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