The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 9, 2002 - 5B Talkin' the talk "They haven't won yet, but they're on the verge of starting to win.' - Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on where he believes Tommy Amaker's Michigan program is at this point in the season. SATURDAY'S GAME. Michigan 59 Duke81 Players of the game Chuck Bailey (Michigan) Sophomore Chuck Bailey had 11 points and three rebounds off the bench on 5-of-6 shoot- ing. Daniel Ewing (Duke) Sophomore Daniel Ewing had 17 points, eight rebounds and four steals in 33 minutes for the Blue Devils. Spirit of giving hurting Blue Cagers can't handle Duke press as they commit 25 turnovers By Seth Klempner Daily Sports Writer DURHAM, N.C. - Before the game on Saturday, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski made sure his dogs were in the house. Then he unleashed them on the Wolverines, implementing a trap that bewildered and confused Michigan throughout the entire first half of the game. This tenacious Duke defense led to 19 turnovers and 10 steals in the first 20 minutes. Michigan finished the game with a season-high 25 turnovers. With the Blue Devils up by 19 at halftime, Krzyzewski called off the dogs, only occasionally running a full-court press for the rest of the game. With more room to bring the ball up court, Michigan committed just six turnovers in the second half en-route to the 81-59 loss. Since Duke did not pressure as much, Michigan was able to use more of the shot clock and set up its offense. It also meant that the Wolverines, who ended the day without any fast-break points, would not have to try and run with the faster Blue Devils. "We were trying not to have the turnovers that would lead to fast break points (that would) get the energy of the crowd and the build- ing up and rev up their team even more," said Amaker, who played four years at-Cameron Indoor Stadi- um from 1984 to 1987. "Those were the (turnovers) that I was disap- pointed with the most.. "Those points were more than just the two points that they scored - they were demoralizing for us." The Blue Devils swiped the ball away from the Wolverines 14 times - six of which were by guard Chris Duhon. Duke was able to score 20 points off Michigan turnovers in the first half alone, while the Wolverines were only able to muster four points off six Duke turnovers. One of the more spectacular turnovers for Michigan came mid- way through the first half, when point guard Daniel Horton tried lob- bing the ball up court to an open man to break the trap. With the ball at the top of its arc, Duke senior Dahntay Jones jumped at midcourt, grabbed the ball out of midair and turned right around on the Wolver- ines defense. Many of these turnovers were caused by careless ball handling and throwing the ball into Duke players' hands, allowing for easy transition points. "We were being careless with the ball and making mental mistakes," freshman Lester Abram said. "Most turnovers are mental mistakes. When you just throw the ball to your man and they can just come and steal the ball away, that is a mental mistake." It was this ability of the Blue Devils to get in the passing lanes and break up or steal haphazard or errant passes that led to many of the Wolverines turnovers. Duke's guard corps, which is considered some of the fastest in the nation, was able to pressure Michigan's perimeter play- ers all night long. "We have been really concentrat- ing on our team defense and helping one another out," Krzyzewski said. "We are not just moving individual- ly but moving collectively. That's how you get the turnovers." LaVell Blanchard and Bernard Robinson, who were called on to help break the trap while Horton suffered from foul trouble, com- bined for 13 turnovers between them. Blanchard led the team with seven. Turnover trouble has been a prob- lem since day one for the Wolver- ines. With 25 on Saturday against Duke, Michigan is averaging just under 17 per game. The Wolverines have also been inconsistent, taking care of the ball better in some games than in others. They racked up 20 and 21 against St. Bonaventure and Western Michi- gan, respectively, but just had nine against Virginia Tech and 12 against Central Michigan. "I think for us, the most difficult part was taking care of the basket- ball," Amaker said. "For us to get ourselves going and get a chance to get our program.going, we need to value the basketball a lot more than we showed here." SATURDAY'S GAME Michigan (59) FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Abram 28 5-7 3.3 1-3 0 4 14 Horton 28 3-8 0-0 0-3 3 4 9 Robinson 30 2-9 0-0 1-5 3 2 4 Brown 26 2-2 4-7 2-7 2 4 8 Blanchard 27 4-10 0-1 1-4 2 2 9 Harrell 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Groninger 16 0-4 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Hunter 14 1-4 2-3 4-5 0 3 4 Bailey 20 5-6 1-4 1-3 1 5 11 Adebiyi 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 Totals 200 22-51 101810.321 U27 59 FG%:.431. FT%: .556.3-point FG: 5-14, .357 (Abram 1-1, Horton 3-6; Robinson 0-2, Blanchard 1- 3, Groninger 0-2). Blocks: 3 (Abram, Robinson, Hunter). Steals: 3 (Robinson 2, Hunter 1). Turnovers: 25 (Abram 3, Horton 3, Robinson 4, Brown 2, Blanchard 7, Harrell 1, Hunter 2, Bailey 2) Technical fouls: none. Dube (8K) Redick Ewing Sanders Duhon Jones Buckner Horvath Melchionni Dockery Williams Randolph Thompson Johnson Means Totals MIN 27 33 11 33 25 3 5 4 17 17 17 4 1 3 200 FG M-A 1-6 6-15 2-2 5-10 6-11 0-0 1-1 0-1 2-5 2-3 4-6 0-0 0-0 0.1 29.61 FT REB M-A 0-T A FP 0-0 2-7 1 3. 4-5 4-8 0 0 0-0 1-3 0 2 4-6 1-3 5 0 5-8 1-3 2 2 00 0-0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0-1 2-3 0 0 1-2 1-1 2 4 1-2 2-3 0 4 3-4 1-5 2 4 2-2 0-0 0 2 0-2 0-0 0 1 0- 0-2 0 0 20.3216-40 12 23 PTS 3 17 4 15 17 0 2 0 5 5 11 2 0 0 81 FG%:.475. FT%: .625 3-point FG: 3-18, .167 (Redick 1-5, Ewing 1-5, Duhon 1-5, Jones 0-3,). Blocks: 5 (Jones, Williams 4). Steals: 14 (Redick 1, Ewing 4, Duhon 6, Horvath 1, Dockery 1, Randolph 1). Turnovers: 13 (Redick, Ewing 3, Sanders, Duhon 2. Dockery, Williams 3, Randolph, Johnson). Techni- cal fouls: none. Michigan...........25 34 - 59 Michigan...........44 3,7 - 81 At: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, N.C. Attendance: 9,314 BIG TEN STANDINGS TONY DING/ Daily Duke junior Chris Duhon rockets a cross-court pass in the key past Michigan senior LaVell Blanchard. Duhon finished with 15 points, five assists and six steals. Team Indiana Illinois Minnesota Iowa Wisconsin Purdue Northwestern Michigan State Ohio State Penn State Michigan Conference Overall W L W L 0 0 6 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 5 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 4 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 2 0-0 0 5 0 0 0 6 Bailey provides unexpected spark By Charles Paradis Daily Sports Writer Michigan's Chuck Bailey scored 11 points off the bench. DURHAM, N.C. - Coming in to Sati game against Duke, Michigan forward C Bailey was averaging just over nine minutes per contest this season, but against the Blue BASKETI Devils, Bailey logged 20 valu- Noteboo able minutes. Bailey had a season-high 11 points against Duke on 5-for-6 shooting.I important as the minutes and points Bailed vided were, he also provided a spark c bench for the Wolverines. Michigan freshman Graham Brown sta: center for the Wolverines and was another tional leader against the Blue Devils. E dropped in eight points and pulled down a high seven rebounds. "I thought Chuck gave us a lot of ens coach Tommy Amaker said. "I was really p with Chuck and Graham. I thought both BLUE DEVILS Continued from Page 1B Duhon, who left the game early 1 because of a wrist injury, shined on; defense for the Blue Devils, collecting' six steals. The junior also starred on the; offensive end by scoring 15 points and1 five assists.1 Duhon could have had more points,1 but he unselfishly laid the ball off to his teammates many times, including1 Jones, who pleased the crowd with spectacular wind-mill dunks.1 "(Duhon) has shown great leader- ship, and even today in how he was passing on the break," Mike Krzyzews- kids competed and played very hard. They stayed within themselves. Sometimes it is very difficult to do that in this type of environment, where you can easily come unglued at the seams. That is something we were very concerned about - if we could keep things in a semblance of order. And I thought those kids, more than anybody else on our team, were doing that the best." Bailey shined for the Wolverines, thanks, in part, to his energy. All season long, Bailey has provided energy from the bench, and against Duke, it was no different. "I just came in with the appetite that 'we just got to go at these guys and get a good start',' Bailey said. "We came in with a lot of confi- dence, a lot of poise and patience. "I just try to be the spark off the bench or in the starting lineup to give our team energy. That way we can get rolling." TROUBLESOME FOULS: Part of the reason Bailey got off the bench early was because Michigan freshman Lester Abram picked up a pair of fouls in the game's opening minutes. The talented swingman could do nothing but watch for most of the first half as the Wolverines fell behind. "That was real frustrating, because I know I could have been out there helping my team," Abram said. "It was frustrating being on the bench with two quick, quick fouls." Michigan had problems with fouls in the first half, as all of its starters picked up at least two fouls and point guard Daniel Horton collected three on his own. This pressured the Wolverines in to playing walk-on Sherrod Harrell at the point, but more often than not it was jonior - Bernard Robinson who brought up the ball.'The loss of Horton led to several of the Wolverines' 19 turnovers in the first half. Amaker said Duke's quickness, especially on the perimeter, and Michigan's foul trouble, dug itself a hole the Wolverines could not get out of. "For us, the most difficult part was trying to take care of the basketball," Amaker said. "We had foul trouble with our point guard, Daniel Horton, and that really put us in a bind right away." Tomorrow's games: Minnesota vs. Arkansas-LR N. Iowa at Iowa Penn State at Clemson Eastern Illinois at Illinois Wednesday's games: Bowling Green vs. Michigan Temple at Penn State New Hampshire at Wisconsin 8 p.m. 8:05 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 8 p.m. 7 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 8 p.m. Last Saturday's results: Duke 81f Michigan 59 Indiana 91, Illinois-Chicago 62 Wisconsin 91, UNLV 74 Iowa 63, Southern Mississippi 63 Illinois 62, Arkansas 58 Purdue 95, San Diego 65 Northwestern 62, Bowling Green 60 Ohio State 71, Tennessee Tech 64 Pittsburgh 82, Penn State 60 Yesterday's games: Michigan State 79, Cleveland State 47 Minnesota vs. Nebraska ToDAY's games: Vanderbilt at Indiana BURKE Continued from Page 1B toward winning next year for this team.. The rotation in 2003-04 will likely feature one senior (Bernard Robin- son), two juniors (Chuck Bailey and transfer J.C. Mathis) and a combina- tion of 10 sophomores or freshmen. No, Michigan didn't beat Duke on Saturday, and no, they are not a bad enough team to be 0-6 right now. But, believe it or not, there are some posi- tives developing in this season. Center Graham Brown is slowly beginning to look like he belongs in the post. Bailey's play has not only earned him a place on the court, but also made that scenario unavoidable if the Wolverines are to be successful. Freshmen Daniel Horton and Lester Abram are taking on the look of a four-year starting backcourt. There is talent here - more than 0-6 talent. Add in new faces like Mathis, Dion Harris, Brent Petway and Courtney Sims and then-eligible Amadou Ba next year, and Michigan - if the NCAA allows it - becomes a postseason threat next year, no doubt about it. "They haven't won yet," Krzyzews- ki said. "But they're on the verge of starting to win." In the meantime, Amaker and Michigan fans can take heart in the fact that, even for the greatest of col- lege basketball minds in Coach K, it didn't click right away. Michigan needs stability and a coach willing to devote himself to making this program great again. Amaker brings both of those quali- ties, and deserves more than a full season and six games to prove what he can do, just like Coach K has done at Duke. ki. "He probably could have scored about three or four more buckets on his own but he is always looking for some- body else. He wants these guys to get going." Despite the loss, even Krzyzewski gave credit to the Wolverines, especial- ly the defense which held the Blue Devils to just 17 percent from beyond the .arc. Krzyzewski repeatedly expressed his respect for Michigan and the game it played Saturday. "They haven't won yet, but I think they are on the verge of starting to win," Krzyzewski said. "They played really hard today. They had a good look on their faces, Michigan did." UP NEXT: Crazy talk The Cameron Crazies may have given Tommy Amaker a warm welcome for his return to Duke, but they weren't as kind to his players. In addition to their standard jeers, the Crazies came up with a few special ideas for the Wolverines. Many fans even held up dollar signs with Chris Webber's photo and "In Ed Martin they trust" written on it. "Show me the money" - Although this may not be completely original, it fit pretty well against Michigan. The memory of Ed Martin seemed to be fresh in the Crazies' minds. "Six games, no wins" - As the game came to a close, this seemed to be the chant of choice, as Michigan became one of the few teams in the nation to fall to 0-6. "Lester, Lester" - As Michigan's most consistent player Saturday, the Crazies never failed to constantly harrass freshman Lester Abram. Kevin Netter TONY DING/Daily The Cameron Crazies packed Cameron Indoor Stadium yesterday as the Blue Devils cruised to a 22-point win over Michigan. I BOWLING GREEN The Falcons are hurting in more ways than one after losing a nail- biter to Northwestern on Saturday. Sophomore Germain Fitch, the Fal- cons' best player, had a season- ending knee injury last week. NEXT WEEKEND: CIIARLESTON- SOUT.HERN The Buccaneers (3-1) have started strong and could give the Wolver- ines trouble when they come to town Saturday afternoon. 'M' STATS - WEEKEND NOTES HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED No. 7 Oregon 84, No. 14 Kansas 78: Oregon avenged its loss in last year's NCAA Tournament by adding another loss to Kansas' already shoddy record. Luke Ridenour led the way with 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, while Luke Jackson added 26 points and nine rebounds. The Ducks went on a 10-2 run to close out the game, with Ridenour nailing a 3-pointer and then sinking a foul shot to end it. Kirk Heinrich oaced the Jayhawks blistering 10-16 on 3-pointers. Freshman Rashaad McCants, who lead the Tarheels with 22 points, injured his ankle in the waning moments of the game. Fellow fresh- man Sean May also added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Notre Dame 98, No. 2 Texas 92: Just one night after knocking off No. 9 Maryland in the first round of the BB&T Classic on Saturday, Notre Dame knocked off the No. 2 Longhorns in yesterday'stchampi- onship game to win the tournament. Team 1. Arizona 2. Texas. 3. Alabama 4. Duke 5. Pittsburgh 6. Oklahoma 7. Oregon 8. Florida 9. Maryland 10. Indiana 11. Connecticut 12. North Carolina Record 4-0 5-0 6-0 5-0 5-0 4-1 5-0 3-1 4-2 6-0 5-0 5-2 This weekend's results Beat San Diego State 89-81 vs. Notre Dame Beat St. Bonaventure Beat Michigan 81-59 Beat Penn State 82-60 Beat Hartford 92-52 Beat No. 14 Kansas 84-78 Beat Prairie View 76-63 Beat George Washington 93-82 Beat Illinois-Chicago 91-62 Beat Wagner 97-85 Lost to No. 18 Kentucky 98-81 Player Blanchard Horton G 6 6 Min 31.5 31.7 A 1.2 2.8 Reb 6.2 3.2 Pts. 14.7 13.3