5B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 14, 2002
Trash talk
"I think we have a ways to go, obviously.
It's still a work in progress."
- Michigan coach Tommy Amaker expressing his
displeasure with his team's defense, which allowed each of
its last two opponents to shoot nearly 70 percent from the
SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan 70
Illinois 94
Players of the Game
LaVell Blanchard
(Michigan)
Blanchard led the Wolverines with 17
points and eight rebounds while shooting
7-of-1S from the field.
Robert Archibald
(Illinois)
Archibald scored 19 points (mostly on
dunks) and pulled down a game-high
nine boards.
I
Blue's achilles
heel is once
agman defense
By Joe Smith
Daily Sports Editor
CHAMPAIGN - Michigan coach Tommy
Amaker has leaned hard on the main pillar in
the construction of his program - aggressive
man-to-man defense.
But for the second straight game, this pillar
crumbled to the ground, as the Wolverines
allowed another opponent to shoot nearly 70
percent from the floor.
Illinois' 68 percent clip (an identical 17-25
mark in each half) broke a 30-year Assembly
Hall record and came just short of the school
record of 69.1 percent that the Fighting Illini
shot against Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1985.
"I think we
have a ways to go BASKETBALL
o b v i o u s 1y,"
Amaker said. "It's Notebook
still a work in
progress."
In the Minnesota game on Jan. 9, the Golden
Gophers victimized Michigan's in-your-face
defense with their penetration and remarkable
outside shooting. Minnesota shot 81 percent in
the second half and had 44 points in the paint.
On Saturday, the Fighting Illini beat up the
undersized Wolverines down low
Amaker expected Illinois to "exploit" its size
advantage and said Michigan's only chance was
to pressure the passer and make it difficult to
throw the ball into 6-foot-10 Brian Cook (20
points), 6-foot-11 Robert Archibald (19 points)
and 7-foot-2 Nick Smith (seven points)..
But the mixture of the Illini's stellar ball
movement - dishing out a season high 28
assists on 34 field goals - and the smaller
Michigan post players led to Illinois' 46 points
in the paint.
"There was no back-side help because they
were throwing the high-low from the top of the
lane, and there was no wing that could have
possibly helped because they were denying the
help," said Michigan center Chris Young, who is
the only Wolverine with significant playing time
taller than 6-foot-8.
But no matter how many easy dunks, back-
door cuts or alley-oops Michigan gave up, Amak-
:er stuck with the man-to-man defense for most of
the game, preaching goals for the "long haul."
"We made a decision to play the way we
want our program to be known for and we're
going to continually do that," Amaker said.
LATE START: The Wolverines caught a break
before the opening tip, as Illinois' All-America
guard Frank Williams didn't start for the first
time in his career for reasons other than injury.
"I was kind of a little late today," said
Williams, who arrived at Assembly Hall at 2:35
LESLIE WARD/Daily
Illinois 7-foot-2 freshman Nick Smith was one of the Illini's big men that gave Michigan trouble.
Best players need
a chance to play
HAMPAIGN - With Illinois cruising to a 20-
point advantage late in the first half, the Fighting
Illini's infamous "Orange Krush" student section
rose to its feet and the reverberation of the 16,500 rabid
fans in Assembly Hall resonated through out the arena
and visibly shook Michigan's confidence.
Shooting barely 30 percent and desperately struggling
on the defensive end, the Wolverines needed a "shot in
the arm," as coach Tommy Amaker likes to call it.
The Wolverines needed a fearless player who has a
history of stepping in to apply instant offense in big-
game situations, and bring Michigan within striking dis-
tance of a much better, yet beatable team.
Michigan also needed someone who could calmly run
the show, creating opportunities for a floundering offense.
Amaker had those players in his arsenal, in sharp-
shooter Dommanic Ingerson and
point guard Avery Queen. But he
didn't use them.
Ingerson saw a season-low
three minutes and took zero shots.
Queen, who averages nearly 27
minutes, played just six.
While their presence in the
game may not have necessarily
JOE led to a Michigan victory, Amaker
didn't even give them a shot; he
didn't let his best players lose.
The one Instead, Amaker played three
and only former walk-ons, Mike Gotfred-
son, Rotolu Adebiyi and Herb
Gibson. They averaged a combined 2.8 points per game
in limited roles entering Saturday's game. But the three
gathered career-highs in minutes and were supposed to
lead the comeback charge.
They ended up with a combined 16 points and seven
fouls in 53 minutes in a 24-point Michigan loss.
Michigan also had a season-low nine assists, its low-
est total since Jan. 30 of last year at Michigan State.
Gotfredson, who ran the point for 30 minutes, had just
one assist.
Queen had twice as many in only six minutes.
Sure, Ingerson and Queen have spent some time in
Amaker's doghouse for their behavior on and off the
court. Radio reports after Saturday's game even stated
that a frustrated Ingerson had to be restrained by Ade-
biyi for allegedly "pouting" on the bench.
But the only reasoning that Amaker gave after the
game for Ingerson and Queen's absence was: "I think
anytime as a coach, you want the players who will make
you most competitive, and give you the best chance to
win the game."
Does this mean that three players who weren't origi-
nally offered a scholarship to play for Michigan are bet-
ter than a highly touted recruit in Ingerson and last
season's starter in Queen?
"No, I didn't say that," Amaker retorted after the
game.
Amaker stood by his claim that he played the guys he
felt would give Michigan the best chance to win in that
particular game.
But the Wolverines needed someone to knock down
some key shots and ignite a run to help them cut Illi-
nois' lead down.
With Ingerson's 3-point capabilities and past experi-
ence in creating instant offense in big games (see Duke
and Boston College), he'd be the most likely one to help
stretch the defense and open up opportunities for Chris
Young and LaVell Blanchard inside.
Just three days prior, Ingerson's 3-point shooting
brought Michigan back in the game against Minnesota
in a tough road environment.
On Saturday, as soon as Ingerson entered the game, Illi-
nois coach Bill Self immediately sent his best defender, All-
America point guard Frank Williams, at the freshman to shut
him down - knowing that Ingerson is one of Michigan's top
scoring threats.
Williams ripped the ball away from Ingerson on the
first possession, but the one who really stole the ball out
of Ingerson's hands was Amaker - who gave Ingerson a
quick hook shortly thereafter and didn't let his best pure
shooter get into a rhythm.
As far as Queen, the sophomore was coming off two
solid performances against Purdue and Minnesota. After
the Minnesota game, Amaker even said: "My personal
opinion is that no one has made bigger baskets for us
than Avery Queen."
Queen was nowhere to be found against Illinois.
Amaker said that those who played most of the game
"displayed that kind of spirit, effort and drive - and
that's why they played."
There's no question that Adebiyi, Gotfredson and
Gibson bring a lot of heart and hustle to the Wolverines.
And in the long term, that's the example Amaker wants
to have.
But Ingerson and Queen bring talent and a "chance to
win."
Isn't that important too?
Joe Smith can be reached atjosephms@umich.edu.
BIG TEN
Team
Indiana
Ohio State
Minnesota
Illinois
Iowa
Wisconsin
Michigan
Penn State
Purdue
Northwestern
Michigan State
STANDINGS
Conference Overall
W L W L
4 0 11 5
3 0 12 2
3 1 10 5
2 2 13 4
2 2 13 5
2 2 9 8
2 2 6 7
1 2 5 9
1 3 9 9
0 3 8 6
0 3 9 7
instead of 2:30 for the Illini pregame routine.
"They decided that everyone had to be on the
floor at the same time, so I had to sit out."
Williams came into the game with 4:01
elapsed, and ended with 14 points and}seven
assists in 27 minutes.
SELF ESTEEM: Illinois' coach Bill Self
approached Michigan junior LaVell.Blanchard
after the game and told the forward how much
he thinks the Wolverines have improved since
last season.
"I think they're a better team," said Self, who
was impressed with how Michigan took Min-
nesota "to the wire" last Wednesday. "I think
(Bernard) Robinson, Blanchard and Young can
SATURDAY'S GAME
MICHIGAN (70)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Robinson 26 3-11 4-6 1-2 2 3 10
Blanchard 31 7-15 2-3 2-8 1 2 17
Young 26 4-6 2-2 3-3 0 4 10
Jones 22 2-7 0-2 3-4 2 3 4
Gotfredson 30 3-5 0-0 1-2 1 1 9
Queen 6 0-2 2-3 0-0 2 0 2
Gibson 9 0-0 2-2 1-1 1 2 2
Ingerson 3 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
Groninger 24 3-11 3-4 0-2 0 1 12
Bailey 9 0-3 0-0 1-3 0 0 0
Adebiyi 14 2-3 0-1 2-2 0 4 4
Totals 200 24-63 152116-31 9 21 70
FG%: .381. FT%: .714 3-point FG: 7-23,_304 (Got
fredson 3-5, Groninger 3-10, Blanchard 1-3, Jones 0
2, Adebiyi 0-1, Robinson 0-1). Blocks: 1 (Gibson).
Steals: 2 (Robinson, Groninger). Turnovers: 15
(Groninger 3, Young 2, Jones 2, Gotfredson 2).
Technical fouls: none.
Illinois (94)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Ferguson 20 2-3 0-0 0-0 2 2 4
Cook 25 8-11 4-4 0-6 3 2 20
Archibald 28 6-9 7-11 2-9 3 3 19
Bradford 30 3-5 0-0 0-2 2 2 7
Harrington 25 2-3 0-0 0-1 7 2 4
Head 18 5-5 1-1 0-3 2 4 13
Howard 3 0-0 2-2 0-0 0 0 2
Williams 27 4-8 4-4 0-5 7 1 14
Thomas 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Powell 6 1-1 1-2 1-1 0 1 4
Smith 17 3-5 1-2 1-3 2 0 7
Totals 200 34-50 20-26 4-30 28 17 94
FG%: .680. FT%: .769. 3-point FG: 6-12, .500
(Head 2-2, Williams 2-4, Powell 1-1. Bradford 1-3,
Harrington 0-1). Blocks: 6 (Cook 2, Archibald, Fer-
guson, Head, Smith). Steals: 9 (Williams 4, Brad-
ford 2, Harrington, Head, Howard). Turnovers: 13
(Bradford 3, Ferguson 2, Williams 2, Cook,
Archibald, Head, Howard, Powell, Smith). Technical
fouls: none.
Michigan...........26 44 - 70
Illinois-.. ........ ...........45 49 - 94
At: Assembly Hall, Champaign
Attendance: 16,500
be considered the best players in the Big Ten at
their particular positions."
NOT PERFECT: After a sizzling start from the
free-throw line during Big Ten play, Robinson
and Gavin Groninger finally missed their first
free throws in four conference games.
Robinson had made 16 consecutive free
throws and 14-of-14 in the Big Ten entering
Saturday. Groninger was 11I-for-l in the con-
ference and had not missed in 13 straight
attempts.
But Robinson went 4-for-6 and Groninger 3-
for-4 from the line against Illinois. Both are still
shooting nearly 90-percent from the charity
stripe.
Last Saturday's results:
No. 9 ILUNOIS 94, Michigan 70
Wisconsin 64, No. 25 MICHIGAN STATE 63
Ohio State 55, NORTHWESTERN 48
Minnesota 87, PURDUE 71
Yesterday's game:
Indiana 77, No. 13 IoWA 66
Tomorrow's game:
No. 13 Iowa AT No. 9 ILLINoIS, 9 P.M.
Wednesday's games:
Northwestern AT MICHIGAN, 7 P.M.
Penn State AT OHIO STATE, 8 P.M.
Minnesota AT WISCONSIN, 8 P.M.
Purdue AT No. 25 MICHIGAN STATE, 8 P.M.
Saturday's games:
Minnesota AT MICHIGAN, 4:37 P.M.
No. 25 Michgan State AT PENN STATE 12:15 P.Mv.
Purdue AT WISCONSIN, 2:30 P.M.
Indiana AT OHIO STATE, 4:30 P.M.
No. 13 Iowa AT NORTHWESTERN, 9 P.M.
UP NEXT:
Wolverines catch Illini at wrong time
By David HoMr
Daily Sports Writer
CHAMPAIGN - Wrong place, wrong time.
Things have been going well for the Wolver-
ines so far this Big Ten season. Sure, they
dropped a tough game against Minnesota last
Wednesday, but their 2-1 conference record
going into Saturday's game against Illinois was
as good as anybody ever expected it to be.
But things for Illinois were not going so well.
After two straight road losses (at Wisconsin and
Purdue), Illinois coach Bill Self was questioning
his team's intensity, and the Illini found them-
selves in an unusual position entering their
return home: Looking up at the Wolverines in
the Big Ten standings.
Illinois - which was picked by some in the
preseason as the premier team in the country
and a likely Final Four contender - was in dan-
ger of letting its season slip away. The return
home to the intimate confines of Assembly Hall
needed to reinvigorate the team.
"I think the intensity definitely picks up
(when the team returns home);' Self said before
Saturday's game. "I think the crowds are worth
quite a bit to home teams. I think that (the home
games) are of more importance and I think our
guys will understand the value of playing in
these games at home."
His team did not disappoint - entirely. While
the Illini were outrebounded by the smaller
Wolverines, they ran their offense to near-perfec-
tion. A barrage of alley-oops and slam dunks
helped the Assembly Hall crowd fuel the fire that
extinguished Michigan's winning Big Ten record.
Illinois has now won 26 straight games in
Champaign. In short, Saturday's game pitted one
of the nation's elite programs returning home to
regain its confidence against a team that had
been playing above expectations. It was an
unfortunate circumstance for the Wolverines.
Self was hesitant to call the game a "must
win;' but with a dangerous Iowa squad looming
this week for Illinois, it is difficult to imagine
what the folks in Champaign would be saying
about the team had it not handled Michigan.
"This is a team that everybody thought was
going to possibly be a Big Ten Tournament
champion or possibly a Final Four team," Michi-
gan coach Tommy Amaker said. "And I think
you can see some of the glimpses for why peo-
ple have those particular predictions for this ball
club."
Illinois shot a season-high (and Assembly
Hall record) 68 percent from the field. Its post
players helped move the ball around the court
with a calculated fluidity that made the Wolver-
ines' defense appear disorganized.
The Illini were playing without two of their
best players, forwards Lucas Johnson and Damir
Krupalija. When they return (which should hap-
pen within the next couple weeks), Illinois will
likely make a full recovery from its recent fall
from the top.
"It didn't help that we caught them at this
time," Amaker said. "I think they showed their
character today. I think they showed that they
could rally and put things back together."
Winston Blake AP PHOTO
NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats are currently at the bottom
of the Big Ten food chain. Wednesday
night's game may give Michigan a chance
to halt its losing streak at two games, but
Northwestern did manage to beat the
Wolverines last year in Crisler (75-70)
NEXT WEEKEND:
LESLIE WARD/Daily
Michigan coach Tommy Amaker admitted that
the Wolverines met Illinois at the wrong time.
I
WEEKEND NOTES
Wisconsin 64, No. 25 Michigan State
63: Unfortunately for the Spartans, col-
lege basketball has rules in place to
prevent a timekeeper from determining
the result of a game.
Michigan State appeared to win on
an alley-oop layup by Kelvin Torbert
with two-tenths of a second left.
But after the students were
cleared from the court, it
became clear that their
celebration was prema-
Saturday, no player on Michigan
State's roster had lost a game at
home.
No. 11UCLA 87, No.1 Kansas 77:
After allowing cross-town rival South-
ern Cal to snag 23 offensive
boards, the Bruins rebounded
nicely with an upset of Kansas,
which passed Duke for the
No. 1 spot last week.
Fans stormed center court
at Pauley Pavilion, dancing
a ..- im indinra .hrnin
ana, scored just two points in the first
half and finished with 12 before fouling
out with 38 seconds left. He has been
bothered by a hip flexor and did not
practice this week.
Evans, averaging 18.3 points, scored
only seven, a season low. He has been
slowed by a head cold.
Georgetown 70, No.16 Boston College
43: Standout guard Ryan Sidney left
with a sprained ankle in the first half,
and Boston College's offense disap-
aa.ihhim
HOW THE AP'
Team Record
1. Kansas 13-2
2. Duke 13-1
3. Florida 14-1
4. Maryland 13-2
5. Oklahoma 13-1
6. Oklahoma State 15-1
7. Virginia 10-2
8. Kentucky 10-4
9. Illinois 13-4
10. Cincinnati 15-1
11. UCLA 12-3
TOP 25 FARED
This weekend's results
Lost to No. 11 UCLA 87-77
Beat North Carolina State 76-57
Beat Vanderbilt 95-85
Beat Georgia Tech 92-87
Beat Texas Tech 98-72
Beat Iowa State 69-66
Beat North Carolina 71-67
Beat South Carolina 51-50
Beat Michigan 94-70
Beat Houston 83-62
Beat No. 1 Kansas 87-77
MINNESOTA
Minnesota torched Michigan for 90
points on nearly 70 percent shooting last
Wednesday, but this time the game will be
played in Crisler. The Gophers have plenty
of height (top five scorers are 6-foot-7 or
taller), but they are just 1-4 on the road.
M' STATS
Player
Blanchard
Robinson
Young
Ingerson
mroninger
G
13
13
13
13
13
Min
28.7
27.8
29.9
17.5
0 .7
A
1.9
2.2
0.9
1.2
1.A
Reb
7.3
3.7
5.4
1.7
1.A
Pts.
15.1
12.9
10.7
10.0
8.9
I
F