10 - Tuesday, March 13, 2007 RT The Michigan Dailv - michigandailv.com 0 Amaker upbeat entering NIT By DANIEL LEVY Daily Sports Writer It would be natural to assume that Michigan would be extremely disappointed one day after it was Utah State officially left out of the NCAA Tour- at Michigan nament's field of When: 65, settling for yet Tonight, 7 p.m. another National Invitational Tour- Where: namentbid. Crisler Arena But despite the news, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker was his usual optimistic self at yesterday's press conference. "It's always an honor to be in postseason," Amaker said. "There are some teams that would certainly like to trade places with us and have a chance to continue their years. We're one of the fortunate few." Those fortunate few teams Amaker referred to are the 97 com- bined teams (65in the NCAA and 32 in the NIT) that still have games to play. And while Amaker was very upbeat about the whole situation, it's important to note that seniors Brent Petway and Dion Harris, two of the team's most vocal players, were made unavailable to the media yesterday. But senior captain Lester Abram was willing to discuss the reality of missing the Tournament. "You don't have a choice (but to get over it)," Abram said. "We've got a game Tuesday. It's a quick turn- around." That turnaround is probably a good thing. Instead of dwelling on what they didn't getdone during the season, the Wolverines (8-8 BigTen, 21-12 overall) can focus on tonight's opening-round game against Utah State at Crisler Arena. Michigan enters the NIT as the North Region's No. 3 seed, which means tonight will be the lone tournamentgame in Ann Arbor if the higher seeds take care of business. The more pressing issue is how the Wolverines will prepare for a team they know very little about. Amaker and his staff immediately went to work, breaking down game footage of the Aggies after they learned of Michigan's first-round matchup. "I see a team that has won 23 games," Amaker said. "I think they're a ballclub that has one of the top scorers in the country, so a dangerous player there. And they're also one of the top free-throw shoot- ing teams in the nation." The scorer Amaker mentioned is guard Jaycee Carroll. The junior averaged more than 21 points and six rebounds a game for the Aggies this season. And the fact that Amaker, who is always very accu- rate in assessing Michigan's oppo- nents, couldn't mention Carroll by name shows how much work the Wolverines have left to prepare for tonight's matchup. "No," Abram said, asked if he knew anything about Utah State. "I just know their record was 23- 10 (sic). That's pretty decent, so I'm sure they're a good basketball team." Carroll gives Utah State (9-7, 23-11) some offensive pop, but the Aggies will also be undersized in tonight's contest. Their tallest start- er is 6 foot 8, and they have just one reserve taller than that. This could be a mixed blessing for the Wolverines. Courtney Sims has struggled in the past against smaller lineups. A team with equal size might defend Sims one-on-one, allowing the 6-foot-11senior to go to work in the paint. But smaller teams have gotten creative in denying Sims the ball, constantly double-teaming or sagging back defenders to clog the paint and forcing the Wolver- ines to shoot over them. The other key will be where the minds of Michigan's players are. The Wolverines can count on a lackluster crowd supporting their NIT cause. While Amaker and the players have talked abut finishing the year on a high note - like they have two of the past three seasons with an NIT championship in 2004 and a finals appearance last season - it will be hard to gauge the team's energy until the game gets under- way. The NIT may not be where the Wolverines wanted to be, but it is where they are. Tonight we'll see just how much Michigan appreci- ates being one of the "fortunate few." RO~RIGO GAYA, After falling short against Ohio State, the Michigan men's basketball team now faces a return trip to the NIT. The Wolverines' first game is tonight at 7 p.m. 40 -i ------- -- -- This way yr Start at Ernst & Young, and your career i in the right direction, With our award-winn programs, you'l have the resources you enhance your skills. It's an environmen promotes your personal and profession~ and success. So there's only one way to Visit us on campus or at eycom/us/care FORTUNE 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR° Wait worth it for Sauer By NATE SANDALS Daily Sports Writer Billy Sauer had been waiting for last weekend for a long time: Not just the 12 days between the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs, but the two years since he played post- seasonhockey. And when his playoff opportu- nity finally presented itself, the sophomore,goalie loved it. "It was awesome," Sauer said. "Not being able to play (in the playoffs) the last couple years and coming out and to get two wins as quickly as we did and as confident- ly as we did, it's a great feeling." Going into the weekend, it was a different goalie getting his first taste of the playoffs who garnered the attention. Northern Michigan goaltender Brian Stewartcame into the CCHA quarterfinal series off a magical weekend against Ohio State. The 22-year-old freshman replaced the Wildcats' starting goalie during their 6-2 Game loss to the Buckeyes. Stewart went on to acrobatically lead Northern Michigan to victories in Games 2 and 3, securing the upset. But at YostIce Arena last Friday, it didn't take long for Sauer to steal the show from Stewart. The Wolverines got to Stew- s headed art quickly, scoring three goals in Friday's first period. Meanwhile, tng training Sauer made the most of his first playoff game. need to "Billy Sauer made some key saves in the first period," Michi- tthat gan coach Red Berenson said fol- lowing Friday's game. "I thought al growth Billy was sharp when he had tobe, and he gave us some protection' go- p Along with his solid goalkeep- ing Friday night, Sauer got in on ers Michigan's high-powered offense. The Waworth, N.Y., native got the initial assist on Matt Hunwick's power-play goal in the first period. It was Sauer's first career point. In the second period, Sauer wowed the Yost crowd yet again. With a Northern Michigan player chasing down a loose puck for a sure-fire breakaway opportunity, Sauer made a rare foray from the crease. Sprinting out toward the blue line, Sauer reached the puck just in time, sliding on his knees as he cleared the puck. "It was the playoffs, so I felt more comfortable (leaving the crease)," Sauer said. "I was more revved up." The added energy obviously paid off. After Friday night, Sauer couldn't ask for a better playoff stat line: one game, one win, one goal against, a .955 save percent- age and one assist. The numbers weren't as impres- sive in Game 2, but the result was the same. Despite giving up three power- play goals, Sauer was solid yet again. None of the goals were Sau- er's fault, senior Tim Cook said. Sauer even got to take a breather for the final five-and-a-half minutes. Michigan was up by five goals and Berenson gave senior third- string goalie Mike Mayhew some playing time in his final game at Yost. But Sauer will be back in net for Friday's semifinal game versus Michigan State. "I'm pumped (for Friday)," Sauer said. "Especially playing 03 against Michigan State - there's not much more that needs to be said about that." 7p We Do After such an impressive week- end, it's no wonder he can't wait. a © 2007 ERNST & YOUNG LLP I I