6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsWednesday - January 6, 1999 1
Reid and Wolverines g
jugular in thrilling upse
Asselin adds career high as Michigan post player
By Andy Latack
Daily Sports Writer
It is a gesture that is undeniably reserved
for big plays. And in last night's victory
over No. 8 Indiana, few plays were larger
than this one.
Michigan guard Robbie Reid had just
canned a 3-pointer to give Michigan a 67-
52 advantage - its largest of the game-
with 8.33 to play in the game. Although
there was plenty of time for the Hoosiers to
# mount a comeback, Michigan and the fren-
zied Crisler Arena crowd sensed the upset.
Reid backpedaled down the court. pump-
ing his fist as the crowd bordered on hyste-
ria.
And then he did it.
As he crossed halfcourt, Reid defiantly
slid his finger across his throat, signaling
the figurative death of Hoosiers' chances.
; The senior co-captain was in full view of
Indiana coach Bobby Knight, who was
already having a pretty rough day.
A murmur went up in the crowd. Isn't it
a little early for that?' it seemed to say.
After all, the talented Hoosiers were defi-
nitely capable of coming back in the game.
And maybe such an affront would be just
what Indiana needed.
SARA STILLMAN/Special to the Daily "I got a little emotional out there," Reid
Robbie Reid continued his stellar play, pouring in 15 points to help Michigan beat indiana, its third said. "But I felt pretty good about our team
ranked opponent of the season. The Wolverines are now 24 in Big Ten play. at that point."
Average oes spark Michigan win
And he had every reason to. Because,
while the crowd may have winced at the
gesture, Reid knew something that both the
Crisler fans and the Hoosiers didn't.
He knew that on this night, a Michigan
team that had been victimized by oppo-
nents' second-half runs would instead put
together a run of its own.
Down three at the half, Michigan went on
a ferocious run, outscoring the Hoosiers 21-
6 in the first nine minutes of the half. Louis
Bullock hit 3-pointers on three straight trips
down the floor during the stretch, and
things seemed over when Reid nailed the
crucial three a few minutes later.
He also knew that Michigan's much-
maligned frontcourt tandem of Josh Asselin
and Peter Vignier, which had pulled a dis-
appearing act in Michigan's first two Big
Ten games, would produce for 25 points
and 14 rebounds.
Asselin poured in career highs with 16
points and 10 rebounds, and forced many of
the Hoosiers' post players into foul trouble
trying to guard him.
Talk about a role reversal for the sopho-
more, who has been in foul trouble for what
seems like the whole season.
Asselin still fouled out yesterday, but
with just one foul at the half, his playing
time was never limited because of it. This
lack of early fouls allowed Asselin to be
By Josh Kleinbaum
Daily Sports Editor
Meet Joe Black.
Joe Black did not hit a basket last night.
He did not grab a rebound. He did not sink a
free throw. He's not even a basketball player.
But when Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe
addressed the media after the Wolverines
stunning 82-70 victory over No. 8 Indiana
last night, Joe Black was the first person
Ellerbe thanked.
Why? Because Black, a senior at
Michigan who has held season basketball
tickets for four years, put on a T-shirt and
got a little rowdy.
Black was one of 500 students, all sitting
in three sections along the side of the court,
to receive free bright yellow "Maize Rage"
T-shirts, part of Ellerbe's brainstorm to
make Crisler Arena a feared environment.
"It's a great idea," Black said. "They do
things like this at other universities, but this
is the first time they've done it in my four
years here."
So Black and 499 others put on their
shirts, and then responded, pumping some
life into the arena monikered "The Morgue."
Forming a yellow wave of bouncing bodies,
flailing limbs and throaty cheers, the crowd
pushed the Wolverines to their most impor-
tant win of the season.
"The crowd was worth 10 points," Ellerbe
said. "They inspired us."
The T-shirts were just a small part of the
Maize Rage, a long-term project to resusci-
tate "The Morgue" headed by Michigan
Director of Marketing and Communications,
Tom Brooks.
"We want to increase student involvement
on gameday," Brooks said. "With the T-
shirts, we've given them their own uniform.
We hope they wear them every game."
Yesterday's game was picked to launch the
initiative for several reasons. With a top-10
opponent and long-time rival in Indiana, it
was sure to draw a big crowd. With students
just coming back from winter break, it was
the first Big Ten game that students could
attend. And with ESPN providing a national
television audience, the program could get
some widespread exposure. All in all, it was
the ideal springboard.
"This is just the beginning," Brooks said.
"Later in the season, we're going to have all
sorts of promotions, like tuition give-
aways"
The program was Ellerbe's idea. He
approached Brooks before the season and
said he wanted Crisler to be intimidating.
The two came up with Maize Rage, modeled
after a similar program at Georgia Tech,
where Brooks used to work.
"We chose the name Maize Rage because
rage implies chaos and energy, and that's
what we want in Crisler Arena," Brooks
said.
There may not have been chaos last night,
but there was definitely energy. The yellow-
clad students were on their feet for the entire
game, bellowing and raising signs, includ-
ing one that read "Impeach Bobby Knight"
and another that said "Fife needs a spank-
ing.
"The crowd is much more into it today,"
said sophomore Jeremy Fagel, wearing his
new yellow shirt. "There wasn't much
excitement about this team, but they're a
competitive group of guys and it's nice that
the school will get behind them."
One of Brooks' long-term goals is to
move all of the students down to the lower
level, completely surroubding the court, like
Duke's Cameron Indoor Arena.
"It's on the horizon," Brooks said, but
added that there was a lot of red tape to cut
before it happens.
In the meantime, Joe Black will stay
where he is, in the same student section he
has sat in for four years. Only this go-round,
he has his own uniform.
) for the
t of Indiana
s answer call
aggressive and make plays like his l-
lenge of Lynn Washington's dunk that
resulted in just his third foul with nine min-
utes to play.
That's the kind of aggressiveness Ellerbe
has been looking for from Asselin for the
entire season. And when Asselin left to:a
standing ovation with 1:53 to play, he hd
been just as instrumental as Reid or Louis
Bullock in the Wolverines' upset victory.
"It just shows that if we step up and play
aggressive, we can play with anyb ,"
Asselin said of the frontcourt's play. "Ik
throw it in the post, good things are going
to happen."
Reid must have known all these things,
which is why he felt confident enough to
make such a bold gesture. And even as
Indiana roared back, cutting Michigan's
lead to 71-68 with 4:34 left, Reid wasn't
worried.
Just to prove it, Reid hit another crucial
three with just under a minute remai ~g,
giving Michigan a 81-70 advantage id
truly putting the nail in the Hoosiers' cof-
fin.
And if Reid's fortune-telling proves as
accurate as it was last night, things coulde
turning around for the Wolverines.
"Tonight, we proved to ourselves that
we're here to play," Reid said after the
game. "If we play hard, we're going to be in
Michigan co9
Brian Ellerbe
pointed to the
* increased fan
support, visibly
clad In maize T
shirts, as part of
the resnfote
S tional victory
over Indiana
SARA sTlLLMAN/S oe3
to the Daiy
- M' jumps
all over
Hoosiers
HOOSIERS
Continued from Page 11
3-point attempt. This closed the half
with Indiana leading 41-38, down
from a 39-31 lead only seconds ear-
lier.
With momentum building from its
late run, Michigan took charge earl in
the next period with Brandon 5 th
helping build a 54-47 Michigan : ad
with more than 12 minutes left. And
from there, Bullock took over, hitting
three consecutive 3-pointers to strength-
en Michigan before Indiana made its
final'run.
Michigan was unable to contain
Recker, who added 28 points, but
was successful in shutting down
Indiana's other high-scorer, Guyton.
The senior guard finished the game
with eight points.
INDIANA (70)
FO FI RED
MIN MA MA 0-4 A F PTs
Richardson 12 2-4 0-0 2-3 0 0 4
Washington 26 2-4 2-5 3-9 1 5 6
Recker 28 816 9-10 1-2 2 1 28
Turner 13 1-4 0-0 1-1 2 1 3
Guyton 21 3-8 0-0 2-4 2 1 8
RandleEl 9 1-2 0-2 1-2 0 1 2
Fife 19 0-5 0-01-4 0 30
Jiminez 5 0-2 0-0 1-1 0 0
Lewis 29 2-3 0-0 1-1 5 4
Gladness 21 2-8 0-2 4-8 3 4
Haston 17 5-9 1-2 5-7 0 4 11
Totals 200 26465 12-212243 15 20 70
FG%: .400. FT%: .571. 3-point FG: 6-18, .333.
(Recker 3-7, Guyton 2-4, Turner 1-2, Fife 0-3,
Jiminez 01, Lewis 0-1). Blocks: 2 (Washington,
Guyton). Steals: 9 (Washington 2, Recker 2,
Richardson, Fife, Lewis, Gladness, Haston).
Turnovers: 15 (Guyton 6, Washington 2, Gladness
2, Richardson, Recker, Randle El, Fife, Jiminiez).
Technical Fouls: 0.
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