Blue still has
a mountain to
climb in Big Ten
For those of you who
were home, vacation-
ing or working over
winter break, let me fill you in
on one rather important bit of
news: The
Michigan
basketball
team beat
a ranked
opponent.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Breaaaathe.-
It actu- NICOLE
ally hap- AUERBACH
pened.
The Wol-
verines beat.
Ohio State, who was ranked No.
15 in the nation, last Sunday at
Crisler Arena. (I promise.)
After loss upon loss to talent-
ed - as well as, frankly, medio-
cre - teams, let's just say fans
weren't expecting a big win
from the Wolverines. Yet here
we are, mere days into the new
year, and finally, Michigan has
the closest thing to a signature
win it can muster.
But before we all jump back
onto the NCAA Tournament
bandwagon, let's consider what
this win actually means.
First of all, it is a big win, it
is a big deal. The Wolverines
looked the best they have all
season hands down.
Michigan retained focus for
nearly the entire game - for the
first time all season.
Junior guard Manny Harris
and senior forward DeShawn
Sims were electric, combining
for 52 of Michigan's 73 points
(on just 34 shots, too). Even the
role players, like sophomore Stu
Douglass and freshmen Darius
Morris and Matt Vogrich, all
stepped up to complement the
two-star show.
That's the good news, and it's
about time there's good news to
discuss.
But here's the reality check:
Michigan still has a huge hill to
climb after its terrible start to
the season.
Actually, it's more than a hill.
Let's call ita mountain.
The Wolverines went 0-5
against the teams you've heard
of - ranging from run-of-the-
mill Boston College to top-
notch Kansas - and they blew
every chance they had to pick
up a quality and/or signature
win before the Big Ten season.
Now, the only nonconference
shot at a resume-building win is
No. 13 Connecticut. One victory
like that doesn't always cut it,
either. Oh, and UConn is good.
That brings us to Big Ten
season.
Let's start with Sunday's win
over No. 15 Ohio State. I know
the ranking was right there
next to the Buckeyes' name, but
it certainly didn't feel like a true
See AUERBACH, Page 2B
Michigan tops No.15
Ohio State for first
quality win of season
By JOE STAPLETON
Daily Sports Editor
Before its 73-64 win over
Ohio State on Sunday, the Wol-
verines' winter break had given
them very little to relax about.
The Wolverines kicked off
the break with a heartbreaking
loss in Lawrence against top-
ranked Kansas, thanks mostly
to incredibly poor shooting -18
percent from beyond the 3-point
line. -
The team came back to Cris-
lIr for a brief reprieve against
Coppin State. And while the
Golden Lions didn't exactly sky-
rocket Michigan's RPI, sopho-
more Stu Douglass got back on
track, shooting 60 percent from
downtown and finishing with
20 points.
Then the Big Ten season
started, with what seemed like
an exceedingly winnable game
against an Indianateamthatwas
without its leading scorer, Mau-
rice Creek. And the Wolverines
probably could have pulled it
out, had they not forgotten their
two superstars inAnn Arbor.
Junior Manny Harris and
senior DeShawn Sims had very
pedestrian 13- and 12-point
games, respectively.
Yes, Michigan was heading
into its first conference home
game, against the Buckeyes, in a
bit of a funk. But from the very
beginning of the game, some-
thing seemed different.
Ohio State scored on their
first possession after winning
the jump, but Harris came right
back down the court and sank a
contested 3-pointer to answer
immediately.
And while that was just the
first two possessions of the
game, it set the tone for the rest
See BUCKEYES, Page 2B
M' shows promise in
close road loss to Big
Ten-leading Ohio State
Conference play
0 proves to be a
struggle early for
young Wolverines
By AMY SCARANO
Daily Sports Writer
While improvement can't nec-
essarily be measured by defeat,
the Michigan women's basketball
team showed promise in its close
59-56 loss to No. 6 Ohio State in
Columbus on Sunday.
The three-point loss was Mich-
igan's narrowest margin against
its rival since it beat the Buckeyes
in 2001, also on Ohio State's home
court. Michigan played neck-and-
neck with the Big Ten conference
O leaders for 40 minutes before
sophomore guard Courtney Boy-
lan missed a wide-open 3-pointer
with seconds left.
"It wasn't like we threw it
away," Michigan coach Kevin
Borseth said afterwards. "We
had opportunities. We just didn't
make baskets and they did. Court-
ney almost hit the last shot. She
was on track but she missed it."
Michigan (1-3 Big Ten, 9-5
overall) jumped out to a quick.
8-0 run in the first two minutes
at Value City Arena. And even
after the Buckeyes came back, the
two teams were separated by no
more than a single field goal until
the final four minutes when Ohio
State pulled ahead for the win.
Those final minutes clinched the
Buckeyes' 13th-straight victory
against the Wolverines.
But a reenergized Michigan
squad was almost enough to end
that streak.
The Wolverines entered the
game with back-to-back confer-
ence losses against Michigan
See COLUMBUS, Page 4B
DETROIT
hrou
year,
woul
the pipes for
one that dom
season sto-
rylines.
But before
this season,
junior goal-
tender Bryan
Wolverines' goaltending is nowhere
near championsh4 caliber
ghout much of last
the question of who
d stand tall between
the Wolverines was
tinated the regular
I
Hogan was as
close as you
can get to a
sure thing. RYAN
Former
netminder KARTJE
Billy Sauer
- who had
lost the much-hyped goaltending
competition last season to Hogan
- spent his sophomore season
setting nearly every goaltend-
ing record Michigan had on the
books. But he couldn't win the big
game. Just like former Wolver-
ine Noah Ruden before him. Or
Al Montoya before him. Or Josh
Blackburn before him.
In fact, since the golden boy
of Michigan goaltending, Marty
s icIA
I
ARIEL BOND/Daily
Junior Bryan Hogan was benched for backup Shawn Hunwick after giving up three goals on five shots in the first round-of the
Great Lakes Invitational on Dec. 30. Hogan returned as the starter in the consolation gawe, earning a
Turco, skated at Yost Ice Arena,
every goalie since has been a disap-
pointment in one way or another.
But that's exactly where Michi-
gan coach Red Berenson thought
Hogan was different. Someone
who could carry this team beyond
the first-round collapses that had
plagued their previous postseason
runs.
And when Hogan showed
thathe could step outside of the
crease, handle the puck, and make
some nice saves in a big game or
two, the whole of the Michigan
hockeysphere - myself included
- thought the ghost of Marty
See KARTJE, Page 4B
T G1ED MSHOING GONG W NG
The Big Ten came up huge on the national Couldn't find the time to watch all the bowl
stage. To Andy Reid, it's bittersweet, but games this winter break? Luckily for you, the
mostly a good thing. Page 2B. Daily Sports Writers recap them all. Page 3B.