The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - January 21, 2003 - 5B Talkin' the talk "It seemed like there were more Michigan fans here than Northwestern fans." - Michigan forward Lester Abram commenting on the large contingent of Michigan fans among the 5,632 in attendance at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday. SATURDAY'S GAME Michigan 77 Northwestern 70 Players of the game Jitim Young (Northwestern) Northwestern's most consistent offensive player continued his solid play, hitting for 20 points and pulling down six rebounds. Daniel Horton (Michigan) The freshman point guard continued to impress, scoring 22 points - including six second-half 3-pointers, while playing 38 minutes. Michigan fans out in force for team's win Evanston SATURDAY'S GAME MICHIGAN (77) By Seth Klempner Daily Sports Writer EVANSTON - As the Michigan men's bas- ketball team walked off the court, coach Tommy Amaker stopped his players as they walked past their BASKETBALL bench after the 77-70 win Notebook over Northwestern. He then had his players acknowledge the group of Maize Rage members who made the trip out to Evanston. Approximately 70 fans made the five-hour trek to the northern suburb of Chicago to watch the Wolverines extend their winning streak to 11 - the longest since the 1992-93 season. In two buses paid for by Amaker, the students left Ann Arbor from the Crisler Arena parking lot at 7:30 in the morning. It was the first time the Maize Rage has taken a road trip en masse, and their support had an impact on the Wolverines. "We had a (high) attendance here at the game and we certainly appreciate that," Amaker said. "I heard them in the locker room before the game started. Anytime you have a number of your fans come on the road, it is very exciting and I wanted to make sure that our kids acknowledged that support because it was certainly beneficial for our team." The cheering of the Maize Rage, which by the end of the game had grown to more than 100 stu- dents, could be heard clearly on the court and over the television broadcast. By the end of the game, they were even drowning out the North- western student section, known as the Wildside, when trying to distract the Wildcats' free throw Red-hot Horton Michigan freshman point guard Daniel Horton earned his second Big Ten Player of the Week honor yesterday, as he shared the award with guard Willie Deane of Purdue. Horton's stats for the week: Jan. 15 at Ohio State 40 minutes, 17 points, five assists Key play: With the game tight in the second half, Horton makes a hustle play to save a ball headed out of bounds. He then finds an opening in the Buck- eyes' defense and drains an NBA-range 3-pointer. Saturday at Northwestern 34 minutes, 22 points, five assists Key play: With Michigan's lead at five and under four minutes left, Horton uses a pick and a hesita- tion move to drive the lane for an "and one" layup. shooters and cheer on the Michigan comeback. Maize Rage spokesman Peter Lund said the group first told Amaker of its intentions of taking buses to Evanston before the season started. But when they got the cost estimates they knew they would not be able to afford it. As soon as Amak- er's office got wind of this, the marketing depart- ment arranged the buses, which the Maize Rage was easily able to fill. "Ever since Amaker was hired and arranged a meeting with the students, he has really wanted our support," Lund said. "He knows how impor- tant student support is from his days with Duke." While Northwestern averages a meager 3,336 in attendance per game, the stands of Welsh- Ryan Arena were slightly more full for the Michigan game, which had 5,623 fans pack in for Northwesters largest home crowd of the season.. DIAPER DANDY: Daniel Horton has been play- ing some of the best basketball in the Big Ten, and the conference is giving him his props. Hor- ton received the Big Ten Player of the Week honor for the second time this season. He first received the honor for averaging 18.5 points against Eastern Michigan and UCLA. The freshman averaged 19.5 points and five assists last week to help snap a seven game losing streak to Ohio State and keep Michigan atop the Big Ten standings. His standout performance came against Northwestern, a game in which he poured in 22 points and shot 6-for-13 from behind the arc. "He is a kid that always senses the moment," Amaker said. "I think you can also use the word daring, and he has displayed that a number of times this year and that couldn't be more evident than this afternoon. It seemed like every time there was a huge basket, he delivered it for us. I think he has a knack for it." Horton now joins Indiana's Bracey Wright as the seventh freshman in Big Ten history to receive the honor twice in one season and became the first Wolverine to accomplish the feat. Purdue's senior guard, Willie Deane was also named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week. NEW BANNER: The ceiling of Crisler Arena became a little more empty when the banners honoring the now "lost years" due to self- imposed sanctions, were taken down. But soon, Cazzie Russell's No. 33 will get some company. Former All-American Rudy Tomjanovich will become just the second Wolverine to have a num- ber retired. His No. 45 jersey will be retired in a ceremony during halftime of the Feb. 8 game against Iowa. This will make former Michigan Robinson Blanchard Brown Abram Horton Harrell Groninger Hunter Bailey Team Totals FG FT MIN M-A M-A 30 2-4 7-8 38 5-7 7-8 12 1-1 0-1 38 3-5 1-3 34 7-15 2-7 11 1-1 2-2 7 0-0 0-0 27 3-5 4-6 3 0-0 0-0 200 22-38 23-35 REB 0-T A F1 0-2 5 4 2-9 1 2 0-2 0 3 0-4 1 4 1-2 5 3 0.1 0 2 0-0 1 .0 2-5 0 3 0.0 0 0 0-2 - 5-27 13 21 PTS 11 19 2 9 22 4 10 0 77 FG%: .579. FT%: .657. 3-point FG: 10-20_ 500 (Hor- ton 6-13, Abram 2-3, Blanchard 2-4). Blocks: 3 (Blanchard, Horton, Hunter). Steals: 7 (Horton 3, Brown 2. Blanchard, Hunter). Turnovers: 13 (Hunter 4, Abram 3, Robinson 2, Blanchard, Brown, Horton, Team). Technical fouls: Blanchard. Northwestern (70) FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Maley 20 0-2 2-2 1-3 2 3 2 Burke 37 1-6 3-4 2-6 3 4 5 Jennings 33 3-10 3-4 0-4 1 3 9 Parker 33 7-8 3-4 0-3 3 4 20 Young 38 8-13 2-8 3-6 2 4 20 Hachad 11 2-5 0-0 1-1 1 2 5 Blake 23 3-3 1-1 1-3 2 5 9 Duvancic 5 0-0 0-0 0-1 1 2 0 Totals 200 2447 1423 8-27 15 27 70 FG%: .511. FT%: .609. 3-point FG: 8-19 (Parker 3-3, Blake 2-2, Young 2-4, Hachad 1-2, Burke 0-3, Jen- nings 0-3, Maley 0-2). Blocks: 1(Burke). Steals: 5 (Hachad 3, Blake, Jennings). Turnovers: 13 (Burke 3, Blake 3, Maley 2, Duvancic 2, Jennings, Parker, Young). Technical fouls: Parker. Michigan....................32 45 - 77 Northwestern ...........40 30 - 70 At: Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL. Attendance:5,632 BIG TEN STANDINGS Team Michigan Iowa Purdue Indiana Illinois Wisconsin Minnesota Michigan State Ohio State Penn State Northwestern Conference Overall W L W L 4 0 11.6 3 0 11 3 3 0 11 3 3 1 13 3 2 2 12 3 2 2 12 4 1 2 9 5 1 3 9 7 1 3 8 7 03 5 9 0 4 8 7 Last Saturday's results: Michigan 77, NORTHWESTERN 70 Purdue 82, PENN STATE 78 MINNESOTA 77, Michigan State 69 INDIANA 74, Illinois 66 Wisconsin 53, OHIO STATE 52 DAVID KATZ/Daily Point guard Daniel Horton was stellar in Michigan's win on Saturday, scoring 19 points including this crucial layup with less than four minutes remaining in the game. center Chris Young the last Wolverine ever to wear the No. 45 jersey. Tomjanovich is sixth on the Michigan all-time scoring list with 1,039 points and holds the Crisler Arena single-game record for points with 48 and rebounds with 27. The former center has won two NBA champi- onships in his 11 years as head coach of the Houston Rockets. Two FOR THE PRICE OF ONE: For the first time since the 1999-2000 season, Michigan is being acknowledged by voters in the national polls. The Wolverines received two points in this week's Associated Press poll. No.. 25 California is 132- points ahead of Michigan, while No. 1 Arizona received 1,795 points. HUNTER Continued from Page 18 drills the guards were doing." t Hunter leads the team with 24 blocks this season, the next closest is Bernard Robinson with 12. His long arms and agility require opposing players to adjust their shot if they want to take it at the big man. Hunter has been using his defensive intensity to fuel his offen- sive production. "I'm just trying to make my defensive play turn in to more aggressiveness on the offensive end," Hunter said. "I think the better I play on the defensive end the bet- ter I play on offense. "So I'm just trying to play good defense, get rebounds and block shots." Rebounding is an area where the Wolverines greatly need Hunter's presence around the basket. Michi- gan was out-rebounded by Ohio State and Penn State. The Wolverines also tied North- western in rebounds with 27. Michi- gan relies on Hunter to use his size and agility to attack the glass. One of the keys to Hunter's rebounding success is his mental approach. "I just put it into my mind that every ball that came off that rim was mine," Hunter said. The game was a homecoming of sorts for the Gary, Ind. native. He had a handful of friends and family on hand. But Hunter, who has bought into Amaker's team philosophy, was concerned about just one thing in Horton takes over for Blue down the stretch Tomorrow's games: Ohio State at Indiana Wednesday's games: Minnesota at Michigan Penn State at Michigan State Purdue at Illinois Iowa at Wisconsin Saturday's games: Illinois at Penn State Ohio State at Iowa Indiana at Purdue Northwestem at Minnesota Sunday's games: Michigan State at Michigan 7 p.m. 8 p.m. 6 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 12:17 p.m. 1:34 p.m. 4:37 p.m. 7 p.m. 1 p.m. WILDCATS Continued from Page 1B fifth of the half and sixth of the game. He then completed his hero- ics with a stutter-step drive that led to a layup, foul and an insurmount- able eight-point Michigan lead with less than four minutes left. "Horton is a good player," North- western coach Bill Carmody said. "He hit some three's at the top when guys were with him, and he's hard to identify (on defense) all the time." The Wolverines received a terrif- ic all-around performance from center Chris Hunter. Hunter came off the bench for 10 points, five rebounds and several hustle plays to help set the tone in the second half. Blanchard also played another stellar game, scoring 19 points and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. "We came with a lot more pas- sion (in the second half), and I thought LaVell Blanchard really led the way for us," Amaker said. The 11-game winning streak is the nation's second longest, and the longest streak by a Michigan team since the 1992-93 team won 11 in a row. But technically, this is Michi- gan's longest streak since 1988, due to the forfeiture of the 1992-93 campaign. "It means a lot," Horton said. "It puts us at 4-0 and (in) first place in the conference. The two wins on the road (Northwestern and Ohio State) are especially important because it's so tough on the road in the Big Ten." The Wolverines will try to stay hot tomorrow night at 8 p.m. when they host Minnesota at Crisler Arena. Three amigos Michigan's big three of LaVell Blan- chard, Daniel Horton and Bernard Robinson Jr. combined for 52 of the team's 77 points against North- western Saturday. Here's how their numbers compare with the other top-scoring trios in the conference this season. Player PPG Michigan LaVell Blanchard 17.2 Daniel Horton 15.9 Bernard Robinson 12.6 Total 45.7 Indiana Bracey Wright 19.1 Jeff Newton 14.4 Tom Coverdale 13.1 Total 46.6 Wisconsin Kirk Penney 16.3 Devin Harris 14.9 Freddie Owens 12.9 Total 44.1 UP NEXT: DAVID KATZ/Daily Michigan center Chris Hunter goes up for a shot against Northwestern on Saturday. Hunter's all-around game was a huge factor in the Wolverines' big road victory. Evanston. "I just wanted to get the 1lth- straight win for Michigan," Hunter said. "It didn't matter what family was here, I was just trying to win for Michigan." MINNESOTA An inconsistent Golden Gophers team will be looking to build on a 77-69 win over Michigan State on Saturday. Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Rick Rickert leads Min- nesota with 14.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. NEXT WEEKEND: MICHIGAN STATE The wacky Big Ten schedule means Michigan and Michigan State will face off just once, next Sunday at Crisler Arena. In a reversal of for- tunes, the Spartans will enter the game struggling, currently 1-3 in the Big Ten with a 1-4 record on the road for the season. 'M' STATS -r-- WEEKEND NOTES HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED No. 12 MARYLAND 87, No. 3 DUKE 72: Maryland exposed the Blue Devils on Saturday. The Terrapins (10-4), behind the play of Drew Nicholas, handed Duke (12-1) its first loss of the season. Nicholas poured in 24 points in the win. Duke, which had won 14 of the last 17 games at Maryland, all played at Cole Field House. Apparently the Terps like their new home of the Comcast Center better. No. 8 KENTUCKY 88, No. 16 NOTRE DAME 73: Kentucky slapped the Fighting Irish (14- 3) around in Rupp Arena thanks in part to the defensive play of guard duo Gerald Fitch and Cliff Hawkins.c The two shut down Notre Dame Drew CUT 65: North Carolina (11-5) has been hot and cold this season, riding the shoulders of freshman stars Raymond Felton and Rashaad McCants. The Huskies (11-2) got their first lead of the game when the human-shot-blocking-machine Emeka Okafor slamed home a dunk off a fast break with 1:16 left in the game, making the score 65-64. North Carolina became just the second program in college basketball, after Kentucky, to win over 1,800 games. No. 14 INDIANA 84, No. 18 ILLINoIS 66: The Illini found out just how good Jeff Newton is Saturday. While Illinois (13-3) has Brian Cook, the Team 1. Arizona 2. Pittsburgh 3. Duke 4. Texas 5. Florida 6. Kansas 7. Oklahoma 8. Kentucky 9. Louisville 10. Creighton 11. Connecticut 12. Maryland 13. Oklahoma State Record 13-1 14-1 12-1 12-2 15-2 13-3 12-3 13-3 12-1 16-1 11-3 10-4 14-1 This weekend's results Beat UCLA 87-52 Beat Syracuse 73-60 Lost to No. 10 Maryland 87-72 Beat Texas A&M 89-61 Beat South Carolina 77-75 Beat Kansas State 81-64 Beat Texas Tech 69-64 (ot) Beat No. 16 Notre Dame 88-73 Beat TCU 87-74 Beat Illinois State 95-82 Lost to Miami 77-76 Beat No. 3 Duke 87-72 Beat No. 21 Missouri 76-56 Player Blanchard Horton Robinson Abram Brown G 17 17 16 17 17 Min 31.6 34.9 31.4 30.9 18.9 A 1.1 4.5 3.1 1.1 0.6 Reb 7.1 2.6 5.9 3.8 4.5 Pts. 17.2 15.9 12.6 9.4 5.5 I .