The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 1, 2003 - 5B Talkin' the talk YESTERDAY'S GAME Players of the game "A lot of people don't understand - two years ago, we would have lost this game." - Michigan senior Bernard Robinson on pulling out yesterday's close contest with Butler. The forward has been one of the only constants during the team's recent growth. Michigan . Butler 61 60 (OT) Mike Monserez (Butler) Monserez shot 5-for-.3 from three-point range en route to a team-high 23 points. Daniel Horton (Michigan) Despite Michigan's second-half free- throw problems, Horton stayed poised and hit four huge free throws down the stretch and in overtime. Blue abandons half-court trap lateingame By Chris Burke and Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writers INDIANAPOLIS - Michigan came out yesterday hoping to follow up on its first two games, in which the Wolverines forced Oakland and High Point into a combined 38 turnovers. The Wolverines opted to utilize a half- court trap in the first half of the game, applying double teams to the Bulldogs' point xo'x guards. The strategy brought both good and bad for Michigan. On the positive side, the Wolverines forced 12 first-half turnovers from the Bulldogs, but in return, Butler was able to get several open 3-point looks. Fortunately for Michigan, the shots failed to fall, as Butler finished the first 20 min- utes just 4-of-19 from behind the arc. "We thought they would eventually make some of the threes they were taking in the first half," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "Certainly, we were doing a lot of trapping and doubling - they were getting some open shots." In response to those uncontested looks, Amaker opted to drop the Wolverines out of the half-court trap. Michigan played much of the second half in straight man- to-man defense or a 2-3 zone. "We tried to be a little more conserva- tive (in the second half)," Amaker said. "I don't know if that was the right decision, but I thought it helped us down the stretch because we felt we were fairly fresh." Butler committed just four turnovers in the second half and overtime, and finished the game 9-of-33 on 3-pointers. CONSEC-No: The fans were standing and cheering throughout the game, but some- thing was missing for Butler. Being forced to transplant themselves from their cozy Hinkel Fieldhouse, the 6,148 in attendance looked like a small force in downtown Indianapolis inside Conseco Fieldhouse, the home of the Indi- ana Pacers. The third decks were draped over on both sides of the arena, and the fans were just able to fill the lower deck and parts of the second deck, making the venue seem very out of place. In order to secure just a home-and-home against Michigan, Butler used Conseco as a recruiting tool to drag in the Wolverines, who could use the game as practice for when they have to return in mid-March for TONY DING/Daily Michigan wing Bernard Robinson takes a jumpshot during last night's game. The Wolverines played more conservative defense down the stretch, dropping out of their half-court trap. Wolverines prove they can win ugly NDIANAPOLIS - There are those incredibly well- played, error-free athletic contests about which tele- vision announcers love to say, "You'd hate to see either team lose a game like this." This wasn't one of those games. Butler shot 38 percent, missed 24 3-pointers and scored just three baskets inside the are in the first half. Michigan turned the ball over CHRIS 21 times, shot under 70 percent BURKE from the free-throw line and posted a mere 20 points in the Goin' to Work second half ... and won. But when the Wolverines look back on yesterday's hard-fought, if not somewhat ugly matchup with the Bulldogs, they'll take away more than just a key non- conference victory. If there's anything that the Wolverines should have learned, it's that, in spite of defensive lapses and forced shots and seemingly endless field-goal droughts, they have the ability to win ugly. It's not an easy lesson. It's definitely not a lesson that comes from destroying a team like High Point by 35. It won't come in practice or in film sessions. The only way to learn how to win games like last night's is to do it. "I was really impressed with the toughness of our kids to battle through a lot of difficult things that hadn't happened to us this year," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. And the fact that the Wolverines can finally face adversity and come out smiling says something in itself. "I don't know if a lot of people understand," Michi- gan senior Bernard Robinson said. "Two years ago, we would have lost this game - a lot of things would've happened that would've went against us. For us to come out this victory in a way like that shows a lot about this team." Okay. So this year's Wolverines have quickly proven that they can win any type of ballgame. Consider lesson number one learned. Lesson number two is that this team has a long way to go. Last night's performance was, at times, nasty. Give some credit to Butler, a Sweet-16 team from last year that played hard in front of its home fans. But don't forget to give some credit to the fact that it's just three games into Michigan's season, and the Wolverines will be the first to tell you that they are far from perfect. "You can learn something from every game," Michi- gan center Graham Brown said. "But tonight we have a couple more things that you can see came out - you're going to learn more stuff in closer games." We won't have to wait long to see how much the Wolverines have taught themselves. A very good North Carolina State team comes to Ann Arbor tomorrow. Then, Michigan has to venture into Vanderbilt to battle with a much-improved Commodore team Satur- day. It's not going to be an easy week to take study breaks. "We're going to work real hard (today), and just do the best we can and hope for the best," said Brown of this week's tough schedule. "We'll prepare ourselves as much as we can."' In that preparation, while the Wolverines will tell you that they can get better in all facets of the game, there are certainly places where the focus will land. Michigan's big man trio of Brown, Chris Hunter and Courtney Sims looked like they had a huge advantage against a Butler squad with one player over 6-foot-8. Amaker went so far after the game as to say that he expected Michigan to impose its will on the Bulldogs inside. But the Wolverines' three behemoths snagged just five rebounds combined in the game, one less than Michigan point guard Daniel Horton. The Wolverines' were 5-of-l 1 from the free-throw line in the second half, including three misses from Robinson and two from wingman Lester Abram, two of the team's best from the charity stripe. Horton and fellow guard Dion Harris, the two run- ning Michigan's offense from the point guard spot, combined for 10 turnovers. But ... Michigan won. When it comes right down to it, at the end of the game, the scoreboard showed Michigan with one more point than the host Bulldogs. And if the Wolverines are truly going to be a threat to make it to the NCAA Tournament, no lesson that Michigan will learn the rest of the year will be any more important than yesterday's: a win is a win is a win. Chris Burke can be reached at chrisbur@umich.edu. Lightfoot Monserez James Horan Sheets Parker Ligon Gardner Crone Smalligan Brooks TEAM Totals YESTERDAY' S GAME Michigan (6) FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS Hunter 27 2-4 6-7 1-2 1 4 10 Sims 16 3-3 0-0 1-1 0 0 6 Abram 30 2-5 2-4 0-2 4 4 7 Horton 40 4-10 4-4 1-6 2 3 16 Robinson 36 4-11 3-7 0-8 1 2 11 Harris 32 3-7 0-0 1-4 3 3 7 Harrell 1 0-00-00-0000 Petway 17 1-1 0-0 1-5 0 1 2 Brown 21 1-2 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 Mathis 5 0-0 0-0 1-1 1 1 0 Team 2-4 Totals 225 204315-229-351319 61 FG%: .465. FT%: .682. 3-point FG: 6-17, .353 (Horton 4-7, Abram 1-3, Harris 1-4, Robinson 0-3). Blocks: 0 Steals: 9 (Harris 3, Sims 2, Abram, Horton, Robinson, Brown). Tunovers: 21 (Hortonn6, Harris 4, Robinson 3, Hunter 3, Sims 2, Abram 2, Brown). Tech- nical fouls: Horton. BUTLER (60) FG%: .385. FT%: .733. 3-point FG: 9-33 (Monserez 5-13, Horan 3-9, Sheets 1-4, Smalligan 0-3, Lightfoot 0-1, Parker 0-1, Crone 0-1, Brooks 0-1). Blocks: 0. Steals: 6 (Monserez 2, Horan 2, Lightfoot, Crone). Turovers:16 (Monserez 5, Lightfoot 4, Sheets 3, Parker 2, Gardner, Brooks). Techni- cal fouls: none. Michigan.................32 Butler......................23 20 - 61 29 - 60 At: Conseco FieldhouseIndianapolis, IN Attendance: 6,148 BIG TEN STANDINGS Team Purdue Wisconsin Illinois Iowa Michigan Michigan State Penn State Minnesota Indiana Northwestern Ohio State Conference Overall W L W L 0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 - - 0 0 3 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 2 FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS 40 2-5 3.4 4.7 9 4 7 43 7-19 4-4 1-4 3 1 23 12 1-1 1-3 0-1 0 2 3 40 3-9 2-2 0-1 1 2 11 41 3-7 0-0 0-1 3 4 7 7 0-1 00 0-0 00 0 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 17 3-4 0-0 1-3 0 0 6 19 1-5 1-2 1-4 0 5 3 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2-5 225 20.5211-159261618 60 the Big Ten Tournament. Otherwise, as a small school from the Horizon League, Butler would have likely had to play two games at Crisler Arena in subsequent years to get the game scheduled. "We'll certainly have fond memories of returning to this great arena here, and that was one of the reasons we wanted to come and play," Amaker said. "I'm not sure we would schedule Butler again in that sce- nario, but they gave us a fine performance in terms of their play." Low POINT?: In Wednesday's game against High Point, the Wolverines blitzed the Panthers early and often, jumping out BULLDOGS Continued from Page 1B Bulldogs held for the last shot, bu best shot the Bulldogs could get w fadeaway 3-pointer near the sidelin Mike Monserez. Despite their struggles offensi the Wolverines had the lead for mo the game as Butler was unable t nearly anything from behind the The Bulldogs went 4-of-19 froi point land in the first half and 4-o in the second half, as they were ab pass the ball around the perimet gain a number of open shots. But Michigan was unable to cai ize, as it could not create the quick kets it had its last few games. Wolverines also could not get anyt going inside the paint against an in or Bulldog frontline. This cat Amaker to change toward a more letic lineup as Bernard Robinson Brent Petway received significant7 utes in the second half after not re ing them in the first. "We were hoping that we c impose our will on them and use size, but we went the other w Amaker said. "We felt that we ha match up with eventually with perimeter players and their shoote wasn't a great night for some of post players to contribute as muc to a 21-2 lead within the first eight min- utes and never looking back. Michigan led the contest 47-19 at the half thanks mostly to its defensive intensity. "We weren't prepared for their defensive pressure," High Point coach Bart Lundy said "In the first half; they took us out of everything we wanted to do." It was more of the same after the break. High Point hit a three to start the second half, cutting Michigan's lead to 25, but the Wolverines' defense proved to be too much. The Panthers were held scoreless over a nine-minute span in the half while the Wolverines coasted to a 84-49 victory. they normally would." Horton and fellow guard Dion Harris were the only Wolverines to pull down t the more than one rebound in the first half, vas a and starting forwards Chris Hunter and ie by Courtney Sims finished with just five combined field goals. vely, "It's always tough going against st of guys with a lower center of gravity," o hit Hunter said. "They do a good job of arc. getting up under you. (The Bulldogs) n 3- were doing a good job helping, because )f-11 sometimes our perimeter players didn't le to want to throw it in there." er to Michigan now must regroup quickly before it will face North Carolina State pital- tomorrow at Crisler Arena in the Big bas- Ten/ACC Challenge. Sunday's results: MICHIGAN , Butler MICHIGAN STATE 89, DePaul 81 MINNESOTA 91, Furman 84 Today's games: Northwestern at Florida State 7 p.m. Tomorrow's games: Indiana at Wake Forest 7 p.m. North Carolina St. at Michigan 7:30 p.m: Wisc. Green-Bay at Iowa 8:05 p.m. Illinois at North Carolina 9 p.m. Wisconsin at Maryland 9:30 p.m. Wednesday's games: Georgia Tech at Ohio State 7 p.m. Cleveland State at Penn State 7:30 p.m. Clemson at Purdue 7:30 p.m. Bucknell at Northwestern 8 p.m. Duke at Michigan State 9 p.m. Minnesota at Virginia 9 p.m. Saturday's games: Arkansas at Illinois 12 p.m. Oklahoma at Michigan State 12 p.m. Northwestern at Bowling Green 1 p.m. Virginia Tech at Ohio State 2 p.m. Western Illinois at Minnesota 2 p.m. Penn State at Pittsburgh 4 p.m. Missouri at Indiana 4 p.m. Detroit at Wisconsin 8 p.m. Michigan at Vanderbilt 9 p.m. The i:ng iferi- used ath- and min- ceiv- ould our ray " ad to their rs. It f our ch as GIVING THANKS Michigan 84, High Point 49 Before Wednesday's gamne, coach TomBy Amaker promised to give the players a day off on Thanksgiving if they performed well against the lan- thers. The team respponded, After an 834-49 rout, the Wolverines were free to eat their turkey in peace. High Point was coming off of a strong showing against the Clemson Tigers ust two nights before. The Panthers Ioat 88-81 in that contest. "I am very impressed by the way our kids approached this game," Amaker said. "We wanted to get out of the blocks and play well, and I think we did that tonight." UP NEXT: JASON COOPER/Daily Michigan guard Daniel Horton, left, and center Courtney Sims chase down Butler guard Avery Sheets. The Wolverines forced 16 turnovers in their overtime win. WEEKEND NOTES HoW THE AP TOP 25 FARED GEORGIA TECH 77, No. 1 CONNECTICUT 66: Connecticut couldn't make it out of the Preseason NIT with its number one ranking. On Wednesday, the Yellow Jackets used an up-tempo style of offense and a hounding defense to hault the Huskies. Connecticut was held to just 37.9 percent shooting from the field, going 25-for-66. D Emeka Okafor, the leading vote-getter for B the preseason All-America team, was nursing a sore back and was held to just nine points and 13 rebounds for Con- necticut (4-1). The junior still managed upset win. Kenneth Lowe, the 2003 Big Ten Defensive Play- er of the Year, sparked the Boilermakers with 22 points and was named the tournament MVP. Freshman Luel DGeig and sophomore Sheldon Williams led Duke with 15 points each. No. 5 MISSoURI 90, OAKLAND 85: The Gold- en Grizzlies hung tough with the Tigers, cutting the Missouri lead to just one with * a less than three minutes left. Team 1. Connecticut 2. Duke 3. Michigan State 4. Arizona 5. Missouri 6. Kansas 7. Syracuse 8. Florida 9. North Carolina 10. Kentucky 11. Texas Record 4-1 3-1 3-1 1-1 1-0 2-0 1-1 2-0 3-0 2-0 3-0 This weekend's results Beat Utah 76-44 Lost to Purdue 78-68 Beat DePaul 89-81 Lost to No. 8 Florida 78-77 Beat Oakland 90-85 No game Beat Rhode Island 69-65 Beat No. 4 Arizona 78-77 Beat Cleveland St. 82-76 Beat Tennessee Tech 108-81 Beat Centenary 94-59 Julius Hodge AP PHOTO enham rown AP PHOTO NORTH CAROLINA TATE The Wolfpack storm into Ann Arbor on Tuesday as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Junior