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.