The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 25, 1999- 5B
Quote of the weekend
"At some point, our basketball team has
to make plays with the game on the line."
- Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe, on
his team's inability to come back
from large deficits on the road
Purdue 81
Player of the game
Guard Louis B ock
Bullock struggled from the field, hitting just 33
percent of his shots, but he did get to the char-
ity stripe 14 times and ended the game with 25
points - giving him more than 2,000 on his
career
'gg Michigan
71
,Cunningham cuts hair, clips Blue in first start
By Josh Kleinbaum
Daily Sports Editor
WEST LAFAYETTE - The buzz
had already started Friday night, a full
day before Purdue's basketball team
hosted Michigan.
'Watch out for Carson Cunningham,
No. 43, a Purdue fan said in the East
Side 10, a West Lafayette movie theater.
"He's starting his first game tomorrow,
f when you go back to Ann Arbor,
you're going to be writing about this
guy."
: Cunningham is a great guard, the fan
said. He is ambidextrous, meaning he
can shoot, pass and dribble with both
hands, a terrific tool to fool defenders.
He's fun to watch, making exciting
shots and passes. And, best of all, he has
a hairdo that stands four inches from his
ad.
he 'do didn't exist - Cunningham
shaved his head just before the game.
But for at least a game, the rest was all
true.
Cunningham dazzled the crowd of
!4, 321 with his off-balance shots and
strange passes en route to two standing
ovations and a team-best 24 points in
Purdue's 81-71 victory over Michigan
9k
,Vlichigan guard
Louis Bullock,
scored 25 points
against Purdue,
and also became i
the only current
Big Ten player to
score more than
2,000 points in
his career.
DANA UNNANE/Daily
Mi.higan
BLOOMINGTON (AP) -
Michigan State, the preseason favorite
for the Big Ten championship, is living
up to expectations.
The IIth-ranked Spartans beat No.
18 Indiana 73-59 yesterday for their
t win at Assembly Hall since 1990
d only their ninth in 44 trips to
$loomington.
"That was as good as we could play
on the road. We just started doing a lot
f things, shots started going in for us'
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said
after his team held Indiana scoreless for
more than eight minutes in the second
half.
Mateen Cleaves had 16 points and 13
ists to lead the Spartans. Indiana,
ich shot 63 percent in the first half,
trailed 38-34 at the break. The Hoosiers
managed to cut the deficit to one early
in the second half, but faded as the
$partans scored 11 consecutive points
during a 14-1 run.
The Spartans (5-1 Big Ten, 16-4
overall) led 47-45 before Indiana's Kirk
Haston scored a layup with 16 minutes
to play. Michigan State then scored 11
consecutive points, capped by a Cleaves
# ointer.
Indiana (3-4, 16-6) didn't get another
field goal until 7:41 remained.
BOILERS~
Continued from Page 18
Michigan guard Louis Bullock said.
"It's tough getting over that final
bump. Five points seems that much
gher when you've come back
rom 19 down."
But why does Michigan consistent-
ly fall behind on the road in the first
place?
"We play hard, but we don't really
start to concentrate until we're
dnonBlock esid- "If we could
on Saturday.
Cunningham did not come out of the
blue - actually, he came from the Pac-
10. Two years ago, as a freshman at
Oregon State, Cunningham started 26
games at point guard, averaging 14.9
points and 4.8 assists per game.
In fact, Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe
knew all about Cunningham - this
summer, Cunningham played for
Ellerbe on the Big Ten European tour.
"He's a kid who deserves it," Ellerbe
said of Cunningham. "He's a basketball
junkie. He likes to dribble his basketball
around with him wherever he goes."
But it wasn't Cunningham's dribbling
that killed Ellerbe and his Wolverines, it
was his shooting.
The six-foot short guard, starting to
give Purdue a three-guard lineup, hit 50-
percent from the field, including several
impressive off-balance shots. He also
converted on 11 of 13 free throws.
With just over five minutes left in the
first half, Cunningham made his first
eye-popping shot. Driving down the left
side of the lane, he found himself unable
to get around a Michigan defender. So,
rather than dish the ball off, his feet
quickly left the ground. Falling back-
ward, Cunningham switched the ball to
his left hand - his supposedly weak
one - and banked the two-foot fade-
away layup off the glass and into the net.
Early in the second half, Cunningham
again had the ball in the key. Instead of
driving to the basket, he just pulled up,
four feet in front of the basket, and,
falling to his left, put the ball up with his
right hand. Swish.
"Carson gives us penetration power"
Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "He
finally gave us the penetration without
turning the ball over, and he took pres-
sure off" of Purdue's other guards.
But Cunningham's most important
basket was not off of penetration. With
just over three minutes left in the game
and the Boilermakers up by six,
Cunningham had the ball with the shot
clock running down. If Michigan got
the ball back before a Purdue score, the
Wolverines could cut the lead to four
and be right in the game.
Instead, Cunningham came off a
screen on the right side of the basket
and hit a 3-point shot with just three
seconds left on the shot clock to put
Purdue up nine and the game out of
reach.
DANA UNNANE/Daily
After a pregame haircut, Purdue sophomore guard Carson Cunningham torched
Michigan for 24 points in his first start as a Boilermaker.
Bullock tops 2,000-point
milestone in 'M' defeat
Michigan stats leaders,"
SCORING
PLAYER VS. PURDUE SEASON
Bullock 25 218
Reid 16 13.2
Smith 15 8.7
Asselin 4 80
Vignier 3 6.2
REBOUNDING
Vignier 13 7.9
Asselin 6 5.4
Bullock 3 4.4
FELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Asselin 1.00 .530
Vignier .250 .509
Young .250 .500
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE
Bullock .750 .873
Jones.500 805 .
Reid .667 .788
ASSISTS
Reid 2 3.2
Bullock 1 2.4
Smith 2 2.0
STEALS
Smith 2 1.5
Reid 2 1.3
Bullock 1 1.2
'Rn'
COINFERENCE
Standings and Results
Conference Oieral
Team tW;L 11
ihigan State S5 1 16 4.x
Wisconsin 6 .2 18 3r
Ohio State 5 2 15. 5
Iowa 43 134
Minnesota. 3 3 12 4s -
Purdue 3 3 15 5-
Indiana 3 4 16 6
Northwestem 3 3 ; 11 5
Michigan 3 4 9 1
Penn State. 2 5 10 7
IlinoisQ .0 7. 8 11.
Saturday's games:
Penn State 65, illinois 61
Norhwestem 76, TexasPan Am.47
Wisconsin 72, Iowa 52
Ohio State 89, Minnesota 60
Yesterday's game.
Michigan State 73, Indiana 59
Top 25 weekend results
1. connecticut(17-0) beatSeon Hal62-47.
2. Duke (19-1) beat No.8 St. Johns 92-88 i.
3. Stanford (172) beat Washington 67-60.
4. Mayland (18-2) beat Ce 8son .81-790
5. Canridt (181) eat Sit Louis 5544 «
6. Auburn18-1) beat Alabama 73-58.
7. Kentucky (174) beat MiSsiSSippi State 76-49.
8. St John's (14) lost to No. 2 Duke 92-48 O,
9."Arizorna (13-) ost to Oregon State 60-59.
10. Not Carolina (17-4) breat Wake forest 5240.>>
'11 Michton St 16.4) beat No 18 Indian 73-59.
12. New Mexico (164) lost to Texas-El Paso 67-49.
13. UCLA (14-4) beat No.24 Louisville 82-70.
14. Iowa (13-4)ost to No. 15 WIsconsin 72-52.
15. Wisconsin (183) beat No.14 towa 72-52.
16. Pwdue 015-5) beat Mkhlgan 81-71.
17 Minnesota (12-4) lost to Ohio State 89-60.
18. Indiana (16-6) vs. No.11 Mich. State 73-59.
19. Kansas (13-5) lost to Missori 7-63..
2. Syracuse (45) breat South Coina 84-37
21. Texas Christian (15-4) lost to UNLV 95-88, G.
22. Ailansas 14-5) beat Providence 118-79.
23. Oklahoma State (13-5)lost to Texas 73-70.
24. Louisvile (1-)l ost to No. 13 UCLA 82-70.
25. Aami (12-4) beat Boston Coege 7547.
By Pranay Reddy
Daily Sports Editor
WEST LAFAYETTE - Michigan guard
Louis Bullock didn't just pace the Wolverines
with 25 points in their 81-71 loss to Purdue on
Saturday. With his effort, Bullock became the
only current Big Ten player with at least 2,000
points.
In addition, Bullock became the fifth player
in Michigan history and ----------------
23rd player in Big Ten histo- Basketball
ry to score at least 2,000
points in a career. Bullock, Notebook
who now has 2,017 points, -----------------
is currently 21st on the Big Ten list. The 6-foot-
3 senior joins Michigan basketball greats Glen
Rice, Mike McGee, Gary Grant and Cazzie
Russell on the list.
But Bullock, ever the humble one, failed to
appreciate his record in light of Michigan's loss
to the Boilermakers.
"I didn't even know (about the record) until
right before the game," Bullock said. "Any time
you have a chance to accomplish something
that will put you in the record books, you want
State frustrates Indiana -
to do it in a win."
If Bullock continues to average 21.8 points
per game, he should end up ninth on the Big
Ten list with 2,213 points - well below the Big
Ten's all-time scoring leader, former Indiana
guard Calbert Cheaney (2,613 points).
FREE THROW FOLLIES: For the third straight
contest, the Wolverines were outshot at the
charity stripe. In Saturday's game, the
Boilermakers converted 21 of 27 attempts, to
Michigan's 18 of 22 shots.
Despite the discrepancy, this was still a dras-
tic improvement from last Wednesday's debacle
against Minnesota. The Golden Gophers con-
nected on a Big Ten record-tying 25 consecu-
tive free throws en route to a 34 of 39 perfor-
mance. Meanwhile, the Wolverines made it to
the line only 14 times during the game, hitting
10 shots.
Even in victory over Ohio State a week earli-
er, the Wolverines went to the line 10 times
fewer than the rival Buckeyes. But in this
instance, Michigan's opponent failed to make
the most of its opportunity, with the Buckeyes
hitting 15 of 32 shots to Michigan's 17 of 22.
OmO STATE 89, No.17 MINNESOTA 60
Ohio State got its revenge.
In the Buckeyes' dreadful 1997-98
season, the lowest point might have
come at Minnesota.
Ohio State (5-2, 15-5 overall) didn't
forget, and its revenge came Saturday
with a surprisingly easy 89-60 victory
over the 17th-ranked Golden Gophers.
"They killed us last year;" forward
Jason Singleton said of 76-53 loss at
Williams Arena. "We owed them."
The memory burned into the
Buckeyes' minds was Minnesota (3-3,
12-4) senior Sam Jacobson pumping up
3-pointers near the finish, trying to
extend his string of 20-point games in a
contest long since decided.
"They rubbed it in our noses," said
Scoonie Penn, who matched his Ohio
State best with 24 points.
No. 15 WISCONSIN 72, No. 14 IOWA
52
Jon Bryant provided another spark
off the bench, scoring 22 points
Saturday to help lead No. 15 Wisconsit)
to a 72-52 victory over No. 14 Iowa.
Sean Mason finished with 18 points
and Ty Calderwood had 15 for the
Badgers (6-2, 18-3), who won their
sixth straight game and beat Iowa for
the first time in six outings at Carver-
went on runs of six points or greater.
Twice, Michigan had droughts of
over 3 minutes from the field.
Offensively, the Wolverines shot
just 30 percent from the field on the
half, including 1-of-8 from beyond
the arc. Their here-today, gone-
tomorrow frontcourt decided not to
show for this one, despite a distinct
size advantage. Both center Pete
Vignier and power forward Josh
Asselin had at least three inches on
any Purdue regular, but the two com-
hined for iust seven noints.
Hawkeye Arena. Wisconsin is off to its
best conference start since 1961.
J.R. Koch scored 10 points for the
Hawkeyes (4-3, 13-4).
PENN STATE 65, ILLINOIs 61
Sophomore guard Joe Crispin scored
a career-high 30 points Saturday,
including the final four points, in lead-
ing Penn State to a 65-61 win over
Illinois.
Crispin hit a short bank shot with 35
second left to put the Nittany Lions (2-
5, 10-7) up 63-61. He added two free
throws with 2 second left.
Penn State led the entire second half
until the final 5 minutes. There were
eight lead changes the rest of the way.
Illinois (0-7, 8-11) had taken a 61-59
lead with 1:40 to go on a steal and dunk
by Sergio McClain.
NORTHWESTERN 76, TEXAS-PAN
AMERICAN 47
Evan Eschmeyer scored 18 points
Saturday night as Northwestern rolled
to a 76-47 victory over Texas-Pan
American.
Northwestern (3-3, 11-5) held the
nation's leading scorer, sophomore
Brian Merriweather, to 14 points. He
entered the game averaging 25 points.
He made just 5-of-23 field goal
attempts.
MICHIGAN (714111 -
MIN MA M*A6T AIFP11
Asselin 27 2.2 0-0 3.6 1 5 4
Smith 34 4-9 7-8 510 2 3 15
Vignier 27 1-4 1-2 6-13 1 4
Reid 34 512 46 0-4 2 5 16
Bullock 39 618 12-14 2-3 1 4 2
Jones 17 2-8 1-2 3.3 0 3 6
Oliver 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1
Young 20 1-4 0-0 1.3 0 3 2
Totals 200 21-58 25-322046 7 28 7
FG%: .429. FT%: .781. 3-polnt FG: 4-20, .200.
(Reid 2-7, Bullock 1-6, Jones 1-5, Smith 0-2).
Blocks: 4 (Asselin 2, Smith. Young). Steals: 6
(Smith 2, Reid 2, Bullock, Oliver). Turnoves: 16
(Smith 5, Reid 3, Young 3, Vignier 2, Bullock 2,
Jones). Technical Fouls: none.
Purdue (81)
FQ FTRE
Cardinal HINM -A MA TAFP
Cardnal 21 1-5 9-10 2-5 1 5 11
Gr. McQuay 32 5.8 3.6 0.4 1 1 1
Eldridge 33 2-6 4.6 0.1 4 1
Cornell 34 7-11 2-2 0-0 0 4 2C
Cunningham 31. 6-12 11-13 0.1 1 3 2
Ga. McQuay 12 1-2 0-0 1-6 0 1 2
Kerkhof 1 0-0 0.0 0-0 0 1 0
Lewis 1 0.1 0-00-001
Mayfield 9 0.0 0-0 00 12 0
Stephens 12 0.2 2-2 2-4 1 3 2
Robinson 122 0-1 1-2 0-1 3 1
Allison 2 0-0 0-0 2-3 0 1 0
Totals 200 22.48 32-41 7-27 12 2491
FG%:.458. FT%: 780. 3-point FG: 5-17 294
(Cornell 4-8, Cunningham 1-2. Eldridge 0-4,
Cardinal 0-2, Robinson 0.1). Blocks: 2 (Cardinal,
Robinson) Steals: 8 (Cardinal 3, Gr. McQuay. 2,
Eldridge, Ga. McQuay, Allison). Tur ove9
(Cunningham 4, Cornell 2, Cardinal, Gr. McQuay,
Robinson). Technia Fouls: none.
Michigan........... 26 45-71
Purdue.............40 41-81
At: Mackey Arena
Attendance: 14.123
L5
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L3
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Michigan State's Morris Peterson drives by Indiana's Luke Recker In the Spartans
73-59 victory In Assembly Hall yesterday.
'M'needs urgency
REDDY
Continued from Page 1B
refreshing change. Here stood one of the most successful
coaches in the Big Ten, snapping at the media like his job was
in jeopardy. And then there was the fan-favorite guard, who
looked like he just went 0-for-11 with another eight turnovers.
It was invigorating to see such urgency from a team that's
15-5. In fact, it really makes you wonder if the Wolverines can
replicate the same energv in the coming week. Michigan faces
1
.!L . t 4 7 . ANUOI
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b C l r~mnn uu