The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 29, 1999 - 5
Quote of the weekend
"It was a solid win.
- Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe, who has yet to
find a win in this young season
that has not been 'solid.
Western Michigan 78
Michigan 93
,layer of the game
Guard JamACrawfr
Not all the shots he took were ideal, but there
was no doubt who was in charge of the
Michigan offense on Saturday. Th freshman
finished with 21 points and six assists in a
solid all-around effort.
Groninger leads from downtown; Crawford just leads
David Den Herder
wily Sports Writer
Michigan's Gavin Groninger needs 331 more 3-
ointers to break Louis Bullock's Big Ten career
cord.
Something to think about, perhaps - but for
ow the freshman can take satisfaction in know-
ng he leads all Wolverines this season from
ehind the arc.
roninger was 2-3 from downtown Saturday
gainst Western, and is eight for 14 on the season.
e also leads the Wolverines in 3-point percent- x
ge at .571, followed by surprise early-season k
tandout Leon Jones, who is at an even .500.
"When Kevin (Gaines) and Jamal (Crawford)
ave good floor games, he'll continue to shoot the
all well," Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said of
is freshman marksman.
Groninger's shot does not conform to the tradi-
si nal rainbow path to the hoop, but follows a rel-
ely low trajectory - fooling would-be
rebounders until it slings into the net. He also
exhibits impressive versatility from the field,
changing his mind in mid air, opting for a long-
range (and accurate) shot when a passing alley Michigan1
collapses. classmate
Cutting to the hoop Saturday, he jumped for a
pass intended for another dribble, but knowing Michigan
that he'd be fouled if he landed, flipped the ball up young squ
on the glass and into the basket - something of a early on,
half-alley-oop. shoulders
"He's the only guy that's beat me in H.O.R.S.E Michigan
e I've been here," Ellerbe said, "so he must be already b
a pretty good shooter." He answe
Go-To GUY NETWORK: Not to say that from the I
Stanford frosh
gpset Tigers
DAP
guard Jamal Crawford is the Wolverines' high-point man through three games with
, Gavin Groninger, has eight 3-pointers on the season.
doesn't have several players on its In the last two games, MichiganI
uad capable of taking "the last shot," but luxury of the final first-half possessio
go-to responsibilities have rested on the last two games, Ellerbe has called
of freshman guard Jamal Crawford. number to the hoop. He sunk neit
's high point man with 55, Crawford has although LaVell Blanchard helped the
een called on to win the Detroit game. tip in. Both times after the buzzer sun
red that call with a 13-foot tear-dropper rest of the team headed for the io
ane and a Michigan victory. Ellerbe stayed briefly on the court to
Looking ahead
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -
uburn coach Cliff Ellis knew
tanford's freshmen were talented
fore the Tigers played them. The
oungsters proved just how good
hen they took over with the pres-
ure on.
Freshman Curtis Borchardt hit a
-pointer to snap a tie with 1:35
e wining and No. 9 Stanford
on to beat second-ranked
uburn 67-58 Saturday in the
ooden Classic.
Borchardt and Jarron Collins
mbined for 13 of Stanford's final
5 points. Borchardt led the
ardinal with 15 points and Jarron
ollins added 13 points as
tanford (5-0) beat a ranked oppo-
ent for the third time this month.
o of the Cardinal's games have
on the road.
Freshman Jason Collins,
arron's twin who was playing in
ust his 13th college game after two
ears of injuries, added 12 points
d 10 rebounds.
"Sure, you're surprised to be 5-0
.th the caliber of competition
e've played," Stanford coach
e Montgomery said. "But as
ong as you defend and board, you
win games."
hris Carrawell scored 24 points
lead Duke to an 81-68 victory
ver Southern California in the
second game of the doubleheader
honoring Hall of Fame coach John
Wooden at Anaheim Arena.
No. 8 ARIZONA 63, No. 11
KENTUCKY 51: No. 8 Arizona
shook off some erratic shooting to
Pn a 11-0 run midway through
second half Friday night and
defeated No. I1 Kentucky 63-51 to
win its third Preseason NIT cham-
pionship.
No. 24 Maryland hung on for a
72-67 victory over Notre Dame in
the consolation game. Lonny
Baxter topped the Terps with 17
points and 14 rebounds.
Troy Murphy led all scorers with
25 and had 11 rebounds for the
this rematch of the 1997
NCAA Tournament championship
game won in overtime by Arizona
83-79, neither team looked much
like a Final Four candidate.
Arizona shot 39.7 for the game
but that was better than Kentucky's
35.6.
Tayshaun Prince led Kentucky
with 18 points but shot just 7-of-
18. Desmond Allison added 12 for
the losers, who made just 21 of 59
shots from the floor.
The championship gave Arizona
another Preseason NIT sweep.
Coach Lute Olson's Wildcats won
the title in 1990, beating Arkansas
in the final, and again in 1995
when they beat Georgetown for the
championship.
No. I CINCINNATI 88, SANTA
CLARA 67: This time top-ranked
Cincinnati took care of business
right away.
The Bearcats opened the game
with an 11-0 run and never even
glanced over their shoulders as
they went on to an 88-67 victory
over Santa Clara on Saturday in the
semifinals of the Big Island
Invitational.
Unlike the opening-round 91-56
win over Cleveland State that was a
game for about half of the first
half, Cincinnati made sure that any
thoughts of a major upset by the
Broncos were gone by the first TV
timeout.
Senior center Kenyon Martin
had 19 points and freshman guard
DerMarr Johnson had 16 for
Cincinnati, which averaged 92.5
points over its first two games,
winning by an average margin of
31 points.
CREIGHTON 85, No. 23 IowA
76: Creighton doesn't want to con-
sider its latest victory over Iowa an
upset.
The Bluejays shot 56 percent
Saturday night while beating the
23rd-ranked Hawkeyes for the sec-
ond straight season, 85-76.
Ryan Sears also scored 19 and
had six rebounds. Matt West had
13 points and Nerijus Karlikanovas
added 11 for the Bluejays, who
beat Iowa 75-73 last season in Iowa
clutch man.
"He just tells me to get my teammates involved
a little more," Crawford said, summing the chats.
DON'T BLINK: You might have missed it. But
those paying close attention Saturday afternoon
had a brief scare when center Josh Asselin winced
in pain after a hard foul in the second half.
Apparently unaffected, Asselin swished both
free throws and seemed to play normally the rest
of the game.
But Michigan fans had reason for concern.
Arguably the most valuable staple in a versatile
offense, Asselin averages seven rebounds and 8.7
points per game, and has the hands to start every
game at center.
His intangible presence was felt against
Western Michigan in the first half, when with
Asselin on the bench early the Broncos capital-
ized on turnovers and sloppy play down low to
keep the game within a basket. A pair of Asselin
free throws late in the half began an 11-0 pull-
away for Michigan.
LE-LAND: Michigan freshman Leland
NA LINNANE/Daily Anderson got his first solid chunk of playing time
55. His at Crisler Arena on Saturday, and did not disap-
point. The Massachusetts recruit was surrounded
somewhat with questions upon arrival in Ann
has had the Arbor due to an injury that kept him on the bench
n, and in the much of his senior year.
Crawford's But Saturday he demonstrated to Michigan
her attempt, faithful his good ability to take the feed down low,
e first with a slamming home a pretty Crawford pass with both
nded and the hands, and also showed the crowd his touch with
ocker room, two jumpers and a tip. He finished the night with
consult his eight points and seven rebounds.
State blows lead,
falls in tourney
BAYAMON, Puerto Rico (AP) - Big lead or game on the
line, Michigan State needed one play - or one player - to
succeed.
"We didn't have him," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said of his
injured star, Mateen Cleaves.
Instead it was No. 20 Texas, which trailed by 15 points a
minute before halftime, that made the big shots and the
Cleaves-like plays in an 81-74 victory in the Puerto Rico
Shootout championship game Saturday night.
"Coach (Rick) Barnes said to put Texas where Texas
deserves to be, we have to beat the No. 3 team in the country,"
said Gabe Muoneke, one of five Longhorns in double figures
with 16 points.
Chris Mihm, hitting 3-pointers and three-point plays, helped
carry the Longhorns back into contention with 19 points, 11
rebounds and five blocks. And he did it with several Spartans
on his back each time he touched the ball.
"I think they tried to physically wear us out in the first half,"
Mihm said. "But we knew we could come back if we just
stayed with it. Our guards made so many big shots."
That's usually the area where Cleaves' excels. He dragged
Michigan State to a Final Four last spring and the expectations
were high for even more this season. Instead, he fractured his
right foot and isn't expected back until January.
Those are a lot of clutch situations against upcoming oppo-
nents like North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona and Kentucky for
Cleaves to miss.
"We are understanding a little bit more that we can't just not
do the little things because of our situation," said Morris
Peterson, Michigan State's other star hampered by three first-
half fouls. "We can hang our heads, but we plan on coming out
harder atspractice."
Cleaves, sitting next to the coaches on the bench, popped up
on his black cast to guide his team. He waved his hands to call
for defense, he yelled advice to Izzo and tried to rally his team-
mates. But he couldn't get in there and shut down Wagner, who
had 17 points, including a long 3-pointer that put Texas ahead
73-68 with 2:02 left.
Peterson, hurt by three first-half fouls, hit back-to-back 3-
ne pointers to draw Michigan State to 76-74 with 49 seconds
ch remaining. But they could get no closer.
c- "I told the team before we came here that if we keep winning
games, that, yeah, maybe we could take the program to anoth-
1 er level," said Barnes, who three seasons ago had Clemson
er, ranked No. 2 in the country. "But it's not going to get any eas-
is ier."
k. Peterson ended with 14 points. Hutson led the Spartans with
17. Every Texas starter scored in double figures. William Clay
9: scored 13 and Chris Owens 12.
nd The Longhorns had little trouble passing through the tourna-
na ment and making themselves one of the country's power teams.
ay After an easy 88-71 victory over Arizona State, Texas held on
to defeat No. 18 DePaul and Quentin Richardson, 68-64.
ers Cleaves stood and watched Texas celebrate at the buzzer,
ad slowly shaking his head. He's expected to return in January near
ng the start of the Big Ten Conference schedule.
ez, Petersonthinks the Spartans will adjust a lot sooner thanthat.
in "We have to, we have to learn how to improve," he said. "We
are doing it."
DANNY KALICK/5ail)
Michigan sophomore Leon Jones has given Michigan a lift at the
guard position, en route to a 3-0 record.
City.
Creighton (2-0) trailed just once,
after Iowa center Jacob Jaacks
opened the game with a layup, and
never let the Hawkeyes even tie it
once they took the lead.
Creighton fans, who chanted
"over-rated" in the final minute,
rushed the floor after the buzzer
and swarmed the Jays at midcourt.
It was Creighton's fourth straight
victory over a team coached by
Steve Alford, who left Southwest
Missouri State to take over the
Hawkeyes (2-2). Alford is 1-3 in
Omaha's Civic Auditorium.
Dean Oliver led Iowa with 19
points and six assists. Reserve for-
ward Rob Griffin added 10 points
for the Hawkeyes, who lost one
Blue I
starter to injury early in the gar
and had two others on the ben
with foul trouble early in the se
ond half.
Iowa, which upset No.
Connecticut in the season open
struggled to put Eastern Illin
away in a 95-79 victory last wee
INDIANA 67, No. 5 TEMPLE 5
A.J. Guyton scored 22 points a
Kirk Haston added 20 as India
beat No. 5 Temple 67-59 Frid
night in the Tip-Off Classic.
Lynn Greer hit six 3-pointe
and scored 25 points to le
Temple (1-1), which was playi
without point guard Pepe Sanchi
who sprained his ankle earlier
the week.
First-half run sparks
BRONCOS
Continued from Page 10
s going to see the T-shirts - they have to
get themselves motivated, and I talked to them
about that."
Western Michigan inched its way to a 13-9
lead early, taking advantage of the Wolverines'
tentative start. But as soon as Michigan's ball
movement began to click - the product of
which was a sizzling 70 percent shooting in the
first half - the less-talented Broncos kindly
stepped out of the way while the Wolverines
steamrolled to a 52-32 halftime advantage.
"When we did make our run, it was very sim-
* plays - dribbling, spreading the floor, pitch-
ing it to the open guy, and getting it back,"
Ellerbe said. "When we try and get a little too
cute, I think that's when we get in trouble."
It might have been Jamal Crawford (21
points) and Kevin Gaines (16) leading the
scoring parade for the Wolverines, but there
were other heroes as well. Peter Vignier had an
efficient 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting, along
with five rebounds, in just 18 minutes of play.
After playing just a combined eight minutes
in Michigan's first two games, freshman
Leland Anderson was given 17 minutes of
extended playing time on Saturday, and
responded with eight points and seven
rebounds. More importantly, Anderson showed
his good hands and workmanlike ability
around the basket.
"It was nice to get him minutes," Ellerbe
said. "Now we can go back to the tape, and he
can see some success. I think that's very
important for him to see."
Perhaps the biggest positive for Michigan is
that it has been able to develop its identity and
still win games at the same time. That's a lux-
ury not always afforded to rebuilding teams
like the Wolverines.
Slowly, Michigan is morphing into the run-
ning squad that Ellerbe has envisioned. Still,
the decision-making on the break needs
improvement, as the young Wolverines are
prone to take the first shot, not the best shot.
Also, the guards are still struggling to get Josh
Asselin the required amount of touches in the
post.
Those areas need work. But then again,
that's what games like Saturday's are for.
I