PHYSICS RANKINGS:
A pair of University physicists take
a crack at simplifying the BCS.
PAGE 2B

THE SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN:
Ian Herbert sits by the fire and reads
an ode to Michigan football fans.
PAGE 3B

WOODLEY:
There is no doubt that this 6-foot-2,
275-pound is a natural-born athlete.
PAGE 6B

sPORTSC AY

December 12, 2005

1B


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Michigan 68, SouTH FLORIDA 47
Grabbing the Bulls by the horns

Horton, Blue
steal game early
By Scott Bel
Daily Sports Writer
TAMPA, Fla. - Wolverines guard Daniel Horton smelled
blood. Unfortunately for walk-on South Florida point guard Chris
Capko, it was his.
Horton's four steals in four minutes brought on a chain reaction
of positive results.
A 19-0run.
A 68-47 win.
And a 7-0 record - Michigan's best start since the 1996-97
season.
"I just wanted to try and make plays
and be tough on the ball," Horton said. "A LISTEN
couple times, (Capko) threw a couple of
lazy passes that I was able to get a hand on
and steal, but it was a great team effort. I
wouldn't have been able to do that if guys Download a podcast of
behind me weren't denying and taking Tommy Amaker's post-
away the passing lanes." game press conference.
Even though the defense may have been www.michigandaily.com.
a team effort behind the scenes, it was the

Daniel Horton show on the surface. The guard's four steals dur-
ing the run were highlighted by three consecutive swipes of the
overmatched Capko. The defensive effort quickly morphed a
game deadlocked at 12 into an early blowout.
Each of Horton's steals led to a basket on the other end and
further created a comfortable cushion for the Wolverines. He
took the first two steals to the basket himself, and both led to
routine lay-ups. His third strip resulted in another easy lay-in
when he hit a streaking guard Dion Harris in the open court.
Horton's final steal of the run was from Bulls star center Solo-
mon Jones. The swipe turned into two free throws by wing
Lester Abram, who was fouled going up for a lay-up after Hor-
ton got him the ball.
Horton collected his fifth steal shortly into the second half,
when his full-court pressure caused Capko to cough up the
ball once again. The senior's dominance over the overmatched
Bulls point guard wasn't met with a great deal of sympathy
after the game.
"Teams didn't feel sorry for us last year," Horton said. "And
nobody felt sorry for me when I was a freshman and had to handle
'M' defense co
By Kevin Wright ing is the number
Daily Sports Writer we had offensively

the ball by myself. So these things have to be taken advantage of.
This is basketball."
Michigan finished the game with 24 points off 20 South Flor-
ida turnovers. Abram led the attack with 18 points, followed by
Horton's 16 and junior Courtney Sims's 13.
For the third game in a row, Michigan's offensive balance out-
shone its opponents. Three Wolverines in double figures were met
by just one for the Bulls - guard James Holmes had a game-high
20 points.
Coming off a 33-point performance against Delaware State,
Sims looked as if he had a repeat showing in mind during the
game's early stages. The center scored six points within the
first three minutes of the half, each one coming off an offensive
rebound. But instead of working on reaching a new career high,
Sims watched the defense's excellence from the bench for the
remainder of the half. Two quick fouls sent him to the pine just
four minutes into the game.
"It's not going to be me every day," Sims said. "It's not going
to be (senior forward) Chris (Hunter). It's not going to be Dan-
iel (Horton). It can be anybody any given day. We have so many
people who can score 20 any given night."
Sims saw 14 minutes of action in the second half and managed
not to foul out. He finished the night with seven rebounds - all
on the offensive glass. Graham Brown once again paced the
See BULLS, page 5B
)nfounds Bulls

of breakdowns that
in terms of guys not

TAMPA, Fla. - They stood next to
each other, faces set in frustration.
South Florida's Solomon Jones
walked over to Melvin Buckley and rep-
rimanded him over his poor execution.
Following the broken play, the Bulls
couldn't contain their emotions stem-
ming from the Wolverines' defense.
"(Michigan's defensive pressure) was
very good," South Florida coach Robert
McCullum said. "They're experienced,
talented and deep, and we knew that
coming in. What's even more frustrat-

knowing the plays or not being where
they are supposed to be when they are
supposed to be there:'
During the game, the Wolverines'
defense constantly confused and upset
the South Florida offense. It caused
several five-second violations, forced
difficult shots and was instrumental in
Michigan's 19-0 run toward the end of
the first half that put the game out of
reach.
The Bulls stuck with the Wolverines
for the first five minutes of the game
and only trailed by two. But after that,

Michigan altered its defensive scheme
from strictly man-to-man defense to a
matchup zone.
South Florida adjusted to the differ-
ent defense, but it took a great shot from
James Holmes to save the Bulls from a
shot-clock violation.
On the Bulls' following posses-
sion, Holmes once again connected on
a jumper, and Michigan's zone didn't
seem to be working effectively. When
the Wolverines were entrenched in the
matchup zone, they surrendered five
points to the Bulls' leading scorer.
With 12 minutes left in the half, the
See DEFENSE, page 5B

RODRIGO GAYA/Daily
Senior Daniel Horton and Wolverines won their third road game of the season with a convincing 68-47 victory over
South Florida. Horton led the Michigan defensive effort with five steals.


WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Losing Helvey.

dooms Blue


By Sara Livingston
Daily Sports Writer

A loud slam echoed through Bank of America Arena
early in the first half of the women's basketball game
against Washington Friday night. But this time, it wasn't
the sound of coach Cheryl Burnett's
foot crashing down onto the hard-
wood. It was the sound of junior KellyEMU t
Helvey - coming off a career-high
30 points against University of Maryland Eastern Shore
- falling to her hands and knees after a mid-court colli-
sion with Washington guard Cameo Hicks.
As Helvey limped into the locker room under her own
strength, the four remaining Wolverines gathered in the
middle of the court and tried to regroup. Michigan managed
to go on a small scoring run before completely handing the
game over to the Huskies and losing 82-60.
"When Kelly went down, it was a major blow to our
team," sophomore Ta'Shia Walker said. "We knew we had
to recoup. It was rough because she is a very big part 61
our team. We had to regroup, and we had to be able to play
through everything."
Despite their efforts, the Wolverines (4-5) immediately
fell back into their old habits, turning the ball over 24 times

RYAN WEINER/Daily
Junior David Rohlfs and Nebraska-Omaha defensemen Dan Knapp trade punches in the third period of Saturday night's game. Both players received game disqualifications
and will have to miss their team's next game. For quotes from Michigan players on the chippiness that ensued near the end of the game, see page 4B.
ICers break streak, dominate Mavericks

By H. Jose Bosch
Daily Soorts Writer

league race," captain Andrew Ebbett said. "I thought that was
a huge way to finish off the first half. It gives us something to

were in for another night of bad bounces.
As the Mavericks attacked the net, Michigan freshman Jack