40 8 - Friday, February 13, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com I SI's Davis: Michigan tourney hopes still alive For the first time since 1998, the Michigan men's bas- ketball team will make the NCAA tournament. Well, that's according to Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis. The col- lege basketball writer features a weekly column, "Inside College Basketball," and is a studio analyst during CBS's NCAA Tourna-ALEX ment coverage. "Right now, PROSPERI they're on my On Mven's board," Davis Basketball said during a teleconference Feb. 11to promote his partnership with Coke Zero. "They're probably going to be one of my last teams in, certainly. But right now, I have them in." Davis was in Indianapolis on Wednesday to participate in a mock selection seminar for the NCAA Tournament. The real Selection Sunday is March 15. Of the 65 spots, 31 are automatic bids awarded to conference tournament champions, while the other 34 are at-large bids. He pinned upset wins against UCLA and Duke as keys to the Wolverines' chances of dancing in March. "They're going to hang on to that (UCLA) win and the win over Duke at home for all it's worth," Davis said. "There are not going to be a lot of teams in that situation that are goingto have those quality wins." The Blue Devils are No. 6 and the Bruins are No. 11, and the bet- ter they play, the stronger Michi- gan's wins will look. "You give me 34 at-large teams that are more worthy," Davis said. "When you get to those last few spots, you're really looking at some very flawed resumes." But how much stock can you put in two games? Sure, both teams were ranked No. 4 at the time, but they both have one glaring weak- ness - post presence. Defending the paint has been one of Michi- gan's biggest problems all season, Sophomore Manny Harris and the Wolverines areonthe NCAA Tournamentbubble. SAID ALSALAH/Daily Sophomore Carl Hagelin will skate in front his father Boris this weekend as Michigan takes on Nebraksa-Omaha. Sophomore finds comfort in father's visit from Sweden and if there were any highly- ranked teams that could fall to the Wolverines, it would be those two. Plus, both games came before conference play, when most teams often hit their stride. Michigan can point to those two games as reasons to receive a bid, but the Wolverines need to do more. Ultimately, Michigan's poor road record night be the reason they're in the National Invitation Tournament in March. The Wol- verines are an impressive 12-3 at home, but just 1-6 on the road with a 2-1 record at neutral sites. Their lone road victory came against lowly Indiana, who is 1-10 in the Big Ten. If Michigan (5-7 Big Ten, 15-10 overall) doesn't improve its play on the road, it will find itselfaoutside the tournament bubble. There are two must-win road games left, and the first is this Sunday when the Wolverines take on Northwestern (4-6,13-8) at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston. The Wolverines have three more games after Sunday's to rack up more road wins - Iowa on Feb. 22 (another must-win), Wisconsin on Mar. 1 and Minnesota a week later. But to impress the NCAA Tour- nament Selection Committee, wins at Northwestern and Iowa won't cut it. Michigan must win its regu- lar-season finale against the Gold- en Gophers, the final ranked team the Wolverines face on the road. If they lose, they'll be left without an impressive road win. And the work doesn't end there, as Michigan must put on a strong performance at the Big Ten Tour- nament. The conference tourna- ment is the last opportunity for bubble teams to make their case for the Big Dance. Last season, No. 10 Illinois, whose only shot at the NCAA Tournament was to win the conference title, made it to the championship game before falling to No. 1 Wisconsin. Like the Illini, Michigan will have to make a run during the weekend. Michigan would be the No. 8 seed if the tournament start- ed today, meaning it would have to win a game on Thursday to play in the quarterfinals on Friday. Both games are must-win. An early exit will diminish whatever success the Wolverines have over the next three weeks. The fact that Davis put Michi- gan in his mock bracket shows he is confident that Michigan will finish strong. But he should be cautious. There's little reason to believe the Wolverines will make a run in these last six games. They squandered a golden opportunity - to impress the Selection Commit- tee when they lost 54-42 to Michi- gan State on Tuesday, and have lost seven of their last nine games. But ifnthey can go as far as Illi- nois in the Big Ten Tournament, then Davis's prediction may come true. I By NICOLE AUERBACH Daily Sports Editor At the end of Tuesday's hockey practice, Michigan sophomore Carl Hagelin walked off the ice, saw his father in the bleachers and called out to him in his native Swedish. Standing close to Hagelin as he conversed with his dad, senior forward Danny Fardig tried to mimic his teammate. After a couple of attempts, Far- dig gave up with a smile, and the father and son continued making plans for the evening. Boris, Hagelin's dad, has been in town visiting from Hagelin's hometown of Sodertalje, Sweden, since last Thursday. Lastweekend, he watched the Wolverines sweep Lake Superior State, and he'll be in the stands again tonight as they take on Nebraska-Omaha. And when Boris is around, it usually bodes well for Michigan - or at least his son. Last Satur- day, Hagelin tallied the game- tying goal with 28 seconds left in the first period to swing the momentum in Michigan's favor. The Wolverines eventually won the game, 2-1. It's hard to quantify, but the Michigan coaching staff agrees: Hagelin plays better when his father is in town. That could be a good omen for this weekend's series against the Mavericks (8-9- 7-3 CCHA, 13-11-7 overall). "Some kids put too much pres- sure on themselves when their parents are here to really show them what they can do," Wolver- ine assistant coach Mel Pearson said. "Obviously, in his situation, it's different. He doesn't feel that pressure to have to perform. It just encourages him.... We might have to get (Boris) to live over here per- manently if that's the case." Boris normally flies to Ann Arbor about four times each year for ten-day trips, during which he stays with Hagelin and his room- mate, sophomore forward Louie Caporusso. "It's me, him and Boris, the three amigos," Caporusso said. "He made us steak Monday night. Unbelievable. Filet mignon, and he made us mashed potatoes and a nice salad with avocado. ... My stomach's been well-nourished since Boris has gotten here, for sure." Caporusso said they also like to go to the movies together, adding that the three of them recently saw Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa at the Dollar Movies at Briarwood Mall. Hagelinsaidhis father alsokeeps him and Caporusso in order. The two rushed to clean up their apart- ment last Wednesday evening, the night before Boris flew in. Despite the added chores, Hagelin enjoys having his father around. And even though Boris attends practice each day when he's in Ann Arbor and has previ- ous coaching experience, he said he hardly discusses hockey with his son because Hagelin doesn't like it. "That's just something me and my dad stopped doing when I turned 17," Hagelin said. "He used to talk alot about hockey. We just stopped talking about hockey because I can't think too much about it. Still, he talks about hock- ey everyday with my other broth- ers, so he'll get his hockey talk in every day." Caporusso explained that each player treats hockey differently. Some like analyzing their play off of the ice, but others prefer dis- tancing themselves. Hagelin is one of the latter. "Carl doesn't like to think about hockey too much during the week," Caporusso said. "When he's away from the rink, he likes to stay away from the rink. When he gets to the rink, he gets pretty excited." With his father in the stands, Hagelin has even more of a reason to be fired up tonight. Why 'A'is worth your time 4 This Sunday will be the 44th anniversary of the day that Canada adopted the Maple Leaf flag. What are your plans for honoring that country on that day? A themed party? Traveling north? Watch- ing CBC? Didn't think so. But if celebrating Canadian heritage is something that strikes CHANTEL your fancy, JENNINGS perhaps ---e - you should OnWoa en's consider B attending the Michigan women's basketball game against Min- nesota. Senior Stephany Skrba and junior Krista Phillips, both native Canadians, will be playing at Cris- ler Arena this Sunday. Still not sold on coming? Well, how about the fact that this Sunday is probably the last chance you'll have to watch the Wolverines play this year? Their only remaining home game is during Spring Break. And trust me, despite its 10-14 record, this is a talented team that you'll want to see play. Mich- igan has beaten two top-25 teams this year and nearly toppled a third. Each game, it seems like another player comes out of the 4 woodwork for Michigan. Will freshman Courtney Boy- lan drop 18 like she did against Kentucky? Is freshman Carmen Reynolds going to follow up her 20-point performance against Penn State with something equal- ly thrilling? How many threes will senior Carly Benson hit? You might think, why do I care about the Golden Gophers? Wolverine point guard Jessica Minnfield will be taking on her counterpart in Minnesota's point guard Emily Fox. Minnfield, Michigan's starting court gener- al, will have her hands full with Fox's quickness. Not only is Fox a WNBA prospect, but she also holds the world record in cup stacking, which is actually a real sport. Confused? Check out you- tube.com or just come Sunday. ............ Ve" r w ....... ....- t, t.. f tw .r°'.F .. -. ss , w.F ... * 20125 Ann Arbor Trail at Evergreen I Dearborn Hts. 1600 N. Telegraph across from summit Mall Pontiac .1410 E. Michigan atMichigan & Harris I Ypsilanti s345 N. Maple in Maple village ! Ann Arbor 025646 8 Mile at Beet-alyI Southfield 033955 Gratiot between 14&1 Mile Clinton Twp. 2001 11 Mile cornerof Dequindre Warren 022615 Ecorse in sunrise ctr I Taylor 34460 Ford east of Wayne I Westland o24900 Kelly aio Mile East Pointe 022150 Coolidge at 9 Mile Oak Park 08300 Woodward* I Detroit 12125 Dix between Northiine& oddard i Southgate All stores EXCEPT DetroitlWoodward open: Mon - Sat 9am - 9pm; Sun 11am - 6pm *DetroitWoodward open: Mon - Sat Sam - 8pm; Sun 1tam - 6pm ---% o f f-. --------------------. - - - -- -- - ENTE IE PP/C00E - UARTS 250 - "CREATIVE PROCESS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIO-LECTURE COURSE residency at the Abbey of Pontlevoy,. FRANCE May 18-June 12,2009 Four Weeks/Four Credits Sat es the LSA Creative Expression Requirement INFORMATION SESSIONS: Tuesday, Febr ry 17, 5:00pm,Art & Architecture Bldg. Room2 Wednes y, Feb 18, 7:00pm, Michigan Union Pond Room Making creativity an integral part of students' lives 'and work. Learn more now: www.artsonearth.org/students RS osc asts Thsr rairse is srppsrted by Othe Unvrity ofMichigae's MulidiscipiierysLernirgeandTeamTesbig Inimiaeivee If you heckle her enough, maybe she'll show you. Are you intrigued yet? Consider the fact that Michi- gan coach Kevin Borseth is the most animated coach in the Big Ten. Each game, he paces up and down the sideline shouting at the players, refs and assistant coach- es - sometimes even turning his head toward the heavens. But you've got to hand it to him. He knows what he's doing. In the past 18 years, teams he has coached have been to 17 post- season tournaments. He knows what it takes to turn a mediocre program into a championship contender. Even John Wooden didn't turn UCLA into a basket- ball powerhouse overnight. Still not convinced? This Sunday's game is the Wol- verines' Pink Zone Game. The Pink Zone Game is part of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's initiative to raise breast cancer awareness and support. The Wolverines are work- ing towards earning $20,000 for the University of Michigan Women's Health Program. At this Sunday's game, "Pink Zone" T-shirts will be sold for $10, and everyone at the game wearing pink willzbe entered in a raffle to win prizes. The play- ers will even wear pink uni- forms, which will be auctioned off during the game. What else are you doing on Sunday? Between the Canadians, Borseth, the show of talent and the charitable cause of this game, you have no reason not to be there. So, on Sunday, trade in yourhomework for aticket, your mnaize and blue for pink, and even if you're not Canadian, con- sider celebrating at Crisler. Eh? 4 I 4