4 Women's Gymnastics vs. Eastern Michigan Saturday, 1 p.m. Sports Coliseum The Michigan Daily SPORTS Thursday, January 10, 1985 Women's Basketball vs. Illinois Friday, 7 p.m. Crisler Arena Page 8 Illini cagers eager to stop slump By STEVE WISE Statistics may not lie, but they'd probably be stretching the truth if they tried to predict a fourth straight loss for the Illinois basketball team when it meets Michigan tonight. "The Illini are 0-2 in the Big Ten," bark the num- bers, suggesting that perhaps people got too excited when they said Illinois (11-4 overall) would roll to a second straight Big Ten title. "WE'VE BEEN on the road," counters Illinois coach Lou Henson. "When you get on the road you can be beat pretty easily." The statistics remain unconvinced. They point out Illinois' unimpressive field goal percentage (47 per- cent for all games and 43.8 percent in conference games) and equally meager free throw percentage (68.9 overall, 52.2 conference). Henson concedes on this issue. He said his team's shooting percentage is disappointing, but he is not overly concerned. "THERE'S not anything you can do," said the 10th- year coach. "Pray maybe. But we put up good shots and I'm sure they're going to fall." They could fall from any number of hands. The Illini have four players averaging in double figures for the season. Center George Montgomery leads Illinois in both scoring and rebounding. The 6-9, 235 pound center averages 11.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game (9.5, 12.0 in. conference). Having started all last year, Montgomery anchors Illinois' front line with both experience and bulk. HE IS flanked by a pair of 6-9 forwards, Efrem Winters and Anthony Welch. Winters' numbers have declined somewhat since he led the Illini in scoring last year, but Winters still averages 10.5 points per game and may top that figure considerably against Michigan's smaller forwards. "They're big," said Michigan coach Bill Frieder. "We get a little bigger if we put (6-9 forward Robert) Henderson in there but we've got some defensive problems because Illinois posts up really strong and they're tough to contain." IF THEY can contain the Illini inside, the Wolverines still have to deal with guards Bruce Douglas and the newly-healthy Doug Altenberger. Douglas continues to fill the roles that earned him Big Ten Player Of The Year last year and made him a pre-season pick to repeat. The 6-3 junior leads Illinois in assists with 86, 50 more than any of the other Illini, and his 31 steals leads the team by 14. The fact that Douglas is struggling offensively should be almost insignificant if, as Henson said, Altenberger is back to full strength after a back in- jury kept him almost completely out of Illinois' losses at Loyola and Minnesota and hampered him at Iowas That would bring Illinois' other double-figure man back into its offense and prevent Michigan's defense from collapsing in on the front line. BACK UP the Illinois starters with a solid bench and the statistical doubts seem misguided, as Hen- son attests. "We think that if we just have .average shooting we've got a chance to win," Henson said. "The way we play, we don't have to have a great shooting night. We've proved that before and we can do it again." "If you got down there and shot 55 to 60 percent and make your free throws and keep your turnovers down, rebound and play good defense, you might escape with a victory," he said. "Anything less than I just mentioned is gonna be a loss." I Erring's 35 leads Sixers 4 ONE SMALL VOICE By Jejf Ber;ida Daily Photo by STU WEIDENBALM Michigan forward Richard Rellford puts up a hook shot against Rutgers in a victory last month in Crisler Arena. Rellford and the rest of the Wolverines battle 15th-ranked Illinois tonight in Champaign. to victory over Pistons PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Julius Er- ving scored 35 points, and Moses Malone added 22 points and 15 reboun- ds, as the Philadelphia 76ers edged the Detroit Pistons 126-122 last night to ex- tend their National Basketball Association winning streak to nine games. The lead changed hands 10 times and the score was tied on five occasions in the final period before a jumper by Maurice Cheeks gave Philadelphia a 118-116 edge with 2:40 remaining, a lead the 76ers never relinquished. A pair of free throws by Malone 20 seconds later made it 120-116. The Pistons, who had a three-game winning streak snapped, cut Philadelphia's margin to 123-122 with 53 seconds remaining. But Andrew Toney collected a field goal and Erving had one free throw for the final margin. For the Pistons, Isiah Thomas led with 23 points and 17 assists, while Dan Roundfield added 20 points. Vinnie Johnson, who scored the first seven points of the fourth period for Detroit, wound up with 17. RACKHAM PRE-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP DEADLINE FEBRUARY 1,1985 Rackham graduate students who will be candidates by February 1 st are eligible for $5,000 plus tuition for 1 985-86. Students must be nominated by departments. Check soon for deadlines. Fellowship Office 160 Rackham 764-2218 Rob, slobs and Blab... .the Big Ten and beyond The first conference road game of the season warrants a look at the 9-2 Wolverines: " Bill Frieder says the Big Ten is tougher right now than it's been since he's been head coach. Iowa, Michigan State and Wisconsin are the biggest surprises thus far and, because of the balance of power, it looks like a 13-5 record could take a share of the league title. " Michigan remains an enigma. Roy Tarpley has not proven that he can handle a bigger center. Rich Rellford and Butch Wade have been up-and- down although Wade's defense has improved tremendously. The results of tonight's game with Illinois should answer a lot of questions. Another big loss might mean a really long season. eReserve forward Robert Henderson has been the Wolverines' most pleasant surprise. Michigan's Mr. Basketball in 1982 still doesn't have the fluidity of Tarpley, but he is performing well. Henderson's shooting is get- ting better and he's been a real force on the offensive boards. " Antoine Joubert's 27-point performance against Ohio State Saturday was reminiscent of his glory days in high school. If Joubert can shoot 48 percent this season, the Wolverines will be in the race the whole way. " Are there any freshman guards having a better season than Gary Grant? " Looking over the Big Ten, it's hard to believe that MSU is 11-1 and nationally-ranked with a front line of center Ken Johnson and forwards Larry Polec and Richard Mudd. Polec, of all people, has been outstanding thus far. Last year, he looked like he would have trouble playing in a good IM game. " The league is loaded with great backcourt players. Scott "When's the trial" Skiles and Sam Vincent of MSU may be the best tandem but there's a lot of competition. Minnesota's Marc Wilson and Tommy Davis, OSU'sTroy Taylor and Ron Stokes, and Joubert and Grant are all first-rate combos. " When did Indiana's Uwe Blab stop eating long enough to learn how to shoot a basketball? " You really have to wonder about the brain-damaged idiots who sit behind the South basket at Crisler. How much effort does it take to stand up and wave your arms when the opposing team is shooting? Fans are constantly on Frieder's back for not providing a winner but they don't support the team at all. It's getting disgusting. " Frieder says Paul Jokisch may be ready for action by the Minnesota game next Thursday. The big guy's aggressive play can only help fire up a team that sometimes appears to be disinterested. Getting off the subject " One of the funniest lines in TV history was heard by viewers of the Holiday Bowl broadcast. One of the announcers said that Michigan's Vince Bean was a certain first or second round pick in the pro draft. Who had this guy been talking to? Bean was chosen in the 14th round of the USFL draft. " I used to think that Dallas Cowboy fans were the most annoying in the nation but recently, Dolphin fans have proved me wrong. Miami and Dallas are followed closely by Boston Celtic, Detroit Tiger and University of Illinois fans. " CBS' hard-hitting journalist Irv Cross has been outstanding as usual during the playoffs. Every interview Cross conducts opens with the question "Congratulations." That is, unless he's assigned to the losing locker room in which case the question is, "You still had a great season, coach." " It's a good thing the Big Ten is still a strong basketball league because its football teams are becoming a national joke. The Big Ten's record in bowl games over the last two years is a stunning 2-8. That includes losses to such national powerhouses as Virginia and Army. " Anyone who watched CBS' telecast of the Cotton Bowl got enough of Doug Flutie to last a lifetime. The broadcast opened with baby pictures of the Heisman Trophy winner and continued in that vein throughout. One got the feeling that the other Boston College and Houston players were just get- ting in the way. Pat Haden kept saying things like, "Bill Yeoman doesn't want to punt the ball to Flutie." When did Doug start returning kicks? VOLUNTEER at UNIVE OF MICHIGAN HOSPITALS Attend an Information Session to learn about exciting volunteer opportunities in: i a M Associated Press Piston guard Vinnie Johnson (15) battles with Andrew Toney of the Philadelphia 76ers for a loose ball during the first quarter of their game in Philadelphia last night. CROWN LITE 184eg. $27.95 Comes with an adjustable bracket. 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