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 [Ul h. Huro . it. a sI U " from campus)_:E 769-0560j FIELD POSITIONS AND INTERNSHIPS 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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