Tuesday March 28, 2006 sports.michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com PORhe fTSicigan ail 9 Blue hopes to trump Monarchs By Scott Bell Daily Sports Editor Throughout the season, members of the Michigan men's basketball team said their goal was to make the NCAA Tournament. Nineteen games into this year's campaign, the Wol- verines held a 16-3 record and looked to be coasting M ICE HOCKEY Johnson's future now up in the air By. H. Jose Bosch Daily Sports Writer I - to that goal. So following their victory against Penn State on Feb. 1, if you had told the team it would be going to the Final Four, it would've been elated. Today, the team will do exactly that: play in the Final Four. But instead of playing in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four, Michigan will be making TONIGHIT, Old 1 D mu}iiol Michigan defenseman Jack Johnson may not be as sure about staying in Ann Arbor as he claimed to be all season long. It's no secret that the Carolina Hurricanes - who drafted the freshman third overall in the 2005 NHL entry draft - could use Johnson's defensive presence dur- ing its late season push toward the Stanley Cup playoffs. Currently the Hurricanes hold the NHL's third-best record, behind Detroit and Ottawa. They've been want- ing to sign the Ann Arbor native since January. During the weekend of Jan. 6 and 7, before the Wolverines were took on Alaska-Fairbanks, John- son and Carolina officials met for lunch, said a source close to Johnson, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the situa- tion's delicacy. The source said the team offered Johnson a contract, similar to the longtime contract Sidney Crosby - a friend of John- son's - received from the Pitts- burgh Penguins. The source also said the team was going to insert Johnson into the lineup as soon as possible. But the source said Johnson turned down the offer. The source also said that Michi- gan hockey coach Red Berenson was alerted of the situation and gave Johnson the go-ahead to talk to Carolina. Then, two weeks ago, following Michigan's second-round CCHA playoff sweep of Ferris State, Johnson was unusually straight- forward with reporters about his intentions for the future. "The only way you're going to get me out of here is by gunpoint," Johnson said. Now, Johnson seems uncertain. "At this point, I'm kind of up in the air, I guess," Johnson said in an article published yesterday in the Raleigh News and Observer. "I still feel hesitant on making the jump. I want to make sure. I'm going to talk to a few people who I really confide in, and after talking to them try to make a pretty good decision. Right now, I'm really torn." Johnson can still sign with the Hurricanes and join the team for its playoff run. According to the article, the first year of his con- tract would roll over to next season if he played in 10 or fewer games. The loss of Johnson would be a big one for the hockey team. John- son was fifth on the team in points (32) and was the top point scorer amongst the freshman. Johnson also broke the all-time record for most penalty minutes in a season with 149 minutes. Johnson and his family could not be reached for comment. its second trip - in the past three seasons - to New York City for the NIT's Final Four. "It's always exciting to play at Madison Square Gar- den," junior forward Brent Petway said. "You can't beat that." And lately, when it comes to the NIT, you can't beat Michigan, either. The Wolverines are tied with NIT semifinalist South Carolina as the team with the longest postseason winning streak. Both teams hold an eight- game unbeaten streak and hope to bring it into double digits by Thursday night. But before Madison Square Garden officials can start advertising a "battle of the NIT giants" final matchup, both the Wolverines and Gamecocks have opponents to face tonight that aren't as familiar with Madison Square Garden. Michigan faces off against Old Dominion, which hasn't played at the Garden in more than 20 years. The other semifinal pits South Carolina against Lou- isville, a team accustomed to making the other tourna- ment in March. The veteran-laden Michigan squad hopes it can use its Madison Square Garden trip two years ago as a learning experience. "It helps a lot," said junior guard Dion Harris of the 2004 team's NIT Final Four appearance. "For us, it's knowing we played there in the NIT, and then we came back the next year and played in the preseason, so we've had some games there. We feel comfortable in the Garden." FOREST CASEY/Doaly Dion Harris and the Wolverines hope to continue their string of victories in the NIT tonight at Madison Square Garden. Harris, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in Mich- igan's second-round win over Notre Dame, also thinks the pro-style court could play to Michigan's advantage. "Our first time we went there, (the pro court) messed with us a little bit," Harris said. "We were trying to shoot the pro three and things like that. We're an expe- rienced team, and we've played in a lot of pro arenas. I don't think that will be a problem with us." The Monarchs don't have anybody on their roster averaging over 15 points per game, but seem to be play- ing their best basketball of the season. They are coming off an upset victory over No. 2-seeded Hofstra, a game in which Old Dominion snapped Hofstra's 21-game home winning streak. Senior Isaiah Hunter, the team's leading scorer at 14.6 points per contest, is coming off a career-best 29- point performance. Michigan hopes to counter Old Dominion's senior leader with the recent strong play of its own seniors. Throughout the NIT, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker has used an all-senior starting lineup. In Michigan's last game, a four-point victory over Miami, Michigan's senior trio of Daniel Horton, Chris Hunter and Graham Brown all did their part to leave Crisler Arena the right way, putting up double figures in either points or rebounds. "We start our seniors in this tournament, and they've been setting the tone every game," Harris said. "We just want to go out and match their intensity and go out and play as hard as they're playing." Old Dominion has never beaten a team from the Big Ten in the 75 years it has played basketball. It lost to Wisconsin, 84-81, earlier this season in the finals of the Paradise Jam tournament. Last season, the Monarchs' season came to an end at the hands of Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This season, the Wolverines hope to do the same, and bring themselves to the NIT finals for a shot at their second title in three years. DEAR JACK JOHNSON, CAROLINA WON'T WIN THE STANLEY CUP ANYWAY. ONE MORE YEAR. LOVE, DAILY SPORTS Procrastination Station Old Dominion 85, Michigan 64 * Play of the game - With less than 2 minutes to go, Old Domin- Prec ion's C #30 swooped in after a miss and converted a tip-slam. The COnf dunk, which gave the Monarchs an 11-point lead, sent Michigan Old Dom coach Scott Bell into hysterics. "Advice 9 Player of the game - Old words - Dominion C #30: Among many Monarchs with good stat lines, "Apparen C #30 stood out the most. He wasn't th scored 24 points and grabbed they didn seven boards, leading a strong they still team effort on both ends of the court. "I don't k low erence quotes: inion coach Matt Singer: for coach Bell? Two - lay-up lines." ntly, finding a new coach he answer for Michigan. No, n't lose by 80 points, but embarassed themselves." know what it is about these Michigan coaches. One week, attacking a trash can. The next, overturning a dumpster. These guys need anger management classes." Michigan coach Scott Bell: "I may have said more curse words than my team scored points, but at least I showed emotion." "Were the full-court shots during the last two minutes bad sportsmanship? Absolutely not - they were open." "I guess our NIT dynasty is over. Looks like we're going to have to move on to bigger and better things ... like getting everyone on the team to stretch before the game. F! 'I Don't Think ... Believe! 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