his shot off against the
Broncos as the senior put up a career-high 32 points.
Nevertheless, it made no difference, as Western Michigan (3-
3) held off a late rally by the Wolverines (4-5) to upset
Michigan for the second season in a row, 81-74.
In a game characterized by Michigan's inability to play
defense or rebound, Bullock's offense was the only redeem-
ing part of anl otherwise Ak
hard-to-swallow defeat. ' Western M hIgmn 81
"This was not a good Michigan 74
loss," Michigan coach Brian
Ellerbe said. "Defensively, we didn't make plays. For us to
give up 81 points is totally unacceptable. We've got to go
back to the drawing board and try and jump-start some indi-
viduals to give some more defensive effort.
"I can handle missed lay-ups and missed open shots easi-
ly on the offensive end, but I can't handle defensive non-pro-
duction.
To make matters worse, Michigan guard Robbie Reid's
shots were misfiring as much as the Wolverines' defense,
forcing Bullock to shoulder the offensive load for the major-
ity of the game. On the other side of the ball, Western
Michigan's trio of Tony Barksdale, Isaac Bullock and Kylo
Jones contributed a total of 49 points.
"By keeping Reid under control, we cut their offensive
productivity in half," Western Michigan coach Bob
Donewald said. "We forced them to go to players they usu-
ally don't go to."
The combination of Michigan's unbalanced offense and
"unacceptable" defense resulted in a game-high 15-point
lead for the Broncos with just over seven minutes left in the
contest. But with the 2:37 remaining, and Western Michigan
holding a 73-62 edge, the Wolverines staged a furious come-
back by scoring 10 consecutive points.
Helped by some added defensive pressure, Michigan for-
ward Brandon Smith stepped up to aid Bullock's offensive
See BRONCOS, Page 58
Bowl
Fiesta**
Rose
Citrus
Outback
Sugar*
Gator
Cotton
Orange*
Independence
Peach
Sun
Liberty
Holiday
fHumanitarian
Alamo
Micron PC
MusicCity
Oahu
Aloha
Motor City
Las Vegas
Site
Tempe, Ariz.
Pasadena, Calif.
Orlando, Fla.
Tampa, Fla.
New Orleans
Jacksonville, Fla.
Dallas
Miami
Shreveport, La.
Atlanta
El Paso, Texas
Memphis
San Diego
Boise
San Antonio
Miami
Nashville
Tucson~
Honolulu
gonolulu
Pontiac
Las Vegas
Teams (overall record)
Tennessee (11-0) vs. Florida State (11.1)
UCLA (10-1) vs. Wisconsin (10-1)
Michigan (9-3) vs. Arkansas (9-2)
Penn State (8-3) vs. Kentucky (7-4)
Ohio State (10-1) vs. Texas A&M (11-2)
Georgia Tech (9-2) vs. Notre Dame (9-2)
Mississippi State (8-4) vs. Texas (8-3)
Florida (9-2) vs. Syracuse (8-3)
Mississippi (6-5) vs. Texas Tech (7-4)
Virginia (9-2) vs. Georgia (8-3)
Southern Cal (8-4).vs. Texas Christian (6-5)
Brigham Young (9-4) vs. Tulane (11-0)
Arizona (11-1) vs. Nebraska (9-3)
Idaho (8-3) vs. Southern Mississippi (7-4)
Purdue (8-4) vs. Kansas State (11-1)
North Carolina State (7-4) vs. Miami (Fla.) (8-3)
Alabama (7-4) vs. Virginia Tech (8-3)
Missouri (7-4) vs. West Virginia (8-3)
Air Force (11-1) vs. Washington (6-5)
Colorado (7-4) vs. Oregon (8-3)
Marshall (11-1) vs. Louisville (7-4)
San Diego State (7-4) vs. North Carolina (6=5)
Date
Jan. 4, 1999
Jan. 1, 1999
Jan. 1, 1999
Jan. 1, 1999
Jan. 1, 1999
Jan. 1, 1999
Jan. 1, 1999
Jan. 2, 1999
Dec. 31, 1998
Dec. 31, 1998
Dec. 31, 1998
Dec. 31, 1998
Dec. 30, 1998
Dec. 30, 1998
Dec. 29, 1998
Dec. 29, 1998
Dec. 29, 1998
Dec. 26, 1998
Dec. 25. 1998
Dec. 25, 1998
Dec. 23, 1998
Dec. 19, 1998
*Bowl Championship Series game
**BCS national championship game
I
:M' icers sweep Ohio weekend
By Mark FruiceScUW
Daily Sports Writer
BOWLING GREEN - The sign outside the Bowling
Green lockerroom on Saturday read "What did you do to beat
Michigan today?"
Unfortunately for the Falcons, they didn't do much.
The Wolverines, taking advantage of three scoring opportu-
nities in third period, squashed Bowling Green 5-2 on
Saturday at BGSU Ice Arena. This followed a nailbiting 1-0
victory at Miami on Friday night.
"You look at the standings and you say 'these are two teams
that Michigan should beat," Michigan coach Red Berenson
said. "But when you get on the ice and play in their buildings,
these were two hard-fought victories."
Michigan (9-1-1 CCHA, 11-2-2 overall) now reigns at the
top of the CCHA, one point and two games ahead of Ferris
State. Bowling Green's winning streak ended at two.
The Wolverines had to prevail through a sloshy, penalty-rid-
den battle before dispatching the Falcons.
Outside the arena, the temperature hovered in the low 60s,
which made the ice choppy all game long. A misty fog erupt-
ed where the action got the craziest, and players were sweating
like waterfalls.
"It was extra tough because of the weather," Berenson said.
"But we played through it. Fog on the ice in December is
something new for me."
The first period looked more like a party in the penalty box
as the two teams played 5-on-5 for only 6:23 of the 20 min-
Women
Sweekend
By Josh Borkin
Daily Sports Writer
Wins over Central Michigan and
Cincinnati were stepping stones for the
Michigan women's basketball team.
Michigan is in the midst of a six game
win -
st re ak CincinnBU 57
- one
win away from tying the team record.
Michigan outscored this weekend's
opponents, 169-95, and was able to
establish a solid defensive foundation,
while letting captain Stacey Thomas
prove why she is one of the best play-
- j~l
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