The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 2, 2004 - 5B Talkin' the talk "We only had nine assists and 18 turnovers. You can take that stat right there and probably equate that to a loss." - Michigan coach Tommy Amaker on his team's woes on the offensive end against Illinois. SATURDAY'S GAME Michigan 52 j= Illinois 67 Players of the game Luther Head (Illinois) Head scored 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the floor, and his five three-pointers quieted any runs the Wolverines tried to put together. Bernard Robinson (Michigan) Robinson led Michigan with 14 points and added six rebounds, three assists and three steals in his 34 minutes of action. Rebounding lone bright spotgA (5 ) in weak offensive showing MIN MA AY'S GAME 5 Hunter out after breaking nose in practice Robinson Brown Sims Horton Harris Harrell Petway Mathis Team Totals 34 23 19 26 29 1 21 13 5-12 2-4 1-3 2-7 0-5 0-0 3-4 1-1 FT M-A 3-4 3-5 0-0 2-3 1-2 3-4 0-0 0-2 1-2 REB O-T 5-9 2-6 3-7 0-5 0-2 0-2 0-0 0-2 1-2 2-3 A 3 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 F PTS 4 12 3 14 2 4 3 4 2 6 1 3 0 0 1 6 1 3 By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer CHAMPAIGN - Michigan couldn't hold on to the ball or put it in the basket on Saturday, but it could sure grab it off of the rim. Despite their offensive struggles, the Wolverines came out with one of their best rebounding efforts of the season against a very good rebounding team. Illinois came into the game ranked second in ~$Op the conference in both total rebounds and rebounding margin, but was out- boarded by Michigan 41-24. Michigan was able to penetrate in the early going, caus- ing problems for Illinois in the interior. Although Michigan didn't hit a 3-pointer in the first half, it kept the game close into the second half. "We always want to take it to the hoop more, and we were able to do that in the first half and get them in foul trouble," senior forward Bernard Robinson said. Michigan showed its tenacity and did an excellent job fighting for rebounds and boxing out. Before Saturday, the Wolverines had taken an edge on the glass in just two of their six conference games. They pulled down 15 offensive rebounds on Saturday, while holding the Fighting Illini to just three. But Michigan could not take advantage because of its poor shooting from all over the floor and its turnovers. "We did a pretty good job rebounding," said Lester Abram, who tied a career-high with nine rebounds and fought for the ball at times with as many as three Fighting Illini. "But you cannot just rely on rebounding - you have to put the ball in the hole sometimes." HUNTER OUT AGAIN: After coming back from knee sur- gery, sophomore forward Chris Hunter suffered another setback on Friday when junior forward J.C. Mathis acci- dentally broke Hunter's nose in practice. Hunter did not make the trip to Illinois and a timetable has not yet been set for his return. But the coaching staff is hopeful that the Gary, Ind., native will make a quick recovery. "I talked to (Hunter) last night, and it sounds like every- thing is in good shape," Amaker said. Hunter has played in just eight games this season, start- ing in five. He is averaging 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds a game. HIGH FLYING: After finding himself out of the lineup for most of the year, Brent Petway is now getting more and more time on the floor. The freshman played 21 minutes, his highest of the season, and scored six points on Saturday- His electrifying dunks seemed to be the only way the Wolverines gained any momentum. The team started to believe it could come back after his dunk with 6:51 remain- ing cut the Fighting Illini lead to six. Petway also used his leaping ability to finish second on the team with six rebounds. NOTES: Members of the "Orange Krush," the Illinois student section, lined up outside of Assembly Hall in frigid temperatures hours before the game to assure themselves courtside seats. The section recently had to tone down its cheers after being reprimanded by the Big Ten for taunting individual players . . . Michigan has now lost six straight at Assembly Hall. The last time the Wolverines won in Champaign was in 1995 . . . The last time Michigan beat Illinois was in 2000 at Crisler Arena in double-overtime . . . Michigan is now 1-5 against teams with an RPI above 50 . . . After playing four of its last five on the road, Michigan will now play five of its next seven at home. The Wolverines have just two road wins this season. 200 18-5113-2215419 17 52 FG%: .353. FT%: .591. 3-point FG: 3-18, .167 (Abram 1-6, Horton 1-6, Robinson 1-3, Harris 0-3). Blocks: 1 (Sims) Steals: 8 (Robinson 3, Harris 2, Brown, Horton, Math- is). Turnovers: 18 (Horton 4, Abram 3, Robin- son 2, Brown 2, Sims 2, Harris 2, Mathis 2, Team). Technical fouls: none. ILNOIS (67) Head Powell Augustine Williams Brown Spears McBride Randle Smith Ingram TEAM Totals MIN 36 25 22 38 32 5 15 1 14 12 FG M-A 6-10 2-4 1-2 4-13 5-11 0-2 1-3 0-0 2-4 1-2 FTI M-A 1-2 1-2 3-3 4-4 2-2 0-0 2-2 0-0 4-1 0-0 REB 0-T 0-3 0-1 1-4 0-5 1-3 0-1 0-1 0-0 1-2 0-4 A 0 2 1 5 2 0 1 0 0 2 F PTS 2 18 3 5 4 5 0 15 2 13 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 4 2 2 200 22-5113-16 3-241320 67 FG%:.431. FT%: .813.3-point FG:10-27, .370 (Head 5-8, Williams 3-9, McBride 1-3, Brown 1-5, Smith 0-1, Ingram 0-1). Blocks: 4 (Head, Williams, Smith, Ingram). Steals: 6 (Head 4, Augustine, Brown). Turnovers: 9 (Powell 2, Augustine 2, Williams 2, Head, Brown, Randle). Technical fouls: none. TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daily Michigan freshman Brent Petway slams home a rebound on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, the basket was called off due to an offensive foul before the shot. Michigan................. 25 Illinois.................. 31 27 - 52 36 - 67 Blue offensive struggles hit rock bottom in road defeat At: Assembly Hall, Champaign Attendance: 16,618 BIG TEN STANDINGS By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer CHAMPAIGN - Offensive inconsistency has been a theme hovering over Michigan this season. The Wolverines can't miss a shot for 10 minutes, and then can't make one for the next 10. On Saturday, Michigan could barely make any shots at all. "It's probably the worst shooting day I've ever had in my life," sophomore guard Lester Abram said after finishing 1-for-6 from behind the arc and 4-for-15 from the field. Abram wasn't alone. The Wolverines never got into a rhythm offensively, as they scored a season-low 52 points. This happened just three days after scoring a season-high 90 against Iowa on Wednesday. Whether it was from the free-throw line, the three-point line or anywhere else on the floor, Michigan never got comfortable in front of a sellout crowd on the road at Assem- bly Hall. "We did things too quick and out of charac- ter," senior Bernard Robinson said. "Who knows why we did those things, but we have to learn from them. When things are real hos- tile, that's the time to calm down and play as a team." Michigan finished shooting 18-for-51 from the field. That 35 percentage was the worst the Wolverines have shot this season. Michi- gan also didn't help itself by committing 18 turnovers, including I1 in the second half while trying to avenge a double-digit deficit. "In the second half, we just turned the ball over," said guard Daniel Horton, who was hurt by early foul trouble and didn't score until the second half. "Turnovers trying to feed the post, turnovers on the perimeter. We can'ttmake that many turnovers and expect to beat a good team on the road." And while Illinois' Luther Head lit up the Wolverines from behind the arc, Michigan missed its first nine 3-pointers into the second half and finished 3-for-18 from 3-point land. Even though Illinois had just two offensive rebounds and two of its post players in foul trouble in the first half, Michigan failed to capitalize with poor shooting from the field and a sub-par performance from the free throw line. Michigan hit just nine shots from the field in the first half. The Fighting Illini committed 11 first-half fouls, putting Michigan at the line early and often. But the Wolverines went just 7-for-13 from the line, below average even for a team that came into the game 10th in the Big Ten free- throw percentage. "To not be able to convert when you get fouled - it really keeps your point produc- tion down," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "The best thing we can do is get fouled every time we get down the floor, but if you're not going to convert from the line then it's not going to help you." Team Wisconsin Indiana Michigan State Illinois Purdue Iowa Michigan Penn State Northwestern Ohio State Minnesota Conference Overall W L W l 5 1 14 3 5 2 11 7 5 2 10 8 4 3 13 5 4 3 14 6 4 3 11 7 3 4 12 6 3 4 9 g' 3 4 8 10 2 5 10' 0 7 8 11 Saturday's results: Ohio State 65, PURDUE 59 ILLINoIs 67, Michigan 52 NORTHWESTERN 61, Minnesota 47 IoWA 77, Penn State 58 MICHIGAN STATE 84, Indiana 72 Tomorrow's Games: Illinois at Indiana Wednesday's Games: Minnesota at Wisconsin Iowa at Michigan State Northwestern at Ohio State Purdue at Penn State ITEV ORCAMPBELL/Daily Senior Bernard Robinson goes up for a layup against Illinois. Michigan's offense put just 52 points on the board against the Ililini, its lowest output of the season. Although Michigan went into the locker- room down just six, turnovers and continued poor shooting kept the deficit from getting smaller. The Wolverines started the half off slow with one shot from the field and three turnovers in the first four minutes. "You can't get good shots if you turn the ball over," sophomore guard Daniel Horton said. "We have to get back to executing bet- ter. You have to give (the Fighting Illini) cred- it. They pressured us a lot more than other teams have. But we play that way everyday in practice, so we have to be able to play against that and take care of the basketball." But despite their offensive woes, the Wolverines made a 9-2 run to get back within six with under ten minutes to go. But then they turned the ball over on their next three possessions and missed their next three shots. This allowed the Fighting Illini to extend the lead to double digits once again to put the game away. "We made a couple runs, but we would either turn the ball over or miss some big shots that we usually make," Abram said. UP NEXT: Brown family energy evident all over arena By Dan Rosen Daily Sports Editor CHAMPAIGN - Fred Brown was decked out in Illinois gear from head to toe. He waved a huge orange rubber finger like the most energetic cheerleader. He dropped into the defensive stance and bounced around his courtside seat more often than the 20-year-old col- lege students who surrounded him. "He's got so much energy, it's ridiculous," said Illinois guard Dee Brown of his father. "He just jumps around all the time and always wants to play and talk." "He'll talk your ear off about any- thing," Dee's teammate Deron Williams said of Fred. So will Dee. And the energy that he inherited from his dad is evident on the basketball court. He never stops running - he's been nick- bay throughout the second half with a number of clutch jump shots as the shot clock was winding down. Head led the bunch with 18 points, including a career-high five 3-pointers. "I just tried to look confident today," Head said. "I was more relaxed and I was just into it." Horton and freshman Dion Harris both said that it was the Illinois guards' ball-quickness that made them so tough to stay with on defense. "They're not quick as far as mov- ing from side to side, and doing dif- ferent things," Horton said. "They take quick shots. It kind of makes you raise up a little bit, and they're able to get penetration." "They're quick on the catch," Harris added. "Whether we make or miss, they're running out. They're the auickest wuards we've faced all AP PHOTO Purdue's Kenneth Lowe. PURDUE- The Boilermakers dropped a 65- 59 decision on Saturday to a struggling Ohio State team. But Purdue was without the services of its leading scorer, Kenneth Lowe, who missed the game with a sprained elbow. Lowe should be healthy next week, and his 14 points per game and 40 percent from 3-point range will help the Boilers on Saturday. Last year, Purdue knocked off Michigan at Crisler Arena 69-61 to end both teams' regular seasons. a I:,ccn,,lini~v rv.14 k Hirrn's15 soes sere~ frmnii-oit 1~ntAn Sarircla. io