Softball coaches poll
We a look at the top 10 in the USA
Today/NFCA softball coaches poll on the
Daily's website.
michigandaily.com/sports
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POR~S
FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 4, 2000
9
A Blue wall of
silence: Hoops
prep for Bucks
Will Crawford be reinstated?
By David Den Herder
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan could be in a one-down position before the
Buckeyes even take the floor this Sunday at Crisler
Arena.
n the next installment of a brutal Big Ten stretch, the
olverines will face their third top-10 opponent in as
many meetings - this time in the form of No. 5 Ohio
State.
But strength of schedule is the least of concerns on
South Campus. As of last night, the Athletic Department
was silent on whether Michigan's leading scorer, Jamal
Crawford, will be reinstated in time for Sunday's I p.m.
tipoff - or even at all this season.
Athletic officials refused to comment yesterday on
anything pertaining to Crawford's eligiblity or his status
for the Ohio State game. Crawford was rendered ineligi-
by the Athletic Department last Friday, but officials
adnot say so until after the tipoff of Tuesday's Michigan
State game, when Crawford was seated on the Michigan
bench in street clothes.
At a halftime press conference during the Michigan
State game, University professor Percy Bates, faculty
representative on the Board in Control of Intercollegiate
Athletics, said he expected the Crawford matter to be
cleared up by the next day, which was Wednesday.
But the athletic department's continued silence on the
t ue further proliferated an air of confusion over when
if Crawford will be allowed to play again for
Michigan.
NCAA public information coordinater Jane Jankowski
said the NCAA cannot comment on individual cases, but
that it is common for the reinstatement committee to
reach decisons on eligibilty concerns within a 24-hour
period.
"If we have sufficient information, there are certainly
times where we can turn a request around in one day,"
Jankowski said. She added that the NCAA usually takes
special care to expedite the process if there are upcoming
1,es on an athlete's schedule.
4et the NCAA has been aware of this case for a week,
and still no word from Michigan officials.
,If Crawford misses a second game, the Wolverines will
be forced to face arguably the nation's best backcourt
Sunday without their star shooting guard.
The weight of the Wolverines will likely be placed on
Wolverines torch Illini 70-59,
complete impressive sweep
MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Will Jamal Crawford suit up for Ohio State this Sunday?
No one's telling.
SUNDAY
CRISLER ARENA
who: Ohio State (6-1 Big Ten, 143 overall) at Michigan (3.4,12-6)
When: 1 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: CBS (Channel 13), WTKAs1050 AM, WJR 760 AM.
Latest: No. 5 Ohio State squeaked by Wisconsin, 51-48 Tuesday night
History book Michigan vs. Ohio State
Jan. 16, 1999: Michigan 84, Ohio State 74
On the back of 22 points and 10 rebounds by josh Asselin, the Wolverines
stunned No. 21 Ohio State. Michigan scored 53 points in the second half and
shot 11-ifor-19 from 3 -pint range in the game.
Feb. 11, 1998: Michigan 76, Ohio State 68
One wouldn't have known that Ohio State was winless in the conference the way
they played the Wolverines. Without Maceo Bason, Michigan was tied at 62 with
the Buckeyes before pulling ahead down the stretch.
Jan. 2, 1997: Ohio State 73, Michigan 71
Still tuckered out after returning from the Maui invitational just two nights earlier.
the Wolverines came out flir in their Big Ten opener Brandun Hughes missed a 3-
pointer with three secondis left that wold've won it.
freshman Kevin Gaines, who will have the task of
defending a potential All-American for the third straight
game in Ohio State's Scoonie Penn.
Tuesday against Mateen Cleaves, Gaines scored eight
points, playing the entire game in Crawford's absence.
In place of Crawford, sophomore Leon Jones will like-
ly start across from the Buckeyes' other backcourt threat,
See SILENT, Page 11
By Arun Gopal
Daily Sports Writer
It wasn't so long ago that the
Michigan women's basketball team
was the whipping boy of the Big Ten
Conference.
If a struggling team needed a confi-
dence boost, it could get one against
Michigan.
If a powerhouse needed a breather in
its schedule, Michigan was the answer.
Oh, how
times have ILLINOIs 59
changed. As
No. 23 MICHIGAN 70
Illinois
found out last night, Michigan is no
longer a weak sister in the Big Ten.
After a sluggish first 20 minutes
that ended with the Wolverines behind
by four, Michigan regrouped and came
out blazing in the second half. Led by
an amazing scoring outburst from
point guard Anne Thorius and some
ferocious- defense, the Wolverines
torched Illinois, 70-59.
In the process, Michigan earned
just its third season sweep over
Illinois in school history, and the first
such sweep under fourth-year coach
Sue Guevara.
"Obviously, it was a game of two
halves," Guevara said. "It appeared
that Illinois wanted it a little bit more
than we did in the first half. We chal-
lenged some people in the second
half, including Stacey Thomas."
While Michigan was down just 33-
29 at the half it was evident that it
had not brought its "A" game. Illinois
outshot, outrebounded, and outhus-
tled the Wolverines, leading by as
many as 11.
"They were doing a good job on
the boards," Guevara said. "They
were getting all the loose balls, we
were turning it over, we were rush-
ing. Illinois came out and played with
a lot of intensity."
Michigan was suffering from sub-
par performances from its star back-
court. Thorius failed to hit a single
shot in the opening half and finished
with no points and just one assist.
Meanwhile, Ingram shot a miserable
2-for-9, including 0-for-3 behind the
arc, and scored just four points.
Had it not been for Thomas' 14
points, Michigan might have been
blown out before halftime.
"Stacey carried us in the first half,"
Guevara said. "I talked with Thorius
about how the hardest thing to defend
in basketball is penetration, and I told
DANNY KALICK/Daily
Shooting guard Alayne Ingram didn't have her usual solid game, but that didn't
stop Michigan from completing a sweep of Illinois with a 70-59 win last night.
her that it's fine if she shoots 0-for-4
in the first half, as long as she scores.
23 in the second half."
Proving her coach's words prophet-
ic, Thorius came out and did what
Guevara said she needed to do - she
scored 23 points in the second half,
much of it as a result of dribble pen-
etration.
As Michigan built a progressively
larger lead, the Danish Sensation's
confidence skyrocketed. The result
- along with her sytematic disman-
tling of the Illinois defense, Thorius
didn't miss a shot in the second half.
7-for-7 from the field, 7-for-7 from
the charity stripe.
"I've never had a half like this
before," Thorius said. "I felt like
everything was falling in the second
half. I was very excited.
"Coach told me at half to look at
the basket and to make sure that I
penetrate. With the kind of defense
that Illinois played on the perimeter, I
had to beat the first line of defense
and see if I could take it to the basket
or dish it to a post player."
With their overall record now at
15-6, the Wolverines can look toward
their game on Sunday against Ohio
State in Columbus. The Buckeyes
have been a pleasant surprise this
season, amassing a respectable 1 1-8
record, with a 4-5 mark in the Big-
Ten.
Winning at the one-year old Value
City Arena will not be an easy task.:
for Michigan, but it is an opportunity
that the Wolverines seem to relish.
"We get to go on the road, and
we're gonna play a very tough Ohio
State team," Guevara said. "It's
gonna be in front of about 7,000 peo-
pIe, and we love that kind of a chal-
lenge."
M' starts Ferris twinbill on road
Blue revisits fight site on front end of home-and-home
By Stephanie Offen
Daily Sports Editor
This weekend, the Michigan hockey
team will be entering unfamiliar territory.
After two weekends of facing rival
Ohio State in two very familiar penalty-
i#d battles, the Wolverines travel to
Ferris State to face the Bulldogs for the
the players seem to remember the last
meeting of the two teams. Last season,
the Wolverines were swept by Ferris State
4-0 in Big Rapids.
In an aggressive matchup between the
two teams, Michigan's Andrew Merrick
and Jeff Jillson were kicked out for a
fight that broke out in the third period.
The players think this weekend could
teams' only two games
this season.
And this unchartered
territory is just a wave of
the future.
In fact, for the next
three weekends Michigan
will face teams - Ferris
4te, Western Michigan
Northern Michigan
- that it has not faced this
season.
"We just have to go by
statistics, what we read,
what we see and how
THIS WEEKEND
YOST ICE ARENA
Who: Tonight, Michigan at
Ferris State; Tonorrow, Ferris
State at Michigan
When: 7:05 p.m. both nights
Latest: Last seasonJeff Jilon
dhked it out with Feris State
guiltender Vince Owen in a 40
kvsto the Bldkks.Freshof a
owe-game stpension for fight-
Jing 01-o Stae's Jean-Fmancos.
[)utbur, jison rt'Curns to action
tonight for Michgan
be more of the same.
"They have a small rink
at home, so 1 know they
play a pretty aggressive
game" Peach said.
And Jillson can get
revenge against the
Bulldogs after not compet-
ing in last weekend's
game. Jillson will be
returning to the lineup
tonight after serving a
game disqualification he
received for his involve-
ment in a brawl at Ohio
opportunities, for a mere 14.8 percent.
But the return of Jillson on the power
play came with the loss of other
Wolverines.
Junior Mark Kosick and sophomore
Craig Murray will not make the trip to
Big Rapids. Kosick is out with a sprained
knee, and may play tomorrow at home.
Murray is out with an illness. Junior
Geoff Koch, who had been absent for
some practices this week with a back
injury, will return to the lineup.
This weekend has serious tournament
implications as well. Heading into the
final month of conference play, Michigan
currently stands at No. 5 in the nation.
"In the pairwise rankings I think
they're pretty high, so this game has seri-
ous NCAA implications as well," junior
Josh Langfeld said. "So we'll have to
bring our A' game."
And the Wolverines have been on their
'A' game ever since goaltender Josh
Blackburn returned on Jan. 7. Since then,
the Wolverines have gone 4-0-1. But they
must watch out for another aggressive
team, but this time one that they may not
be all that familiar with.
"They're like all other teams that when
they look at the schedule and see they're
playing Michigan," Michigan coach Red
Berenson said. "It's like if we were
going to play the Detroit Red Wings.
There's something special about those
teams."
ER +. j
cn .. i,. .
they're doing division-wise," Michigan
captain Sean Peach said. "But they're
(Ferris State) a better team then what
those statistics show."
And those statistics show the Bulldogs
Ong in eighth place in the conference,
en spots below first-place Michigan.
But there is one thing that is all too
familiar to the Wolverines about Ferris
State.
When asked about their in-state foes,
DAILY SPORTS.
OPEN TO THE
PUBLIC.
mmmmm m m
State two weeks ago.
The Wolverines are happy to have
Jillson back, especially on the power play.
Michigan coach Red Berenson has
expressed concern over the production of
the power-play unit recently. The unit
didn't convert on a single opportunity last
weekend, and has been hurt in the past by
the Bulldogs. In the last six matchups
with Ferris State, Michigan has managed
to score on just four of 27 power play
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