Looking for more? Bosl For five more stories, to fl check our website bra( michiganail.com Al ortSo a I '1THE: MICHIGAN DAILY v ch: Get ready ill out those ckets SM COLUMN 2B michigandaily.com Monday, March 12, 2007 Porter brings home NCAA title By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN Daily Sports Writer If you had told Jeff Porter four years ago that he would win a nationalchampionship, he would've laughed at you. If you had told Porter at season's start that he would win a national championship, he would have looked at you like you were crazy. But this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the senior did win the 60-meter hurdles national championship (7.64 sec- onds). Porter finished .06 seconds ahead of the field, a significantmar- gin in such a short distance. "I was ecstatic," Porter said. "It almost seems like a dream. I don't even think I've begun to realize it." A couple pauses later, the Som- erset, N.J., native reflected some more. "Wow. I mean, wow. It's pretty amazing in perspective. It's truly a blessing." Porter's time broke the previous school record, which he set just a week ago at the Alex Wilson Invita- tional. Just three other Wolverines have won NCAA hurdling champi- onships, the last of which was the distance strength, it's even more 1997 victory of Neil Gardner. amazing he's made it through this His first-place finish was key in season - emotionally the longest in No. 18 Michigan's sixth-place fin- his career. ish at the NCAA Championships at On Michigan's first day of prac- Randall Tyson Track Center in Fay- tice, Porter was changing bench- etteville, Ark., this past weekend. press weights when one of the But considering Porter's short- See PORTER, Page 3B OHIO STATE 72, MICHIGAN 62 MI T Blue back in the NIT By DANIEL LEVY Daily Sports Writer The NCAA Tournament Selection show passed last night without Michigan's name being called. For the ninth consecu- tive season, the Wolverines will watch other teams play in the big games they can only dream about, as they continue to share a dubi- ous distinction ofbeing one of just two Big-Te-teams- that have yet to take part in college basketball's biggest stage since 1998 (North- western is the other). The news came as no surprise. Entering the Big Ten Tournament last Thursday, most experts assumed the Wolverines had to beat Minnesota and then No. 1 Ohio State just to re-enter the bubble discus- sion. The Wolverines might have still needed to beat Purdue to seal their bid, but any talk of the Tournament was quickly squashed in a 72-62 loss to the Buckeyes on Friday. Michigan coach Tommy Amaker was vague about his team's Tourna- ment chances following the loss. "I'm not trying to make a case," said Amaker, who has yet to guide Michi- gan to the Tournament in six seasons. "I don't know what case to make. We've got 21 wins, we're .500 in our conference. I think if you asked anyone else if that was a pretty darn good year, I think that is." While Michigan did win 21 games and finished 8- 8 in the Big Ten, it is also true that 13 of those vic- tories came against teams ranked lower than 150 in the RPI. Michigan's con- ference record also left them behind six other Big Ten teams. The Wolverines also won just one game against a ranked-opponent, defeat- ing an Indiana squad which has since fallen out of the rankings. Unlike last year, when the Wolverines stum- bled down the stretch but still felt they had accom- plished enough during the season to deserve a spot in the field of 65, there was no drama yesterday. "We determined our own future," sopho- more Jerret Smith said. "It's not like the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee controlled it." Instead, the Wolverines will take another crack at the National Invitational Tournament, sarcastically referred to as the Amaker Invitational by some local columnists, given Michi- gan's recent shortcomings. Amaker led Michigan to an NIT championship in 2004, and took the Wolverines to the finals last year. This season's road to Mad- ison Square Garden starts out Tuesday night at Crisler Arena against Utah State. eniors Brent Petway (eft) and Courtney Sims can do nothing but regroup following a loss to No.1 Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan will now play in the NIT. ,Oden slams door on Michigan By MARK GIANNOTTO Daily Sports Writer CHICAGO - For months, NBA scouts have anointed Ohio State freshman Greg Oden the consensus No. 1 pick in June's NBA Draft. And in the second half of Mich- igan's 72-62 loss to the top-ranked Buckeyes on Friday, Oden showed why. The loss ensured that the Wolver- ines - still without a marquee victo- ry away from Crisler Arena - would be without an NCAA Tournament appearance for a ninth-consecutive season After allowing Ohio State to jump out to a 12-point lead to begin the second half of its quarterfinal Big Ten Tournament game. Michigan narrowed the deficit to just three following a 3-pointer by senior Les- ter Abram. That's when Oden ended any doubt about his talent, and in the process, any chance of the Wolverines reach- ing the Big Dance for the first time since 1998. He poured in five consecutive points to give the Buckeyes a cushion they would never again relinquish. "Every time they would bring it down, they would get it to Oden, and he would either get fouled or get a layup," said Abram, who finished with 13 points after going 1-for-10 from the field in Thursday's open- ing-round win over Minnesota. "The bad thing was that every time you knew where the ball was about to go, but we really just couldn't stop it. He buries himself under the basket, and once he gets down there, what can you do with him?" For the game, Oden had 22 points, including 15 coming the second half. See BIG TENS, Page SB Icers sweep NMU en route to Joe 'M getsphysical By IAN ROBINSON Daily Sports Writer The last time Michigan had a y :. . chance to sweep Northern Michi- gan, things didn't go as planned. Michi- gan NORTHERN MICH. 3 dropped MICHIGAN 8 a 2-1 deci- sion on Jan. 13 and didn't score a goal until the final seven seconds. But this weekend the Wolverines finished the job. Michigan completed its CCHA quarterfinal series sweep of the Wildcats with an 8-3 win Saturday and a 4-1 victory on Friday at Yost Ice Arena. The wins earned the team a berth into the CCHA semi- finals at Joe Louis Arena for the 19th-straight year and a date with Michigan State Friday at 8:05 p.m. Nearly two months ago, North- ern Michigan shut Michigan out for 59 minutes to take the series finale. Saturday, it took just three min- utes for the Wolverines to turnonthe red light, something they did often early this weekend. The NCAA's highest-scoring team notched seven first-period goals in the sweep. "When your best players are your best players, you have a chance," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "When you are led by your Bang, crash, thump! You hear that? That's playoff hockey. And, boy, is it beautiful. The open- ing minutes of each CCHA quarterfinal game this weekend were, of course, cru- cial. And in AMBER both contests, COLVIN the Wolver- ines got the - first scores of A Touch of the night. Dutch But while establishing leads set the tone for the evening, Michigan had another important way to wel- come Northern Michigan to Yost Ice Arena: bone-crunching hits. Playoff hockey always calls for more physical play, and the Wolverines were dishing it out this weekend. From the littlest Wolverine, 5-foot-6 freshman Anthony Ciraulo, to the tallest, 6-foot-4 senior Tim Cook, each player stepped up with some rough and tough hockey. Fans of the team should be relieved - and not just because Michigan has ahot offense that's firing on all cylinders. After all the struggles down the stretch, the Wolverines showed they can put away their waver- ing intensity and turn up the heat when it counts most. They can get in that physical playoff mindset, even against a not-so- tame Wildcat squad. Who knew a swift check into the boards could beso comfort- ing? "We wanted to establish a physical presence at home, espe- cially against their top guys," senior captain Matt Hunwick said following Friday's 4-1 vic- tory. "I think you really want to put the body on those guys alot and just let them know it's going to be a long weekend." When Andrew Sarauer scored the first (and only) Northern Michigan goal that night, the Wolverines didn't take long to See COLVIN, Page 4B TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daily Senior alternate captain T.J. Hensick recorded his second career hat trick in Saturday's 8-3 win to advance to Joe Louis Arena. seniors, your team has an even bet- Hensick led the Michigan offensive said. "He's making the most of his ter chance. I think that's what you outburst with his second career hat senior year." saw this weekend." trick and added an assist. The How- In addition to Hensick's offensive Each of the team's top-five scor- ell native, who is tied for the nation- exploits, sophomore Andrew Cogli- ers registered at least three points al scoring lead, made a statement in ano scored two goals and tallied two Saturday. The team displayed some his Hobey Baker award campaign. assists, sophomore Jack Johnson of its best offense of the season, con- He moved up to eighth place in the notched a goal and two assists and necting on numerous one-time goals program's career points list with junior Chad Kolarik also had a goal and precision passes. 215. Senior alternate captain T.J. "He's on a mission," Berenson See WILDCATS, Page 4B 4