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 ~1 FEBRUARa ) f)AND 2U 13v' I K. K!II 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. s r Contact Us @ 90"-80-amP O Check Us Out on the Web @ gw".caMptic.com -... . 4 I ILM Freshman in Colleae Start at $1.600 _ _ r .. _....