MEN'S NCAA BASKETBALL (16) Miami (Fa.) 76, (18) SYRACUSE 63 (20) CHARLESTON 85, Virginia Military Inst. 59 (25) New Mexico at SAN DIEGO STATE, inc. WOMEN'S NCAA BASKETBALL (18) Virginia 69, MARYLAND 55 (20) LOUISIANA ST. 87, Texas Pan American 35 NBA BASKETBALL CHARLOTTE 94, Miami 91 Indiana 95, CLEVELAND 89 DETROIT 106, Washington 103 Tracking M' coaches ~dr im i . JMichigan football secondary coach Vance Bedford announced he would resign to pursue a position with the Chicago Bears next season. Bedford has been a defensive coach at Michigan for four years. Tuesday February 9, 1999 . . mw Bucking the odds? Wolverines will try for first conference road victory tonight Ak By Rick Freeman Daily Sports Editor Although the hype for the Ohio State basketball team may not have swelled as much as the Buckeyes' record has since last season, the chances of Ohio State making the NCAA Tournament are getting better every day. Tonight, when Michigan tries for its first road victory in the conference, it will be the fourth game in a row in which the Wolverines will be facing a team that's proba- bly headed to the big dance. Despite Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien's tsk-tsking to the Ohio media after Saturday's 80-69 defeat of No. 21 Purdue, the chances of the Buckeyes going to the big dance floor are excellent. Especially when three of their six remaining games are at home, where the Buckeyes boast a 11-1 record. At this point last season, Ohio State guard Jason M. Singleton knew there would be no postseason plans for Y>* .him or his teammates. This season, the roles of Michigan .and Ohio State are reversed. This season, it's Michigan that's coming into the home stretch with a season that looks destined to end at the United Center. "It's hard when you know you're losing," Singleton said, recalling the Buckeyes' dismal 1-15 Big Ten season sou just gotta come out and keep playing." lYMichigan, at 4-7 in the conference, hasn't fallen on z: times as hard as those of the Buckeyes last season. But they've fallen faster. If Ohio State returns to the NCAA E Tournament, it will be their first appearance in seven years. Michigan has gone in two of the last three years, and 11 of the past 13 years. Jan. 16, Michigan surprised Ohio State at Crisler, 84- 74, taking advantage of the Buckeyes' small front line. Josh Asselin reached a career high in scoring with 22. And Michigan looked ready to be the surprise team of the conference. Then they lost a game they could have won in Minnesota, helped largely by the Golden Gophers' 39 trips to the free throw line. After that four more losses, including this past Thursday's 58-34 stinker at Northwestern had the Wolverines reeling. Now, once again, they're a surprise team. On Sunday, they pulled off a 75-65 upset of No. 18 Leon Jones and the Wolverines travel to Columbus tonight to take a shot at the Buckeyes. A victory Minnesota, j See HOOPS, Page 12 would be their first in conference play on the road. .S KELLY MCKINNELL/DaIy Michigan goaltender Kevin O'Malley stopped seven shots and stopped the bleeding against*Lake Superior last Friday night. O'Malley confident in third-penod net relief By Chrli uprey Daily Sports Editor Despite being doubled up, 6-3, by Lake Superior this past Friday night, there were some bright spots for the Michigan hockey team. The energized play of backup goaltender Kevin O'Malley was one. After surrendering six goals in two periods to the Lakers, Michigan coach Red Berenson removed starter HOCKEY Josh Blackburn and gave O'Malley the third period. rrrrrrrr And even though Berenson might have had to dust him off - O'Malley hadn't played since Dec. 11, against Northemr Michigan - the freshman was solid, stopping all seven shots he faced. "It was a win-win situation because I havent played (recently)," O'Malley said. " was excited just to get a chance." In just his eighth appearance of the season, O'Malley took care of himself in between the pipes by handling a few not- so routine shots to help stop the bleeding for the Wolverines. His sprawling style of play and aggressive puck handling showed his confidence in net. "I felt no pressure" O'Malley said. "I thought it turned out well for myself, but team-wise it was pretty irrelevant, because we ended up losing the game." In fairness to Blackburn, the Michigan defense stiffened a bit in the third period, helping O'Malley be suc- cessful in relief. The Wolverines improved from their horrendous defense of the second peri- od, and limited the odd-man rushes and one-on-ones that led to the four-goal outbreak against Blackburn. O'Malley has started just one game this season, taking the loss, 2-1, to Niagara on Oct. 17 - the second week- end of the regular season. Since then, he has been relegated to backup duty, playing only when a game is in hand or out of reach. "When you get out there, you've got so much running through your mind, you just try (to focus)," O'Malley said. "When I have played, I felt I've done well." FREE FRIDAY: The Wolverines will have to wait until Saturday night to try to erase the taste in their mouths from last weekend. Michigan has an off day Friday, which will give the Wolverines extra opportunity to prepare for an important contest the following night at Western Michigan. See HOCKEY, Page 12 Iowa wrestling fans 'crazy,' atmosphere 'nuts' I HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR PRING BREAK) I By Michael Shafrir Daily Sports Writer IOWA CITY -- The scene outside Carver-Hawkeye Arena looked more like a Michigan vs. Iowa basketball game than a wrestling match. The parking lots were full, there was a man scalping tickets and fans of all ages were rushing to secure the best seats. Maybe if this were Ann Arbor it would seem out of the ordinary to see such a crowd but for a wrestling match here crowds like that are the norm. WRESTLING "The people here Notebook are very knowl-- edgeable about wrestling'" Michigan coach Dale Bahr said. "They really appreciate it." The atmosphere at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was electric, and at times the crowd was deafening. "The crowds here are crazy,' Michigan junior Joe Warren said. "Even though they only got 4,000 today, it was nuts." Iowa averages a bit less than 7,000 fans for its home matches and drew 14,000 people for a match against Oklahoma State last season. Michigan, in contrast, is lucky to seat 1,000 for a match at Cliff Keen Arena. "It definitely gives us a home court advantage," Iowa's T.J. Williams said. "You don't want to let the crowd down when they are up on their feet for you." It wasn't just the fans that gave this match a special feeling. A mascot, cheer- leaders and a pep-band were also present mat-side. "It was overwhelming for some of the young guys, I feel;" Bahr said. "But it's going to be loud and crazy at Big Tens (at Crisler Arena), so it was definitely a good experience for the young guys." Bahr said he expects Crisler to be sold out for the Big Ten Championships, where Iowa will look to rule the confer- ence for the 25th straight year. CALLING IT BOTH WAYS: For the sec- ond time in three matches, Bahr was upset with the officiating. "I'm pot real- ly allowed to comment on it," Bahr said. "But it really upset me." The rules allow the home team to assign the official for the match, as opposed to basketball or football where they are randomly assigned. Bahr said that random assignment would help the calls go both ways. "I mean, it could help us too, espe- cially at home" Bahr said. "But today's official was from around here and I don't think we got a lot of calls that we should have got" BACK To SCHOOL: Whether it was fatigue, inexperience or nervousness, Bahr felt that his wrestlers did not match Iowa's intensity on the mat. "Our guys need to learn to wrestle in these situations," Bahr said. "They need to go out and wrestle for seven minutes and not just four or five and expect to win." Warren said he hopes Michigan looks at this experience come Big Tens. REC SPORTS OUTDOOR ADVEN TURES " Backcountry DOG SLEDDING trip to Northern Ontario February 28 - March 6 $600 " BACKPACK Cumberland National Seashore February 27 - March 6 $325 " BACKPACK the Smokey Mountains February 27 - March 6 $325 I CALL 764-3967 or www.recsports.umich.eduloutdooradv for more information DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily At Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the wrestling faithful average just under 7,000 strong, giving the Iowa wrestling team a legitimate home mat advantage. El http:f/wwwmichigandaily cor PURSUING A CAREER N ATHLETIC ADMINISTRATION? Phunotung Mk~gaaz Atf~kdks There's a whole world * out there! y Exp/ore it with ContikII- The #1 tour for 18.3S Year oldsj MEW EURO~fPE t.