SportsMonday - January 24, 2000 - The Michigan Daily - 5B
° ,
Quote of the wee
"We should have used Asselin up until we
couldn't get anything else out f him.
- Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe, on cnros
Asselin's role in the loss at Iowa. Ase/in scored 2
points while taking only 13/lieid goa atempts
Ioyw 83
Player of the game
Iowa foward Rob Griffin
Grifin scored 20 points and dished outfive
assists in Iowa's 5-point victory over Michigan.
Griffin killed the Wolverines from the 3-point
arch, nailing four of six long range bombs. He
also blocked two shots.
LJ Michigan
78
_. _ _ _.
Blue's loss:
7ive points
here, fve
Poeis there
OWA CITY ---Ask anyone the
difference in Saturday's
Michigan-Iowa game, and the
response will undoubtedly be the
bounce-back second-half efforts of
Job Jaacks and Dean Oliver, or
th defensive intensity of Iowa,
which held the
Wolverines to
jut 33 points Chris
after halftime. Duprey
*.That's miss-
ing the obvious
difference -
fiVe points.
After stum-
bling out to a
125 deficit rl, h
efrly, the
Wlverines set- DUPE's
tiet down and SCOOP
began to work
their game plan. Brian Ellerbe has
Ochigan do a drill called "6-0
Run" over and over again in prac-.
tice -- in which one team has to
score three straight baskets without
allowing one itself-- in hopes of
sarking instant offense on the
road, in situations like these. And
in-the first half, the Wolverines
responded with two 6-0 runs, help-
ing- build a 41-29 lead with 3:33
n aining in the game's first 20
lnutes.
And if Ellerbe had one chance to
call the gods of basketball and end
the first half immediately, forego
the'last 3:33 and bolt to the locker-
roohn, it's a good bet he would
have. Michigan had a 12-point lead
on the road and the momentum on
its-side. That's about as good as
one can expect in a hostile envi-
ronment,
Out there was no escaping those
final three-and-a-half minutes. It
was just enough tie for Iowa
sharpshooter Joey Galloway - an
innocent-looking-but-dangerous.
Rob Pelinka-kind-of-guv whose
only job is to enter the game, hit a
choice 3-pointer or two, and leave
as fuickly as he arrived - to get
loose for a trey.
ure enough, he hit it. The
aver-Hawkeye Arena crowd went
wild. The Hawkeyes were alive and
well again.
Three missed Kevin Gaines free
throws down the stretch and an
Ionia dunk later, the horn finally
sounded. It was difficult to tell
wh had the seven-point lead -
the team slapping hands while run-
nirg down the tunnel, or the
Wolverines.
ichigan was up seven. The 12-
rt advantage had disappeared,
nowvhere to be found. It was the
kitfd of lead that should have been
more than it was, and the
Woverines knew it.
Even so, the lead had been
trimmed by only five measly
points, and they were still up
seven. What was there to worry
about?
was just five points.
-Ih the second half, Michigan's
fabfed shooting touch - the one
that has bailed out the team so
many times this season - with-
ered and died. So the Wolverines
played by the book and did what
they were supposed to. They drove
the ball to the hole - the foul
trouble of guards Gaines and Jamal
Crawford notwithstanding. They
got hacked and went to the free
tqw line.
And they blew it. The third-best
free-throw shooting team in the
Big Ten acted out of character,
earning 31 attempts and making
jus 18. Iowa wasn't spectacular at
the line itself, going 23-for-32. But
it Evas enough. The Hawkeyes'
etra touch with their free throws
gave them a five-point advantage
r Michigan, 23 to 18.
shouldn't have been a big
deal. .
t was just five points.
-yet in a game like this, those
five points were huge. Actually,
they turned out to be the difference
inhe final score - 83-78.
Foul trouble plagues
slashing Wolverines
PLAYER
Crawford
Blanchard
Gaines
Jones
AVERAGE VS. I
16.9
152
2.8
9.6
By Chris Duprey
Daily Sports Editor
IOWA CITY - If the Carver-
Hawkeye Arena crowd was eager to
catch a glimpse of Jamal Crawford,
this highly-touted freshman, then all
15,500 of them must have been sorely
disappointed - because they sure did-
n't see much of him.
Crawford was limited to 24 minutes,
including just over four minutes of
play in the first half. When he did play,
he was tentative and inconsistent,
missing the intangible do-anything part
of his game - all because of early
whistles.
Just 2:30 into the game, Crawford
picked up his second foul. He'd barely
even started to sweat yet. But, follow-
ing standard protocol, he found an
empty seat on the Michigan bench.
In Crawford's absence, Kevin
Gaines was left to defend Iowa's
perimeter players. Gaines also picked
up his second foul quickly, with 14:05
left in the first half, unable to avoid the
wrath of a Big Ten refereeing crew
which took pride in blowing the whis-
tle at any contact - even if the foul
was 25 feet from the basket.
Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe, to his
credit, reentered Crawford with two
fouls as soon as Gaines was whistled
for his second. What good is your
offensive turnkey sitting on the bench?
But Crawford didn't last long before
picking up his third.
Actually, he barely lasted a minute.
And with 13:02 still left in this seem-
ingly never-ending first half, Crawford
made yet another slow walk to the
bench, this time done for the half.
With Crawford and Gaines handi-
capped, Michigan's game plan under-
went a major transformation. The
slashing transition game that the fresh-
man guards and Michigan have come
to rely on was no longer an option.
These weren't just defensive hand-
check fouls being called, they were
offensive charges - calls that penal-
ized the guards' aggressiveness and
made them more tentative about cut-
ting toward the basket. Knowing this,
Iowa stiffened up its defensive efforts
on the perimeter, forcing Michigan
into a 2-of-10 shooting funk from 3-
point range in the second half.
The Michigan guards "had to adjust.
Everyone was in foul trouble,"
Michigan guard Leon Jones said.
"They just had to change their game a
little."
While the Hawkeyes were able to
press defensively in the second half -
none of their key players were in seri-
ous foul trouble until the very end of
the game - Michigan defenders had
to toe the line between a passive
defense and drawing fouls. Even phy-
ing careful, try-not-to-foul defense, the
Wolverines still got trapped early in the
penalty, as Iowa shot 18 second-half
free throws.
"I can tell you one thing that helped
them - being in the double bonus
with 11:50 left in the game,' Ellerbe
said. "There were a lot of those, I
guess, to be diplomatic, could-have-
gone-either-way calls."
The everything-a-foul style of offi-
ciating helped Iowa guard Dean Oliver
break loose from the curse of a three-
foul, zero-point first half.
The key to the second half for Iowa
was "just getting to the free-throw
line," Oliver said.
He wasn't kidding.
REBOUNDING
11
18
14
5
1
9
11
7
Blanchard
Smith
Asselin
Gaines
ASS ISTS
Crawford
Gaines
Jones
STEALS
Gaines
Crawford
Jones
79
6.2
5.8
4.6
4.6
46
2.1
1.4
1.1
1.1
2
S
S
2
0
0
2
4
1, 2
TURNOVERS
Gaines 3 5
Crawford 3.1
Jones & Blanchard 2.4'
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Young
Anderson
Asselin
3-PoINT
Blanchard
Groninger
Gaines
18-24
10-15
58-99
PERCENTAGE
20-44
25-61
16-40
.750
.667
.586
,455
.410
.400
FREE THROWI
Blanchard
Crawford
Groninger
PERCENTAGE
41-50 .820
38-48 .792
7-9 .778
Michigan center Josh Asseh
scoring 22 points and grai;
THE USUA 9: >
Brian E[Herbe has reUed
AP PHOTO
o doule-ouble against the Hawkeyes,
n:,abtnds. But Jacob Jaacks had the last laugh.
d rnre on Josh Asselin and Chris
in hpaint during the Big
So >heir rninutes played.
Michigan chokes at FT line
Young, and let L
Ten season.
THE
LINEUP: YON
6-9
SOPH.
it. N
~K
s : ,, ,
'"'!
tSri
HAWKEYES
Continued from Page 1S
last straw. The Wolverines bricked
13 of their 31 free-throw attempts on
the night.
Michigan converted just one field
goal attempt in the final 3:53 - a
token Gaines layup - while Iowa hit
all its free throws the entire 11 minutes
it was in the double bonus, ending the
game on a 7-2 run.
"We helped a good bit for sure -
opportunities missed on the free throw
line," Ellerbe said.
"It was something where we lost
poise and composure. Our young guys
looked like young guys in that situa-
tion."
Griffin hurt the Wolverines most in
the second half by feeding his team-
mates.
The junior passed off to Jaacks and
Luehrsmann, who each hit three-point-
ers before Griffin hit a triple, himself,
to erase Michigan's halftime lead.
Iowa tried to break away midway in
the second half, but couldn't build a
lead larger than five points, thanks to a
combined team effort by the
Wolverines on offense, as seven
Wolverines scored in an early nine-
minute stretch.
MICHIGAN (78)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Jones 33 2-8 1-3 1-5 5 4 5
Blanchard 28 6-11 4-4 0-1 3 5 18
Asselin 32 9-13 4-6 4-11 1 S 22
crawford 24 3-8 4-5 0-1 2 4 11
Gaines 37 6-14 1-5 1-7 5 3 14
Groninger 14 0-2 00 0-1 0 0 0
Smith 18 1-3 3-6 3-9 1 4 4~
Young 14 1-3 1-2 0-2 0 3 2
Totals 200 28-62 18-31 11-42 17 28 78
FG%:,452 FT:581 3-point FGr4-17 ,235 (Blanchard
2-3, Crawford 1-4, Gaines 1-5, Groninger 0-1, Jones 0-
4). Blocks: 3 (Asselin, Groninger, Smith Steals: 8
(Groninger 3, Gaines 2, lanchard, Asselin, Your~
Tumovers: 15 (Crawford 4, Asselin 3, Blanchard,
Gaines 2, Groninger 2, Jones, Smith). Technical Fouls:
none.
IOWA (83)
FG FT REB
MiN M-A M-A 0-T A F PS
Griffin 34 6-13 4-4 0-2 5 3 20
Thompson 8 00 0-0 0-0 1 2 0
haacks 25 4-11 1-7 3-10 0 4 10
Olver 32 1-7 6-7 2-3 6 3 8
Luehrsmann 30 5-11 2-2 1-10 5 4 4
Price 8 1-2 2-2 0.2 0 2 4
Ferino 16 3-4 2-2 2-6 0 2 8
Henderson 30 5-9 4-6 1-4 0 2 14
Galloway 16 1-4 2-2 0-1 1 3 5
Smith 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0' 0 0
Totals 200 28-61 23-32 1042 18 25 83
FG% .426 FT%: .719 3-pont FG: 8-18, A44 (Griffin 4-
6, Luehrsrann, 2-5, Galloway 1-4, Jaacks 1-2, Oliver 0-
1). Blocks: 4 (Grillfir. 2, Jaacks). Steals: 6 (Oliver 4,
Henderson, Price), Turnovers: 13 (Henderson 4,
Luehrsmann 4 Griffin 3, JaacksOliver).
Technical Fouls: none.
The scene:
at M nesoa 4
at Purdue, 2
vs. llinois,7
vs. 3
Northwestem,
at Iowa
13
4
11
4
22
7
13
14 .
Michigan..........._45
Iowa.:..................38
33 -78 8
45 -
Smpletes improbable comeback
At: Carver-Hawkeyye Arena
Attndace:;1,500
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- ven Oh Stae coach Jim O'Brien
thought St. John's had this one kueked up.
With his 13th-ranked Ike railine No. 19 St.
John's by 10 points with 2:48 t% lav, O'Brien was
thinking just what the rest of t crowd of 15,164 at
Madison Square Garden w
"Privately, I didn't think we mold do i' he said. "I
thought it was one of those gams where we just could-
n't get anything done- s
The Buckeyes totrned up the defense, got some
offense from a struggdin :ichel Redd and blocked
two shots over the final fur seconds as they soted the
game's final II points for a 65-64 ictory over St.
John's on Saturda.
"This was aba iin for us
O'Brien said. o w iu
the game and for h
was not one of our ids
refused to fold up an g at
The Buckeyes (1 i left
when Bootsy Tho o ns
Ohio State then orms
next three possessis aensfied
over the final secons were
blocked - a moe ith
four seconds lef y empt
by Erick Barkley n
"What happened wSe to hang
around and be in a position for players like Redd and
Penn to do what they do best," St. John's coach Mike
Jarvis said. "We paid the price for not taking care of the
ball when we had to."
Redd, who came into the game averaging 15.1 points
per game, struggled offensively as St. John's seemed to
take control of the rematch of last season's NCAA
Tournament regional final that was won by 77-74 by
the Buckeves.
No. 10 MICHIGAN ST. 69, NORTHWESTERN 45
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Northwestern
coach Kevin O'Neill was realistic when he compared
his young basketball team to Michigan State's veteran
squad.
"I think they have a better chance of beating us 10 in
a row than we have of beating them once in 10 games,"
O'Neill said Saturday after the No. 10 Spartans rolled
past his Wildcats 69-45.
"They're not at the top of their game now and they
probably won't be until the Big Ten Tournament, but by
the end of the year that's a team that will play for it all,
O'Neill said.
Charlie Bell scored 14 points and Morris Peterson
and Andre Hutson added 11 apiece to extend the
Spartans' winning streak in East Lansing to 22 games.
Michigan State (13-5, 4-1) had its 21-game Big Ten
winning streak snapped by Ohio State last Thursday.
Northwestern (4-13, 0-5) lost its eighth straight.
"It's good to bounce back with a win," Michigan
State coach Tom Izzo said. "I thought we did some
things well, but there are still some concerns about
where we are and where we want to be for a shot at
repeating (as Big Ten champions).
"We're still not in sync. I said that I hoped to be there
by the end of January, and we're still 10 days away from
that, but the (shoulder) injury to (freshman Jason)
Richardson muddies the waters. I just hope we can sur-
vive until we get everyone back in sync."
PURDUE 83, No. 11 INDIANA 77
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Jaraan Cornell's
ugliest shot was the one that hurt Indiana the most.
The Purdue senior scored 25 points and hit six 3-
pointers, including an off-balance shot he banked off
the glass to give the Boilermakers the lead in the clos-
ing minutes of an 83-77 victory over the No. I1
Hoosiers on Saturday.
"It wasn't luck;' he said. "I just had to adjust my
body. I was backpedaling, trying to get open, and I saw
Michael Lewis come out. He got a hand on one of my
shots earlier, and I had to get more arc in it than normal
and it just caught the glass.
"It definitely was one of my better games," said
Cornell, whose scoring offset the 27 points by Indiana's
A.J. Guyton.
"Their role is to get A.J. the ball, and they do a good
job of it," he said. "We just had to counter the attack.
With the seniors on the court, we didn't get discour-
aged, and I had a chance to get some nice looks:'
Michigan vs. Michigan State, Cnler
Arena, 7p.m.
Crisler Arena's Maize Rage student fan
group seeks to redeem itself after getting
shelled by the "lzzone" in Ann Arbor last
season. When Robbie Reid, Louis Bullock
and company looked around their
"homecourt, all they saw was Sparty-
green out-cheering the Michigan faithful.
In the battle of the state's youth, LaVell
Blanchard (Ann Arbor) takes on his high
school foe Jason Richardson (Saginaw).
Conference Overall
Team W L W L
Ohio State 4 1 13 3
Michigan State 4 1 13 5
Purdue 4 1 13 S
Indiana 4 2 14 3
Michigan 3 2 12 4
Penn State 3 3 11 6
Illinois 2 3 10 6
Minnesota 2 4 10 6
Wisconsin 2 4 10 8
Iowa z 4 8 9
Northwestern 0 5 4 13
'Losing co
teamscr
T 1he Associa
College basemi1u
uncertaint athe i
top 10, an n
weekend. On
ranked oppo
(2 Arizon iglu-
(the only re ttnn n
Seton Hall reschedules
after tragic dorm fire
Ssociated Press
Seton Hall set new dates Friday for bas-
ketbal games postponed following a dor-
mitory fire Wednesday that killed three
Ku
his pr'si
Tem
1 Cincinnati(61)
2. Arizona (4)
3 Stanford,(1)
4. Auburn (3)
5. Duke
6. Syracuse (1)
7. Kansas
8. Connecticut
9. Florida
10. Michigan State
- 11. Indiana
16-1
15-2
14-1
15-1
13-2
14--0
14-2
12-3
13-2
12-4
13-2-
11-1
This weekend's results
Inc.
Lost to USC, 80-72
Beat California, 81-70
Lost to Mississippi, 79-77
Beat Wake Forest, 75-61
Seton Hall game postponed
Lost to Missouri, 81-59
Beat Georgetown, 92-71
Beat Alabama, 77-73
Beat Northwestern, 69-45
Lost to Purdue, 83-77
1 no- to. Tpxas AM .6-59
'/
- -I
too
as - - -students.
The men's basketball game at No. 6
Syracuse has been rescheduled for 7 p.m.
t 1b. 7. it was originally scheduled for