The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday -- March 12, 2001- 5B Quote of the weekend "I'm not Superman and Bernard (Robinson) isn't Batman and Avery (Queen) isn't Robin. We're affected by the things we read every day." - Freshman center Josh Moore on the media's affect on the team. Jow r . Indianxi 63 61 Player of the Tournament Iowa forward Reggie Evans With the absence of star guard Luke Recker, the Hawkeyes needed Evans to be the best player on the floor, which he was. Evans - who Michigan considered offering - was a presence in the paint and was hitting his perimeter jumper, making it tough on opposing defenses. 13etter days al Young Wolverines 1 By Dan Williams Daily Sports Editor CHICAGO - The 2000-'O1 Michigan men's b etball team suffered its first loss before prac- ti ever started when former point guard Kevin Gaines was dismissed from the team. And with the ;arduous season now technically over, the team may still have another loss on the horizon. Speculation that Brian Ellerbe will be fired within days of season's end has shadowed the team, especially for the last month. ESPN analyst Dick Vitale continues to report through yesterday that; Michigan had already decided to fire Ellerbe, and that current Seton Hall coach T ny Amaker is close to becoming the next coach in Ann Arbor. Throughout the ordeal, Michigan athletic director Bill Martin maintained that no decisions would be made regarding Ellerbe's future during the season, and that a verdict will be reached with the end of the basketball year. Following Michigan's (10-18) season-ending loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament Thursday, Ellerbe said that he has three years left on his original contract with the school, and that he will continue as the coach of Michigan until hears otherwise. "I think Bill Martin has made it very clear they're going to evaluate men's basketball just like every other program," Ellerbe said. "I think cad of'M', maybe ntE earn from season, look ahead to next year the University of Michigan has been fair. "We haven't excelled the way we would have liked to the last four years. But I also think we've been under some unexpected types of situations." The toughest strike against Ellerbe m'ay have come in September when he had to dismiss Gaines, who was arrested for driving under the influence. Between Gaines' arrest and the pending deci- sion on Ellerbe; Michigan labored through a gru- eling basketball season. It began in Oakland with a 97-90 loss, a rude awakening for the Wolverines' three freshmen. Foreshadowing future difficulties, the team fell to an early deficit against the Golden Grizzlies and could never recover. The road got even more rocky in December, when Michigan suffered two crushing defeats at the hands of top ACC foes. First, Maryland pummeled the Wolverines 82- 51 in the BB&T Classic. Then, in a trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke sprinted to a 34- 2 lead and cruised past Michigan by 43 points. The team looked disoriented throughout the con- test, and the result was demoralizing. Senior Josh Asselin called the debacle, "rock bottom." But Asselin may have spoken too hastily, as a 4-12 Big Ten season provided numerous moments to compete for Michigan's lowest point. Among, the worst defeats were three home losses, by 27 points to Michigan State, 19 to Wisconsin and 18 to Minnesota, eliminating the team from postseason contention. Adding insult to injury, off-the-court turmoil again found its vsay into the program. Michigan freshmen Maurice Searight spent the year habit- ually in Ellerbe's doghouse, largely for missing practice time. Scdright was punished for abuse of team rules during the Oakland and Western Michigan games, and then did not travel with the team as the Wolverines fell to Indiana in Bloomington, Feb. 11. Searight did not play in the team's final eight games. Fellow freshmen Avery Queen and Bernard Robinson were also benched for violating team rules. "I can't be immature like that," Robinson said. "I have to grow up fast." The media bombardment may have further distracted the young team. "I don't think w e got a fair chance. The media was looking for Juwan (Howard's) and Chris (Webber's) freshia season," freshman Josh Moore said. "I don't think that's realistic. "You can't say that the negative things you put in the media aren t going to distract the players. That's our community We read that and we hear that, and it gets to us" TE SIEVER LINING Despite so mch anguish in a six-month period, Michigan has a lot to be optimistic about for next year Star forward LaVell Blanchard watched his second season end - this time at the paws of the Nittany Lions - without an NCAA berth. The most obvious reason is that four starters return, including three players who could com- pete for all-conference honors in LaVell Blanchard, Chris Young and Robinson. Michigan loses just Josh Asselin and his 9.6 points per game to graduation - eight of nine contributors from this season will be back. If the Wolverines can avoid any extracurricular turmoil over the next eight months, the team won't be rebuilding for the first time in four years. The team also has to like the way the Big Ten around them will shape up. Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn State, and Ohio State will all lose their best players to graduation. Michigan State and Illinois both have key seniors departing and may be hit even harder if the likes of Zach Randolph, Jason Richardson and Frank Williams declare for the NBA draft. And while the coaching topic remains hot, there doesn't appear to be a mutiny in store for Michigan. Seemingly all the players want Ellerbe back next year, but if he is fired, the team expects to stay unified. "I think we are going to all stick together after the season," Queen said. And though the young team never expected to have such a dismal initiation to college basket-. ball, the team hopes to use the struggles as fuel for an off-season full of weightlifting and train- ing. "We should no doubt have a great year next year, and we don't want to disappoint again," Robinson said. "That definitely motivates us." Let's Hawkeyes take BTT crown, automatic bid; ance! Duke downs Carolina, captures No. I seed , Dan Williams Daily Sports Editor CHICAGO - In the days preceding the Big Ten Tournament, some analysts predicted that slumping Iowa would have to win three games to secure an NCAA Tournament berth. The Hawkeyes did them one better, winning four games in four days to take the 2001 g Ten Tournament title and secure an CAA automatic bid. "The last time we were in this state we got chanted 'N-I-T," Iowa coach Steve Alford said. "Not today." This tournament marks the first time in three years that the final did not fea- ture a Michigan State-Illinois matchup and the first time ever that the title left the state of Michigan. The Hawkeyes rebounded from a slow start and an eight-point first-half ficit to defeat Indiana 63-61. Iowa ior Reggie Evans, the tournament's MVP, blocked Kirk Haston's three-point attempt with time expiring. "I kind of saw it coming, and I just timed it so perfectly and got a clean block," Evans said. Early in the game, Indiana appeared fresher. The Hoosiers' top two scorers, Haston and freshman Jared Jeffries, ombined for 26 points in the period. But in the second half, Iowa was led back by its youngest gunner and its old- est leader. Freshman Brody Boyd - who saw sparse playing time before the injury bug hit the Hawkeyes - nailed three key 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 22 points. "I was glad to see (Dane) Fife guard- iig me," the confident frosh.said. Tom "Coverdale just wasn't doing his job, so Fife came in." Dean Oliver, Iowa's captain, scored 12 points and connected on a number of important baskets to keep pace. "All the hard work and effort, and blood, sweat and tears that I put into this, I couldn't ask for anything more" Oliver said. "Now we've got the momentum and now we can do something in the NCAA Tournament." With the score knotted at 59 with 2:09 remaining, it seemed almost like two teams of destiny were on the floor at the same time. Iowa had looked lost down the stretch of the regular season, drop- ping seven of its final eight games. With leading scorer Luke Recker and key reserve Ryan Hogan both lost to injury, the Hawkeyes appeared NIT- bound. "We had a vision of a Big Ten title,' Alford said. "It's a tremendous tribute to these guys.' Meanwhile, Indiana never made the conference tournament semifinals under former coach Bobby Knight, who criti- cized the concept of a Big Ten Tournament from its outset. With questions surrounding his job, interim Indiana coach Mike Davis took the Hoosiers to the brink of a title, including an upset of top-seeded Illinois. "This should have been our champi- onship" Davis said. "This was a great opportunity to bring excitement back to the program. I'm extremely disappoint- ed' Both teams will be part of seven Big Ten teams represented in the NCAA Tournament. Iowa will compete as a sev- enth seed in the East region against Creighton. Indiana will compete as a fourth seed in the West against Kent State. ATLANTA (AP) - Shane Battier climbed the ladder and sliced a couple of strands away from the rim, leaving just enough dangling nylon for Mike Krzyzewski to finish the job. Clearly, Duke has mastered the net- cutting ceremony at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The third-ranked Blue Devils rout- ed No. 5 North Carolina yesterday in the final, leaving little doubt about which school rules one of college bas- ketball's great rivalries. Duke (29-4) headed on to the NCAA Tournament, as the top seed in the East Regional, after becoming the first school in more than three decades to win the ACC three straight years. "It feels kind of normal," said sophomore guard Jason Williams, who didn't play the final 13 minutes because of a sprained left ankle. "We have so much passion. We want it so bad." For the second time in a week, Duke earned a double-digit victory over North Carolina (25-6). But this one was much more convincing than the 95-81 victory at Chapel Hill on the final Sunday of the regular sea- son. The Blue Devils took control with a 19-1 run in the first half and led 50-30 at halftime. North Carolina never got any closer and looked totally lifeless at the end, run completely ragged by Duke's ironmen. "They got exhausted. We could see it in their eyes," freshman guard Chris Duhon said. "We kept pushing and pushing and they finally reached the breaking point. We saw them getting tired and instead of letting them back in the game, we went for the jugular." Mike Dunleavy scored 24 points and Battier, the tournament MVP, added 20 for the Blue Devils, who won three games in three days with- out center Carlos Boozer, sidelined with a broken bone in his right foot. "To come here when people doubt= ed us, doubting whether we had the legs to do it three days in a row, to win MVP, it's really storybook," said Battier, the winningest player in ACC history. Krzyzewski, meanwhile, won his 600th career game. "Our team was amazing,; he said. "I know they were tired, but they played with great heart and beat an outstanding team. Despite the loss, the Tar Heels were hoping for a top seed when the pair- ings were announced later Sunday, perhaps in the South Regional with a chance for a return trip to the Georgia Dome in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately for them, they were given the No. 2 seed in the South instead with Michigan State taking the top seed. North Carolina was held to its fewest points since a 45-44 win over N.C. State on Feb. 12, 1997 - a span of 151 games. The Tar Heels shot 29 percent (19- for-65) and had only one player, Joseph Forte with 14 points, in double figures. "This is harder than a two-point loss," Forte said. "We basically got blown out of the building." Duke hit only 38 percent of its shots but seemed to arrive first at every loose ball. The most telling stat: the shorter Blue Devils outrebounded North Carolina 54-47, including get- ting 20 at the offensive end. Fuu. NCAA BRACKET: Win free food in the Daily's Pizza House contest Page 8B. AP PHOTO Coach K did it again, ca,-ng y-t another AC Tournament title - and net. His Blue Devils received ti. Ea't region's No. ± seed. How the "experts"fared Five months ago, the Daily told you how it should be. How we picked em and how it was: HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED Preseason prediction 1. Illinois - No one can compete with Its backcourt; 2. Michigan State - Everyone will miss Cleaves's huge mouth. 3. Iowa - A healthy Recker makes it title competitive. 4. Indiana - Will miss Guyton more than it missed Knight. 5. Wisconsin - Bennett-bali less likely to sneak up this year. 6. Michigan - See this publication for brillant, concluding coverage. 7. Penn State - So content to go to the NIT. Finad standings T-1. Illinois - No one could ccmp' with its backcourt. T-1. Michigan State - :o o e ms:Vd Cleaves' huge mouth. 3. Ohio State - Johnson, Bown, titie hopes. 4. Indiana - Didn't m .s 'ri at all. 5. Wisconsin - Sod b '. team sti: might sneak up this year. T-6. Iowa - The Hawkay's I. th d unti Luke Recker injury. T-6. Penn Stat, - Co, jb n j&opardy, the Nits responded. Team 1. Stanford 2. Duke 3. Michigan State 4. Illinois 5. North Carolina 6. Florida 7 Arizona 8. Iowa State 9. Boston College 10. Kansas 11. Mississippi Record 28-2 29-4 24-4 24-7 25-6 23-6 23-7 25-5 26-4 24-6 25-7 This week's results Beat Arizona State, 99-75 Beat North Carolina, 79-53 Lost to Penn State, 65-63 Lost to Indiana, 58-56 Lost to Duke, 79-53 Lost to Mississippi, 74-69 Beat California 78-76 Lost to Baylor, 62-49 Beat Pittsburgh, 79-57 Lost to Oklahoma, 62-57 Lost to Kentucky, 77-55 -,-~ 4-- ~Tnr.-L. 7dAQL