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Close call: Cornhuskers headed for Pasadena
NEW YORK (AP) - Nebraska will play
for a national title after all.
In an astounding turn certain to send out
a cry for a playoff or changes in the Bowl
Championship Series, the Cornhuskers
squeezed into second place over Colorado
in the final BCS standings on yesterday.
Even though the Buffaloes route#d the
Huskers 62-36 three weeks ago, Nebraska
won the points battle that counted most and
will play undefeated Miami in the Rose
Bowl on Jan. 3.
Thanks to Louisiana State's 31-20 upset
'of Tennessee in Saturday night's Southeast-
ern Conference title game, the Huskers
were the BCS computer's choice - by a
Bies sinks
two,'M'
triumphs
By Bob Hunt
Daily Sports Writer
scant five hundredths of a point. A win by
the Vols would have sent them to Pasadena
instead.
In the final ranking, Miami finished first
with 2.62 points, Nebraska second with
7.23 points, Colorado third at 7.28 and Ore-
gon fourth with 8.67 points.
"Colorado and Oregon are great teams,"
Nebraska coach Frank Solich said. "Any-
time you don't have two clear-cut, undefeat-
ed teams, you're going to have controversy."
Nebraska (11-1) was No. 4 in both the
AP media poll and the USA Today/ESPN
coaches poll on yesterday, but held a sizable
edge over No. 2 Oregon (10-1) and No. 3
Colorado (10-2) in the computer portion of
the BCS formula.
The final margin was so close that if the
Buffaloes were one spot higher in any of the
computer ratings they would have been off
to the Rose Bowl instead of the Huskers.
In the Rothman ratings, for example,
Colorado would have moved up one place
and into the Rose Bowl if it had beaten
Oklahoma State by 17 points instead of 22-
19 on Oct. 27.
The BCS standings were devised by SEC
commissioner Roy Kramer in 1998 in
hopes of ensuring that the top two teams
play for a national title. The rankings use a
formula that incorporates the AP media and
the coaches polls, eight computers, strength
of schedule, won-lost record and bonus
points for big wins.
Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch and
the Huskers, in fact, didn't even win their
conference - Colorado took the Big 12.
But Nebraska will go to the Rose Bowl as
an at-large team, the first time that's hap-
pened in the BCS's four-year history. The
winner of that game is automatically
crowned the coaches' champion.
"How you're playing at this point -
seems to me that should be thought of,"
Colorado coach Gary Barnett said.
Oregon and Colorado will play in the
Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, with the possibility
See BCS, Page 3B
A
lot to
learn
M'
on rise,
LeeAnn Bies has been the spark for
the Michigan women's basketball team
all season, and her importance could
not have been more evident this week-
end in Seattle.
Bies drained two free throws with
ten seconds
left on Sun- i MICHIGAN 71
day to give
the Wolver- . WASHINGTON 70
ines a 71-70
victory over Washington and a sweep
in the Big Ten-Pac-10 Challenge.
Michigan opened the weekend by
defeating Washington State 81-59 on
Friday night.
"Bies rose to the occasion," Michi-
gan coach Sue Guevara said.
After an Andrea Lalum 3-pointer
put the Wolverines down by one with
under a minute to go, Michigan ran a
set play with 13 seconds remaining as
Lalum fouled Bies as she took a shot at
the top of the key. Bies took advantage
at the charity stripe to give the Wolver-
ines the lead.
Then Michigan was able to sur-
vive as Loree Payne missed a 12-
footer and a Kellie O'Neill missed a
follow-up shot in the game's final
four seconds extending the Wolver-
ines' winning streak to seven games
- the third longest in school histo-
ry - and giving Guevara her 100th
career victory.
The matchup was a constant strug-
gle as there were eight ties and 15 lead
changes. But Washington held the
advantage for the majority of the first
half, leading by as much as eight when
Payne hit a three with six minutes
remaining in the period. But the
Huskies missed six 3-point attempts in
the second half's first three minutes
giving Michigan an opportunity to get
back into the contest.
The Wolverines seemed to have
taken control after the team went on an
8-2 run at the midway point in the sec-
ond half until Bies picked up two fouls
within six seconds of each other. This
forced Guevara to replace Bies with
freshman Katrina Mason - putting
two freshmen on the floor in a critical
juncture in the contest.
"Talk about a tough situation for a
freshman," Guevara said. "(But) she
gave us the two minutes that we need-
ed."'
After the substitution, the Huskies
went on a 10-0 run to take a 65-60 lead.
But Bies took over when she reentered
the game by scoring six points within a
two-minute span. This helped the
Wolverines retake the lead before the
antics of the final 60 seconds.
Michigan dominated inside through-
out. The Wolverines pulled down 50
rebounds compared to the Huskies' 35,
keeping the Huskies away from the inte-
rior and forcing them to the outside.
"At the beginning of the season,
we knew our bread and butter was
going to be our inside play," Gue-
vara said.
After seeing Washington in person
on Friday, Guevara and her staff knew
that they were going to shoot the three
early and often. Washington took even
more shots from downtown than
expected. Out of Washington's 71 field
goal attempts, they took a team record
36 shots from beyond the arc - with
Payne taking 15 of those, and making
seven 3-point field goals.
"Thev love to shoot the three" Gue-
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Tommy Amaker couldn't bare to watch Michigan's sluggish start.
Dulke ,manhandles
Wolverines, again
By David Horn
Daily Sports Writer
The answer to fans of any team
hoping to contend with Duke for this
year's national title is "yes" - Jason
Williams
really isU DUKE 104
that much
b e t t e r MICHIGAN 83
than your
guys. The Blue Devils' junior guard
is, without serious argument, the best
player in the country and the reason
it will be all but impossible to unseat
Duke as the national champion.
In Saturday's 104-83 victory over
Michigan (3-4), Williams led the
No. 1 team in the country with 35
points, but it was his first 14 (in the
first 4:13) that were more than
enough to sink the Wolverines. The
Blue Devils (8-0) jumped out to a
29-4 lead in the first eight minutes of
play on the strength of Williams'
quickness and 3-point shooting abili-
ty (7-of-11 for the game). Michigan,
meanwhile, shot a dismal 1-of-9 dur-
ing the stretch. The lead - eerily
similar to last year's 34-2 lead at
Cameron - was enough of a hurdle
to keep Michigan grounded.
But with 12:42 remaining in the
first half, the Wolverines began fight-
ing back. They no longer allowed
themselves to be overwhelmed, and
outscored the Blue Devils 79-77
from then on. But the damage was
done, and the game essentially
became an exhibition.
"The first five minutes of the
game we came out taking quick
shots and we weren't getting back on
D,"' said Michigan center Chris
Young. "Then they went on a little
run and that was it. Those first five
minutes are what killed us."
The run was hardly "little," but
everyone in the maize and blue was
pleased with how the team respond-
ed to it.
Having been unable to avoid foul
trouble so far this year, Young did
not pick up his lone foul until there
was less than a minute left in the
game. He benefited from a Duke
offense that revolves around
Williams and guard Chris Duhon on
the perimeter, but Young's increased
floor time led to a career-high 25
points. He did not permit himself to
be bullied by Duke center Carlos
Boozer, and fought off Boozer's help
down low.
"Chris Young was the catalyst for
us," Michigan head coach Tommy
Amaker said. "That was our one big
bright spot. He really anchored the
middle."
Amaker's counterpart on the
but it won't
be overnight
M ichigan didn't fall behind this time 34-2
to the Blue Devils in the first few min-
utes. It was 34-8.
But the progress made from last year wasn't
only cutting the enormous deficit by six points,
and the final score by
nearly 20 -it was more
in the intangibles.
As wide as the flood-
gates opened and as poor-
ly as the Wolverines shot
in the first few minutes (1-
12 to be exact), one thing
was for certain.
Michigan wasn't going JOE
to give up.
The Wolverines weren't
going to crawl into a little The one
shell andjust let the bully and only
Blue Devils beat them into
to a pulp on their home floor.
Last year,.Michigan gave away the game -
turning the ball over 29 times - before "laying
down and dying," according to Duke's Jason
Williams.
This year, the Wolverines' poor shooting was
more the culprit than not playing hard or not tak-
ing care of the ball. While Michigan looked a lit-
tle intimidated at the start, the Blue Devils didn't
help matters when they scored on nearly every
possession. Even if Chris Young had scored 50
points, instead of 25, the Blue Devils were just a
far superior team and are playing at a level
where Michigan coach Tommy Amaker admits,
"we're a long ways away from."
Simply stated, Duke doesn't have any weak-
nesses in its roster filled with NBA-caliber play-
ers. And the Blue Devils realize it.
It's about time Michigan understands its limi-
tations, and that everyone realizes that success
isn't going to happen overnight.
Long-time CBS analyst Billy Packer wasn't
afraid to put things in perspective for Amaker
and Michigan.
"He's got a great pedigree, but until guys do it
- I'm not a hype guy," Packer said before going
on the air Saturday. "I tell it like I see it. I see
one team over here that obviously wouldn't
shock you to be in the Final Four. I see a team
over here that's young, basically inexperienced,
very limited athletically and is playing in a tough
league - and is 3-3 now in a non-descript sched-
ule."
While Amaker continues to push code words
like "passion" and "patience," many Michigan
fans are eager in seeking immediate results.
They want Michigan at the same stage of nation-
al prominence as the "Fab Five" era. Then, fans
around the country were glued to their television
sets and either loved the trendy baggy shorts or
disliked the trash talk and brash cockiness those
See SMITH, Page 5B
DAVID KATZ/Daily
LaVell Blanchard gets stuffed by Duke's Dahntay Jones.
opposing bench agreed.
'(Young) is a real weapon," Duke
coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
"Maybe two years ago you don't say
that about Chris Young, but he's a
weapon."
In the first half, Young and fresh-
man Dommanic Ingerson led the
way for the Wolverines. Their regu-
lar scorers - swingmen LaVell
Blanchard and Bernard Robinson
-went scoreless in the half. Blan-
chard was a victim of three first half
fouls which limited his floor time.
Ingerson ended the game with 13
points, including two-straight 3-
pointers. The freshman's refusal to
be intimidated and his willingness
to shoot the ball against Duke was a
refreshing sight for a Michigan
team that was awe-struck in last
year's game, and seemed to be
equally so on Saturday.
"Ingerson gave them a big lift
coming off the bench," Krzyzewski
said of the Wolverines' ability to stay
in the game after the initial Duke
run. "And they played with energy.
They could have gone away."
Michigan did not go away, but
much of the drama of the game was
lost after the first few minutes.
Everything Williams shot - espe-
cially from behind the arc - seemed
to fall. Duhon had nine points, 10
assists and four steals, and the Blue
Devils shot 60.3 percent from the
field.
As for the matchup between stu-
dent and teacher, both Amaker and
Krzyzewski were mutually respec-
tive, but also relieved to have it out
of the way.
"I love Tommy," Krzyzewski said.
"Tommy is like a son to me. If you
asked my daughters who their broth-
ers are, they'd say Tommy was one
of them."
Cammallen ignites sweep over Miami
By Seth Klempner
Daily Sports Writer
OXFORD - The No. 11 Michigan hockey
team traveled to Oxford this weekend riding a
seven-game CCHA unbeaten streak and look-
ing to remove itself from the log jam atop the
CCHA.
By the end of the weekend, Michigan had
extended its CCHA unbeaten streak to nine
games and its overall winning streak to five.
Michigan now owns sole possession of second
place, but remains three points behind first-
junior Mike Cammalleri scored a game-win-
ning goal less than a minute into overtime to
get the 3-2 victory. The next night, the Wolver-
ines were able to keep their momentum, win-
ning 5-2.
"It's gonna be a tight race, obviously it's not
over but at least we're back in the hunt now,"
Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "I like the
way our team is playing. They've been hard-
fought points, tough games and these are good
teams we've beat."
The Wolverines iced the game and the
weekend series Saturday night when Cammal-
Nystrom scored off of a similar shot. Both
goals came off of hard shifts from the Michi-
gan first line, which were able to cycle the
puck, get rebounds and set screens in front for
shooters.
Visibly frustrated after the Cammalleri goal,
Miami goaltender David Burleigh shot the
puck the length of the ice in response to
See REDHAWKS, Page 4B
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