mIm"
The Michigan Daily - February 18, 2000 - 10
Penn State hoops
rvalry fizzled out
TOMORROWa..
CRISLER ARENA
Who: Penn State (5-6 Big Ten, 13-9 overall)
Michigan (3-8, 12-10)
When: 12 p.m.
Absences: Jamal Crawfonl (final wine sutspend
TV: ESPN-Pius
Radio: WTKA 1050 AM, WJR 760AM
The ateseTuninmningoutbrthe
Wolvennes. With five games remaining beforet
Big Ten Tounament, they'll pohhly need tow
at least two games to fxoddnce in the NIT,
and win four, plus a strong urney nmn to wrake
the Big Dance.
Gymnasts try again in Georgia
By Chris Duprey
Daily Sports Editor
Maceo Baston, apparently well-
versed in his scouting report of Penn
State, offered his impression of the
Nittany Lions' 13-0 start to the 1995-
96 segsgn.
"You can win games against
Huckabuck State or whatever" - a
>ack ianded slap at Penn State's early
victorie's' over Morgan State, the
Virginia Military Institute, Bucknell
md others of that level of prestige.
The"Wolverines were 13-4 at the
ime themselves, not too shabby with
he young team they had.
But any hopes of quietly dispatching
3enn State at Crisler Arena that Sunday
iad all' but vanished the minute the
fexan opened his mouth, thanks to the
rational wire and several media mem-
)ers who like nothing more than to cre-
ite controversy.
So CBS made tracks to Ann Arbor
o televise the game nationally, to see if
his Maceo Baston could back up his
vord, and Baston didn't disappoint.
Vith Michigan holding precious a one-
>oint lead heading into the game's
inal possession, it seemed Baston
emcinb'red that he'd be ingrained into
he program's history if he didn't finish
vhathe started.
Kdeping that in mind, Baston
romptly swatted Penn State's final
hot, a driving leaner by guard Dan
ar-. The clock expired, and the
Volveriies had held serve on their
omed1.ort - if out of no other moti-
atio.,but to save Baston from the
earIarin criticism he would've
aced ad they lost.
"Maceo was big, as he has been all
season," said then-first-year Penn State
coach Jerry Dunn after the game. "He
comes to play and doesn't talk a lot."
You sure about that last comment,
coach?
In any event, there was a Michigan-
Penn State rivalry born that day, one
that didn't take place in Beaver or
Michigan Stadium. Baston's quotable
- and his ability to back it up - was
the key ingredient, the kind of don't-
forget-about-me material great basket-
ball feuds are made of.
And the Nittany Lions didn't forget,
exacting revenge with a 67-57 shut-
ting-up of Michigan in State College
later in the season.
Both teams went to the NCAA tour-
nament that year. Both teams returned
most of their key players the following
season. But the rivalry never took off
like it did that one afternoon in
January, with a lanky 6-foot-9 forward
issuing supposedly harmless quotes to
the local media.
Part of the reason for the stunted
growth of this rivalry was Penn State's
own ineptitude. The Nittany Lions
haven't been back to the NCAA
Tournament since 1996, and have had
just one winning season in the three
since Baston's "Swat Heard Round the
World."
Part of the reason is that Crisler Arena
and the Bryce Jordan Center - which
replaced fabled barn Rec Hall just
before the rivalry sparked in 1995 - are
widely considered two of the least hos-
tile environments in the Big Ten.
It's unfortunate the seed planted by
Baston, former Michigan coach Steve
Fisher and Dunn never took hold.
the
win
By Richard Haddad
Daily Sports Witer
History book
"A closer look at the last three
Michigan-Penn State matchups in
Ann Arbor:
FEB. 24, 1999. PENN STATE 78,
MICHIGAN 72:
The Wolverines turned in a thor-
oughly uninspiring performance on
Senior Night, the last time Louis
Bullock and Robbie Reid would play
in Crisler Arena.
JAN. 3, 1998. MICHIGAN 92,
PENN STATE 75:
Michigan followed up its confer-
ence-opening road. win at Wisconsin.
with a dominating 40 minutes against
the Nittany Lions. The Wolverines ran
out to a 35-9 lead in this one and
never looked back, helped out by
Robert Traylor's 27 points on 12-for-14
shooting.
FEB. 8, 1997. MICHIGAN 81,
PENN STATE 64:
Bullock, as just a sophomore,
became Michigan's all-time leading 3-
point shooter as the Wolverines took
care of business at home. Penn State
cut the Michigan lead to 66-58 with
5:09 to play, but the Wolverines never
let it get closer than that.
Instead of tomorrow's Michigan-Penn
State matchup in Ann Arbor being
another one for the history books, it'll
be just two sub-.500 teams in the Big
Ten, getting a little exercise.
Tomorrow night, the Michigan
women's gymnastics team gets another
chance. In the second installment of a
home-and-home series, the Wolverines
travel to Georgia to take on the perenni-
al power house Gym Dogs for the third
time this season.
In falling to Georgia at Crisler Arena
last Friday, 195.700-196.725, No. 3
Michigan "had an opportunity and let it
slip through our fingers," coach Bev
Plocki said. Come Saturday, the
Wolverines hope to achieve immediate
redemption.
The Wolverines have never beaten
the Gym Dogs, but are just as good of a
team as Georgia is this season.
But the Gym Dogs' advantage lies in
the mental aspect of the sport.
"The fact that it's Georgia is in the
back of everyone's minds," senior cap-
tain Sarah Cain said. "As much as you
want to say it doesn't matter who you're
competing against, and that you're com-
peting for yourself, for your own team,
it's still Georgia."
And for the young Wolverines, that is
the problem.
Correcting that problem is "just a
matter of getting the kids to understand
that they cannot look at these competi-
tions differently," Plocki said. "If
they're looking over their shoulder
because it's Georgia, they're setting
themselves up for failure."
Michigan's faults in the last three reg-
ular meets against Georgia have
involved the balance beam and falls.
N!
x
'«
« '
SAM HOLLENSHEAD/Daily-
Michigan wasn't consistent on the balance beam last Friday night, but coach Bev
Plocki still believes the Wolverines are a "beam team."
The nature of those problems points
directly at mental lapses.
"I don't want our falls Friday night to
affect our confidence for the rest of the
year, because we are a very good beam
team," Plocki said. "We can't get caught
up in the competition. We need to stay
focused on ourselves and not allow
other factors to distract us."
On the other hand, Georgia, the
reigning back--to-back national champi-
on, epitomizes mental toughness. The
Gym Dogs have never fallen to the
Wolverines in ten attempts.
"It's something Michigan can't get
past," Georgia coach Suzanne Yoculan
said. "They're so good, they're so tal
ented, they know they're as good as any-
one in the country. But beating Georgia
and winning a national title, those two
hurdles have eluded them. It's like a car-
rot out there dangling that they can't
reach."
To finally take a bite out of that car-
rot, Michigan must perform to its full
potential. The Wolverines are the more
talented and deeper team, but talent
alone does not win contests in any
sport.
"My kids are well aware they can be
a better team than Georgia," Plocki said.
All that is left is to prove it.
'Mguard
excels to
M' cools down after national meet
ly James Mercier
or the -1)ily
LisaGuellet shivered, even as she
kas bundled up in winter clothes.
Was she under the
veather? "No," the ToM
enior middle-distance
unner said. "It's the INDOOR TI
:oaches. They had us Who: Michiga
,oak our legs in freez- Silverston hiw
ng cold water tubs When:Fielde
oday." a.m. Runnig
That's the kind of noon.
. Latest: This mt
reek it has been for the the Wolverine
ichigan women's week'sBig Ten
rack team. The
Wolverines are coming off of the
Cannon Classic in Indianapolis and
ire setting their sights on recovery.
"Last weekend we faced our high-
st level of competition of the sea-
;on," Michigan coach James Henry
said after practice Wednesday. "To
us, it was an even bigger test than the
Big Ten Championships. It was a
national competition - there were
some of the best performers in the
)RROW
RACK BLDG.
an hosts the
itational
events startat 9:30
events startat
eet is a tineup for
es en route to next
n Chamnpionships
country competing. It
was a good test for our
team.
"We've competed for
seven or eight weeks in
a row. Right now, we're
mainly just trying to
rest."
The Wolverines can
afford to take it easy this
week because they are
catching a break of sorts
No sense in wearing themselves
out now, right?
"A few athletes will run their nor-
mal events, but most will be out of
their event this weekend," Henry
said. "They'll compete once out of
their event and that will be it. For a
few people this will be a tune-up."
Last weekend's Cannon Classic
left the Wolverines tired but pleased
with their performance. In the com-
petition, which featured more than
75 teams, no Michigan runner took
first but a number set personal or
season-best marks.
One of them was Ouellet, whose
time in the mile was a career-best.
"Cannon was huge, and it was def-
initely a good experience for our
team," Ouellet said. "But it will be
nice to go down to lesser competition
this week."
Even if it means freezing in practice.
Women
likelyave
No. 2 seed
BADGERS
Continued from Page 9
the Big Ten.
The Wolverines would have to lose
all three of their remaining games to
give up the second seed in the Big Ten
Tournament.
By defeating the Badgers,
Michigan tied its record of seven
straight home victories and is a win
away from tying its record for home
victories in a season. The Wolverines
are also undefeated at home in the
Big Ten season.
All of which has many wondering
why Michigan remains unranked.
"We have a top 25 team here, but I
don't vote." Guevara said. "I just have
to hope that when we're all finished,
the NCAA committee is a hell of a lot
smarter than the people who vote" in
the polls.
Albright echoed Guevara's frustra-
tion, giving the Wolverines the ulti-
mate compliment.
"One of the biggest tragedies in
women's basketball is that Michigan
is not a top 25 team," Albright said.
"We vote for them every week in the
WISCONSIN (73)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Paulus 35 6-12 6-8 1-3 1 2 20
Sims 33 6-14 5-8 4-9 0 3 ._17
Stomski 33 6-14 3-3 4-9 4 3 16
Pate 19 0-1 0-0 0-i 2 3 0
Moore 36 5-10 0-0 2-5 6 3 11
Smith 14 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 3
Black 17 1-2 0.0 0-1 2 0 2
Seeger 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2
Bird 7 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 2 2
Konieczny 3 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Totals 200 27-61 14-1912-33 15 16 73
FG%: 443 FT%:.737 3-point FO: 5-12, .417 (Paulus 2-2,
Moore 1-4 Smith 1-2, Stomski 1-1, Black 0-1, Sims 0-2)
Blocks. 4 fomski 2, Sims, Pate) Steals: 9 (Sims 2, Moore
2, Smith 2 Pate, Paulus, Bird) Turnovers: 16 (Stomski 4,
Moore 4, 'ate 3, Sims 2, Smith, Black, Bird) Technical
Fouls: none.
MICHIGAN (78)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0T A F PTS
Thomas 38 4-14 6-8 3-10 2 0 14
Goodlow 27 5-8 0-0 1-6 0 2 10
Miller 24 4-9 0-0 2-6 3 2 8
Thorius 35 2-7 4-4 3-4 8 1 8
am 36 10-18 0-0 0-1 1 1 24
e 11 0- 0-0 0-3 1 2 0
Oesteule 6 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 3 0
Bies 23 5-6 4-5 3-6 12 14
Totals 200 30-64 14-17 13-38 16 13 78
FG%: .469 FT:.824 3-point FG 4-8, .500 (Ingram 4-5,
Thomas 0-2, Oesterle 0-1) Blocks 6 (Goodlow 3, Thomas
2, Thorius) Steals: 10 (Ingram 3, Bies 2, Miller 2, Goodlow.
Thomas, Walker) Turnovers: 15 (Thorius 4, Miller 3, 1
Ingram 3, Bies 2, Thomas, Goodlow, Walker) Technical
Fouls: none.
career high
INGRAM
Continued from Page 9
0
Wisconsin .......34
Michigan....... ...41
39 -73
37 - 78
turned to senior forward Stacey Thomas
down the stretch, but not last night.
"I wanted the ball down the stretch a
lot," Ingram said.
Michigan gave it to her, and she gave
it to Wisconsin.
"One of the keys was Alayne
Ingram," Albright said. "She scored a lot
tonight."
Guevara agreed with that assessment.
"Everyone says that if you stop
Stacey, you stop Michigan," Guevara
said. If you want to just concentrate on
Stacey, Alayne will take that as a per-
sonal challenge. She's cocky enough to
think, 'Okay, you want to stay on Stacey,
I'll burn your tail."'
Unfortunately for Wisconsin, they did-.,-
n't learn this lesson until after the game.
"I didn't look at it as I was unstop-
pable, I just looked at it as I really want-
ed to win," Ingram said.
So when junior Anne Thorius buried
the game's final two free-throws to
extend Michigan's lead to 78-73, with
two seconds left, Ingram threw her arms
up in a V'
For victory.
in the schedule. On Saturday the
Silverston Invitational, a minor
event, will be held in the Indoor
Track Building. One week later is the
Big Ten Indoor Championships, held
this year in Minneapolis.
At: Crisler Arena
Attendance: 1,254
a
ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll."
Michigan State is next up for the
Wolverines this Sunday and, like
Wisconsin, is sitting on the bubble for
an NCAA Tournament bid.
"Wisconsin and Michigan State
feel that they have to beat us to get
into the tournament," Guevara said.
"But we aren't anybody's meal ticket
to the NCAA Tournament,".
REC
SPORTS
The University of Michigan
Department of Recreational Sports
INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM
WHAT'S
HAPPENING
.v a av . " a . v .... .. ..... .. J
INTRAMURALS
Intramural Mini-Soccer
Officials Needed!!
* No Experience *
Necessary T
REC
Get a Free
"-Shirt
" Officials al
Paid for All
Games
Worked
SPORTS
re INTRAMURALS
Flexible
Hours
I - - -~ - - a I - S M - U -~
"M « AMP