8A - Friday, November 16, 2007
4
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
0
GEORGETOWN 74, MICHIGAN 52
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
FOOTBALL
Title just one
win away
'M' blown
out in first
real test
By MARKGIANNOTTO
DailySportsEditor
WASHINGTON, D.C. - George-
town just took the wind right out of
the John Beilein era sails.
Maybe it was the same gust that
led to a collection of Michigan air-
balls.
Either way, the Wolverines' ship
capsized against No. 5 Georgetown,
resulting in a 74-52 Hoya blowout
at the Verizon Center last night.
Michigan (2-1) looked over-
matched from the opening tip
against a Georgetown team that
trotted out two seniors, two
juniors and a sophomore - all of
whom saw significant minutes a
season ago - to open the contest.
Compare that to the two fresh-
men, two sophomores and senior
who donned the maize and blue to
begin the opening frame, and it's
clear whythere were six shots that
didn't even touch the rim for the
Wolverines over the course of last
night's game.
"I think a lot of it had to do with
the excitement," redshirt fresh-
man K'Len Morris said. "Coming
against a top-five team, a former
Final Four team, there were a lot
of jitters. Our biggest thing was we
just didn't execute our offense."
Georgetown didn't have the
same troubles. The Hoyas (2-0)
pounced on the young Wolverines,
jumping out to leads of 12-0, 28-7,
and 43-19 during the first half.
The Michigan offense that was
a breath of fresh air in two wins
against Radford and Brown last
weekend turned into a parade of
ugliness on the stat sheet.
The Wolverines converted just
eight field goals in the first half
and shot a porous 29 percent from
the field. That's not to mention the
nine turnovers, eight missed 3-
pointers and a whole lot of embar-
rassment.
From freshman Manny Harris's
turnover on the team's initial pos-
sessionto freshman Kelvin Grady's
missed floater to end a miserable
opening stanza, Michigan never
stood a chance against a veteran-
laden Hoya squad.
"Itwasn't a surprise, but I didn't
want that to happen," Beilein said
of his team's first-half struggles.
Sophomore DeShawn Sims was
By DANIEL BROMWICH
Daily SportsEditor
The Michigan-Ohio State game
tomorrow will decide the Big Ten
Champion for the 42nd time in
the series' history.
Something that has happened
42 times in 104 years shouldn't
surprise anyone.
But the way the teams got here
has been all but predictable.
Before the season, the Wolver-
ines were ranked fifth in the AP
poll, projected as the conference
favorite and considered a serious
contender for the National Cham-
pionship. A season-opening loss
to FCS team Appalachian State
immediately changed all that,
and a loss to Oregon the following
week appeared to kill this season
soon after it had began.
The Wolverines rolled off eight
straight wins, though, and put
themselves in the driver's seat for
the conference championship. A
trip to the Rose Bowl is in order if
they can beat Ohio State - some-
thing this record-setting senior
class has yet to accomplish.
"You really can't be the best
(class) if you don't beat Ohio State
at least once," Hart said back at
Big Ten Media Day in August.
"A lot of people beat them two or
three times. We're only going to
beat them once. To not beat them
once - it would definitely take
away from our careers a lot."
While mostexperts would have
picked Hart and Co. to beat the
Buckeyes at the start of the year,
few think they will now.
This was expected to be a
rebuilding year of sorts for Ohio
State. After losing Heisman Tro-
phy winner Troy Smith alongwith
their top two receivers and their
No.1 running back, the Buckeyes
were supposed to retool this year
before challenging forthe Big Ten
crown next season.
But Ohio State surpassed
expectations this year. It went
undefeated through 10 games
before being upset by Illinois
last week. Even with the loss,
the Buckeyes are favored by four
entering tomorrow's game.
One factor in those odds is the
unknown availability of Hart and
senior quarterback Chad Henne.
Hart didn't play a single down
against Wisconsin last week,
and Henne played just two series
before sitting out the rest of the
game with a nagging shoulder
injury. Both have expressed their
desire to play tomorrow, but their
status remains unclear.
If there weren't enough story-
lines in tomorrow's game already,
rumors surfaced this week that
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr might
retire following the game. Many
had already expected Carr to
step down following the season,
but this new wave of speculation
could easily affect the game.
A reporter even asked Carr
about his future at Monday's
press conference. Predictably,
Carr dodged the question.
"The only thing on my mind is
this game," Carr said.
But the players have been deal-
ing with this all season, and said
Monday they "definitely" wanted
to win this game for Carr.
"There would be no better feel-
ing (than) if this was his last year
and we won the Big Ten," Henne
said at Media Day. "That would
(send) him off in the right way."
The Wolverines can still win
the conference for Carr. Before
the season, three goals were laid
out by Hart, Henne, and tackle
Jake Long, the three seniors who
bypassed the NFL Draft to come
back for afinalseason. They want-
ed to beat Ohio State, win the Big
Ten and win a bowl game.
"That's what we've been trying
to do all year, and that's our goal,"
Long said. "It's right there for us.
Beating Ohio State and winning
the championship."
And although the National
Championship is out of reach,
Carr couldn't be happier playing
for a trip to Pasadena, Calif.
"If there's a greater bowl than
the Rose Bowl, then I'd like to
see it," Carr said. "I'd love to be
there."
Despite the way the season
started, it'll take just one more
win to get there.
CHANEL VON HABSBURG-LOTHRINGEN/Daily
Freshman Kelvin Grady's second half performance -13 point on 4-of-5 shooting - was on of the lone bright spots for the
Wolverines in last night's blowout loss to Georgetown.
the most disappointed player in
the Wolverine locker room after
the game. Following his 20.5
point-per-game opening weekend,
the Detroit native had a disastrous
road debut, scoring just one point
while committing five turnovers.
Senior captain Ron Coleman
wasn't spared from the carnage,
either. He went scoreless on five
shot attempts.
"We just had a bad night by our
frontcourt," Beilein said. "But
they'll watch film, they'll listen to
me and they'll get better."
Not all was lost for the Wolver-
ines, though. With Georgetown
resting its starters for much of the
second half, freshmen duo Grady
and Harris showed glimpses of
what could be in store for the
future.
Aftergoing1-for-3 fromthe field
in the first half, Grady displayed a
nice medium-range jumper, col-
lecting 13 second-half points on 4-
of-5 shooting. Harris rebounded
from a 2-for-7 first half to score
eight points after halftime.
Boasting a young, inexperi-
enced team this year's Wolverines,
growing pains like last night are
to be expected. In the locker room
afterwards, players had already
begun to think about the growth
this game could cause in the long
run.
There may be some windy
waters ahead, but at least Michi-
gan has a measuring stick for suc-
cess down the road.
"Now we know what we have
to do, what we have to work at to
become a team like Georgetown,"
Morris said.
ICE HOCKEY
Blue looking for
fast CCHA start
4
After 14 seasons, Rademacher calls it quits
By ANDY REID ing the University's 1993 decision
Daily Sports Writer to give women's soccer varsity sta-
tus.
The Michigan women's soccer In her 14 seasons at the helm,
team is without a coach for the first Rademacher compiled a 160-108-37
time since the program's begin- (.585) record. She led the Wolver-
ning. ines to two Big Ten Tournament
Debbie Rademacher, who championships along with four
accepted the head coaching posi- regular-season top-two finishes in
tion before the Wolverines' inau- conference.
gural 1994 season, resigned from Rademacher's Michigan teams
her post yesterday. also went to nine NCAA tourna-
Rademacher was hired by then- ment appearances, making it to the
Athletic Director Joe Roberson to Elite Eight in 2002 and the Sweet
build a team from scratch follow- 16 in 2003.
"It has been 14 great years at
Michigan for me," Rademacher
said through the Athletic Depart-
ment. "But I've decided - with a
new baby and another young son
- to focus on being at home with
my family."
While most startup programs
take years to find their footing,
Rademacher had immediate suc-
cess with the Wolverines, making a
run to the semifinals of the Big Ten
Tournament in her first season.
But Michigan has steadily
declined in recent years. The Wol-
verines have posted 20 total
wins and made just one NCAA
Tournament appearance - a
first-round exit in 2006 - over
the past three seasons.
This year, Michigan (1-5-4
Big Ten, 3-9-6 overall) posted its
lowest win total and its worst-
ever conference finish (ninth).
But nothing can overshadow the
job Rademacher did in building the
program from nothing just 14 years
ago.
"Debbie should be proud of her
record and her commitmentto aca-
demic success," Athletic Director
Bill Martin said through the Ath-
letic Department. "There are very
few people in any sport that have
built programs at two schools and
have stayed on this long with suc-
cess."
Added associate Athletic Direc-
tor Bitsy Ritt through the ath-
letic department: "We are deeply
indebted for her service to help
build this program."
The search for Rademacher's
replacement will begin immedi-
ately, according to the Athletic
Department.
By COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
Daily Sports Writer
If Michigan sweeps in Sault St.
Marie this weekend, it'll boast its
best starting record since coach
Red Berenson skated in a Michi-
gan sweater.
No. 2 Michigan (6-0 CCHA, 9-
1 overall) will be on the road this
weekend for the fourth time in six
weeks, facing off against CCHA
bottom-dweller Lake Superior
State (0-2, 2-5-1). With two wins
this weekend, the Wolverines
will be off to their best start since
1961-62 - Berenson's senior year
at Michigan.
"I just remember we expected
to win every game, no matter who
we played," Berenson said. "You
get that kind of confidence."
This year's Wolverines keep
saying they aren't overconfident,
especially with a roster of 12
freshmen - but their eight-game
winningstreakis thelongestsince
2005. The 6-0 conference start is
the first in Michigan history.
Michigan continued to work
on improving its penalty-killing
unit in practice this week. It may
be at the top of the CCHA, but the
Maize and Blue are just mediocre
when itcomes to killing penalties.
The Wolverines have allowed
eight power-play goals in 49
opportunities this season and five
power-play tallies in their six con-
ference games, good enough for
just fifth in the conference in pen-
alty-killing percentage. Michigan
has allowed a power-play goal in
six of its last seven games.
Berenson has repeatedly called
the penalty-killing unit a "work
in progress" but said it's hard for
the Wolverines to work on the
penalty kill in practice because
they're playing against their own
teammates.
"Our guys aren't going to shoot
the puck, really rear back and
shoot it on the point when you're
coming up to block it," he said.
"They're probably going to let up
a little bit, so it's not the same. It's
like not using real bullets. But just
the same, we work on it, we look
atvideo.
"Right before the game, we'll
show our (penalty kill) guys the
other team's power play and what
to expect."
Michigan has relied on vet-
erans Kevin Porter and Chad
Kolarik on the penalty kill, but
freshman Matt Rust has been one
of the Wolverines' biggest weap-
ons while shorthanded. Rust is
one of the most-used players on
the penalty kill but has been on
the ice for just one of the eight
power-play goals allowed.
Against Lake Superior State,
the Wolverines hope to reduce
what Berenson called "tired
penalties"'- calls that come dur-
ing the second and third period
of games, when the Wolverines
start to become outskated or
fatigued. To win this weekend,
Michigan cannot allow the Lak-
ers to get back into the game like
Nebraska-Omaha did two weeks
ago, when Michigan gave up a
lead in the second period of both
games.
But even though the Wolver-
ines never trailed against winless
Alaska last weekend, Michigan
played at a slower pace than it did
against teams like Boston Univer-
sity during its first home series.
"We turned the puck over at
the blue line a lot (against Alas-
ka), and I think we played down,"
Rust said.
Injury update: The Wolver-
ines will be traveling to Sault
St. Marie without one of their
biggest first-year contributors.
Freshman Louie Caporusso, who
is tied for fourth on the team with
eight points through 10 games,
injured his knee in practice and
is expected to be out for four-to-
six weeks.
U
MORE ONLINE
at michigandaily.com
BLOGS
Like Procrastination Station?
Read the live blog of last
night's instant classic.
(michigandaily.com/thegame)
6