series. Th~ NBA BASKETBALL WASHINGTON 108 MRAMI 90, Philadelphia 83 PHOENIX 103, Eouston 100 betroit at DENVER. inc. Charlotte at PORTLAND, inc. Indiana at VANCOUVER. inc. NCAA BASKETBALL (7) Michigan St. 86, (2) N. CAROLINA 76 N.C. State 61, (21) PURDUE 59 (18) TENNESSEE 78. Miami (Ohio) 59 (5) AUBURN 65, Belmont 56 WEBER ST. 84, (19) UTAH 72 iTte L igtm Iitq Tracking 'M' teams Check out the Michigan hockey team as it phys Bowling Green in a home-and-home Wolverines will host the Falcons at' Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Thursday December 2, 1999 series. Th} Yost Ice Nena on 1OAA 9!. Up to the, Challenge Mkhigas 8O, Georgia Tech 77 01 KIMITSU YOGACHI/Daily Michigan center Mike Comrie is one of two collegiate players selected to try out for Team Canada as it plays in the 2000 World Junior Hockey Championship. Hockey trio going National Sy Stephanie Offen Daily Sports Writer If there were any questions about whether Michigan has one of the top college hockey programs, they were answered yesterday. Not by any CCHA team or a U.S. college hockey poll, but answered by the U.S. National Junior Team, which selected two of Michigan's top players among the 21 collegiate play- ers to compete in the 2000 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Sweden. Andy Hilbert and Jeff Jillson, who competed on the team last season, will return this year to represent their country against the best hockey players in the world. Among those may be one of their current teammates, Mike Comrie, who also received national recognition when he was selected as one of only two collegians invited to try- out for a spot on the Canadian National Junior Team. Comrie was selected as one of the 32 players to try out for last year's team, but was not one of the final 22 selected. This year could be a different story for one of the top scorers in the CCHA. "Comrie didn't fit into their plans last season, but he was probably one of the last cuts on their team," Michigan assis- tant coach Billy Powers said. "Comrie is arguably the best player in college hockey. Most of the time the top two Canadian hockey players go on to that program, so it was fully expected that he would be chosen." The news of each one of these players receiving national recognition came as a surprise to the team. Michigan consis- tently has two or three players competing at the national level each year. Jillson, Hilbert and Cornrie all had experience with these programs and expected to be chosen. "It was anticipated by everyone here, but we had to wait until it was on a piece of paper to announce (it)," Powers said. "We expected those three guys to get the opportunity, and we are really happy for them." Hilbert and Jillson learned of their selections yesterday morning from the coaches. They depart on Dec. 13, stopping for a pre-tournament camp in New York. "It has been a dream of mine to play again this year," said Hilbert, who played for the U.S. National Team Development Program for two years. "It's just a great feeling that I've been chosen." Comrie, who will join the Canadian team for its camp Dec. 12, echoed Hilbert's sentiments. "You learn to play with the best players in the world," See NATIONALS, Page 16A oI r Photos by DAVID KATZ/Daily ABOVE: Freshman LaVell Blanchard focuses on scoring two of his 18 points in Michigan's 80-77 victory. RIGHT: Forward Josh Asselln battles Georgia Tech's Alvin Jones under the glass. By David Den Herder Daily Sports Writer ATLANTA - Old ideas die hard in ACC land. "Wish I Were In Dixie" can still be heard in the Georgia Tech fight song. Grits can still be ordered at the diner down the street from Phillips Arena. And depending on whom you talk to, the Big Ten is still a size and power conference that muscles its way to victories. It was all over the headlines the morning before the matchup - here comes the hard-nosed Big Ten to test itself against the finesse of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Locals could be forgiven for not attending the Big Ten preseason press conference in Chicago, where the league's true face was revealed. They could be forgiven for having limited exposure the All-American backcourts of the upper-Midwest. Until now. Until Kevin Gaines put on a dribbling clinic at Phillips Arena last night. Until Gavin Groninger performed "How To Go Up Huge in the First Half with the 3-point shot," in G minor. "We've got so many new coaches and new tal- ent in this league, I think those days are gone," said Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe of the Big Ten's old reputation. "I think you can see on the floor that's the case." But the frontcourt performance of LaVell Blanchard was equally impressive. See FINESSE, Page 13A ,, i 1: 1 1 .-