12A - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 16, 1999
Bearcats plummet to No. 9 in new AP poll.
After 15-0 start and an upset of then-No. 1 Duke, Cincinnati drops three straight games
CINCINNATI (AP) - For the first
15 games, Cincinnati remained per-
fect, coach Bob Huggins remained
comparatively calm and Bearcats
fans started ruminating about a Final
Four appearance.
But things have changed in the last
10 days.
The once-lofty Bearcats have lost
their cool, their intensity and three
consecutive games against nonde-
script teams, leaving them in an
unusual predicament for a Huggins
team.
The three-game losing streak
matches Cincinnati's longest during
Huggins' 10 seasons - he's had only
three other slumps as long - and it
will end up costing him in at tourna-
ment time.
Cincinnati, ranked No. 3 for much
of the season, fell to No. 9 in the poll
released yesterday. The Bearcats (21-
4) are no longer in first place in their
Conference USA division and figure
they've wasted the chance for a top
seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Ten days ago, it was unimaginable.
Now it's unexplainable.
"For some reason, we've lost our
focus'" point guard Michael Horton
said before practice Monday. "I don't
know what it is. This needs to stop
somewhere. We need to get a little
confidence back."
They were full of confidence dur-
ing the 15-0 start that included wins
over Duke - they remain the only
team to beat them - as well as
Minnesota, Louisville and Rhode
Island when they were ranked.
They had depth and seemed to
make all the right moves. The volatile
Huggins was a lot calmer on the side-
lines and the Bearcats pulled out one
close game after another.
The ominous signs - close wins
against overmatched Dayton and
Southern Mississippi - were
ignored. A 62-60 loss at UNC
Charlotte was shrugged off to a bad
call.
So was a 61-60 overtime loss at
DePaul, even though Cincinnati blew
a lead and was fortunate to get the
game to overtime. The officials
couldn't be blamed for a 62-58 loss at
Marquette four days later.
The crushing loss came Sunday in
St. Louis, where technical fouls on
Huggins and Melvin Levett helped
the Billikens pull away to a 69-57
victory - the Bearcats' most lop-
sided loss in 52 games.
Huggins' technical foul for jump-
ing in the air and screaming about a
non-call allowed Saint Louis to cut
the score to 48-47 with 6:53 left.
Levett's technical for upending Troy
Robertson on a rebound attempt
helped the Billikens push their lead
to nine points with fewer than two
minutes left.
Huggins defended his own outburst
on Monday, saying it didn't hurt the
team. He also complained that center
Kenyon Martin is getting fouled but
the officials are letting it go.
"How much am I supposed to sit
there and take?" Huggins said.
"Really, I thought I was pretty good
(until then). At a certain point in
time, you've got to fight for your
team.
"All this stuff about mellowing out
and (being) nicer and all that stuff -
I don't know. But I don't think that
hurt the team. Throwing the ball away
hurt the team."
"The refs have been making tern-
ble calls, but we can't blame the
refs," Horton said.
The Bearcats' ball handling hag.
been the main problem during the
slump. They had 23 turnovers in the
loss to DePaul and 19 against Saint
Louis, including seven by Horton.
Horton agreed with Huggins that
the early season success might have
gone to the players' heads, causing
them to get sloppy.
"We felt happy winning before. We
got comfortable with it," Horton said.
"We thought we could come in every
day and go through the motions, not
take it seriously like we were
(before). It caught up with us."
"Everybody was patting them on
the back and telling them how good
they were and we kind of got away
from what we're good at doing,"
Huggins said.
The Bearcats, who just lost their third straight game, have never lost four straight
since Huggins was named head coach in 1989.
MCG REGOR
Continued from Page 10A
needed some leadership, and she was
an obvious choice. For years, she has
led this team by example"
For her part, McGregor has remained
humble throughout all of the success.
"I think being a part of a Big Ten
championship team would have to be
my proudest achievement," McGregor
said. "Anything you can share with oth-
ers is even more special, like the dis-
tance medley relay title and the team
indoor championship last year."
The senior all-America expressed
satisfaction with the path her career has
followed at Michigan.
"I always knew I was capable of run-
ning at this level," McGregor said. "It
was tough at first, because I was so
used to winning in high school, and
when I came here there were 10 people
ahead of me all the time at practice.
"I knew then that I had a lot of
improvement to make. I realized that
you have to learn and slowly climb the
ladder. It takes a lot of time and effort
to be a winner"
McGregor is currently slated to run
the mile and the 3,000 at the Big Ten
Indoor Championships next weekend,
although "that could change to the
3,000 and the 5,000," Henry said.
"We're in the process right now of
putting together our strategy for
Columbus."
The event in Columbus will be
McGregor's final Big Ten indoor meet.
That being the case, her coach expects
her to go out with a bang.
"That's why we're going to
Columbus, to find out who's the best in
the Big Ten," Henry said. "Katie's been
injured some this year, and she's not
quite in top shape right now, but she's
determined to finish out her senior year
strong.
LOUIS BROWN/Daly
McGregor, who won the national championship in cross country this fall, is slated
to race in the 3,000-meters and the mile at the Big Ten Champloships.
Kipping matures in post
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KIPPING
Continued from Page 10A
Starting seven games so far this
season, Kipping's scoring average
has almost doubled, rising from 3.8
after five games, to 7 points per
game today.
And don't think Kipping's emerg-
ing presence hasn't been noticed.
Michigan's 18-year-old Kipping
has spent this season boldly staking
her claim as a post threat to watch -
and Guevara hopes she'll be reward-
ed for her efforts.
"Ruth Kipping has had outstand-
ing performances," Guevara sai*
last month. "I think she's a candidate
for Big Ten freshman of the year and
for making the Big Ten freshman
team."
For Kipping though, accolades
and personal accomplishments, it
seems, will likely pale in comparison
to the feeling of simply finding her
place - a feeling Kipping has come
to know more in recent weeks.
"Before, I had this feeling like 0
didn't belong," Kipping said. "It was
like I couldn't find my place. But
now I think I've established my role
and things have been a lot better."
Freshman hurt in practice
IMPACT
DANCE TH EATRE
--University Ativities Center
Wouldn't Staying
on s Again
This Summer Stink?
OKENWA
Continued from Page 1OA
injury and the stiff competition awaiting
Okenwa in Madison.
"Ike is just an amazing runner,'
Michigan coach Jack Harvey said. "He
has been better than I thought he would
be."
Okenwa quickly became an integral
part of Michigan's team at the start of the
season, making his injury that much
more painful for the Wolverines.
At the Michigan Quadrangular,
Michigan's second meet of the year,
Okenwa ran away with the 200-meter
dash, with an impressive time of 21.94
seconds.
The following week, at the Re4
Simmons Invitational, Okenwa dis-
played his versatility by winning the 60-
meter dash.
Following consecutive victories,
Okenwa began to gamer attention as a
standout freshman.
But Okenwa, never satisfied, contin-
ued to improve. In the Wolverines' next
meet, the Intercollegiate, Okenwa won
the 60, setting a meet record of 6.83 sec.
onds.
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Freshman in Colleae Start at $1.600
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