2B - January 6, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 0 2B - January 6, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Big Ten had its coming-out party this bowl season 'm sure I'm not the only one around Ann Arbor who felt, well, empty during this holiday season, watching teams like East Carolina, Middle Ten- nessee State and Idaho (Seriously, Idaho?) play in fluffy bowl games while Michi- gan couldn't even muster a spot in the Little Caesar's Pizza, Pizza Bowl. Without a direct vested interest for the ANDY second con- REID secutive bowl season (rooting against The Vest doesn't count), the games felta little stale, boring and unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, I watched almost every one, but you know what I mean. I didn't even have much hope for the whole "rooting for the Big Ten" route, as the conference gave me almost no hope of remote competitiveness after finishing 1-6 in postseason play last year, a record so bad you'd almost think the Big Ten was intentionally try- ing to embarrass itself. But then Wisconsin dominated Miami (Fla.) in a game that was much more lopsided than its 20-14 score would lead you to believe. Then, Northwestern nar- rowly fell to Auburn in overtime in the Outback Bowl, despite five ridiculous interceptions from quarterback Mike Kafka, includ- ing two at the goal line, and a kicker who seemingly did not understand the ultimate goal of placekicking. The Outback Bowl's sideline reporter said Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald told his team in the fourth quarter that "We're still in this, even though we're playing with 10 men on offense - our QB is playing for the other team!" and the Wildcats still almost pulled it out. Then, Penn State beat LSU in the trenches. And That Team Which Shall Remain Nameless claimed the conference's first Rose Bowl Championship since the 1999-2000 season. (A fact which still boggles my mind, see- ing as how the Big Ten helped create the "Grand Daddy Of Them All"). And Iowa won the Orange Bowl 24-14 last night. Georgia Tech's spread-triple-option-type offense is incredibly hard to scout against (just ask Clemson), and the Hawkeyes should get major, major props for its pregame preparation. Wait - the lowly Big Ten play- ing well in the BCS - the same conference which hadn't won on the nation's big stage since the 2004-05 season? Wow. But the most impressive per- formance may have been in a los- ing effort - Michigan State and its Big Ten-worst pass defense (sans starting cornerback Chris L. Rucker and a slew of frat-boy- pounding players after being sus- pended for an on-campus brawl) lost a heartbreaker to pass-happy Texas Tech, a game which I had written off as an inevitable blow- out, with or without coach Mike Leach. All told, the conference fin- ished 4-3 in bowls, with a terrific showing in the Bowl Champion- ship Series. It doesn't sound all that spectacular, but it's some- what of a remarkable turnaround from a near-disastrous output 12 months ago. The Big Ten finally - after what seems like a football eter- nity - has taken back some of the credibility it lost when Southern Cal decided to make idiots out of any Midwesterner who dared travel to Pasadena in January during a depressing eight-year span. And a wholly unexpected 2-0 mark in the BCS should cer- tainly turn the nation's collective head toward the Great Lakes. I don't think anyone saw this kind of collective performance coming (especially ESPN colum- nist Pat Forde, who predicted a second straight 1-6 record for the Big Ten). So it was a pleasant surprise for Big Ten fans - and it should be, even for the fans of the four teams that missed out on the postseason this time around. I don't know if this will have any long-lasting effects, but it's gotta feel nice for Big Ten com- missioner Jim Delany and the rest of the conference to stifle the rest of the nation - at least for one offseason. - Reid can be reached at andyreid@umich.edu. 0 0 ARItL BOND/Daily Junior forward Scooter Vaughan gets stepped by Michigan Tech goalie Josh tobinson in the Great Lakos Inoitational's third-place game or Dec. 30. Goaltending, offense',lead tdisappoi ntmen.t inGL By MARK BURNS Michigan to a much-needed 5-3 Daily Sports Writer victory. With Hogan in net, Wolverine DETROIT - Last season, the freshman Lindsay Sparks netted Michigan hockey team stumbled the first power play marker of the into the Great Lakes Invitational afternoon - his first goal of the with a sub-par 11-7 record, having season - in the opening period. lost to CCHA basement dwellers Michigan looked to increase its Northern Michigan and Western lead on the power play again in Michigan. the middle frame when it saw four But that was all forgotten after man-advantages, capitalizing on the 10th-ranked Wolverines won two of them. their second straight GLI Cham- After Michigan Tech (2-12-0 pionship over Michigan State and WCHA, 3-16 overall) center Brett used the tournament as a spring- Olson took a high sticking penalty board for the rest of the season, with Michigan leading 2-1, junior winning 13 of their final 16 regu- forward Matt Rust gathered the lar-season games. puck amidst a scrum in front of The 45th Annual GLI proved the net and put home a wrist shot to be a role reversal from last year to help the Wolverines secure a as the unranked Wolverines lost split in Detroit. their opening-round contest to The power play has been incon- underdog Rensselaer Polytech- sistent all year for the Wolverines. nic last week, 4-3. The loss to the They have failed to generate much Engineers placed the Wolverines traffic in front of opposing goal- in the third-place game against ies. Nor have they found quality Michigan Tech, for the first time scoring opportunities. Currently, since 2005. Michigan's power play sits in Against Michigan Tech, goal- ninth place in the conference, so ie Bryan Hogan, who had been it has been a work in progress all benched against RPI, backstopped year. "We had the puck under control for much of the power play and moved it pretty well." Berenson said. "We got some good scor- ing opportunities, but it's still an issue." Michigan went just one-for- eight with the man advantage against RPI, but against the Hus- kies, the Wolverines scored a sea- son-high three power play goals. And if the Wolverines expect to make a second-half run at a top- four spot in the CCHA, they'll need their power play to be click- ing on all cylinders - something it has rarely done this year. The disappointment hung heav- ily from Tuesday's loss. "It's tough waking up on (Wednesday) morning and know- ing you're playing in the consola- tion game for third place," Rust said. "But we're trying to get a bid into the NCAA Tournament." "It's not good obviously to lose (against RPI)," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "We came here to get in the Championship game, number one, and to try and get our name up on that banner, again. That's why everyone comes here. But we had something to prove, and we didn't quite prove it." Missed scoring opportunities seemed tobe commonplace for the Wolverines against the Engineers as Michigan pelted RPI goaltender Allen York with 46 shots. Unfor- tunately for Michigan, just three found their way into the back of the net. According to junior forward Carl Hagelin, though, it was the defensive side of the redline that cost the Wolverines (10-10 overall, 5-7 CCHA) a chance at a rematch with intrastate rival Michigan State in the championship game. "It all comes down to how many goals you let up," he said. "Every- one is so defensive-minded. If you don't take care of your own end, you're not going to win any games." Between netminders Bryan Hogan and Shawn Hunwick -who replaced Hogan after the second period - they surrendered four goals on 13 shots, a statistical line that warrants some concern from behind the Wolverine bench. AUERBACH From page 1B No. 15 team playing out there. Without junior sensation Evan Turner (back injury), Ohio State isn't a top-25 squad. He's not gone for the season, so the Buckeyes will soon be a viable threat again - but for now, Ohio State isn't that good. Want proof? Just look at its 22-point loss to Wisconsin three days before it played Michi- gan. And though it might cheer Wolverine fans to see the Buck- eyes' 0-2 start in conference play, Michigan's 1-1 mark raises plenty of concerns of its own. The Wolverines played down to Indiana's level on Dec. 31, and then let the Hoosiers run away with the game down the stretch. The same thing happened with Utah, and even Boston College. BUCKEYES From page 1B of the afternoon. Michigan had an answer for everything Ohio State threw at it, and for each answer, the Wolverines threw a little something of their own. In the first half, the two teams played each other to a tee, finish- ing with nearly identical statistics - both teams shot about 50 percent from the field and about 40 percent from beyond the arc. Michigan had 14 rebounds, Ohio State 15. They even both attempted just three free throws. "Our defense today, holdingthem to those percentages," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "Just doing a better job on (Ohio State junior) David (Lighty) was huge. They've I promise you, Michigan's roster boasts more talent than those three teams. But the Wolverines weren't playing their best - they played slightly below their oppo- nents' best. Michigan fans can call these games whatever they want, but here's how the NCAA Tournament committee will see them: bad loss, bad loss and (drumroll, please ...) bad loss. Michigan showed flashes of brilliance against the nation's best team, Kansas, and the Wol- verines played their best game of the season against the 15th- ranked Buckeyes. Again, these games weren't flukes. Michigan simply played up to its competi- tion's level. This rollercoaster play - on obvious display in the Wolver- ines' first two Big Ten games - should be a concern heading into the rest of the conference season. The Big Ten isn't nearly as got some very innovative ways of gettingthem jumpshots." And after halftime, Harris and Sims made their superstar statuses clear to the Buckeyes. Michigan'stwobest players came alive in the second half, combining for 31 points while shooting 13-17 from the floor. Their second half performance allowed Michigan to hold off Ohio State for the win. "I was just comfortable out there," Harris said. "I was trying to make plays, and let everythingcome to me." Throughout this season, Michi- gan has failed to score or get a stop in nearly every critical moment. On Sunday, the team came through. There was freshman Darius Morris's beautiful fadeaway jumper in the lane to put the Wolverines up eight midway through the second good as we all thought heading into the season. But it's not a cakewalk. For Michigan, games on the road against Purdue and Michigan State are looming. Northwestern is playing better than everyone expected. And Turner will be back soon for Ohio State. I'm not trying to belittle Michi- gan's win on Sunday, I'm really not. But people must be wary of placing higher expectations on a team that floundered under that kind of burden earlier this season. Sunday's win may prove to be the first step up the mountain, a trip that next goes through a Happy Valley, and could still potentially end with a summit stop at March Madness. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves just yet. - Auerbach can be reached at naauer@umich edu, half. And then there was the energy freshman Matt Vogrich brought off the bench, getting two putbacks in the paint and electrifying the Crisler crowd with an uncharacter- istic block from behind. This season, Michigan has played beneath their expectations. The problem hasgonebeyond poor shoot- ing, beyond poor defense - it is just bad chemistry. And while a win at home against an Evan Turner-less Ohio State is not a season-changing event, itis a step inthe right direction. "Anytime you beat Ohio State at Michigan, especially after last year when (former Ohio State center B.J.) Mullens saying they were going to beat us four years in a row," Novak said. "That's not going to happen. It just feels good getting that win, it was fun." 0 0 6 WANT TO WRITE FOR DAILY SPORTS? COME TO A MICHIGAN DAILY MASS MEETING. JAN. 11 AT 8 P.M., JAN. 13 AT 8 P.M., JAN. 24 AT 6 P.M. 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR ARIEL BOND/Daily Senior DeShawn Sims (above) and junior Manny Harris scored 52 of Michigan's 73 points in the Wolverines' win over the Buck- eyes on Sunday.