FIRST IN 16 After 15-consecutive wins, the water polo team lost to Indiana - its big- gest rival - for the first time ever. PAGE 3B GOLDEN GRAPPLERS GENNARO FILICE The wrestling team defeated No. 4 Minnesota yesterday to set up a show- down for the Big Ten title next week. PAGE 7B Student section gave up on its most talked-about cheer PAGE 8B The SportsMonday Column SPORTS DAY January 31, 2005 lB able Noigm DaUt, ix ;I : :jj Losing steam PURDUE 84, Michigan 55 Amaker must JASON COOPER/Daily Senior captain Eric Nystrom is pushed to the ice while fighting for the puck against Northern Michigan Friday. * Icers' defensive stand salvages wee kend sit By Gabe Edelson Daily Sports Writer With just over six minutes remaining in Saturday night's game at Yost Ice Arena, the Michigan hockey team found itself in a tough spot. Despite leading Northern Michigan by a score of 3-1, the No. 4 Wolverines (17-3-0 CCHA, 20-7-1 overall) were at a two-man disad- vantage. With both Tim Cook and Matt Hunwick - one-third of the team's defensive corps - in the penalty box and the Wildcats (11-6-3, 13-8-5) on the attack, it was . up to the Wolverines' recently-porous penalty-kill- ing unit and the goaltending of Al Montoya to keep .,Ic Michigan on top. If Northern Michigan scored le, early enough in the one-minute-and-40-second stretch of 5-on-3 play, it would still have a one-man edge for a chance to tie $he contest in the waning moments. But the Wolverines responded with impressive defensive poise that prevented the Wildcats from scoring and whipped the crowd into a fren- zy. Montoya made three stops during the span, which was punctuated by the netrilinder's sprawling glove save of a Nathan Oystrick shot from the middle of the slot. The acrobatic effort prompted a standing ovation from many fans. Michigan's skaters also rose to the occasion during the penalty kill by making big hits, blocking shots and clearing the puck to the Wildcats' end a few times to effectively shut down the Northern Michigan rally. "It was a big boost," forward Milan Gajic said of the successful pen- alty kill. "Once that happened, I think we kind of started rolling, and the game was over." Michigan coach Red Berenson was proud of his team's effort with the game on the line. "That's a tough position to put yourself in late in the game," Berenson said. "It's not like you're hanging on, but, if they get another one, who knows? They had us on our heels, and I thought we did a great job." Northern Michigan coach Walt Kyle was disappointed with the out- come of his team's late-game chance. "We've got our best players on the ice, and they have to be our best players," Kyle said. "They have to make plays at that time, and we didn't make plays." After the Michigan's 4-1 loss to Northern Michigan on Friday - its first conference defeat at home since falling to Michigan State on Feb. 28, 2003 - the Wolverines were anxious for a weekend split to sal- vage the series. Though Michigan remained in first place in the CCHA, second-place Ohio State swept Western Michigan to inch within three points of the top spot. Another loss on Saturday would have left the Wol- verines with a hair-thin one-point margin. "We've had a lot of good games, but this was an important good game," See WILDCATS, page 4B evaluate team's lost season W EST LAFAYETTE- Pop! That's the sound of the Michigan basketball team's NCAA Tournament bubble bursting. Yes- terday's 84-55 loss to a Purdue team that was winless in the Big Ten has all but officially shut the door on any chance for the Wolverines to be dancing in March - at least in the tournament that matters anyway. There are so many ways to describe the magnitude of the loss. The 29-point deficit was the second-largest of the season, second only to the 31-point defeat at the hands of then-No. 4 Geor- gia Tech. Michigan was outrebounded on the defensive end by 10 (25-15), the largest margin of the season. BRIAN Sophomore Dion Harris - Michi- SCHICK gan's leading scorer and go-to guy with Schick Daniel Horton suspended - failed to score in double figures for the first time Happens since Dec. 29 and shot 3-for-14. But the one thing that is most worrisome about this team is the current lack of a direction for the program. The Wol- verines are riding the longest losing streak of the season and have fallen below .500 in conference action. After the game, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker was asked if there was a letdown by his players after Thursday's loss to Michigan State. "You can search for a lot of reasons, but I don't have an answer for that," Amaker said. "As a coach, sometimes you find yourself in that situation when you scratch your head and wonder." Amaker was later asked about Harris's shooting woes of late. "I don't have an answer for it," Amaker said. Those are not thend of statements people want to hear from the leader of a team that is struggling to overcome a whirlwind of problems this year. Amaker needs to figure out how to right this sinking ship before things start to spi- ral out of control. I'm not upset that Michigan lost this game. I'm frustrated in the way it lost. Purdue came out wanting this win more than Michigan. The Boilermakers also looked well prepared and knew exactly what Michigan was going to bring to the table. On the other hand, Michigan often looked flat and unin- spired. The Wolverines often looked confused and couldn't slow down any of the Purdue players. For a team that had a size advantage, Michigan's starting power forward and center - Graham Brown and Courtney Sims - grabbed just four combined defensive rebounds; 5- foot-l guard Dani Wohl had four himself. This looked like a team that just wasn't ready to play yesterday. Or was it? Talking to forward Brent Petway after the game, he felt Michigan was ready to face the Boilermakers. "We definitely were ready to try to bounce back (yes- terday) and get a win," Petway said. "I don't think it was anything to do with preparation from the coaches. We came in here feeling real good, and we couldn't turn the practice into the game." This can mean one of two things: either Petway is lying, or, worse, the team isn't responding to Amaker's coaching. Both suggest that not only are the players and coaches not on the right page, they're not even in the same chapter. I have great respect for what Amaker has brought to Michigan over his four-year tenure at the helm. He has helped restore a program that was disgraced and has brought class and dignity to this team. He brought the team back to national prominence last season by winning the National Invitation Tournament. See SCHICK, page 5B MIKE HULSEBUS/Daily Purdue guard David Teague steals a rebound from Michigan freshman Ron Coleman in the Wolverines' 84-55 loss. Blue drops fourth straight Boilermakers cruise to first conference win By Eric Ambinder Daily Sports Editor WEST LAFAYETTE - Even Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady admitted he didn't see it coming. After losing their first seven Big Ten games, the Boilermakers crushed the Wolverines 84-55 yesterday at Mackey Arena. "We're not in the cellar anymore by ourselves," Keady said. Michigan dropped its fourth-consecutive confer- ence game. "This is the lowest point that I have been with this team," forward Courtney Sims said. "But we gotta bounce back." Michigan (3-4 Big Ten, 12-9 overall) trailed by at least 14 points for the entire second half. Four walk- ons - wing Sherrod Harrell, guard Dani Wohl, guard Ashtyn Bell and wing John Andrews - played a combined 46 minutes in the second half while starters Dion Harris, Sims and Ron Coleman logged just 16 in the final frame. "We are going to play the players that we think will give us the best chance to win the ball game, and that's what we did," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. Harris struggled to find his shot all game, shooting just 3-for-14. Without backcourt-mate Daniel Horton - who remains suspended indefi- nitely - the sophomore was forced to create most of his shot attempts. "I think, in first half, I was kind of forcing some things, just trying to take it all on my shoulders for our team," Harris said. "I think that kind of hurt us a little." Said Amaker about Harris's performance yester- day: "I don't have an answer for it. Part of the problem is that they played great defense on him. That's one reason he struggled." The Boilermakers (1-6, 5-13) never let the Wol- verines gather any momentum in the second half. They had progressively stretched the lead to 29 - the largest of the game - when the game-ending buzzer sounded. See PURDUE, page 5B Brannen just misses collegiate mile record 0 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Late comeback effort can't stave off Badgers 7 By Pete Sneider Daily Sports Writer The time it takes for light to trav- el around the earth is roughly one tenth of a second. That's also approximately the margin by which Nate Brannen missed setting a collegiate record in the mile this weekend. Brannen came .11 of a second shy of the collegiate indoor mile record Saturday at the Boston Indoor Games. But his time of 3:55.11 was fact enn-in to automat ia ouifv injuries and little things like that," Brannen said. "I haven't felt like I've run to my capability, so this is definitely a step forward." Said Michigan coach Ron War- hurst: "What do you say? 3:55 is fantastic. He's proven that he can compete not only on the NCAA level but also on the international level." It was the second week in a row that Brannen met an NCAA qualify- ing standard. Last week at the Red Simmons Invitational, he made an NCA A nrnvisinnal n1lifvini time By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer MADISON - For the last six minutes of its game against Wisconsin, the Michi- gan women's basketball team showed its true offensive potential. The Wolverines scored 26 points in that span, drilling six 3-pointers. "I guess we're the team that, at least, never says die," Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett said. "We really tried to have a comeback. which I'm proud of our kids opportunities for them in the open floor that I don't think we guarded very well," Burnett said. "It made the difference in the ballgame." Despite their struggles for most of the game, the Wolverines did not give up. Wisconsin had a 65-45 lead with 5:45 to go in the game, but freshman co-captain Krista Clement's triple signaled a change in momentum. After freshman Ta'Shia Walker and sophomore Kelly Helvey each drained two free throws, senior co-captain Tabitha Pool took over. Within a minute and a half, Pool drilled two 3-pointers W - f.J U~ - I