* 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." + i i