0 Ate IIbia ~di SPORTS michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu TUESDAY APRIL 2, 2002 14 r Simply Juan-derful ARUN GOPAL Ugly matchup was better than CBS' coverage rWe're not old enough to remember Indiana's WAIprevious two championship games, and were not born for the previous three. But we're pret- ty sure that this one - the Hoosier's sixth trip to the championship and their first loss - was the ugliest yet. Maryland's 64-52 win over Indiana may well have been the worst championship game in most of our life- times. Indiana was all but incapable of hitting a field goal that was not a 3-pointer, and it did not get to the free-throw line in the entire second half. Maryland, meanwhile, played sloppi- ly and carelessly, in a style g that CBS commentatorsr Jim Nance and Billy Pack- er repeatedly referred to as "out of sync." Regardless, a champi- onship banner will hang 2 0 LN from Cole Field House before they tear the old CO barn down. Some observations from last night's game (and CBS' broadcast): UGLIEST MAN EVER?: Jared Jeffries followed up his lackluster Final Four performance against Oklahoma (eight points) with an equally disappointing game against Maryland (eight points). LIVE BY THE THREE, DIE BY THE THREE: Indiana has all season long, particularly in this tournament. The Hoosiers were a combined 10-of-23 from behind the arc last night, but unlike Saturday against Oklahoma (when they shot 6-of-6 on 3-pointers in the second half) the Hoosiers faded down the stretch, and were outscored by Maryland 22-10 as the clock wound down. BIGGEST DISTRACTION: There were surprisingly few commercials for CBS's new sitcom 'Baby Bob.' Thank God. But the repeated use of the stattracker to show that yes, Juan Dixon STILL led the tournament in scoring average, was deplorable. While Mountain Dew and Mer- cedes do deserve their due ad time, CBS found a way to take away from an enjoyable viewing of an important game in a way that only FOX'S World Series broadcast could rival.- BEST INFOGRAPHIC: CBS decided it would be couth to superimpose Maryland sharpshooter Juan Dixon's head on the body of a cartoon terrapin and label the graphic "Juanderful." Brilliant. Runner-up was an animated lot- tery ball dispenser illustrating how the Terrapins have faced the 16th, 8th, 4th, 2nd and 1st seeds to advance to the championship game. Muy impresivo. BEST NECKTIE: Indiana coach Mike Davis' red Indiana tie, which he has worn for two games in a row. Davis makes up for his poor fashion sense by his honesty and integrity, and the shot of him walking off the court with his arm around guard Tom Coverdale, which will surely be used in sappy CBS montages for years to come. And the winner is ... 4 Michigan nine deserves its fair share of criticism e Michigan baseball team is Tprobably feeling pretty good about itself right now, and with some reason - the Wolverines just won three of four games against Iowa this weekend to open up the Big Ten season. Thanks to some solid pitch- ing performances from Bobby Korecky and Rich Hill, Michigan was able to give the fans at The Fish something to cheer about. I hate to rain on Michigan's parade (well, that's actually not true at all. I enjoy it an awful lot), but taking three of four from the Hawkeyes doesn't erase the awful start that the Wolverines had to this season. For those who don't remember, here's a little refresher - Michigan lost 12 of its first 15 games and entered this weekend ranked last among all Big Ten teams in pitching, hitting and defense. Yes, you read that correctly. Michi- gan was dead-last in the Big Ten in all three phases of the game. The absolute low point for the Wolverines had to have come against San Diego on March 3, when Michigan gave up 13 unearned runs in one inning en route to a 21-2 flogging at the hands of the Toreros. How do you go about giving up 13 unearned runs in a game, let alone in one inning? That might be the most astonishing statis- tic I've ever seen, but Michigan demonstrated that when you put your mind to something, anything is pos- sible, including feats of staggering ineptitude. In fairness to the Wolverines, 14 of their first 15 games were played on the road. But that's common for col- lege baseball teams in the Midwest and the Northeast. Since the weather in those regions is frigid until May,. teams like Michigan usually have to play a ton of road games before they can play a home game. Sure enough, the Wolverines had 12 road contests before they finally got a home game, and they made the most of their chance to play at The Fish by beating Bowling Green 4-3 on March 19. Still, it's impossible to overlook just how horribly Michigan played to start the season. In past years, the Wolverines have had moderate suc- cess in their season-opening road swing, but they've never been any- thing special. The Big Ten hasn't been very kind to the Wolverines either - the last two years, Michi- gan has a combined record of 20-32 in conference play. Why am I picking on the baseball team, you ask? The main reason is that I can't understand how the base- ball team can get swept by Texas-San Antonio while the softball team ranks among the nation's best. Michigan's softball team currently sports a record of 24-7, and the Wolverines are coming off a two- game sweep of Ohio State, which was ranked No. 25 in the nation at the time. The wins over the Buckeyes give Michigan seven wins over top 25 teams this season, and it's only April 2. Michigan's softball team is annual- ly one of the best teams in the coun- try, even though it has to deal with all of the same obstacles that the baseball team deals with. Much like baseball, softball has its greatest popularity in the west and in the south, so that's where the best players and the best teams, like Oklahoma and UCLA, are. The Wolverines never get to play any of those power- houses at Alumni Field - instead, Michigan plays them in early-season tournaments (read: road games) in California and Florida. This season, the Wolverines played their first 27 games on the road and amassed a record of 21-6. Michigan appears well on its way to another NCAA Tournament bid and could make a return trip to the Women's College World Series. The tremendous success of the softball team renders all excuses for the baseball team's mediocrity moot. Considering how much flak the foot- ball and basketball teams at this school receive (and make no mistake, it's all justified), it's amazing how lit- tle criticism the baseball team gets. The Wolverines annually fight to finish in the middle of the Big Ten pack and are on their third coach in the last decade, yet nobody ever wonders what's wrong with the base- ball program. I'm not saying that Michigan's baseball team should be contending for the national title every year, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect winning records in Big Ten play and a decent nonconference showing (as opposed to two losses by more than 10 runs and another loss by nine, which Michigan suffered this year between Feb. 24 and March 3). The fact that the softball team is a national power makes the baseball team's ineptitude that much more glaring. With that said, maybe this week- end's success against Iowa is a sign of good things to come for the base- ball team. Now that they're only seven games below .500, it's time to start thinking Big Ten title, isn't it? Arun Gopal can be reached at agopal@umich.edu. 4 AP PHOTO1 Maryland's Juan Dixon falls on top of teammate Lonny Baxter after defeating Indiana 64-52 to win the NCAA final in Atlanta last night, while Tahj Holden hangs over the celebrating seniors. Terrapins taste NCAA title ATLANTA (AP) - For more than 20 min- utes, Juan Dixon was nearly invisible, a little man lost in the cavernous Georgia Dome. Then, when Mary- land needed him . 'INDIANA 52 most in the NCAA - championship game, MARYLAND 64 Dixon knocked down two of the biggest shots of the night against Indiana. No way he was going to let this title get away from the Terrapins. Dixon endured too much heartache in his life, losing both parents to the drug culture. He heard too many people say this skinny kid couldn't make it at a big school such as Maryland. When the Terps were reeling, Dixon was there for them - just as he had been all sea- son. The All-American guard scored 18 points and made five steals last night to propel Maryland to its first national title, 64-52 over Indiana. After going 20:22 without scoring, Dixon made a 3-pointer that put Maryland ahead to stay with 9:40 remaining, erasing the only lead the Hoosiers had all night. Then, with the look of a man on a mission, Dixon sank a fadeaway jumper over his des- ignated stopper, Indiana's Dane Fife. Mary- land steadily pulled away from that point, overcoming a sloppy performance that threat- ened to ruin its first appearance in the cham- pionship game. "I was patient and let the game come to me," Dixon said. "I can't put into words what this feels like." When the horn sounded, he hurled the ball into the air and collapsed to the court between teammates Lonny Baxter (260 pounds) and Tahj Holden (247). Somehow, Dixon's 165-pound body held up in the human sandwich. "I may be small, but I'm not weak," he said a day before the game. "I may be 165, but don't let it fool you." See TERPS, Page 15 The winner of the michi- gandaily.com/Pizza House Challenge is Eric Goodman. Congratulations, Eric - you and your friends have won a pizza party with 10 pies from Pizza House. We all envy your knowledge <,y ,. -. ;; f '~ - and luck. MEN'S GYMNASTICS NORMAN, OKLA. CHAMPIONSHIPS Michigan golf not so 'fabulous' on par 5s Blue turns to talented seniors as run for national title culminates By Evan Brown Daily Sports Writer It has the confidence. It has the talent. But does the Michigan men's gym- nastics team have the leadership and competitive edge to win an NCAA Championship? After placing second in the Big Ten Championship over a week ago, the Wolverines were one of 12 teams invit- ed to compete for the national champi- onship this weekend in Norman, Okla. The championship will last two days, with the field of 12 being cut in half after the first day of action is complet- ed Thursday. The final six teams will then battle for the crown on Friday. "We (gained) a lot of confidence from our performance (in the Big Ten's)," Michigan coach Kurt Golder said. "We need to go out and gain some consistency from match to match, though." Michigan is grouped with this year's Big Ten champion Ohio State, as well as Illinois, Minnesota, Temple and Stanford for the first day's preliminar- ies, The Wolverines lost to the Buck- eyes by three points in the Big Ten Championship but beat them in the first match of the year. Michigan has faced Illinois and Minnesota two other times this season, defeating Minnesota both times and splitting with Illinois. The Wolverines' season has had a lot of ups and downs. Lately there have been a lot of the former, as they have continued to improve and gain confi- dence. Michigan still hasn't performed up to expectations, but it surprised some by finishing second in the Big Ten. The Wolverines will need to focus on consistency and leadership to come out on top. The first place to look for such lead- ership is with the captains, seniors LLOYD NOBLE CENTER What: NCAA Championships When: 2 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday Latest: This could turn into a Big Ten show- down. Ohio State is the favorite to win the title, but the Wolverines fell just short of the Buck- eyes at the Big Ten championships. gan man," Golder said. "There is never a worry about his responsibility. (He has) great leadership, evident from his four-time captainship. You can't say he was a coach's pet to get it for four years, he was nominated and elected by his peers." Senior Daniel Diaz-Luong is on the U.S. National Team as well, and he has also been a gymnast for 17 years. He has been a multiple All-American over the last three years, and he also has added several Big Ten titles to his resume. "He is hitting a peak lately," Golder said. "He is looking very good in prac- tice, we need him to have a good meet this weekend. We have high expecta- tions for him." Fellow senior Brad Kenna has never The number fivecarries certain significance for everyone. But, for the Michigan women's golf team, the number five has been troublesome. Halfway through the Wolverines' spring sea- BLOOM son, statistics show that Who: Michiga par 5 holes have taken ana invitation their toll on Michigan. When: Saturd "I think that par 5s day morning are the worst of any- Latest: The thing we are struggling haven't comps with,"coach Kathy fourth-place ft with," Lady Seahawi Teichert said. "This on Mar. 25-2 year, we haven't played par 5s as well as we should have, given the caliber of our players, and how they hit the ball." Unfortunately for Michigan, this lack of consistency doesn't end with par 5s. The Wolverines have been struggling to stay consistent in all aspects of their game during the spring season. By Gennaro Filice For The Daily progress this weekend at the Indi- ana Invitational in Bloomington. Michigan will keep the same start- ing lineup it has used all year: Seniors Misia Lemanski, Cortney Reno, LeAnna Wicks, junior Kim Benedict and freshman' Laura Olin. INGTON an at the Indi- al lay and Sun- Nolverines peted since a inish at the k Invitational 6. and we c With just two more tour- naments beore the Big Ten Championship (April 26-28), this week- end's action carries great significance for the Maize and Blue. "We have to go into every tournament with focus and determination to succeed," Teichert said. "We're here to win, can't take any competition Experience and strength Justin Toman The fifth-year senior was a member of the U.S. National Team for three years. Toman was also voted by his teammates into a captainship for an unprecedented four straight years at Michigan. The former Big Ten and national champion on the parallel bars will leave with I lightly." Teichert feels confideat that her team will be sturdy competitors in both the Big Ten Tournament, and possibly the NCAA regional in May. "I really feel like we 'have a strong team," Teichert said. "I think i