The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I March 2, 2009 r Fn Freshman guard Zack Novak and the Wolverines were outsized and outhustled by a more physical Wisconsin team yesterday. The Badgers won 60-55 in Madison. Small size won't hurt Comeback attempt Blue next week falls short in loss MADISON - xamining the starting line- ups in the Michigan men's basketball team's 60-55 loss to Wisconsin, there was a clear'size disadvantage: The Badgers' 6-foot-10 Jon Leuer on the } Wolverines' 6-foot-5 Zack Novak. Wisconsin's 6-foot-7 Joe Krabbenhoft on Michigan's 6-foot-5 Manny Harris. In total, the RUTH Badger start- LINCOLN ers outsized Michigan's leading five-man corps by four inches - with length and muscle to spare. The Wolverines have faced big teams before, and they know they must find other ways to score. Michigan got into a rhythm early and headed into halftime with a 34-32 lead. The Wolverines quickly moved the ball to find open teammates and hit 3-point- ers. But Wisconsin kept up its game, plan and finished with 34 points in the paint. Marcus Landry and Leuer shot a combined 11-of-18, and Krabbenhoft grabbed 11 rebounds. The Badgers made it look too easy. "You want to compete with them, but it is tough during the season to gain 20 pounds," Michi- gan coach John Beilein said. "It's like arm wrestling. It's just like guys who are stronger than you, and you can't do that much about it in one season." Michigan couldn't do much about its size yesterday, but it's now more prepared for what lies ahead. With just one regular season game left - Saturday at Min- nesota - the Wolverines' NCAA Tournament resume still requires some polishing. Yesterday's loss might have crushed Michigan's hopes to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. But next week's game against Minnesota at Williams Arena is crucial for Michigan's eventual postseason destination. And the Wolverines are in good shape to make the most of the opportunity. The Badgers have never lost a' home game to an unranked Big Ten opponent under Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan. They're 47-0 in that category. It would have taken Michigan's most valiant effort to pull off the upset. And in a hostile environment, the Wolverines came pretty close. See LINCOLN, Page 3B Slow start and lack of communication doom upset bid By RUTH LINCOLN Daily Sports Editor MADISON - With 30 seconds left in regulation and his team down four points against Wiscon- sin, Michigan men's basketball junior DeShawn Sims launched a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The forward made one from the same spot at Crisler Arena late in Thursday's game when Michigan upset then-No. 16 Purdue. But Sims's shot clanked off the rim, all but sealing the Wolverines' 60-55 loss yesterday at the Kohl Center. And the attempt wasn't exactly what Michigan coach John Beilein had hoped for. "Once (Sims) catches it, he's actually been very successful to get a guy coming off for a shot," Beil- ein said. "I was saying 'patience' to him in his ear. He thought I was saying 'take it.' So, I've got to use a different word than patience." That kind of miscommunication was common all afternoon. Wisconsin (9-7 Big Ten, 18-10 overall) and Michigan (8-9, 18-12) both entered the game teetering on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Badgers now have an edge, and the Wolverines have just one regu- lar-season game left to boost their resum6, Saturday at Minnesota. Despite all of Michigan's mis- takes, the team came close to squeaking out the win. "We had some lapses on execu- tion, with getting offensive boards, but we were right there," said fifth- year senior guard C.J. Lee, who finished with nine points, three rebounds and four assists. We've just got to make that play, get that rebound, get that stop. We haven't been able to get that play on the road right now." Just like when the two teams met in a 73-61 Wisconsin win Dec. 31 at Crisler Arena, the Badgers jumped to a quick start, scoring on nine of their first 10 possessions. The Wolverines edged their way back, hitting five 3-pointers in the. first half. Michigan led 34-32 at the half but fell to another Badger run at the start of the second half and never fully recovered. Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan's teams grind opposing defenses down with slow, meticulous bas- ketball, often shooting with single digits left on the shot clock. "When you get down to one of Bo's teams, being down by five or seven is like being down by 15 to other teams," Beilein said. See BADGERS, Page 3B ~MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING Mitera and Sauer return, pave n way for Senior Night victory to 34th program Senior duo shines 14 shots he faced. It was just his ... ... ~~~third start ince s qnho mre ran c n e e c i l after final season didn't go as planned By GJON JUNCAJ Daily Sports Writer BIG RAPIDS - While Satur- day's Senior Night was dedicated to the six graduating members of the No. 3 Michigan hockey team, the attention centered around how two of those players would each finish the most disappointing sea- sons of their collegiate careers. Senior captain Mark Mitera played in Friday's 6-1 victory at Ferris State, his first game since tearing his anterior cruciate liga- ment in the season opener on Oct. 10. Mitera also chipped in a goal and an assist, his first points of the season, in Saturday's 4-0 victory at Yost Ice Arena. Senior goaltender Billy Sauer registered his eighth career shut- out Saturday in what might have been his final college game: The Walworth, N.Y. native stopped all Hogan became the full-time start- er in early December. "It's pretty tough, but I felt pretty into it," Sauer said, regard- ing the light workload. "The crowd was pretty loud, and the puck was around me enough where I didn't feel like I wasn't getting any work." It was a bizarre and frustrating senior campaign for bothplayers. Mitera, a first-round draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks, delayed his professional hockey dreams to return for his final year only to injure his knee in the first period of the season. Mitera's decision to stay came one year after Kevin Porter returned for his senior season despite NHL prospects. Porter went on to win the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's top player. Friday night was the culmina- tion of a surprisingly successful rehabilitation process. After undergoing ACL recon- structive surgery Nov. 6, Mitera was given a 3-6 month timetable' Michigan dominates meet, winning by over 300 points By RYAN A. PODGES Daily Sports Writer . When the final team scores were announced at the Big Ten swimming and diving champion- ships Saturday night, no one at the Purdue Boilermaker Aquatic Cen- ter was surprised. After winning the first three events of the meet, No.4 Michigan held on to its lead for the entire three-day event and successfully defended its Big Ten title, winning the program's 34th conference championship. And none of the scores were even close. On February 27, after the first day of competition, Michigan led the field of ten teams by over 120 points.After two days, the lead grew to over 200 points. And at the end of the meet, the Wolver- ines were a whopping 308 points ahead of second-place Ohio State. The team celebrated on the swim deck in their new cham- pionship hats and T-shirts, and then the party continued in the pool when the swimmers, coaches and even the trophy were pushed into the diving well. As the team splashed around and sang The Victors, first-year Michigan coach Mike Bottom said he floated around and simply watched his team enjoy the victory. "It was fun watching the guys swim their'best and it was fun to watch them celebrate," Bottom said. "We went in with a focus on getting guys to qualify for the NCAA championship meet. We knew if our guys were qualifying, then we would win the meet, and we did. The points weren't some- thing we thought a lot about." See BIG TENS, Page 4B SAID ALSALAH/Daily Freshman forward Robbie Czarnik scored the first goal of Saturday's 4-0 win, for a return to the ice. Just two Mitera said Friday. "I think the months and three days later, he first couple of shifts were pretty started to skate again. Mitera shaky. I felt a little. out of place began practicing full-contact Feb. out there, just to get back to game 17. . speed. But other than that, I felt "I felt pretty good out there," See BULLDOGS, Page 3B NOT ON TRACK GOING... GOING... U The Michigan women's track and field team ' The Michigan baseball team suffered its stumbled at the Big Ten Indoor Championship, first two losses of the season but rebounded - A" M'