* The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com I December 8, 2008
MICHIGAN 81, NO. 4 DUKE 73
CRISLER CRAZIES
Second chance:
'M' stuns Duke
By RUTH LINCOLN
Daily Sports Editor
As hundreds of fans stormed the Crisler Arena floor
Saturday, Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski
walked off the courtsa loser for the first time this season.
f a What did one of the most illustrious coaches in college
basketball think of Michigan's 81-73 upset over his fourth-
ranked Blue Devils, the Wolverines' first over the storied
,p program since 1997?
"They played harder than we did," said Krzyzewski,
who ranks fifth among college basketball coaches in all-
time wins with 81L "I'm not saying our kids didn'twant it,
but (Michigan) really played hard and well."
Krzyzewski hasn't had the chance to say that about very
many teams. The Blue Devils handled Michigan, 71-56,
last month in the 2K Sports Classic, the game after the
Wolverines beat then-No. 4 UCLA. Before this season, few
thought Michigan (6-2) would manage to outplay an elite
basketball powerhouse, let alone two in a single season.
With Saturday's victory, the Wolverines defeated two
top-five teams in the regular season for the first time since
the 1986-87 season.
The game's unexpected outcome could be epitomized
by 3-point shots.
Duke made two in the first half.
Zack Novak made two in a 29-second span.
The freshman hit back-to-back 3-pointers with eight
minutes left and brought a roaring, sold-out Crisler Arena
crowdto its feet.
When last year's team may have folded, Michigan
responded with poise. The Blue Devils (8-1) took a three-
4'point lead midway through the second half, but Novak's
two triples vaulted the Wolverines to a three-point lead of
their own.
"It felt great," said Novak, who didn't start, but finished
with 14 points and went 4-for-7 from behind the arc. "You
See BLUE DEVILS, Page 4B
It's time to start
paying attention to
the Wolverines
D ear Michigan students and fans,
This is an apology to those of you who weren't
among the 13,751 wild and crazy fans at Crisler
Arena on Saturday.
I'm sorry you missed the Michigan men's basketball
team's second upset of a top-five team so far this season.
I'm sorry you weren't there to witness the rowdiest
crowd I have seen at any sporting event in my time asa
student here.
I'm sorry you won't have "I was
there!" stories to tell about this game
- because nothing will top this.
Michigan's drama-filled upset of No.
4 Duke was, without a doubt, the
most exciting and fun moment that
any Wolverine team has had or will
have this season.
Let's be honest - it sucked to be a
Michigan football fan this year. And
even with a sweep of rival Michigan AD
State, the hockey team hasn't and REID
probably won't do anything spectacu-
lar this season. And there's no way
this campus is going to get excited about non-revenue
teams (I'm looking at you, rowing team).
But Michigan coach John Beilein, in just his second
year in Ann Arbor, has given Wolverine fans something
to cheer about in a year that's been less than stellar.
And, oh, did the students take advantage of it.
I'm not exaggerating when I tell you the crowd was
deafening during the second half, even though I didn't
think the fans could get any louder than they were in
the first 20 minutes. During one of the only moments in
which the Maize Rage wasn't going bonkers - a Michi-
See REID, Page 4B
Sophomore Manny Harris and the Wolverines upset No. 4 Duke, the team's second victory over a top-five opponent this season. Harris contributed 17 points, five rebounds and two assists in
the win. It was Michigan's first victory over the Blue Devils since Dec. 13,1997, the same day former Michigan football player Charles Woodson won the Heisman Trophy.
Blue heads for
the Sweet 16
Michigan topples rival Spartans.
By MARK BURNS
Daily Sports Writer
Before Friday's game, it was clear
that No.13-seed St. Louis's scouting
report on the Michigan volleyball
team was to focus on junior outside
hitter Juliana Paz.
But the 21st-ranked Billikens
must have missed the fine print
about Michigan's offensive versatil-
ity.
"We have so many weapons,"
sophomore setter Lexi Zimmerman
said. "We're so well-balanced that if
they stop a certain facet of our game
we can go somewhere else."
The 19th-ranked Wolverines (26-
8) received clutch offensive perfor-
mances from senior middle blocker
Beth Karpiak and junior right side
hitter Megan Bower in their come-
from-behind five-set win against St.
Louis (29-5). Michigan will advance
to the Sweet 16 in Seattle for the
second straight year, playing No. 4
Nebraska on Friday.
"We didn't play our best volley-
ball tonight," Michigan coach Mark
Rosen said. "ButI liked the way we
competed all night."
Thursday night, Michigan
defeated Kentucky in five sets. Paz
registered a team-high 22 kills in
the winning effort.
Her strong performance caused
St. Louis blockers to key on her early
against the Wolverines.
The Billikens' strategy didn't
completely stop the Porto Alegre,
Brazil, native. She still chipped in 13
kills in the match.
But St. Louis's added focus only
meant Karpiak and Bower had to
pick up the slack.
"Juliana went off Friday night,"
Bower said. "That really opened the
door for us. Their focus on our out-
side hitters allowed holes for other
hitters to step up."
Down 11-9 in the fifth frame, it
See BILLIKENS, Page 3B
By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN
Daily Sports Editor
EAST LANSING - Just three
of the people who skated dur-
ing each of the Michigan hockey
team's practices last week knew
what it was like to beat Michigan
State at Munn Ice Arena - Michi-
gan coach Red Berenson, associate
head coach Mel Pearson and assis-
tant coach Billy Powers.
Trailing 3-2 with three minutes
remaining in Saturday's game, the
current Wolverines didn't look like
they would experiencethatfeeling,
even with sophomore goalie Bryan
Hogan starting in goal both games
of the weekend series for the first
time this year.
But Michigan mustered three
goals in the closing moments -
including senior Travis Turnbull's
empty-netter to complete a hat
trick - and pulled out a 5-3 win.
The victory marks the Wolverines'
first three-game winning streak
against the Spartans, dating back
to last year, since the 1995-1996
season.
"It's been a long time since
we've had our way with this team,"
said Berenson, who hasn't seen his
team complete a weekend sweep
of Michigan State since November
2004. "It was a good weekend."
The most-telling "three" might
have been that Michigan fell
behind three times this weekend
- and came back each time.
After giving up a shorthanded
goal in the first period of a 6-1 win
Friday, the Wolverines answered
with threegoals in eachofthe next
two frames.On Saturday, Michigan
surrendered the lead at the begin-
ning of the second period, and
again at the start of the third peri-
od. But the Wolverines responded
both times with two scores within
a minute of each other at the end of
the each period.
"They're believing in each
other," Berenson said. "You can
see it."
It was the first time this season
Michigan won both Friday and
Saturday night since Nov. 1 against
Ohio State. And the Wolverines
did it the first time they had the
same starter between the pipes
both nights: Hogan.
Berenson named Hogan the
starter for Saturday after the
goalie's 18-save performance in
the team's win Friday. The coach
added that he thought senior goalie
Billy Sauer "can play just as well,"
but Hogan has been the one in goal
for "our best games, certainly our
best offense." And it shows in his
8-1 record in the crease - the rea-
son Berenson chose to start him.
"We haven't won a game here
since '04 since (former Wolverine
and first-round NHL draft pick)
Al Montoya was in goal," Beren-
son said. "You look at everything,
and you have to go with Hogan.
He didn't look good for a portion
of the third period, but we got the
goals back for him."
After Hogan let the Spartans
take the lead by allowing two quick
goals - one off a rebound up the
middle, the other off a beautifully
set up 2-on-1 - there was no let
up for the Wolverines. Freshman
defenseman Greg Pateryn skated
over to Hogan after the second
goal to reassure him. And after
the game, many players gathered
around Hogan and exchanged a
few words before the handshake
line.
Hogan's emergence as the No. 1
goalie is coming at a critical junc-
ture for Michigan. The Wolverines
don't play again until the Great
Lakes Invitational at the end of
the month, and were desperate to
climb out of the bottom half of the
CCHA standings with the first half
of the season coming to a close.
They are now within three points
of third-place Alaska.
And with its third sweep of the
season, Michigan is playing much
more confidently and finally seems
to be clicking much more than ear-
lier in the year.
"We're very confident," sopho-
more top-line center Louie Capo-
russo said. "Any time you're able
to come back with under four min-
utes left, and you're able to win the
game, that definitely helps your
confidence. We'll definitely take
it on to the GLI and have a good
break here."
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