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February 17, 2003 - Image 14

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6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 17, 2003

NCAA hockey
field taking hold
BOB HUNT
ON HOCGY
The RPI doesn't just apply to basketball.
As there are just three weeks left in the regular season,
who will be playing for the Frozen Four is starting to take
shape. And it's a lot simpler than it seems.
Picking who will be in the NCAA Hockey tournament
is much easier than either basketball tourney, thanks in
part to the Pairwise Rankings.
The Pairwise combines a team's Ratings Percentage
Index (calculated in the same way as the basketball RPI)
with its winning percentage. The ranking, while not used
by the NCAA, has predicted perfectly which teams will
make the 12-team field the last few years.
The situation has become more complicated with four-
teams and two regionals added to the fray, but the process
to pick the field is the same.
This years' tourney will be split up into four regions -
East, Northeast, West, and Midwest - with the winners
going to the Frozen Four in Buffalo the weekend after the
Final Four. This is different from last year in that there will
actually be regional winners. Also unlike last year, no
teams will receive byes, making each team win twice to
move on.
In deciding who will make the field, one normally takes
the top-14 teams in the Pairwise and inserts the champions
of college hockey's two minor conferences, College Hock-
ey America and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Currently, Denver and Providence are tied for 13th in the
Pairwise, making them the last two in. This would leave
out Michigan State and Harvard, who are currently tied for
16th. For the Spartans to make the NCAA Tournament,
they may have to win the CCHA Tournament and thus
receive an automatic bid.
After deciding who gets in, the teams must be split up
into regions taking by placing host teams in their own
regionals, avoiding first round matchups between teams
from the same conference, and keeping teams as close to
home as possible.
As the nation's top four teams, Colorado College,
Maine, Cornell and New Hampshire are would receive No.
1 seeds. Because three of these schools are out east, New

The Road
to Buffalo

No. 1 Colorado College (23-4-5)
No. 4 Alabama-Huntsville (15-9-3)
Arena,
Minneapolis
No. 2 Minnesota (17-7-7)
No. 3 Ferris State (22-8-1)
No. 1 New Hampshire (19-7-4)
No. 4 Denver (18-9-5)
"Ort Ice
Midwest Yrena,
MidwestAnn Arbor
No. 2 North Dakota (22-6-4)
No. 3 Michigan (21-8-1)
Last three in:
Denver
Providence
St. Cloud State
Last three out:
Harvard
Michigan State
Minnesota State-Mankato
*All records and rankings used in the selection process
are as of Saturday night's games.

jI

No. 1 Cornell (20-4-1)
No. 4 Providence (17-12-2)
Providence
Civic Center, E s
Providence, R.I.
No. 2 Boston College (19-8-3)
No. 3 St. Cloud State (14-11-3)
No. 1 Maine (22-5-5)
No. 4 Mercyhurst (15-11-2)
The Centrum
,Worcester, N rt e s
Centre, North east
Mass
No. 2 Boston University (20-10-2)
No. 3 Ohio State (21-7-3)
*Automatic bids are given out to the winners of all six
conferences (Central Collegiate Hockey Association,
College Hocke America, East Coast Athletic Confer-
ence, Hockey h~ast, Metro Atlantic Athletic Confer-
ence and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association).
For this bracket projection, current conference leaders
are slated.
aTeams must be placed in their home region. Those are
as follows:
West: Minnesota
Midwest: Michigan
East: Providence
Northeast: Boston University

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Hampshire had to be moved out to the Midwest regional
because it is the nation's fourth ranked team.
Because of their road woes, the Wolverines, if the sea-
son ended today, might not have made the field if there
were still 12 teams, as they stand 12th in the Pairwise. But
this projection places them third in the Midwest at Yost
going up against North Dakota, who the Wolverines lost

two in Buffalo in their second game of the season.
The committee normally attempts to avoid regular sea-
son matchups, but it would not move out hosts Boston
University and Minnesota, and fifth-ranked Boston Col-
lege is likely not be moved out west because the Eagles
are the highest-ranked second seed.
Michigan would then take on either New Hampshire or

Denver. The Wolverines upset Denver, the nation's second-
ranked team at the time, to advance to the Frozen Four last
season.
To learn more than you would ever want to know about
the Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, including a
complete explaination of the Pariwise, check out
www.uscho.com.

LeBron scores just 22 in season finale

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - When Kettering
Alter forward Andrew Stichweh blocked
Lebron James' shot yesterday, the Alter stu-
dent section began to chant "overrated!"
James silenced those fans a minute later
when he stole a pass and unleashed a toma-
hawk dunk that had the crowd gasping.
James' final regular-season game was
regular in one sense - he dominated.
The nation's top high school player had
22 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 1
Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary to a 73-40 vic-
tory over Kettering Alter before a sellout
crowd of more than 13,000 at the Universi-
ty of Dayton Arena.
Although James didn't reach his 33
points per game average, his acrobatics
wowed the audience. James unleashed five
dunks and displayed a full arsenal - alley-
oops, one-handed and tomahawks.
The 6-foot-8 senior forward is expected
to be the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA
draft. And he showed it.

The Knights (11-8) played a two-three
zone to try to slow down James and the
Irish (17-1) with no luck. With the game
tied at 2, St. Vincent-St. Mary went on a
10-0 run to set the tone for the game.
In that span, James scored four points,
fired a crosscourt pass for an assist and
blocked a shot, flattening 5-foot-11 Alter
guard Jack Hilgeman in getting the
rebound.
During the third quarter, James seemed
content to feed his teammates. But he did
score on an alley-oop and a tomahawk
dunk on a breakaway.
James' 22 points moved him to seventh
place on the Ohio high school basketball
career scoring list with 2,463 points. He
passed former Middletown High School
and Ohio State star Jerry Lucas, who had
2,460 points.
James scored 46 points Friday against
Zanesville and had a career-high 52 points
in his previous game, against Westchester

of Los Angeles. But he seemed content to
get his teammates into the act Sunday.
Junior guard Corey Jones scored 20
points, and after the game James presented
Jones the MVP trophy that James was
awarded.
"I think somebody played better than
me," James announced to the crowd.
The Ohio High School Athletic Associa-
tion had ruled the 18-year-old James ineli-
gible for accepting two free retro sports
jerseys worth a combined $845.
But Summit County Common Pleas
Court Judge James Williams temporarily
reinstated James on Feb. 5 and has sched-
uled a hearing for March 5 to decide
whether to permanently block the associa-
tion's ruling or uphold it.
Under the judge's ruling, James will sit
out his team's final regular-season game
against Toledo Scott on Feb. 23, but he can
play in the playoffs, at least until the at
least until the March 5 hearing.

AP PHOTO
LeBron James' team, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, has remained the No. i team in the USA Today national
rankings despite its forfeit due to LeBron's brief ineligibility.

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Hamilton and Billups lead way
as Pistons take out Cleveland

CLEVELAND (AP) - Darius Miles draped a towel
over his head, dropped to the floor and tried to disappear.
As the Cleveland Cavaliers stumbled toward their 43rd
loss, Miles wanted to be anywhere but Gund Arena.
"I got a lot of love for these guys, but it got to the point
where I didn't even want to play anymore," Miles said.
Richard Hamilton scored 23 points and Chauncey
Billups added 15 last night, leading the Detroit Pistons to
a 90-75 win over the miserable Cavaliers.
Hamilton scored 11 points in the third quarter when the
Pistons, the NBA's best defensive team, limited Cleveland
to 14 points and took control.
Ben Wallace added 13 points and 16 rebounds as
Detroit won for the seventh time in eight games and
moved within one game of Central Division-leading Indi-
ana.
Ricky Davis had 19 points for Cleveland, which has lost
13 of 15 and dropped to a league-worst 10-43. The Cavs
are just 2-9 under interim coach Keith Smart.
Miles, a major disappointment for Cleveland this sea-
son, scored four points -- all on free throws - and had
four rebounds in 30 minutes.
He spent a portion of the fourth quarter lounging on the
floor near the Cavs' bench hoping the game would end
quickly.
"We're just not playing as a team," Miles said. "I don't
know what we're doing out there. We're like a bunch of
street ballers out there."
Before the game, Miles said scome of the Pistons were
wondering what was wrong with the Cavs.
"Guys are like, 'Y'all got so much talent, why aren't
you winning,' Miles said.
Billups was one of them.

"Cleveland is too good to have that record," he said.
"There is a lot of talent there. It's mind-boggling to see
they only have 10 wins. They are young, talented and in
many ways, have more ability than we do.
"That team is so talented it's scary."
Earlier this season, the Cavs twice took the Pistons to
overtime before losing.
However, this one was all but over at halftime, and
Detroit made sure of it with a dominating third period.
After the Cavs trimmed a 13-point halftime deficit to
seven in the opening 2:40 of the third, Hamilton and
Billups combined to score Detroit's next 13 as the Pistons
rebuilt their lead to 14.
Hamilton, averaging 27 points in his last three games,
added two more baskets in the final 1:43 of the quarter as
the Pistons opened a 73-52 lead entering the fourth.
"Every game, I get better and better," Hamilton said.
"I'm using my teammates more, taking my time and hav-
ing fun with it. Guys are doing a great job of getting me
open."
It was more of the same for the Cavs, who were unor-
ganized on offense and uninspired on defense.
"I was disappointed with the effort," Smart said. "You
can't make those mistakes against that team"
Rookie Carlos Boozer tied a season-high with 15
rebounds, but Cavs All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas
had just six rebounds and 10 points on 5-for-15 shooting.
"I don't have any brilliant quotes," Boozer said. "We
just have to keep working."
Billups made a pair of 3-pointers - the second just
before the halftime horn - in the final 2:15 as the Pistons
closed the first half with an 11-2 run to open a 51-38 lead
at the break.

All teams welcome:
Men, Women and two levels of Co-Rec
$575 - 10 games plus playoffs
$1150 - doubleheader - 20 games plus playoffs
NO PLAYER FEES!
All games are played at Mitchell Fields
located on Fuller Road.
I 1 0 0 r M m- - - - - - n -- ON

41

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