The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 13, 1999 = 58
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Quote of the weekend
"I don't think my (shot selection) was that good.
We forced some shots. As the point guard, I take
responsibility for that."
- Michigan freshman Jamal Crawfrd, who
scored 27 points against Duke, but made oni two
of nine 3-point shots.
U Duke 103
Player of the game
Duke forward Shane Battier
The Mfichigan native erased a poor homecom-
ing pee formance two years ago with 22 points,
Saturday Battier :s play in the paint opened up
the weak side for Carlos Boozer, who halted a
Michigan comeback with his dunks.
KG Michigan
96
Duke's easy baskets bury Wolverines in the paint
By Mark Francescutti
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan came oh-so close to defeat-
ing 14th-ranked Duke on Saturday. But
while the Wolverines played hard, it
seemed oh so easy for the Blue Devils to
keep Michigan at bay.
Case in point: In the second half, 15 of
Duke's 20 field goals were layups or
'dunks. The effortless baskets translated
into Duke shooting 65 percent in the
period.
Meanwhile, Michigan found itself
working for every play. And when the
Wolverines would spring a run, Duke
would always come up big with a block
or a dunk.
"Each team had its share of runs,"
Michigan freshman Jamal Crawford
said. "I think we felt like we could claw
back and hurry up and get the lead. It's
frustrating. They made plays at the end."
During one of those runs, in the sec-
ond half when Michigan crept within
five points at 82-77, Duke blocked two
shots and stole the ball twice. Suddenly,
the scoreboard read 91-81. On those
seven possessions, Michigan mustered
only one field goal and two free throws.
Shane Battier and Carlos Boozer led
Duke's defensive charge with 12 defen-
sive rebounds, five blocks and three
steals. Freshman Jason Williams added
three steals as well.
It seemed that all of those great defen-
sive plays whittled away at Michigan's
newfound momentum, giving Duke
early Christmas presents at the other end.
The Duke trio directed the easy-bas-
ket charge with great penetration and
dishing ability. One play that Michigan
failed to stop four times in arow:
Williams penetrating into the paint,
drawing the Michigan post defender and
then dishing to Battier or Boozer for (fill
in favorite dunking synonym here).
"Boozer definitely played his best
game," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
said. "Boozer being able to complete
plays was key for us. He broke his foot in
late August, and he was out for two
months. He's been behind, and now he's
starting get his bounce back. And he had
a lot of bounce today."
Williams quickly dispatched
Michigan's defensive front line with a
speedy first step, one the Wolverines
haven't seen since Detroit's Rashad
Phillips came to town.
The freshman's eight assists also
helped Boozer to a career-high 25
points on 8-of-1 I shooting. "I thought
Jason's ability to play with three fouls in
the second half and be under control
when he penetrated was buge,"
Krzyzewski said. "He definitely was a
difference in the game."
In addition to the strong performances
by Williams and Boozer, Battier
responded from his poor performance at
Crisler Arena two years ago with 22
points.
Battier and the Blue Devils netted
more effortless points from Duke's
crashing of the offensive boards.
Without a true center, the Blue Devils
counted on tall, athletic power forwards
to grab rebounds. Needless to say,
Michigan struggled to find an answer,
allowing far too many easy putbacks.
But the easiest baskets the Duke three-
some etched weren't dunks and layups
- they padded Duke's slim leads with
excellent free-throw shooting, nailing
19-of-23 for an 83-percent clip.
Amazing as it sounds with all the free-
bies it gave away, Michigan kept things
close, twice closing to within three
points, thanks to LaVell Blanchard's 15-
point second half, including two clutch
3-pointers.
"Blanchard's threes were huge,"
Krzyzewski said. "It seemed we would
go up, then Blanchard would hit a three."
Michigan didn't fare too well from
behind the arc (8-of-25) forcing shots.
#'We're lucky (Gavin) Groninger did-
n't knock down a couple open ones
against us," Krzyzewski said.
Crawford
Blanchard?
Gaines
Jones
REBOUNDING
Blanchard I
Vignier
Asselin
Gaines
Crawford
Blanchard
STEALS
Gaines
Jones
Crawford I
TURNOVERS
Crawford
Gaines
Jones
8.4
6.9
5.3
5.3
4.7
2.3
10.4
1.1
0.9
3,4
3.0
3.0
9
6
4
6
6
4
1
4
I
1
1
2
4
18.9 27
13.3 17
10.7 23
9.3 11
./, A
''
-
, °
re. 1 Z oN ...
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Young 7-9 .778
Anderson 10-15 .667
Vignier , 19-31 .613
LOUIS BROWN/Daily
Iuke guared Jason Williams' driving penetration opened up holes in the paint for
e Blue Devils, and big men Shane Battier and Carlos Boozer combined for 47
points, many coming off of feeds from Williams.
3-POINT PERCENTAGE
Groninger 17-34
Blanchard 8-16
Jones 8-17
.500
.500
.471
Sycamores top Hoosiers
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE
Crawford 15-17 .882
Asselin 12-16 .750
Blanchard 15-21 .714
BLOOMINGTON (AP) - Indiana State beat
Indiana for the first time in 75 years and ended the
Hoosiers' dominance in the Indiana Classic with a
-60 victory in front of a stunned Assembly Hall
Trowd. Kelyn Block and Matt Renn scored 15 points
apiece for the Sycamores (5-4), who earned their
first win over Indiana since a 28-24 triumph on
December I1, 1924.
The Hoosiers (6-1) failed to win the Indiana
Classic for the first time in the tournament's 26-year
history. They fell to 51-1 all-time in the event one
night after setting a classic record with a 51-point
victory over Buffalo.
Indiana had two chances to tie in the final four
econds, but A.J. Guyton and Luke Jimenez both
Isfired on 3-pointers. Michael Lewis scored 19
points for Indiana, which leads the all-time series
between the schools, 15-3.
Indiana trailed, 60-50, with five minutes left but
used a 10-1 run to get back into the game. Guyton
scored five points with a 3-pointer and basket in the
lane. Following a free throw by Block, Kirk Haston
made two from the line and Lewis drained a 3-point-
er, bringing the Hoosiers within 61-60.
Indiana State's Michael Menser misfired on a 3-
int attempt, but Guyton and Lewis scored on
dIiana's next two possessions.
Block hit a pair of free throws with 17.9 seconds
left for the game's final points, and Indiana had
chance to tie it, only to have Guyton miss.
The ball was knocked out of bounds to Indiana,
which ran a play for Jimenez. But the senior guard
could not connect from the left corner as the buzzer
sounded.
No. 16 OHIO STATE 99, FLORmDA A&M 47:
Freshman Slobodan Ocokoljic scored a season-high
18 points as No. 16 Ohio State continued to get well,
pulling away early and never looking back in a 99-
47 blowout of Florida A&M.
The Buckeyes (3-1) have won three straight since
a disappointing 59-57 home loss to Notre Dame in
the Preseason NIT on November 16.
George Reese had 12 of his 16 points in the first
half to pace Ohio State to a 54-24 halftime bulge and
it cruised the rest of the way, holding its fourth
straight opponent below 60 points.
Michael Redd collected 17 points and backcourt
mate Scoonie Penn added nine and a career-high 12
assists for the Buckeyes, who have outscored their
last three opponents by an average of 35.6 points.
Sophomores Brian Brown and Will Dudley scored
career-highs with 14 and 13 points, respectively, for
Ohio State, which posted its largest win since 1991.
No. 24 Gonzaga 59, No. 11 UCLA 43
The little school that shocked the NCAA
Tournament with its run to the final eight last season
pulled off another big surprise Saturday.
Reserve Ryan Floyd scored a caree~r-high 17
points, including five 3-pointers, and No. 24
Gonzaga held No. I 1 UCLA to its lowest point total
ever at Pauley Pavilion in a 59-43 victory.
The Bruins' previous low was 44 against
Southern California on March 8, 1969 -their first-
ever defeat at Pauley Pavilion, which opened in
1965. The loss matched UCLA's worst in a home
non-conference game, having lost by 16 points
against DePaul in the 1983-84 season.
UCLA (3-1) shot 26 percent for the game - a
school-record low in Pauley - and had 16
turnovers.
Once again e
Michigan found *
itself in foul trou-
ble against Duke.
The Wolverines,
and their often
over-agressive s
defense commit-
ted 26 personal
fouls, and Leon.
Jones (right, with"
the ball) and Josh ~
Asselin fouled out
In the game's
waning seconds.
Jones nonethe-
less finished the
game with 11
points, fourt
assists and four
steals.
DAVID RoCHKIND/Daily r
Maize IRge becoming a
viable forUe-1 for Mchia
Duke (104)
FG FT' REB
MIN M-A MA O-T A F PTS
Carrawel 31 2-14 2-4 2-8 3 3 7
Battier 39 8-13 6.6 1.6 0 3 2
Boozer 32 8-11 9-11 3-10 2 4 25
James 36 8-11 0-2 5-6 3 3 18
Williams 29 6-12 4.6 1-5 8 4 17
Horvath 7 1-2 2-2 1-1 0 0 4
Buckner 1 0-0 0-0 .0-0 0 t 0
Sanders 1 0-0 "00-0 01 0
Dunleavy 24 4-9 3-3 3-7 1 2 11
Totals 200 37-72 26-34 16-44 17 212104
FG%: .S14 FT%4: .765 3-point FGQ 4-14,.286 (tames, 2-3
Carrawell 1-2, sbileams-2, Battier, 0-3 Duileavy 0-3
Horvath, 0-1). Blocks: 7 (Boozer 3, Battier 2, Horvath 1,
Dunleavy 1) Steals: 6 (Williams 3, Battier 2. Boozer 1).
Turnovers 14 (Williams 4, Boozer 3, James 3, Dureavy
3, Carawelu). Technical Fouls: none.
MICHIGAN (97)
FG FT RfEB
MIN WA MA -T A F PTS
Jones 31 4-10 2-3 1-2 4 5 11
Blanchard 30 6-10 3-3 4-9 4 3 17
Asselin 22 2-3 0-0 1-4 0 5 4
Crawford 38 11-24 3-3 0-2 6 1 27
Gaines 40 6-19 8-12 0-5 6 4. 23
Groninger 8 0-4 00 0-0 0 2 0
Young 10 2-2 2-2 2-3 0 2 6
Anderson 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Vignier 16 4-5 1-2 4-6 0 3 9,
Totals 200 35-77 19-25 1636 20 26 97
FG%: ASS FrW.760 3-pont FG: 8-25, .320 (Gaines
3-6, Blanchard 2-2, Crawford 2-9 Jones 14, Groninger
0.4). Blockcs: 3 (Crawford,2, Asselin). Steals: 8 (Jones 4,
Crawford, Gaines, Groninger, Vgnier). Tumovers 10
(Jones 2, Vignier 2, Blaridhard, Crawford, Gaines,
Groninger, Young, Anderson). Technical Fouls: none.
Duke... ............... 48 56- 104
Michigan ....._..._.......42 55- 97
At: Crisier Arena
Attendance:13,562
Arizona wrecks Spartans
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona's Loren
Woods was late for second-ranked Wildcats' game
with No. 4 Michigan State because of a minor car
wreck Saturday. But his second-half surge could-
n't have been more timely.
The 7-foot-1 center scored the first six points in
a crucial 12-2 run as Arizona (7-1) stretched its
ecourt winning streak to 36 games with a 79-
victory over the Spartans.
"He played with the most aggressiveness he's
played all season," Arizona coach Lute Olson said.
With Mateen Cleaves still out with a stress frac-
ture in his right foot, Michigan State (7-2) could-
n't contain Arizona's freshman point guard Jason
Gardner.
Gardner, who struggled against Khalid El-Amin
in Tuesday night's 78-69 loss to No. 6 Connecticut,
had a career-high 20 points, nine assists and six
r ounds. He played all 40 minutes.
SThe kid is so coachable. He's like a sponge,"
Olson said. "He's good right now, but he's going to
really be something once he gets some experi-
TIGERS
Continued from Page 1B
Much like Vanderbilt, the Tigers pounded the
Wolverines on the low blocks. Michigan's com-
bination of Ruth Kipping, Alison Miller and
-Ann Bies was simply no match for "Baby
6kley," otherwise known as DeTrina White.
The reigning national freshman of the year,
White used her considerable bulk to push around
the Wolverines. She scored 10 points to go along
with eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
White wasn't the only Tiger who was tearing it
up. Junior forward April Brown complemented
ence."
In a
Texas,
span of eight days, Arizona beat No. 10
lost to Connecticut, then beat Michigan
State.
"We knew we could play with any team in the
country," Arizona's Richard Jefferson said.
The Wildcats outscored the Spartans, 20-9, over
the last 8:20 after Michigan State rallied from an
early 19-point deficit to tie it at 59-59.
Arizona sealed the victory by going 10-for-10 at
the foul line over the last 4:04. Jefferson, who
scored 18 points, had six of those free throws
down the stretch.
Gilbert Arenas, who didn't start because of a hip
flexor, scored 13 points for Arizona. Woods added
12.
Morris Peterson scored 15 of his 17 points in -the
second half for Michigan State, but was only 5-
for-15 from the field.
Charlie Bell led the Spartans with 20 points.
Michigan State shot 40 percent, compared with
Arizona's 53 percent.
By Jacob Wheeler
Daily Sports Writer
Did they take personal the accusations that
their cheers are as ineffective as desparation fouls
in the final minutes? Did they need a study break
before exams boxed them out this week? Or were
they just attracted to Saturday's game because of
the free gifts passed out at the door?
Whatever the reason, the Michigan student-
fans showed up in drones to back their exciting,
new-look Wolverines in a true test of might and
perseverance. And whenever "hometown boy"
LaVell Blanchard sank a three-pointer, or "raz-
zie-dazzle" point guard Kevin Gaines picked a
Blue Devil's pocket, the Michigan fans went bal-
listic.
Dubbed the Maize Rage, a swarm of yellow
shirts, painted bodies and dyed afro's- fought as
hard as they could for the better part of 40 min-
utes to cast off the poor reputation that murky
Crisler Arena has given them since its inception.
Michigan's ravenous fans, seated mostly far
behind the benches and the scorers table, created
a warm and inviting environment worthy of an
Italian wedding when their Wolverines were
introduced before tipoff. Blanchard's, Crawford's
and Josh Asselin's invocations produced the most
noise.
But when Duke power forward Shane Battier
tort the floor, the winds shifted to cries of villain
and traitor, as if in an epic tale. Like Blanchard,
Battier is also a hometown boy who can run,
rebound and shoot with anyone. But the latter left
the state of Michigan and chose an ACC school
for his college career.
The Maize Rage greeted Battier with jeers of
"sell-out" when he warmed up before the game,
and whenever he visited the free throw line dur-
ing the coMntest.
SIGNS, EVERYWHERE ARE SIGNS: The Michigan
fans cheered with their silent wit as well as their
voice boxes. Cardboard posters flooded the stu-
dent section before the Duke game. Many of
them formed CBS acronyms, since the game
aired on national television.
Signs such as "Crawford, Blanchard, our
Saviours" or "Crush Battier, Sellout" or "Gavin,
Country's Best Shooter" proved the fans' wit as
well as their rage.
WOOING A RECRUIT: Fans sitting behind
Michigan's bench couldn't control their salivary
gands when fiey spied Tyson Chandler, a 7-foot-
2 high school junior sitting right behind
Michigan's bench.
They chanted "We want Tyson" and dreamed
of the Compton, Ca. native, who was on an unof-
ficial recruiting visit, in a maize and blue uni-
form in two seasons.
Sunday
Dec. 19th
Michigan at Boston
College, 2p.m.
The freshmen have fallen back to reality.
All attention is upon how they will
respond to their first collegiate loss, and
their first holiday season on the road. Will,
the shot selection of the frontcourt
improve? Will Groninger find his sweet
shooting touch again soon? Will Brandon
Smith return in the new year? Will assis-
tant coach Scott Trost change the part in
his hair in the new year?
Tuesday, Dec. 23rd
Duquesne at Michigan, Criser Arena
7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 28rd
Towson at Michigan, Crisler Arena 7:30
p.m.
in the last game that actually counted toward
record, Louisiana Tech pummeled No. 8 U
82-64 on December 5.
Last year, Louisiana Tech pounded Mich
84-66 at Crisler Arena. For the Wolver
revenge means winning in Ruston, where
Techsters are virtually unbeatable.
"The Louisiana Tech game is part of a
competitive schedule that we have, and I t
it's exactly what this team wants and exa
what this team needs," Guevara said. "I'm g
to need Lady Clairol after this non-confer
schedule."
After returning from Louisiana, Michigan
Georgia Tech feeling blue
after fourth-straight loss
very After losing three straight
hink games, the Yellow Jackets had an
actly opportunity to break their losing
oing streak against the most unlikely of
ence opponents - third-ranked
will A 3-pointer by Georgia Tech's
w Tony Atkins. four feet behind the
Team
1. Cincinnati
2. Arizona
3. Stanford
4. Michigan State
5. Kansas
6. Connecticut
7. North Carolina
8. Aubum
9. Florida
10. Texas ..
7-0
7-1
6-0
7-2
7-1
6-1
6-2
5-1
6-1
5-2
This weekend's results
Beat Miss. Valley St., 74-48
Beat Michigan St., 79-68
Beat Georgia Tech, 64-61
Lost to Arizona, 79-68
Beat Pittsburg St, 96-71
Idle
Idle
Beat Pennsylvania, 80-70
Beat Beth.-Cookman, 93-77
Beat San Deigo, 76-66
BIG-EN STAN DINGS
Conference Overall
Team W L W L
Minnesota 0 0 6 0
Michigan 0 0 6 1
Indiana 0 0 6 1
Penn State 0 0 6 1
Michigan State 0 0 7 2
Purdue 0 0 6 2
Ohio State 0 0 3 1
Illinois 0 0 5 2
Wisconsin 0 0 6 3
:~I.E3n n c d