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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2007
NCAA BASKETBALL
Teamwork leads Buckeyes past Wolverines for 23rd home win
BY RUSTY MILLER ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLEMIBUS. Ohio — Seven-footter Greg Oden gets all the attention for No. 3 Ohio State. Maybe the shortest Buckeye deserves some of the focus.
Mike Conley Jr. scored a career-high 23 points and high school teammate Oden created havoc at the defensive end to lead the Buckeyes past Michigan 76-63 on Tuesday night.
"Conley's outstanding," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said "He scores when it's there, he takes care of the basketball and he keeps everybody happy. Hes tremendous." I thought he was certainly the difference."
Conley was a constant for the Buckeyes (21.1, 3.9 - Big Ten) as Oden battled foul trouble and sat out 8 1/2 minutes of the second half.
Conley and Oden guided Lawrence North to Indiana state championships the last three seasons before coming to Ohio State. Their coach, Jack Keeter always said his team could win if Oden didn't have a good game but not if Conley wasn't on top of his game.
In the only other game involving a ranked team Tuesday night, San Diego State beat No. 15 Air Force 62-41.
Oden added 15 points, eight rebounds and six blocks — in addition to altering the tractioney of several other shots inside. The Buckeyes totaled 14 blocks, one shy of a 27-year-old school record.
Jamar Butler added 11 points for Ohio State, which has won eight straight games overall and its last 23 home games.
Courtney Sims had 17 points and Dion Harris and Eke Udoh 14 apiece for the Wolverines (16-8, 4-5), who have lost four straight.
Ohio State's fans pointed at Michigan's bench and chanted "N-I-T N-I-T" in the final minute.
The Wolterines are 1-9 against top 10 teams under Amaker, and 1-21 over the past nine years. They've lost their last 11 road games against teams in the top 10.
A snowstorm that dumped up to 3 inches of snow on the Columbus area brought traffic to a standstill and delayed the arrival of the officials.
Michigan got as close as 56-52 when Oden returned at the 8:52 mark.
While the Wolverines were managing just a free throw over the next 4 minutes, Ron Lewis hit a 3. Oden tossed in a long hook shot and then he and Otello Funter, who had five blocks, each blocked shots at the other end.
Defenseman set to break record
NHL
BY ARNIE STAPLETON
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — Karlis Skratstm, on the verge of breaking Tim Horton's NHL record for durability by a defenseman, has never shied away from pucks or pain.
A life of bumps, bruises and breaks attest to the 32-year-old's all-out style. He constantly dropping to the ice or skating into the shooting lanes to block shots for the Colorado Avalanche.
Skristmas is set to break Horton's nearly 40-year-old record Thursday night against Atlanta when he plays in his 487th consecutive regular season game.
There's no secret to the streak, he said.
Horton played from 1950-74, mostly with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was still commuting from Toronto while playing for the Buffalo Sabres when he was killed in a one-car accident on Feb. 21, 1974, while on his way
"Maybe just hard work and a lot of effort. I'm just getting ready and try to keep my focus on every game." Skrastins said.
Horton's record was established from Feb. 11, 1961, to Feb. 4, 1968. The overall NHL record for consecutive games played at any position is 964 set by Doug Jarvis over 13 seasons from 1975-87.
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Karls Skastins, left, pursues the puck in the third period of the Avalanche's 5-4 victory in overtime against the Florida Panthers in an NHL hockey game in Denver Tuesday. Skastins, who has tied the NHL record of 486 consecutive games played by a defenseman held by Tim Horton, could set a new record if he plays on Thursday at Atlanta.
David Zalubowski/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Charles Krupa/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Charles Krupa/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Florida head coach Urban Meyer celebrates as his team defeats Ohio State 41-14 at the BCS national championship football game in Glendale, Az., on Jan. 8.
NCAA FOOTBALL
Gators attract impressive lineup for next season
JOSH DUBOW ASSOCIATED PRESS
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida won the recruiting crown in nearly as dominating fashion as the national championship.
The Gators capitalized on last month's national title win over Ohio State to bring in the top recruiting class in the country Wednesday.
The Gators also were picked as the top class by SuperPrep. Rivals.com and National Blue Chips, beating out Southern California, SEC rivals Tennessee and LSU, and Texas.
"No one is even that close to them," said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CSTV. "They got help everywhere. In the past 10 years, this has to rank right at the top in recruiting classes. Every position is absolutely loaded."
The Trojans closed strong, adding top running backs Joe McKnight from Louisiana and Broderick Green from Arkansas to a class that already included another top back in Marc Tyler; defensive end Everson Griffen, SuperPrep's No. 1 overall player; the nation's No. 1 receiver.
Ronald Johnson from Michigan; and blue chip linebacker Chris Galippo from Anaheim, Calif.
"USC continues to be the place that a lot of skill position players look to first," said analyst Bobby Burton of Rivals.com. "That doesn't mean the guys they get on defense
arent special. It just means they have the pick of the litter when it comes to offensive skill players."
But the Gators class was best of all, signing eight of the top 16 players in talent rich Florida and the No. 1 players from South Carolina, Indiana, Maryland and New England, according to Rivals.com.
"There's no question they've moved into the catbird seat in Florida. They have taken advantage of tough times for both the Hurricanes and Seminoles."
Florida's class includes Rivals' third-best pro-style quarterback in John Brantley, the nation's top guard
"They play an exciting brand of ball on offense and defense and a lot of kids want to be in that situation."
ALLEN WALLACE Scout.com recruiting editor
"They play an exciting brand of ball on offense and defense and a lot of kids want be in that situation," said Allen Wallace, the national recruiting editor for Scout.com and publisher of SuperPrep magazine.
in James Wilson,
top weakside
defensive end in
Carlos Dunlap,
second best
defensive tackle
in Torrey Davis,
and top two
safeties in Jerimy
Finch and Major
Wright.
Coach Urban Meyer will count on some of those
freshmen to step in right away on defense, after the Gators lost defensive ends Jarvis Moss and Ryan Smith, linebacker Brandon Siler and safety Reggie Nelson early to the NFL after beating Ohio State 41-14 in the BCS title game.
Florida's haul was part of a banners recruiting year for the SEC, where
Tennessee, LSU, South Carolina,
Auburn, Georgia and Alabama all
received at least one top-10 ranking.
"The SEC is loaded." Burton said. "They are year in and year out the most talented conference. But even this is unusual."
The biggest surprise was at South Carolina, where Steve Spurrier brought in a top-10 class to a school that normally struggles to get blue chip players. Receiver Chris Culliver of North Carolina leads a class with quarterback Stephen Garcia of Tampa, Fla.
Other schools that did surprisingly well included North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Illinois.
Illinois coach Ron Zook, who recruited many of the players that led Florida to the national title, signed one of the nation's best receivers, Arrelle Benn out of Washington, D.C., and beat out Notre Dame for one of the top defensive linemen, Martez Wilson of Chicago.
He put together a class that rivals Ohio State and Michigan for the best in the Big Ten, despite winning only two conference games the past two seasons.
Spring 2007 Career Fair
Added Feature:
Meet & Mingle with Career Fair Recruiters at the Career Fair Reception
Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 5:30-7PM
Kansas Union - 4th Floor Lobby
Enjoy conversation & food - free!
Presented by The University Career Center and the Office of Multicultural Affairs Contributing to Student Success!
Open to all majors and all academic levels!
- Full-time & Part-time Career Opportunities
- Internship, Fellowships
- Graduate & Professional Schools
- Summer Camps, Summer Jobs
www.ucc.ku.edu
Tuesday & Wednesday February 13th & 14th 12:30PM-5 PM daily-Kansas Union
Opening Doors For You!