The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 8, 2003 - 5B
Talkin' the talk
"It just comes down to toughness; they
just wanted it more than us."
- Michigan sophomore Graham Brown on Michigan's lack
of physical play on the interior. The Wolverines were out
rebounded by the Commodores 42-24.
SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan 63
e Vanderbilt 83
Players of the game
Matt Freije
(Vanderbilt)
The do-everything forward (and
favorite of TV announcers), Freije
posted 22 points and six boards.
Bernard Robinson
(Michigan)
Robinson was one of the few bright
spots for the Wolverines, leading
Michigan's offense with 14 points.
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YESTERDAY'S GAME
Michigan (63)
FG. FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Hunter 12 1-2 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
Sims 19 3-4 2-5 1-1 0 4 8
Abram 31 2-5 5-6 0-1 1 4 9
Horton 21 2-11 0-0 0-0 1 3 5
Robinson 35 4-11. 5-6 0-2 4 2 14
Harris 27 2-6 0-0 0-2 2 1 5
Harrell 4 0-1 0-2 0-1 1 0 0
Petway 19 2-3 0-0 0-4 0 3 4
Brown 9 1-2 1-1 1-2 0 3 3
Mathis 21 5-8 1-2 2-3 1 2 13
Dill 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 00 0
Team 3-6
Totals 200 22-5314229-24 1022 63
FG%: .415. FT%: .636. 3-point FG: 5-20,
.250 (Mathis 2-4, Robinson 1-2, Harris 1-4,
Horton 1-6, Sims 0-1, Harrell 0-1, Abram 0-
2). Blocks: 7 (Petway 3, Sims 2, Robinson,
Hunter). Steals: 8 (Robinson 4, Sims 2, Har-
ris 2). Turnovers: 13 (Harris 3, Abram 2,
Hunter 2, Horton 2, Petway 2, Robinson,
Brown). Technical fouls: none.
VANDERBILT (83)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Terrell 14 4-4 2-3 0-2 0 4 10
Freije 28 7-15 7-10 3-6 2 2 22
Smith 28 3-5 0-00-4528
Moore 22 3-9 0-00-1 3 2 7
Holwerda 20 1-3 1-2 0-4 3 1 3
Payton 15 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 1 3
Lakey 21 0-2 3-3 0-3 2 0 3
Przyby. 12 2-6 0-0 1-4 0 4 6
Cage 3 0-00-00-0000
Hundley 20 5-7 3-3 5-8 2 1 13
Schnedlitz 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2
Skuchas 14 2-4 2-3 2-3 1 3 6
TEAM 6-7
Totals 200 29-5818-2417422020 83
FG%: .500. FT%: .750. 3-point FG: 7-18
(Smith 2-2, Przyby. 2-4, Payton 1-1, Freije 1-
4, Moore 1-4, Holwerda 0-1, Lakey 0-1, Hund-
fey 0-1). Blocks: 3 (Smith 2, Freije). Steals:
6 (Hundley 2, Freije, Smith, Holwerda,
Lakey). Turovers:14 (Moore 4, Lakey 2,
Skuchas 2, Terrell, Freije, Smith, Holwerda,
Hundley, Schnedlitz). Technical fouls: none.
Inexpenence hinders inside game
By Daniel Bremmer
Daily Sports Writer
NASHVILLE - Sporting a youthful
nine-man rotation that featured just two
upperclassmen, Michigan had done a
tremendous job of not looking like a
young team through its first four
games.
Then, the Wolverines entered Memor-
ial Gym.
Vanderbilt uncovered Michigan's
inexperience time and time again en
route to an easy 83-63 victory Saturday
night in Nashville.
"Tonight exposed us in a lot of
ways," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker
said. "In terms of our youth, I think it
was obvious. In terms of our strength
under the backboard, I think it was
obvious. Those two things go hand in
hand."
All night, Michigan was outbattled on
the boards - something that it had
never had to deal with earlier this sea-
son. Heading into the game, the Wolver-
ines had outboarded their opponents in
each of their first four games by an
average margin of 11.5 rebounds.
But on Saturday, Vanderbilt senior
Matt Freije hit the boards hard, throwing
around his 6-foot-10, 249-pound frame
to collect six boards in his 28 minutes.
Juniors Dawid Przybyszewski (7-foot-
2, 253 pounds) and Corey Smith (6-
foot-6, 234) also banged for four boards
apiece. While those numbers may not be
amazing, Vanderbilt's big men made
their presence felt by keeping Michigan
away from the ball whenever it came off
the rim.
"We rebounded great out there," Van-
derbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "We
were very aggressive, which was a
theme for us before the game - to be
the aggressors."
Michigan's youth was also evident in
its struggle to get anything going offen-
sively. The Commodores effectively
double-teamed the low post all night,
forcing Michigan to launch from the
perimeter - but the shots didn't fall.
The Wolverines continued to struggle
with their mid-range jumpers in the sec-
ond half while Vanderbilt went on its
game-breaking run. -
"I thought this team was going to be
a good shooting team, and we'll
become a good shooting (team) at
some point, but we haven't displayed
that yet," Amaker said.
The Cohmodores were especially
tough on Michigan freshman Courtney
Sims. At 6-foot-11, with a wingspan
four inches more than his height, Sims
had successfully been able to work one-
on-one against post players in Michi-
gan's previous games.
The center, who had been shooting
65 percent coming into Saturday's
game, struggled to get good looks at
the basket. Sims had a distressed look
on his face several times after the Van-
derbilt defense forced him into numer-
ous tough passes to get the ball back
outside.
When the Wolverines did get the ball
out to the perimeter, they were quick to
pull the trigger on jumpers instead of
looking for penetration into the lane.
"We definitely could've made some
extra passes (on the perimeter)," Michi-
gan wing Bernard Robinson said. "We
were looking to take it a little bit too
much one-on-one out there."
Amaker knows that his team will need
to run its offense more efficiently and
keep opponents off the glass-in future
outings.
"We can't not score in the post and
not shoot in the perimeter, and not keep
them off the backboard on the other
end," Amaker said.
"When you're looking at it that way,
it's (going to be) a one-sided game, and
it was."
Michigan.................33
Vanderbilt................40
30 - 63
43 - 83
At: Memorial Gym, Nashville
Attendance: 12,817
TOP 10
Each week, The Michigan Daily
sports staff will conduct a poll to
determine the top 10 teams in
the nation. Here are the results
from this week:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Florida (8)
Duke (1)
Connecticut
North Carolina (2)
Missouri (1)
Kentucky (1)
Texas (1)
Kansas
Arizona
Stanford (1)
TONY DING/Daily
Michigan's Courtney Sims had trouble finding room all night long.
Arena, Horton injury too
much for 'M' to overcome
By Daniel Bremmer and Dan Rosen
Daily Sports Writers
NASHVILLE - They don't call it the "Hoops
House of Horrors" for nothing.
Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym is unique in many
ways.
It's elevated about three feet
off ground level. The team
benches are on the baseline
rather than the sideline. The 0
crowd is divided into four sec-
tions, one behind each basket
and one behind each sideline,
eliminating all four corners of seating.
But the most distinctive characteristic of
Memorial Gym? It gets loud. And the louder it
got on Saturday, the tougher things got on Michi-
gan.
"They have a great crowd, energy-wise,
which probably made them play a little harder
than they usually do too," freshman forward
Brent Petway said.
The crowd became a factor about six-and-a-
half minutes into the second half, after Michigan
had battled to within eight points to cut the Com-
modore lead to 54-46.
Vanderbilt big man Ted Skuchas got the ball on
the right block and took it up strong to the hoop.
Michigan wing Bernard Robinson hedged down
from the foul line, elevated and sent the shot back
at the 6-foot- 1I center, who was able to retain
possession. Skuchas went up again, this time
against Michigan forward Graham Brown.
P l IfC and fin
W IViChris
Continued from Page 1B the Van
in the paint and earned repeated with a t
trips to the foul line. second
He hit a game-high seven on the But t
night. got the
As a team, the Commodores The t
1h hauled in 17 offensive rehnnds with a
This time, Skuchas sent the ball down with
authority over the 6-foot-9 sophomore and was
fouled in the process, sending the Memorial Gym
crowd into a foundation-rattling frenzy.
Skuchas was able to capitalize on the free throw
to push Vanderbilt's lead to 11, and the Com-
modores never looked back.
Vanderbilt's lead grew from 11 (57-46) to 20
(70-50) over the next six minutes, as Michigan
missed all five of its field-goal attempts over that
span.
"They had a deep crowd, a loud crowd," Robin-
son said. "Whenever you're playing at someone
else's home and they're winning, it's always afac-
tor no matter where you're at."
RE-AGGRAVATED: Sophomore Daniel Horton
wore a bandage on his right knee through Michi-
gan's pregame shootaround. He bumped his knee
in practice earlier this week, and it still hadn't
healed.
But when the point guard walked onto the
Memorial Gym floor for the start of the game, the
wrap was gone.
"I just wanted to go at the beginning of the first
half and play before it got a chance to stiffen up
really bad," Horton said. "When I got out there, I
was able to go and play, but I wasn't 100 percent"
Midway through the first stanza, Horton
banged the knee again. After which, he laid
almost motionless underneath the Michigan bas-
ket as play moved down the court the other way.
It took forwards Amadou Ba and Colin Dill to
lift the sophomore off of the court.
Horton missed the rest of the first half, but came
First-place votes in parentheses
Other teams receiving votes:
Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Purdue,
Wake Forest, Gonzaga
BIG TEN STANDINGS
Conference Overall
Team WL W L
Iowa 0 0 6 0
Purdue 0 0 6 0
Illinois 0 0 4 1
Michigan 0 0 4 1
Wisconsin 0 0 4 1
Northwestern 0 0 4 3
Minnesota 0 0 3 2
Penn State 0 0 3 2
Michigan State 0 0 3 3
Ohio State 0 0 3 3
Indiana 0 0 2 3
Saturday's results:
VANDERBILT 83, Michigan 63
IOwA 65, Northern Illinois 57
WISCoNSIN 68, Detroit 42
Missouri 63, INDIANA 58
PURDUE 75, Chicago State 57
OHIO STATE 62, Virginia Tech 57
PITTSBURGH 64, Penn State 37
Northwestern 77, BOWLING GREEN 60
Oklahoma 80, MICHIGAN STATE 77 (oT)
ILLINoIS 84, Arkansas 61
TONY DING/Daily
Point guard Daniel Horton is examined after Injuring his knee during the first half of Michigan's loss to
Vanderbilt on Saturday. Horton returned In the second half and played 21 total minutes.
out to start the second. He finished with just five
points on 2-for-11 shooting in 21 minutes of action.
"It's pretty bad right now, but I'll be alright,"
said Horton after the game.
GREAT Scor: Vanderbilt got a big boost from
its entire bench, which totaled 33 points, but it got
its biggest contribution from reserve guard Scott
Hundley.
The 6-foot-4 senior dropped in 13 points on 5-
for-7 shooting and added eight rebounds for the
Commodores.
"He's the reboundingest son-of-a-gun for a
guy that is 6-foot-4," Vanderbilt coach Kevin
Stallings said.
Hundley credited his rebounding skill to his
high school days, where he used to play the post
and said he developed a "good feel" for where the
ball would come off the rim.
"It gives me a big advantage over other perime-
ter players," he said.
Tomorrow's games:
Providence vs. Illinois
Iowa at Northern Iowa
Long Beach St. at Minnesota
UP NEXT:
6 p.m.
7 p.m.
7 p.m.
ished with five points.
Hunter helped Michigan cut
nderbilt lead to five, 40-35,
two-handed flush early in the
half-
hat was as close as the team
rest of the way.
Commodores stormed ahead
1 4-6 run. Dawid Przv-
HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED
Team
1. Kansas
2. Florida
3. Connecticut
4. Missouri
5. Michigan State
6. Duke
7. Arizona
Record
3-1
5-0
6-1
3-0
3-3
5-1
2-1
This weekend's results
Lost to Stanford 64-58
Beat Stetson 74-61
Beat Army 74-46
Beat Indiana 63-58
Lost to Oklahoma 80-77 (ot)
Beat St. John's 79-58
Beat St. Louis 68-67
This week's games
Fort Hays State; Oregon
Maryland; at Louisville
Quinnipiac
at Gonzaga
Kentucky
Duke
vs. Texas; Marquette
Sim£7 Wt.