8B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 7, 2002
"
Trash talk
"I think most people would agree with
me, Michigan is not an upper-level
Big Ten team."
- Eastern Michigan coach Jim Boone evaluating the
Wolverines after his team lost 88-58 on Dec. 22 in Crisler
Arena but before Michigan's strong start in Big Ten play.
SATURDAY' S GAME
Purdue 75
Michigan 79
Players of the Game
Bernard Robinson
(Michigan)
Robinson scored a season-high 20 points,
including a runner in the lane to ice the
game with 22 seconds left.
Darmetreis Kilgore
(Purdue)
Kilgore hit three 3-pointers in a 1:17
span to cut the Michigan lead to four w
(69-65) with 3:17 remaining.
Robinson a
star for 'M' in
ast two wins
By Joe Smith
Daily Sports Editor
It was a symbolic exchange between a new
coach and one of his star players.
In Saturday's victory over Purdue, Michi-
gan coach Tommy Amaker anxiously stood
and watched Bernard Robinson take the ball
at the top of the key.
Despite the sophomore's tendency to turn
the ball over and his sometimes inconsistent
shot selection Amaker showed confidence in
his young guard.
In fact, he confidently unleashed the reigns.
"Take him," Amaker yelled from the bench.
Just like he had the entire game, Robinson
delivered. In arguably his best overall per-
formance of the season, Robinson scored a
season-high 20 points and grabbed seven
rebounds. He also had several key post-entry
passes to Chris Young, racking up six assists.
Robinson calmly came through in the
clutch, shooting 6-for-6 from the free throw
line in the waning minutes. He also added one
of his trademark runners in the lane after the
Boilermakers trimmed the deficit to three
points, icing the victory for Michigan (with
about a half minute to play) for the second
straight game.
Three days prior, Robinson led the Wolver-
ines with 16 points and five boards, gutting
out an important road win at Penn State -
Michigan's first victory away from Crisler
Arena in 345 days.
Robinson was also a perfect 5-5 from the
charity stripe in Happy Valley, where he had a
key tip-in to preserve the Wolverines' win.
"Coach told me to be more aggressive and I
just wanted to go out there and play with con-
fidence - make or miss," Robinson said.
"And if you do that, good things will happen."
On Saturday, good things happened at both
ends of the floor for Robinson, as he
embraced his new role this season as one of
Amaker's defensive stoppers.
He held Purdue's top offensive weapon,
junior guard Willie Deane to just five points
in the first stanza.
"I thought his overall performance was
outstanding," Amaker said. "He had to guard
maybe the best perimeter player on their team,
and certainly he delivered for us in a lot of
key situations offensively. It's nice to see him
being aggressive and attacking."
The only thing a struggling Robinson could
effectively attack in the first nine games was
the fire extinguisher case in Bowling Green's
Anderson Arena. On Nov. 28, after Michi-
Michigan finally
learning to win
Two players dismissed from team
By Steve Jackson
Daily Sports Writer
All season the Michigan basketball team has talked
about "learning how to win."
After opening up the Big Ten season with back-to-
back victories (for just the second time since the 1993-
1994 season), Michigan (2-0 Big Ten, 6-5 overall) is
starting to believe.
"People are confident BASKETBALL
and trusting the system,
and that's why we are Notebook
playing so well,"said sen-
ior tri-captain Leon Jones. "It's great, everybody is buy-
ing into it. We are learning how to win."
After ending a streak of seven consecutive losses
away from Crisler Arena with a hard-fought 67-63 win
over Penn State on Wednesday, the Wolverines returned
to Ann Arbor with a remarkable shooting touch.
Michigan converted on 61.9 percent of its attempts
(13-of-21) in the second half of play against Purdue on
Saturday; they shot 56.9 percent for the game.
CLASS ACT: Before the Wolverines 88-58 victory over
Eastern Michigan on Dec. 22, Michigan coach Tommy
Amaker announced that sophomore center Josh Moore
and freshman guard Marcus Bennett would be leaving
the team because of academic troubles.
Moore was declared ineligible because of his low
grades. He will no longer practice or play with the team.
Bennett left the team due to a "private" academic
issue, which reportedly occurred prior to his enrollment
at Michigan.
Bennett has dropped out of school, and Moore's sta-
tus at the University is still uncertain.
"We have high academic standards here at the Uni-
versity of Michigan, and we are going to enforce those
standards," Amaker said. "We are going to build a pro-
gram of which this university and our fans can be proud
- on and off the basketball court."
DEJA vu: Sophomore point guard Avery Queen sat out
the entire game against the Eagles. He was suspended
for an unspecified "violation of team rules."
This is nothing new for Queen; Brian Ellerbe sus-
pended him twice last season citing the same reason.
But Queen returned to the court with a bang, scoring
16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and directing the Wolver-
ines' offense with confidence during the last two wins.
DoM BOMBED: Amaker has chosen to utilize his veter-
an players more during the Big Ten season. The minutes
given to upperclassmen like Jones and Gavin Groninger
have left Dommanic Ingerson, who has led Michigan in
scoring three times this year, on the bench. Ingerson
played just one minute in the second half against Pur-
due.
"I'm not going to bicker about this," said Ingerson,
who showed visible signs of frustration. "This is
Coach's decision. I just need to accept this and grow"
Ingerson had been suffering from the flu earlier in the
week, but said that it did not affect his play.
SATURDAY' S GAME
Purdue (75)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Kilgore 28 7-17 0.0 2-4 0 2 18
Buscher 16 2-3 0-0 1-2 0 1 4
Allison 34 5-9 1-2 5-9 1 2 11
Parkinson 18 0.1 0-0 0-2 9 4 0
Deane 34 8-18 1-3 0-1 2 3 19
Smith 24 6-6 2-3 3-3 3 4 15
Marshall 17 0-3 0-0 1-2 1 2 0
Lewis 25 3-7 0-0 1-3 0 1 6
Carroll 4 1-2 0-0 1-2 0 0 2
Totals 200 32.66 4-8 1A-28 16 19 75
FG%: .485. FT%: .500 3-point FG: 7-17 .412 (Kilgo-
re 4-7, Deane 2-5, Smith 1-1, Lewis 0.2, Parkinson
0-1, Marshall 0-1). Blocks: 1 (Deane). Steals: 7
(Deane 3. Parkinson 2, Buscher, Lewis). Turnovers:
15 (Deane 3, Smith 3, Marshall 3, Lewis 3, Kilgore,
Buscher, Parkinson). Technical fouls: none.
MICHIGAN (79)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A O-T A F PTS
Robinson 33 7-14 6-6 4-7 6 2 20
Blanchard 33 5-10 5-7 1-2 1 2 18
Young 38 7-9 0-0 1-3 0 1 14
Gotfredson 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Jones 22 0-0 0-0 0-2 2 2 0
Queen 34 3-5 0-0 0-2 2 2 8
Bailey 9 2-3 0-0 1-2 0 0 4
Groninger 14 2-5 4-4 0-0 3 2 9
Ingerson 11 3-5 0-0 1-2 0 0 6
Totals 200 29.51 15.17 &-23 14 11 79
FG%:.569. FT%: .882. 3-point FG: 6-14, .429 (Blan-
chard 3-5, Queen 2-2, Groninger 1-4, Ingerson 0-2,
Robinson 0-1). Blocks: 4 (Young 3, Robinson).
Steals: 6 (Queen 3, Robinsonu2, Blanchard).
Turnovers: 14 (Robinson 4, Jones 4, Queen 3, Bai-
ley , Ingerson, Young). Technical fouls: none.
Purdue .......................30 45 - 75
Michigan .............39 40 - 79
At: Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor
Attendance: 11,190
0
BIG TEN
Team
Ohio State
Indiana
Michigan
Illinois
Iowa
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Michigan State
Purdue
Penn State
STANDINGS
Conference Overall
W L W L
2 0 10 2
2 0 9 5
2 0 6 5
1 1 12 3
1 1 12 4
1 1 8 5
1 1 8 7
0 1 8 4
0 1 9 5
0 2 8 8
0 2 4 9
0
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Michigan senior center Chris Young tries to keep possession after being tripled teamed down low.
Young fought hard all day on the glass, but ended the day with Just three rebounds.
gan's second-straight loss to a Mid-American
Conference team, Robinson missed the shot
that could have tied the game. Afterwards, he
took out his frustrations by punching the glass
case - lacerating his right (non-shooting)
hand.
Michigan's co-MVP from last season
admitted he was trying to do too much in an
effort to prove to the coaches that he was fully
recovered from his summer battle with
mononucleosis. Both Robinson and fellow
MVP LaVell Blanchard had problems gelling
in Amaker's new offensive system. Robinson
shot below 40-percent from the field in five
of his first nine games, missing his first 10 3-
point attempts.
But he's using his aggressive style to his
advantage now. He's penetrating and getting
to the line more often - where he leads the
team with a nearly 90-percent clip.
On Saturday, Blanchard's 18 points and
both forwards' inspired play, gave Michigan
the rock it relied upon so much last season.
It also took some pressure off Young, who
has been battling numerous double teams
since his 25-point performance against No. I
Duke.
"We knew (Blanchard and Robinson) were
going to come around," junior Gavin
Groninger said. "We just waited and kept
playing off of them - and they're coming
through for us now."
Last Saturday's results:
MICHIGAN 79, Purdue 75
INDIANA 61, Penn State 54
MINNESOTA 70, No. 19 Michigan State 67
OHIo STATE 72, No. 9 Iowa 62
WIScoNSIN 72, No. 7 Illinois 66
Tomorrow's games:
No. 19 Michigan State AT INDIANA, 7 P.M.
Wednesday's games:
Michigan AT MINNESOTA, 8 P.M.
Ohio State AT MASSACHUSETTS, 7 P.M.
No. 7 Illinois AT PURDUE, 8 P.M.
Wisconsin AT PENN STATE, 8 P.M.
Northwestern AT No. 9 IowA, 8 P.M.
Saturday's games:
Michigan AT No. 7 ILLINOIS, 4:30 P.M.
Wisconsin AT No. 19 MICHIGAN STATE, NOON
Minnesota AT PURDUE, 2:30 P.M.
Ohio State AT NORTHWESTERN, 8 P.M.
Sunday's games:
Indiana at No. 9 Iowa, TBA
6
REC
SPORTS
The University of Michigan
Department of Recreational Sports
INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM
WHATS
HAPPENING
INTRIAMURAL$
In case you missed it
In a very busy break, Michigan went 3-1. Here are the highlights.
Michigan 88, Eastern Michigan 58
The Wolverines posted a season-best 58.3 percent shooting per- ,
formance from the field and LaVell Blanchard had 20 points.
San Francisco 55, Michigan 47
Despite Dommanic Ingerson's 16 points in his return to the Bay
Area, the Wolverines fell to San Francisco after shooting a dis-
mal 24 percent from the floor.
Michigan 67, Penn State 63
Bernard Robinson came through in the clutch, scoring a team- DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
high 16 points and adding a late tap-in to ice Michigan's first Bernard Robinson
road win in 345 days.
UP NEXT:
Intramural Ice Hockey
Officials Needed!!
o No Experience *4
Necessary T-
SPORTMS
* Officials are
Paid for All INTRA URAL h
Games Worked
Get a Free
=Shirt
BOILERMAKERS
Continued from Page1B
Most of all, it was the aggressive
heads-up defense of Robinson and
point guard Avery Queen that gave
Michigan some momentum on both
sides of the floor. The two combined
for four steals in the-first half, and the
Wolverines capitalized with nine first-
half points off turnovers.
"We just sat down and we decided
not to let them score," senior tri-cap-
tain Chris Young said. "We're going to
stick to our defensive principles and
play our defensive game and create
some turnovers, which turned into
points on the offensive end."
The Wolverines first half effort was
aided by freshmen Dommanic Inger-
son and Chuck Bailey, who had a
combined 10 points and four rebounds
in 17 minutes. They were all but
absent from the floor in the second
half, however, as Amaker utilized his
vets to hold on to the lead down the
stretch.
Junior Gavin Groninger was crucial
in the win. He converted both free
throws with 13 seconds left to give
Michigan a four-point lead and put the
game out of reach.
"In conference play, we're going to
rely on our veterans," Amaker said.
Despite the late push by the Boiler-
makers and a shouting match between
Purdue head coach Gene Keady and
Groninger as the game became tense,
the Wolverines emerged in a position
where few expected them to be. But
everyone around the program is excit-
ed that they're there.
"To be 2-0 and have some confi-
dence is really important for our
young team," Amaker said.
The first win came on Jan.2,
against Penn State in State College.
"A lot of people don't understand
how much a victory like that can give
you confidence going into the next
game," Robinson said. "Hopefully we
can keep it going."
Jerry HolmanAPO
MINNESOTA
The Golden Gophers shocked No. 19
Michigan State on Saturday in Williams
Arena, 70-67. Now, Michigan must travel
to the same raucous arena on Wednesday
and face a Minnesota team with great size
and momentum.
NEXT WEEKEND:
A
4
Flexible
hours
ILLINOIS
While Illinois proved it was susceptible
to the upset when Wisconsin knocked it
off in Madison two days ago, Michigan will
need-to have its best game on Saturday
when it heads to Champaign to take on
the Fighting Ilrini. Illinois swept the
Wolverines last season.
'M' STATS
Training Clinics Begin Tonight
6110nm Mondav Januarv 7
Team
1. Duke
2. Kansas
3. Florida
4. Vi rinia
6. Kentucky
7. Illinois
8. Maryland
9. Iowa
Record
12-1
12-1
12-1
9-1
13-1
9-3
12-3
11-2
12-4
114 1
Result of last game
Lost to Florida St. 77-76
Beat Colorado 97-85
Beat South Carolina 69-60
. Lost to North Carolina 81-74
Lost to Texas 70-61
Lost to Louisiana State 74-69
Lost to Wisconsin 72-66
Beat Norfolk State 92-69
Lost to Ohio State 72-62
Qol. To..... Aft A n00_41
Player
Blanchard
Robinson
Young
Ingerson
Groninger
Ralp
6
11
11
11
11
11
Min
28.5
27.5
29.7
19.5
20.6
15.)~
A
1.9
2.2
1.1
1.5
1.4
O.4
Reb
7.5
3.8
5.5
1.9
1.5
Pts.
14.7
12.6
11.0
11.0
8.3
i I
mm