Thursday
March 9, 2006
sports. michigandaily.com
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Ujeb Sdigrhan &i iI
SPO RTrS
9A
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P ROCRASTINATION STATION
MINNESOTA 94. MICHIGAN 86
The men's basketball beat decided to take a page out of the football
writers' book and play today's matchup a day early. Is it a bad omen for
Michigan's NCAA Tournament hopes? We'll now find out.
* Play of the game - With less than a minute to go, Minnesota PG #24
missed a free throw, but got the rebound and made a 3-pointer to put the
game away for good.
" Player of the game - Minnesota PG #24: He was unstoppable, going
7-for-11from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 33 points.
PRESS
CONFERENCE
QUO TES:
Minnesota coach Scott Bell:
"If Michigan is a tournament
team, I don't want to see what a
non-tournament team is. That was
a joke out there."
"We could score in the paint at will.
It seemed like Michigan C #44 was
afraid of contact ... and the ball ... and
winning."
"PG #4 looked good out there for them,
but he seemed to be favoring his back
after carrying the team all year."
"Coach Singer, don't you think you
could dress up for the game a little?"
Michigan coach Matt Singer: "Well,
obviously we're disappointed. A -11
rebounding margin and 24 turnovers is
no recipe for success.
"Foul trouble? It didn't help."
"One game doesn't make a resume. I
think we're still an NCAA Tournament
team. If not, I'm looking forward to
putting up another NIT banner."
"Who says I don't game plan? SF #15
scored 0 points. Of course, we didn't
really think about PG #24, and he
doubled his career-high. Oops."
STAFF PICKS
Big Ten Tournament
Predictions
Michigan vs. Minnesota
Michigan State vs. Purdue
Penn State vs. Northwestern
Quarterfinal winners
Semifinal winners
Big Ten Tournament Champion
Tournament MVP
Number of Big Ten teams dancing
Michigan's NCAA seed
Last team into NCAA's
Lester Abram's Thursday minutes
Dion Harris points vs. Courtney Sims shots
Daniel Horton points vs. rest of team points
Amaker wardrobe
Scott Bell
Michigan
Michigan State
Northwestern
Michigan, Michigan State,
Indiana, Ohio State
Michigan State, Indiana
Michigan State
Shannon Brown
7,
8
Florida State
15
Harris
Rest of team
Bruce Weber's orange suit
01
Minnesota miigan.
Michigan State Michigan State
Northwestern Northwestern
hio State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State,
Iowa, Illinois Indiana, Ohio State
Ohio State, Illinois Ohio State, Michigan State
Ohio State Ohio State
Terence DialsWal>
Jack Herman
Michigan
Michigan State
Penn State
Illinois, Iowa,
Indiana, Ohio State
Indiana, owa
Iowa
Jeff Horner
7
Matt Singer Kevin Wright
6
N/A
Syracuse
18
Harris
7
119
Texas A&M Hofstra
22 2
Harris Sims
Rest of team florton
ck Black turtleneck Maize suit
Horton
Beige turtlene
Revenge is on the minds of Icers
By Daniel Levy
Daily Sports Writer
Things are simple for No. 15 Michigan: beat
Ferris State in a best-of-three home series this
weekend and advance to the CCHA Final Four,
sealing an NCAA Tourna-
ment bid in the process.
Losing to the Bulldogs
would not only be embar-
rassing for the Wolverines;
bowing out would likely
bring a disappointing end to
an up-and-down season.
"If we lose this weekend we're done," Mich-
igan captain Andrew Ebbett said. "We know
that, and the coaches have addressed that."
But the scenario isn't new to Michigan. The
team has known for two weeks - following a
heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss to Ferris State
at Yost Ice Arena on Senior Night - that its
quarterfinal matchup in the CCHA Tournament
would be a do-or-die situation. All that was left to
be determined was who the opponent would be.
The Bulldogs put a bitter end to Michigan's
regular season, and, as fate would have it, Ferris
State will have a chance to leave an even more
foul taste in the Wolverines' mouths if it can
repeat its earlier success at Yost and end Michi-
gan's season.
A rematch with Ferris State should be a
blessing for the Wolverines. Instead of getting
caught up in the pressure of a must-win game,
Michigan can focus on a more natural goal:
good old-fashioned revenge.
"We want a chance to pay them back," Ebbett
said. "They cost us Senior Night and cost us that
win which hurt us in the national rankings."
Despite its youth and inexperience, Michi-
gan is not worried about falling flat in its
biggest game of the year. The veterans have
tournament experience, and most of the fresh-
men - despite experiencing the college
postseason for the first time - have played
important playoff games in other leagues
before coming to Ann Arbor. The past week
of practice has been productive, and the Wol-
verines hope their preparation will lead to
results on the ice this weekend.
"The intensity I saw today (was great),"
Ebbett said. "Guys were focused and ready to
go, and I think that's the key word for us this
week is to be focused."
FANTASTIC FROSH: Michigan grabbed two of
the six spots on the CCHA All-Rookie team
when freshmen Andrew Cogliano and Jack
Johnson were named to the squad yesterday.
The announcement wasn't much of a shock,
considering both players were first-round draft
picks in last summer's NHL draft. Cogliano
was one-of three forwards honored, along
with Notre Dame's Eric Condra and Ferris
State's Dan Riedel. Johnson joined Alaska-
Fairbanks's Tyler Eckford in the defensive
pair, and Michigan State goalie Jeff Lerg
rounded out the team.
HAPPY RETURNS: While Cogliano and John-
son were both honored yesterday, the best
news on the Wolverines' freshman front might
be the return of Jason Bailey to full-contact
practice. Bailey has been out of action since
being knocked out in Michigan's 7-3 home win
over Western Michigan on Jan. 31. Feeling ill
effects after finding himself on the wrong end
of a monster hit, the forward was unable to
even skate with the team for most of the past
six weeks. Bailey is finally starting to feel bet-
ter, and his possible return could bolster Mich-
igan's slumping third or fourth line.
"If I get the chance to play (this week-
end), I think I'll be more than ready," Bai-
ley said. "It's playoff time, and there are no
excuses. However you want to play is how
you're going to play."
PETER SCHOTTENFELS/Daily
Andrew Cogliano was one of two freshmen named to the All CCHA team this season.
0 WATER POLO
Sitting no more: Stone shines
I I
By Eileen Hengel
Daily Sports Writer
College is a whole new ballgame.
College is a breath of fresh air. Col-
lege is a ballgame of fresh air.
Wait, no.
Sophomore women's water polo
goalie Sally Stone heard all the cli-
ch6s when she left sunny San Diego,
Calif. for her freshmen year of college
in chilly Ann Arbor. Out as the water
polo season began, Stone found that
the cliches she'd heard became jum-
bled. Stone found difficulty in seeing
beyond the now - or rather, "seeing
the big picture."
Committing to Michigan the fall of
her senior year, Stone knew she would
ride the pines during her freshman
season. But she never realized how
difficult it would be to watch a major-
ity of the Wolverines' biggest games.
Playing behind four-time CWPA
All-Division first-team goalie Betsey
Armstrong, Stone found herself in
front of the net for 20 games during
the seasons. But the circumstances
that got her there were not ones too
which she was accustomed to. Stone
subbed for Armstrong in nonconfer-
ence games or when Michigan was
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leading. Stone never heard her name
called in the starting lineup.
"(Sitting on the sidelines) was defi-
nitely an adjustment," Stone said. "In
high school, I always started. Last
year was tough because I was playing
behind someone else who was so good.
But really what I learned that year
was that you can't always be the best
- everyone (in college) is good."
In fact, Stone's story isn't much
different than most athletes entering
Division-I collegiate athletes. What
makes her story different, however, is
her talent. This season, in just her first
few weeks as the Wolverines' starting
goalie, she helped Michigan to its best
start. Stone realized that to become
the best, she needed to see that she's
not always going to be the best.
Stone posted a solid start against
Michigan's aquatic rival Indiana, and
is Michigan's upset of No. 7 Long
Beach State. Against the Hoosiers,
Stone collected five saves and two
steals in the Wolverines' 11-7 win.
"Everyone in the conference
thought our biggest weakness would
be goalkeeping," Michigan coach Matt
Anderson said. "But that's because
other coaches saw that we lost a four-
time All-American in (Armstrong).
They weren't thinking how good our
(younger) goalkeepers were going to
be."
Anderson credits part of Stone's
success to her confidence in not only
herself, but also Michigan's offense.
"(Stone) is starting because she has
the experience," Anderson said. "She
knows what we like to do as a team
on defense. Mentally, she has a better
understanding."
Lettering her freshman year came
as no surprise - Stone came from an
acclaimed water polo school, Bishop's
High School in San Diego, Calif.
Recruited by some of the top pro-
grams in the nation, such as Stanford
and UCLA, Stone sought to escape the
powerhouse state. Still, the offers were
enticing, even comfortable - Stone's
mother attended Stanford.
"If I stayed in California, I knew
I would get swallowed up by the
competition," Stone said. "I knew if
I came here, fitting in wouldn't be a
problem - our whole team is from
California. Michigan's just a whole
new environment."
Stone's story plays out like many of
the athletes at Michigan - one might
even call it clich6, but if it wins games,
does it really matter?
" - - - ,I
Gain real world experience a
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