4 - The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, January 9, 1995 Loss to Penn State magnifies Michigan weaknesses; NIT looms large in future By SCOTT BURTON Daily Basketball Writer UNIVERSITY PARK - If Michigan had any illusions of gran- deur after opening its Big Ten sched- ule with a victory over Purdue, they were effectively creamated after Court ress rather comprehensive reality check. And this check list is longer than a DC-20 aircraft. Reality Check No. 1: Michi- gan must win with defense. The days of the Wolverines out- running and outgunning their oppo- nents is over, and the reason is simple-they can't shoot. Michigan's 43 percent field goal shooting is atrocious, exemplified by 34 percent shooting against the Nittany Lions. Part of the problem is the three- point shooting; 28 percent is Divi- sion III caliber material. The other part is unfinished shots-easy chippies that aren't put home. Yet, Michigan plays tough with most every opponent it plays be- cause of sound defense. It is kind of ironic that the freshman who have struggled so apparently with their offense-seem comfortable and even confident playing defense. But, with two superb defenders leading the way in seniors Ray Jackson and Jimmy King, the young Wolverines make the opposition beat them with tough shots every game. But the defense has to get even tougher. Games like yesterday's could have been won, despite their inept offense, if the defense avoids major breakdowns, stays out of foul- trouble and forces more turnovers. ® Reality Check No. 2: The Point Guard play is inadequate One things must be said for Dugan Fife-he has taken the leadership role seriously and has contributed to the team by not making mistakes and playing smart. But two things stand out when analyzing the Michigan basketball team. One is that a forward, Jack- son, leads the team in assists (3.2) The second is that only 13 of Fife and Bobby Crawford's 74 shots are taken from within the three-point line. While these are only statistics, it underscores the fact that Michigan's point guards aren't making any im- yesterday's 73-63 loss to Penn State. Without any doubts about it, the Nittany Lions kicked the Wolver- ines butts. Ten points may have been the margin of defeat, but Penn State was stronger, meaner, and tougher by a degree three times larger than that. Indeed, for a team aspiring to reach the NCAA Tournament, the loss to the Nittany Lions serves as a pact. They haven't taken the ball to the hole enough, which affects the way defenses guard the entire team, and they haven't distributed the ball efficiently, which is reflected in the team's poor shooting percentage. Reality Check No.3: It's gonna take guts to make the NCAA Tour- nament. As Michigan's first two Big Ten games illustrate, the Wolverines are right now a middle-of-the-road- con- ference team. But after a disap- pointing 6-5 pre-conference record, a fifth or sixth place finish won't be enough to get Michigan in the NCAA tournament. So it is gut-check time for Michi- gan. They are going to have to win games they shouldn't, junk their ways to wins in games they will be outmanned, find ways to win in the absence of favorable matchups. It is called overachieving, and if Michi- gan prefers the letters NCAA versus NIT, they are going to have to invest heavily into the concept. MICHIGAN (63) FO FT RES MIN MA M-A O-T A F PTS Jackson 39 9-16 5-5 2-3 0 4 24 Taylor 15 1-5 1-2 1-3 2 5 3 Ndiaye 15 0-2 0-0 1-1 1 5 0 Fife 23 0-1 0-0 0-5 1 3 0 King 32 5-13 3-4 4-8 0 2 8 Mitchell 33 5-14 2-5 7-15 1 3 15 Crawford 13 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 Ward 23 3-12 3-3 5-9 1 4 11 Conlon 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 Totals 200 23-68 14-19 23.49 618 63 FG%: .338. FT%: .737. Three-point goals: 3-18, .167 (Ward 2-4, Jackson 1-5, Conlan 0-1, Fife 0- 1, King 0-2, Mitchell 0-2, Crawford 0-3). Blocks: 5 (Fife 2, Mitchell 2, Ward). Turnovers: 18 (Jackson 5, King 4, Fife 3, Ward 3, Ndiaye 2, Mitchell). Steals: 7 (King 2, Fife, Jackson, Mitchell, Ndiaye, Taylor). Technical Fouls: none. JOE WESTRATE/dail) Jimmy King goes up for a reverse layup in Michigan's 73-63 loss at Penn State yesterday. King scored eight points in the loss, which dropped the Wolverines to 7-6 on the year. PENN STATE (73) FO FT REB MIN M-A M-A O-T Carlton 29 2-9 4-4 2-5 Sekunda 27 1-9 4-6 0-3 Amaechi 38 9-14 8-12 6-14 Earl 33 3-6 6.8 0-0 Williams. 0. 19 0-3 0-0 0-1 Williams, P. 13 1-2 4-4 4-7 Lisicky 24 1-7 6-6 0-3 Bartram 11 0-0 24 1-4 Joseph 2 0-0 0-0 0-1 McKnight 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 Totals 200 17-51 34-44 15.40J A F PTS 0 2 9 1 3 6 1 1 26 2 4 15 1 1 0 0 2 7 4 4 9 1 0 2 11 0 0 0 0 1518 73 FG%: .333. FT%: .773. Three-point goals: 5-17, .294 (Earl 3-5, Carlton 1-3, Lisicky 1-6, McKnight 0-1, Sekunda 0-2). Blocks: 4 (Amaechi 2, Sekunda 2). Turnovers: 15 (Sekunda 4, Amaechi 2, Earl 2. Joseph, McKnight, 0. Williams, P. Williams). Steals: 9 (Carlton 2, Earl 2, Bartram, Lisicky, Sekunda, D. Williams, P. Williams). Technical Fouls: Lisicky (hanging on the rim). Michigan............15 48 - 63 Penn State.........29 44 - 73 At: Recreation Hall; A: 7,452. 'We just don't fight, and thas uncharacteristic of a Michigan team. We just haven't-fought the fight.' Ray Jackson Michigan forward AP PHOTO John Amaechi of Penn State shoots while Michigan's Willie Mitchell and Makhtar Ndiave defend. WOMEN Continued from page 1 giving the Wolverines some breathing room. Brzezinski had a huge game, tallying 21 points and snatching 14 rebounds. "I just felt I could take it in- side," Brzezinski said. "They had (low-post) girls in foul trouble." Brzezinski was aided by her teammates on the perimeter. Shellman and Franklin combined for 11 assists, with Franklin also tossing in 11 points in her first career start. "Akisha came in and did a great job," Roberts said. Other Wolverines in double fig- ures were Willard (14 points), Catherine DiGiacinto (11) and Johnson (11). Yesterday's matchup ended a bit differently. Instead of going down to the wire, Michigan was able to pull away in the latter part of the second half. With 9:52 to play, the Wildcats were down by just four, 53-49. Then the Wolver- ines took over. With Brzezinski cleaning up down low and freshman Molly Murray knocking them down from the outside, Michigan went on a 21-6 run to close the game. Murray and Brzezinski combined for 11 points to key the torrent. Brzezinski had another solid outing, notching 11 points and 14 rebounds. Murray exploded for 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting after 11 just thought that as soon as 1 get in there, to look for my shot.' Molly Murray Michigan forward going scoreless in four minutes of action against the Spartans. "I just thought that as soon as I get in there, to look for my shot," Murray said. "It was on today." In stark contrast, Northwestern's free-throw shoot- ing was off. The Wildcats .shot 44.4 percent from the charity stripe, converting on 12 of 27 at- tempts. Northwestern missed nu- merous lay-ups as well, blowing opportunities to get in the game. These missed chances hurt im- mensely, since the Wolverines didn't surrender anything on de- fense. Michigan's tenacious "d" hounded the Wildcats into 29 turn- overs, many coming in the sec- ond-half. The Wolverines also stole the ball 13 times, with Franklin and Murray posting three takeaways each. For a change, it was Michigan's opponent that was flus- tered at the end of the game - not the Wolverines. "We always let it go at the end," Roberts said, in reference to her team's ability to let victory slip from its grasp at the last instant. "The last two games, they've hung in there." Confidence the reason for Michigan's surprisil By RODERICK BEARD Daily Basketball Writer If the Michigan women's basket- ball team continues at its present rate, there could be an NCAA investiga- tion. Either coach Trish Roberts has been tainting the team's water supply or the Wolverines are designer impos- tors. There has to be some explanation for Michigan's surprising play so far this season. How much of a surprise are the Wolverines this season? Michigan's 7-7 start is its best since the 1990-91 season, when the team began with an 8-6 record. That year, the Wolverines finished the season with an 11-17 record. This weekend, Michigan defeated Michigan State and Northwestern. The ..1:" :.v :....... victories are Roberts' first everatCrisler Arena, bringing her Big Ten win total to three in 40 games. The last time that the Wolverines beat either the Spartans or the Wildcats was the 1989-90 season, when they finished 20-10. "(The Northwestern game) is a very big win for us - it was a must-win game," Roberts said. "It says a lot for the future of this program." Michigan is finding new ways to win while its leading scorer, sopho- more guard Amy Johnson, is in a slump. So far in Big Ten play, Johnson is averaging only 8.8 points per game, almost seven below last season's av- erage. She was scoreless against Kan- sas State, and only scored three versus Iowa and two against Northwestern. Still, the Wolverines are managing to pull out games. Roberts made her best decision of the season by finally starting freshman point guard Akisha Franklin. Franklin has improved her play dramatically. In her first start, she sparked Michi- gan with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists against Michigan State. She responded with 15 points and nine assists yesterday in the win over North- western. Junior Jennifer Brzezinski, now the team's leading scorer with a 13.1 point average, has stepped up as well. Brzezinski paced the team against the Spartans with 21 points and 14 boards, then tossed in 11 points and had 14 rebounds against Northwestern. Brzezinski has the most experi- ence on the team, and is the only player who was around the last time Michigan won a Big Ten game, a 67- 54 drubbing at Indiana. It doesn't seem like she goes after rebounds; rather, she attracts them. The Wolverines are doing it with- out two of their key players. Freshman center Pollyanna Johns tore her ante- rior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the last nonconference game against Kan- sas State and is out for the season. Johns averaged 5.0 points and 6.8 re- bounds in nine games. Sophomore point guard Jennifer Kiefer is also out for the season after injuring her ACL during the summer. Despite those obstacles, Michigan has posted a respectable .500 record. Tiffany Willard (a.k.a. "Barkley") has come through with some outstandi1 performances, including a good defen- sivejob against Kisha Kelley, Michigan 'This is a very big win for us - it was a must- win game. It says a lot for the future of this program.' - Trish Robert' Michigan women's basketball coach State's leading scorer. Center Catherine DiGiacinto is emerging as the team's emotional leader, and is showing flashes of brilliance in the post. - A lot of the Wolverines' success due to an improved mental game. During practice last week, the lockerroom was decorated in green NORTHWESTERN (55) MIN Hannaford 14 Holohan 37 Braden 33 DeWall 16 Ratay 29 McGarrigle 13 Byington 20 Wrenn 9 Swift 22 Connolly 7 Totals 200 FO M-A 2-6 7-20 7-8 0-2 3-9 0-3 0-1 2-4 0-4 0-1 21-58: FT M-A 1-3 3-6 3-6 2-4 1-2 0-0 0-2 0-0 1-2 1-2 RE O-T A 1-2 0 4-15 2 2-10 0 1-2 4 0-6 2 0-0 0 1-2 0 2-6 0 1-2 2 1-1 0 PTS 5 17 17 2 8 0 0 4 1 1 655 MICHIGAN (74) FO FT MIN MA M-A Shellman 35 3-13 0-1 DiGiacinto 28 4-11 3-3 Brzezinski 35 5-15 1-2 Franklin 35 5-9 2-2 Johnson 15 1-4 0-0 Murray 32 8-15 2-2 Ross 5 0-0 0-0 Willard 15 3-8 1-2 Totals 200 29-75 9-12 REB O-T 0-1 0-2 4-14 2-5 1-3 1-5 0-1 1-3 10-38 A F PTS 6 4 8 0 4 11 0 3 11 9 2 15 0 3 2 5 2 20 0 0 0 1 4 , 7 2122 74 12-27 16-52 1016 FG%: .387. FT%: .750. Three-poInt goals: 7-16, .438 (Shellman 2-6, Franklin 3-5, Murray 2-4, Rrzezinski 0-1). Blocks: 5 (Brzezinski 3. DiGiacinto. FnOA .16. F96AA44.Three-nolnt Ugoals: 1.5. ., i:: :.........: .. . . ::; ;.w.y . 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