Jlbe Airbigauu livg SPORTS Sports desk: 763-2459 sportsdesk@umich.edu SECTION B ww1ihgna y.o so~ AnnAror Mchian, onayDeemer18 2t1 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 IIL I Wiz}{ b' ta 'sZ?3 tv, . '='' f. L2,:4: