MEN'S NCAA
BASKETBALL
(17) INDIANA 90,
(21) Purdue 86
(11) St. John's 80,
WEST VIRGINIA 68
(3) AUBURN 95,
Mississippi 66
NBA
BASKETBALL
PHILADELPHIA 90,
Detroit 86
Milwaukee 91,
TORONTO 77
Boston 108,
MIAMI 101
MINNESOTA 74,
San Antonio 70,
Atlanta 87,
Chicago 71
Utah 90,
DALLAS 79
Sacramento 112,
PHOENIX 95
Golden State at
SEATTLE, inc.
Ulie k~rwnI s~
Check out the women's swimming and diving team
this Friday, Saturday and Sunday as the Wolverines
compete in the Michigan Invitational at Canham
Natatorium.
1
Wednesday
February 10, 1999
10
Blue gymnasts look
to 'step lt up' in '99
By Stephen A. Rom
Daily Sports Writer
"Steppin' it up in 99"'is this season's
slogan for the Michigan women's gym-
nastics team.
Whoever came up with it couldn't
have chosen a better phrase to describe
the Wolverines.
After consec- --------------
utive meets in Gymnastics
which Michigan C .
has turned in
sub-par perfor-
mances, the Wolverines find them-
selves most definitely needing to "step
it up."
Even though the Wolverines had a
season-best team score of 195.325 in a
victory over Ohio State and Rhode
Island a couple weeks ago, Michigan
still have reason for concern. The per-
son most concerned is Michigan coach
Bev Plocki, who downplayed the victo-
ry.
Plocki said it was more due to the
inability of the other schools to "nail
four events" than any Wolverine domi-
nance.
Michigan registered falls on the bal-
ance beam that night against the
Buckeyes and continued down the
same road with a total of six (in all
events) in last weekend's meet - the
State of Michigan Classic.
The Wolverines' mistakes left them
with a bitter second place finish behind
Central Michigan. And for a team with
Michigan's capability and promise -
as to be expected from returning Big
Ten champions - performances like
these can surely become frustrating.
"We can't put four events together,"
Plocki said. "There's no problems
physically. I don't know if it's confi-
dence, concentration, or what."
Even more troubling is the lack of a
clear-cut solution to their problems.
"It's hard to say what we can do dif-
ferent," Plocki said. And, trying to look
for an area to focus on, "Is like a crap-
shoot"
Perhaps the most frustrating thing
for Michigan is the domino effect that
has been gaining momentum in their
recent performances. What could also
be classified as contagiousness, it
seems that every time something goes
wrong for one of the athletes, another
follows suit.
"Mistakes happen - They have to
worry about their own performances;"
Plocki said.
Despite this mid-season skid, most
of the Wolverines themselves remain
confident that things are going to
change.
"We just have to go out there and hit
24 of 24 (routines)," Michigan senior
Kathy Burke said.
Burke has reason to be confident as
her resent performances on the balance
beam have been as good as anyone on
the team. She even won the event, with
a score of 9.800, against Ohio State.
Another Wolverine who has been a
steady performer is senior Beth
Amelkovich. Returning form knee
surgery to continuously post winning
scores this season, she too has high
hopes for this year's squad.
"We're the kind of team that can win
a national championship and we are not
afraid to say that" Amelkovich said.
"That's what we want to do"
Taking into consideration the lofty
goals of her team, one thing that coach
Plocki can at least be assured of, is that
a lack of direction is certainly not the
problem for the Wolverines.
Reclaiming the Big Ten title, win-
ning the NCAA regional and perform-
ing to expectations - and capability
- in the NCAA Championships will
be.
LOUIS BROWN/Daily
Michael Redd or the Buckeyes last night. The 74-69 loss all but
Leon Jones, Josh Asselin and Peter Vignier couldn't stopI
killed Michigan's already-slim postseason hopes.
Penn,
Redd
sink 'M'
By Josh Klenbaum
Daily Sports Editor
COLUMBUS - If the Michigan
men's basketball team had been hooked
up to an EKG during last night's game
against Ohio State (8-3 Big Ten, 18-6
overall), it just might have looked as
though the Wolverines suffered a heart
attack.
The end result? A flat line, as Ohio
State guards Scoonie Penn and Michael
Redd took over the final minutes of the
game, essentially killing Michigan's
postseason hopes and leading the
Buckeyes to a 74-69 victory.
With just 1:48 left in the game and the
Wolverines
(4-8, 10-15) OHIOSTATE 74
trailing, 68- MICHiGAN 69
Michigan
guard Robbie Reid stole a pass and
Michigan appeared to be in the driver's
seat.
But then Ohio State's dynamic guards
took over. With 56 seconds left, Redd
made the biggest - and most spectacu-
lar - play of the game.
Near the free throw line, he put a spin
move on Michigan guard Louis Bullock,
then, seeing the shot wasn't there, he
made a no-look underhanded pass
aroundMichigan's Josh Asselin to wide-
open Ohio State forward Ken Johnson.
Johnson slammed the ball home to give
the Buckeyes a three-point lead.
On the Wolverines' next possession,
Redd deflected the ball out of Bullock's
hands, broke down the court with it and
drew a foul.
Then Penn found forward Jason
Singleton under the net. Singleton was
fouled.
Singleton missed both of his free
throws, giving the Wolverines a glimmer
of hope. But Redd soon dashed
Michigan's chances. The guard got his &
hand on the rebound of Singleton's
missed free throw and tipped the ball out
to Penn, who was fouled.
"We played great basketball for 37
minutes;" Reid said. "We just made a
couple of mistakes in the end.'
The Wolverines scored just two points
in the final three and a half minutes -
both came with just 3.7 seconds left.
"We didn't make plays with the game
on the line," Michigan coach Brian'
Ellerbe said. "Their big guns came
down and made plays, and ours didn't."
The first 37 minutes was a see-saw
battle, resulting in perhaps Michigan's
most exciting game of the season. The
two teams were nearly even in rebounds,
shooting percentages and ball control.
The difference, though, was the guard
play. Both Bullock and Reid took forced
shots - especially Bullock, who strug-
gled throughout the game connecting on
just three out of 12 attempts. In contrast,
Redd and Penn did a great job finding
the open man when a shot wasn't avail-
able.
In the first half, the Wolverines were
able to avoid their usual road pitfall -
falling well behind early - thanks to
strong rebounding and stingy defense,
particularly by guard Leon Jones, who
caused havoc for the Buckeyes on the
defensive end.
To be eligible for the NIT, the
Wolverines would have to win all four of
their remaining games and two in the
Big Ten Tournament.
Offset printingI
Redd eludes Michigan defense
By Pranay Reddy
Daily Sports Editor
COLUMBUS - The Michigan
men's basketball team learned one
thing in its 74-69 loss to Ohio State last
night - it's hard to lock up Michael
Redd.
Though the Wolverines accom-
plished that feat in Crisler Arena on
Jan. 16 in an 84-74 victory over the
Buckeyes, Michigan couldn't do the
same thing on the road.
The wily, 6-foot-6 guard put on a
show for the Wolverines last night. This
came after he played played his worst
game of the season against Michigan a
month earlier.
Redd was a renaissance man for the
Buckeyes, scoring 22 points on 9-for-
13 shooting, as well as grabbing six
rebounds and dishing out three assists.
This time around, Redd wanted to
make sure he lived up to the hype as
one of the Big Ten's best players -
especially after his first performance
against the Wolverines.
That "was in the back of my mind,"
Redd explained. "I wanted to play bet-
ter than I did in Ann Arbor - I wanted
to find my teammates a little bit more
and play better defense.
"The difference between this game
and the one in Ann Arbor is that we
played harder."
While Redd had his scoring groove
on - to the tune of his 22 points last
night - it was his defense and passing
that made the difference for the
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FIELD POSITIONS
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Buckeyes.
With more than a minute left in the
contest and Ohio State up 68-67, Redd
began to take over for the Buckeyes,
practically willing them to victory.
Michigan guard Louis Bullock
attempted to shake Redd, but the lanky
sophomore stayed with his man and
forced a missed jumper from
Michigan's leading scorer.
Following his defensive stop, Redd
then proceeded to drop the collective
jaw of the entire Schottenstein Center
while on offense - but with a pass.
Though being checked by Michigan
freshman Leon Jones, Redd twirled by
his defender before wrapping a no-look
pass around Michigan forward Josh
Asselin - finding fellow Buckeye Ken
Johnson for a crowd-pleasing dunk and
an Ohio State lead.
"It was a grade-A pass," Ohio State
point guard Scoonie Penn said. "He
made a very smart play - he knew
exactly what he was doing"
Despite the beauty of the pass,
Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe was
most impressed with Redd's defensive
effort as he matched up with Bullock
for most of the evening.
Bullock, who was also bothered by
an injured left forearm, was held to just
II points on 3-for-12 shooting. Redd is
"a good player," Michigan coach Brian
Ellerbe said. "Nobody ever talks about
his defense because he scores so
much."
In the end, though, it was Redd's
rebounding that sealed Ohio State's
victory. Following two consecutive
misses at the charity stripe by Johnson,
Redd tipped a loose ball out to Penn
who held on before being fouled.
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