BASKETBALL
The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - February 23, 1998 -58
Quote of the We
"I know a hell of a lot more that
so you could imagine how I thoi
played."
- Indiana coach Bobby Knig
reporter called Michigan "a
Player of the Week
Jerod Ward
The forward scored 46 points and
grabbed 14 rebounds in Michigan's
two games this week.
Wolverines do it again when it
'counts, this tibe in
OF
'm not really sure where to start. The
final score was fairly impressive -
112-64.
A couple weeks ago, feeding off my
optimism following Michigan's clutch
victory over Iowa, I thought to myself,
"Hey, this team is gonna score 100
points and win by 50 in one of its next
three games."
Those three games were against
Northwestern, ! !! !
Minnesota and
Ohio State.
NOT INDI-
ANA!
Not the rich
tradition that is
the Hoosiers. DAN
Not Bobby.
Knight's STILLMAN
troops. Still the
All Knight Man
could do was
slowly sip from
his cup when the Wolverines' fourth-
consecutive shot from the floor - all
3-pointers - hit its target, extending
Michigan's lead to 31 points with 52
seconds left in the first half.
The General was rather calm after
the game. What could he do or say,
really? His team was obliterated,
embarrassed, rendered helpless in an
important game late in the season on
national television.
When you've just lost by 48 points,
MICHIGAN (112)
FG Ft RES
MIN MA *A 0-T A F PTS
Conlan 32 3-6 00 0-0 4 3 7
Ward 28 1015 0-0 5-10 0 3 24
Traylor 30 10-12 2-3 3-11 7 2 22
Reid 28 6-11 0-0 0-2 5 2 16
Bullock 28 9415 4-4 0-6 5 3 26
Taylor 3 0-0 2200 002
-Scott 2 0-0 0-000 01 0
Oliver 4 0-1 1-2 0-1 1 0 1
Asselin 13 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 0
Austin 2 01 0-0 00 00 0
Smith 21 3-6 4-6 1-3 3 2 12
Szyndlar 4 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 2
Vignier 5 0-0 00 0-3 0 0 0
-Totals 200 42.68 13&17 1145 25 18 1122
F0%:.618. FT%: 765 3-point FG 1525, 600 (Ward 4-
6. Bullock 4-6. Reid 4-7, Smith 2-4. Conlan 1-2). Blocks:
2 (Asselin, Smith). Steals: 8 (Bullock 3, Traylor 3, Reid,
Conian) Turnovers: 9 (Ward 2, Traylor 2, Bullock 2,
ReidOliverSzyndlar). Technical Fouls: None.
INDIANA (64)
FPG FT RED
MIN A MA 0T A F PS
Recker 24 3-7 2-2 0-2 0 1 10
Gladness 23 1-3 44 46 0 0 6
Patterson 16 0-7 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Lewis 34 04 2-2 00 3 2 2
Guyton 38 2-6 1-2 0-1 1 1 7
Miller 6 1-5 01 1-3 2 2 2
-. Jiminez 13 1-2 0-0 1-3 3 3 3
Mandeville 22 1-2 0-0 GO0 0 2 3
Turner 26 3-9 5-7 1-2 2 3 12
Eggers 12 35 0-1 3-5 0 0 6
Richaidson 21 5-11,34 02 0 4 13
- Totals 200 20:L6171-23 1.127122 18 64
FG %:.618. FT%: 739. 3-point PF: 722, .318 (Recker 2-
4, Guyton 2-4, Mandeville 1-1, Jiminez 1-2, Turner 1-3,
Lewis 0-2, Patterson 0-3. Miller 0-3). Blocks: 3
(Patterson 2, Eggers). Steals: 3 (Recker, Patterson,
Gladness). Turnovers: 14 (Richardson 4.Recker 2,
Guyton 2, Miller 2, Gladness, Eggers, Jiminez, Turner).
Technical Fouls: None
Indiana--------------25 39- 64
Michigan......................... 54 58- 112
At: Crisler Arena
A:13,562
you can't muster anger, or exci
explanations - or anything.
"Somebody come up with a
good question," said a defeated
"It'd be the first bright thing of
Evidently, Knight wasn't iml
with his team when, at one poi
second half, his Hoosiers cut t
Michigan lead to a measly 38.
Let's get one thing straight -
one, not even Knight, was surp
Wolverines won this game.
In the wake of Tuesday's hea
ing loss to Michigan State, the
game took on the aura of a mu
and everyone's seen what the
Wolverines can do when they v
(see Duke game) or have to (se
game) perform.
But it's been a while since
Michigan's 81-73 victory over
Dec. 13, and some people didn
believe in the Wolverines anym
maybe even some of the Wolve
themselves.
For once, Michigan playersr
placed more importance on a g
than their fans, or even the me(
"Jerod (Ward) made the stat
that he's never played in an NC
Tournament game, and I haven
either," Robert Traylor said. "It
one of those games that you fe
have to have to really impresss
people and show everybody th,
want to be in the NCAA Tourn
shocking stle
uses or Maybe that's why Ward scored a
career-high 24 points and dominated
really the boards with 10 rebounds.
Knight. Maybe that's why Louis Bullock
fthe day." drove to the basket with authority.
pressed Maybe that's why Robbie Reid shot the
nt in the ball with confidence. Maybe that's why
he Travis Conlan dunked.
But none of that accounts for a 48-
- no point win - the Wolverines' largest
rised the margin of victory against a Big Ten
team, ever. There must have been some
rt-break- other power was at work. El Nino?
Indiana This was monumental. This was one
st-win, of those inexplicable moments, like the
magical Duke game and the Michigan
want to football team's 34-8 decimation of Penn
:e Iowa State on Nov. 8.
This was one of those games that
makes every Michigan fan beam with
Duke on pride.
't "We wanted to make this game a
ore - statement game, Michigan coach
erines Brian Ellerbe said.
The Wolverines made a statement all
may have right. At long last, they have effectively
;ame guaranteed themselves an NCAA
dia. Tournament bid.
ement More important, they appear ready to
AA be serious. Serious about playing hard,
't serious about winning, serious about
was just their season.
el you 112-64 - how much more serious
some can you get?
at you - Dan Stillman can be reached via e-
iament." mail at dns@umich.edu.
Despite scoring
just seven of
Michigan's 112
points yesterday,
Travis Conlan con-
tributed in numer-
ous ways, holding
Indiana guard A.J.
Guyton to seven
points and keep-
ing Rob Turner
(pictured) off-bal-
ance.
SARA STILLMAN/Daily
Reid breaks out of extended
slump with four 3-pointers
Pitching has more to do with shooting than one might think
By James Goldstein
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan guard Robbie Reid got
some shooting advice from his
coach. But it wasn't from his Brian
Ellerbe, his basketball coach.
It was from the skipper of the
Michigan baseball team - Reid's
other coach.
"Coach (Geoff) Zahn had it all fig-
ured out," said Reid, the two-sport
athlete, who will play baseball for
Zahn in the spring. "He said the rea-
son I'm missing my shots is because
I'm a pitcher, and pitchers always go
to the corners.
"He said, 'You
can't shoot to the
corners, you've
got to shoot the
ball down the '
middle.' So after
that, we worked it
out and now I'm
back on track'."
Maybe Ellerbe
should hire ZahnR
as Reid's shooting
coach.
In yesterday's 112-64 demolition
of Indiana, Reid threw mostly fast-
balls down the middle.,
Breaking a six-week shooting
slump, Reid knocked in 16 points on
6-of-1l shooting in 28 minutes of
action.
He connected on 4 of 7 3-pointers
and dished out five assists, only turn-
ing the ball over once.
Just like a pitcher, Reid finally
found his location - and luckily for
the Wolverines, it was through the
bottom of the net.
"From the floor, I've been really
struggling with my shot," Reid said.
"At the same time, I felt great. I've
been making shots in practice and I
felt like at some point in time my
shot would come around. And this
game, it came around. And hopefully
it will stay there."
To say that Reid was struggling is
an understatement. Since Michigan's
Jan. 6 game against the Hoosiers in
Bloomington, Reid had gone ice
cold.
In the past 11 games, Reid had
shot a meager 22.3 percent, convert-
ing just 15 of 67 shots.
Behind the 3-point arc - from
where practically all of Reid's shots
are launched - he wasn't shooting
well. Since knocking down four 3-
pointers against Penn State on Jan. 3,
Reid had only made 14 of 57 3-point-
ers (24.6 percent).
But that all changed yesterday. The
contributions to Michigan were an
example of "Anything you can do, I
can do better." Almost every
Michigan player contributed, and
each had a spurt of his own that was
key in the victory.
First, it was Jerod Ward's 18-point,
nine-rebound first half. Then, it was
the Louis Bullock-Robert Traylor
show in first seven minutes of the
second half. The two combined to
score the first 23 points for Michigan
in that span.
And then it was Reid's turn to join
the party.
After scoring eight points and
draining two triples in the first half,
Reid got hot with 11 minutes left in
the game and Michigan leading by 41
points. Although the game was
already easily in hand, Reid and the
Wolverines didn't show any signs of
letting up.
Ilfelt like ..my'
shot would come
around. And this
game, it came
around."f
- Robbie Reid
Michigan guard
Reid hit a jumper from inside the
3-point arc. On the next Michigan
possession, he nailed a 3-pointer
from the left of the key and two min-
utes later, he connected on another 3-
pointer - eight points in 3:14.
In Michigan's game against
Michigan State on Tuesday, Reid
missed on all three 3-point attempts,
including the possible game-tying 3-
pointer with five seconds remaining.
Afterward, Traylor consoled the
teary-eyed Reid, who buried his head
in Traylor's arms on the bench.
Yesterday, Reid, like the rest of the
team, broke out in many smiles.
When Ellerbe took him out, with the
Wolverines maintaining a near-50
point lead, Reid got a loud ovation
from the Crisler crowd.
It was a well-deserved curtain call
for a player who's had his troubles.
"I've been appreciative of people
being supportive in general, especial-
ly my teammates," Reid said. "They
all have been behind me - they want
me to shoot the ball."
Now, Reid knows what to do when
his shot is off - think about hard-
ball.
SARA STILLMAN/Daily
While Robbie Reid's defense on Michael Lewis contributed to Indiana's lackluster
effort, Reid's offensive production (16 points) made a bigger difference and put an
end to a personal shootimg drought.
HOOI IER
Continued from Page 18
tested the Wolverines, who scored 42
of the half's final 57 points to turn a
12-10 lead into a 54-25 advantage at
the break.
"Michigan played great," Indiana
coach Bobby Knight said. "It was a
great game from Michigan's stand-
point.
"I've only seen them place twice
this year, and they were a lot better
this time."
Indiana pounded the Wolverines in
Bloomington on Jan. 6, using 19
points by Andrae Patterson to win
80-62. Yesterday, Patterson didn't
score, and the Hoosiers got a total of
25 points from their starting five.
"I wish I could figure it out,"
against Boston University.
Last year against Indiana, the
Wolverines held an 18-point half-
time advantage before losing in
overtime, 84-81, in the teams' meet-
ing at Crisler Arena. The fact wasn't
lost on Traylor, who made it a topic
of conversation during halftime of
yesterday's game, when the
Wolverines led by 29 points.
"The first thing I said at halftime
was, 'Don't forget last year,"'
Traylor said. "We wanted to make a
statement, and that's what we did.
We wanted to show people that we
belong in the NCAA Tournament."
After the break, Michigan went on
a 19-5 run to begin the second half.
Traylor and Bullock combined to
score the team's first 23 points of the
half, and it wasn't until Ward hit a
tr-, with -U . Ar~mni.nv~inathat ccmvvep