The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - January 16, 2001- 58

. ......

Quote of the weekend
"I think a lot of times we don't come out with
the type of intensity you need on the road."
- Michigan sophomore shooting guard Gavin
Gioninger after the Wolverines lost their fifth-
straight road game by double-digit points.

SATURDAY'S GAME

Michigan
Illinois

51
80

Player of the game
Illinois forward Sergio McClain
fcc'lainfinisled the game wiith 10 points ii
rebounds and 11 assists for the first triple-
double in Illinois historv.


Jig fouls lead to small lineup;
Blue needs new road mentality

By Raphael Goodstein
Daily Sports Writer
CHAMPAIGN - The Michigan
men's basketball team reached a new
low in Saturday's 80-51 loss at No. 7
*inois - literally. After center Josh
Asselin fouled
out with four BASKETBALL
minutes left in Notebook
the game - the
third Michigan
center to foul out - the Wolverines
were forced to play guards Gavin
Groninger, Avery Queen, Maurice
Searight and Bernard Robinson and
t all forward LaVell Blanchard. It
as the shortest lineup Michigan
coach Brian Ellerbe has played all
season.
"I think the officials got to a point
where there were some hard fouls and
they wanted to get control of things and
maybe they got a little overzealous,"
Ellerbe said.
With the Wolverines' interior players
in foul trouble, the Fighting Illini's
Brian Cook was able to tally 17 points
d seven rebounds in only 18 minutes
f play. Illinois rested its sophomore
center for most of the second half
because it held a commanding lead.
ROAD WOES: Michigan's loss was its

fifth-straight loss on the road, a streak
that dates back to last year's 1 14-63 loss
at Michigan State. This streak does not
count Michigan's 31-point loss to
Maryland, a "neutral-site" game that
was played in Washington, D.C., close
to the Terrapins' home.
"I think a lot of times we don't come
out ready to play with the type intensity
you need on the road," sophomore
guard Gavin Groninger said. "We need-
ed to match or better the intensity of
Illinois on the road and we didn't come
out and do that."
The Illini opened the game on a 15-4
run.
"I don't know what it is," Ellerbe
said. "We had a good game plan, the
coaches did an excellent job scouting
this week"
Michigan's next two games are at
Ohio State and at Iowa. Iowa beat
Illinois, 78-62, last week at Carver-
Hawkeye Arena.
Messed around and got a triple-dou-
ble: Senior small forward Sergio
McClain had a good day Saturday,
recording the first triple-double in
Illinois history. McClain scored 10
points, grabbed I 1 rebounds and dished
out 1 I assists.
"I kept telling the guys, 'One more,
just one more;" said McClain, who

recorded the last two assists in the
game's wanning moments.
Maybe as impressive as McClain's
triple-double was his defense on
Michigan forward LaVell Blanchard.
Blanchard was held to two field goals
in the first half.
"If he wants to be the best defensive
player in the league, he's gotta be able
to guard the best player on the other
team," Illinois coach Bill Self said.
"Defense is his strength and anything
we can get from him offensively is just
an extra bonus."
THE ASSASSIN: Senior center Josh
Asselin was the most hated Wolverine
on the court Saturday by the Illinois
crowd. Asselin hammered Illinois cen-
ter Marcus Griffin on a layup in the
first half that bruised Griffin's tailbone
and ended his night.
"When he hit me, he took my legs out
from under me and I hit the ground,"
Griffin said. "It hurts bad, but in two
days I'll be fine." Griffin should be able
to play when Illinois travels to
Northwestern in two days.
GoiNG GONzo: Redshirted freshman
quarterback Jermaine Gonzales will
likely join the Wolverines later this
week. Gonzales played with fellow
freshman Maurice Searight in high
school at Orchard Lake St. Mary's.

SATURDAY'SGAME
MICHIGAN (51)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A O-T A F PTS
Blanchard 30 4-11 5-6 4-7 0 3 15
Young 23 0-2 4-6 1-3 1 5 4
Asselin 31 3-9 3-4 5-10 1 5 9
Queen 28 1-6 0-0 0-3 0 1- 3
Robinson 29 0-4 7-8 0-6 3 3 7
Jones 12 1-2 0-2 01 0 2 3
Searight 15 1-5 0-0 0-3 1 1 2
Gibson 1 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2
Golfredson 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Groninger 25 05 23 0-2 1 2 2
Moore 4 2-2 0-0 0-1 0 5 4
Adebiyi 1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Totals 200 13-47 21-29 10-37 7 27 51
FG%: 277. FT%: .724. 3-point FG: 4-21 190 (Blanchard
2-7, Jones 1-2, Queen 1-5,Searight 0-1, Groninger 0-3,
Robinson 0-3). Blocks; 1 (Young). Steals: 3 (Robinson 2,
Young). Turnovers: 21 (Young 5. Robinson 3, Searight 3,
Asseln 2, Blanchard 2, Groninger 2, Moore 2, Jones,
Queen). Technical fouls: none.
Illinois (80)
MIN M-A M-A 0T A F PTS
Cook 18 7-12 2-2 0-2 4 3 19
McClain 33 4-11 1-7 0-3 1 4 16
Griffin 17 3-3 0-0 2-6- 1 4 14
Bradford 35 4-9 5-6 2-5 0 1 14
Harrngton 24 0-7 2-3 0-3 3 1 5
Melton 16 3-8 0-0 0-0 0 1 6
Mast 3 1-1 0-0 27 0 2 0
Cross 1 0-1 0-0 1-3 3 0 5
Archibald 12 1-3 3-4 1-2 1 1 1
Johnson 17 1-1 2-2 0-1 0 2 0
Howard 10 0-1 0-2 01 0 0 0
Krupalija 14 4-7 1-2 0-1 0 0 0
Totals 200 28-64 16-28 9-35 13 19 80
FG%: .438. FT%:.571. 3-pint FG: 8-23,.348 (Bradford
2-4, Mast 1-1, Krupalija 1-2, Cook 1-3, McClain 1-3,
Melton 1-4, Harrington 0-5). Blocks: 0 Steals: 11
(Harrinton 4, Mclain 3, Archibald, Cross. Krupalija,
Melton}. Turnovers: 8 (Bradford 2, McClain 2, Cook,
Griffin, Krupalija, Mast). Technical Fouls: bench (1).

Michigan-...... 23
Illinois-------38

28 -51
42 -80

At: Assembly Hall, Champaign
Attendance: 16,683
BIG TEN STANDINGS
Conference Overall


MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
one of his five 3-point shots. Queen fin-

Freshman point guard Avery Queen misses
ished the game with three points.

A slower tempo mikht stop the bleedig

Team
Iowa
Michigan State
Illinois
Purdue
Penn State
Ohio State
Minnesota
Indiana
Michigan
Wisconsin
Northwestern

w
3
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
t
0

L
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
4

w
14
14
13
11
11
11
13
10
7
10
7

L
2
1
4
4
3
3
7
7
4
9

WILL'
Continued from
against Illinoi
spots all seas
shooting, trav
trouble, charg
breaks have fa
digit debacles
Michigan n
landish statist
shooting again
3-point shooti
is putting up i
es, before this
toilet material
changing the)
schemes to m
lems less leth
Suggestion
down to a Wis
because any s
trous. Fast bre
wild shots ort
Bernard Robi
probably the t
'm' I

the team, often end in charges and
blocked shots, respectively.
n Page 1B Michigan's successful moments
s have been trouble almost always occur on the blocks.
on. Rotten 3-point Stop simply trying to utilize the post
cling violations, foul and make a commitment to feed the
es and poorly run fast post on every single possession.
acilitated these double- As Illinois coach Bill Self said,
Chris Young, Josh Moore and Josh
eeds to curb the out- Asselin get great interior position,
ics - 27-percent and they'll garner respect from refer-
nst Illinois or 4-of-19 ees as they continue to improve.
ing against Purdue - it Win or lose the game inside, but
in these grotesque loss- don't bury yourself by turning the
season becomes utter ball over and missing outside shots.
. Ellerbe must try Suggestion 2: Work the ball
X's and O's and form through LaVell Blanchard on each
ake these chronic prob- possession. Michigan's best player
al. hasn't shown the confidence to take
1: Slow the game over a game yet, but that may be
sconsin-like pace, because his role on the team seems
peed has been disas- undefined. As a great passer and
oaks usually end in probably the team's best spot-up
turnovers. Drives by shooter, Blanchard is Michigan's
nson and Avery Queen, best option to feed the post. Queen,
wo quickest players on Maurice Searight and Leon Jones
doomed by

should bring the ball over half court,
but at that point, run the offense
through LaVell and see if the team's
shots improve.
Suggestion 3: Put the clamps on
the post trio when they aren't in the
middle of the offense and defense.
Stupid fouls are devouring the
Wolverines. Of course the big men
will pick up fouls in the bump and
grind of post play, but it's ridiculous
to have them diving recklessly for
loose balls or flying over backs for
unattainable rebounds. Ellerbe has to
force his three big men to be more
cautious.
These solutions may not be the
brainwork of a basketball scholar,
but Ellerbe cannot resist immediate
and drastic change. Otherwise
Michigan's last 14 games will be
sullied with more humiliating losses,
and the entire program will appear
complacent to Michigan fans.
-Dan Williams can be reached
at dbwum.ciich.edu

Saturday's result:
Ohio State 75, Minnesota 72
Iowa 93, PURDUE 83
MICHIGAN STATE 69, Wisconsin 59 (OT)
ILLINoIs 80, Michigan 51
PENN STATE 73, Northwestern 66
Today'sgame:
No. 14 Iowa at No. 19 Wisconsin, 7 p.m.
Wednesday's games:
Penn State at Indiana, 6 p.m.
No. 11 Illinois at Northwestern, 8 p.m.
Purdue at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Thursday's game:
Michigan at Ohio State, 7 p.m.
Saturdayg ames:,
Indiana at Minnesota, 12:15 p.m.
Penn State at No. 11 Illinois, 2:30 p.m.
Northwestem at Purdue, 4:30 p.m.
Michigan at No. 14 Iowa, 8:05 p.m.

MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daiy
Michigan sophomore LaVell Blanchard is rejected by two Illinois defenders. The
Wolverines shot just 21.1 percent from the field for the game.
LOW ROAD
The Michigan men's basketball team has not won a road game in its last
seven attempts. It hasn't even come close in its last five. Here's a break-
own of the Wolverines' struggles.

poor shooting
ILLINI
Continued from Page IS
"Maybe they got a little overzealous."
Despite playing without point guard and leading scorer
Frank Williams. Illinnis eaiilv nushed out to a 15-4 lead in
the first six-and-a-half minutes of the game. Michigan never
got closer than five and Illinois led comfortably by 15 at the
half.
The Fighting Illini continued to cruise in the second half
and never allowed the Wolverines to slice into the lead. Four
Illinois players scored in double digits, including senior
Sergio McClain who finished with 10 points, I I rebounds
and 1I1 assists for the first triple-double in school history.
"It feels good," McClain said. "With Frank (Williams) out,
we knew as a team we had-to pick it up, pushing the ball and
creating for others. There were a lot of mismatches out
there."
With two more road games this week for Michigan - at
Ohio State on Thursday and Iowa Saturday - the Wolverines
must find a way to be competitive in a difficult environment
to prevent a 1-4 Big Ten start.
"We've got a lot of mental stuff we need to take care of as
far as our confidence when we go on the road," Young said.

Game

Final score Halftime score

Michigan State
Oakland
Maryland
St. John's
Duke
Purdue
Illinois

114-63
97-90
82-51
97-83
104-61
80-60
80-51

51-24
44-34
45-23
36-34
59-18
43-33
38-23

Key stat
Cleaves' 20 assists
Oakland's 3-point pct.: 52.0
Michigan's 24 turnovers
Anthony Glover's 27 points
34-2 game-opening run
Michigan's free-throw pct.: 21.1
Michigan's 13 field goals

Ken Johnson dunks on Minnesota.
Thursday
Michigan at Ohio State
. Value CityArena,
7pm (ESPN)
The Wolverines are desperate to win on the
road, something they haven't done yet this
season. To do so, they'll have to find a way to
score inside against Ohio State center Ken
Johnson, who is averaging four blocks-per-
game, fourth most in the NCAA.

- MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Freshman point guard Maurice Searight committed three of
Michigan's 21 turnovers In Saturday's 80-51 loss to Illinois.


--

HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED

WEEKEND NOTES

BIG TEN

BED REST: Michigan State for-
ward Andre Hutson will spend
some time at home recovering
from pneumonia and is question-
able for next week's game
against Ohio State.
After a win over Wisconsin
Saturday, Hutson, who scored
10 points in the win, was
sent to the hospital because
of dehydration and stiff
muscles.
"It's probably my own:
fault," Michigan State r
coach Tom Izzo said. "I
like guys that don't.
comolain ... Andre

confidence and that's it,"
ff.,; Virginia coach Pete
Gillen said.
SECOND THOUGHT: Rick
Pitino, who last week
announced his taking
over the head coach-
ing job at UNLV was
all but imminent,
is now rethinking
his decision. He
has decided to
delay a trip to
Las Vegas to
r examine the pro-
gram and sports
department.

OHIO STATE 75, MINNESOTA
72: COLUMBUS (AP) -
Brian Brown hit two late
free throws and Minnesota
missed a pair of 3-point
shots in the final seconds
as Ohio State nearly blew
a 23-point lead.
Ohio State led 48-25 with
just over 15 minutes left{
and was still on top by 12
with under 3 minutes
remaining. Michael Bauer
hit a 3-pointer to draw
A . - . . . .. 7 7 .,+

UNDUP
plays Saturday night.
Bell came through at both
ends of the court as No. 3
Michigan State rallied from a
five-point deficit in the final
minute of regulation and
beat No. 17 Wisconsin 69-
59 in overtime in a
rematch from last season's
Final Four.
"I was never worried that
we were going to lose," Bell
said.
Wisconsin went on a 17-2
rtin.~... Into in., . h, c rnri half

Team
1. Stanford
2. Duke
3. Michigan State
4. Tennessee
5. Kansas
6. North Carolina
7. Florida
8. Syracuse
9. Georgetown
10. Wake Forest
11. Illinois
12. Maryland
11 \Frelim-

Record
15-0
15-1
14-1
16-1
13-1
13-2
11-2
15-1
15-0
13-2
13-4
12-4
1- 2

This week's results
Beat Oregon 100-76
Beat Virginia 103-61
Beat Wisconsin 69-59 (OT)
Beat South Carolina 79-71
Beat Oklahoma 69-61
Beat Marquette 84-54
idle
Beat West Virginia 86-80
Beat Virginia Tech 96-68
Lost to Georgia Tech 95-89
Beat Michigan 80-51
-Beat Florida Mtate 76-55
I n n, a mi103-61

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