The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 1, 2004 - 5B Talkin' the talk "We don't want to leave it up to the NCAA committee. We want to leave it up to ourselves and win as much as possible." - Michigan forward Bemard Robinson commenting on the team's NCAA Toumament chances. SATURDAY'S GAME Ohio State 64 Michigan 75 Players of the game Tony Stockman (Ohio State) His performance won't move him to the top of the Big Ten's field goal per- centage charts, but his 7-for-18 effort was good for a game-high 22 points. Brent Petway (Michigan) The freshman's game continues to develop. Petway finished with 12 points - with no dunks - and eight rebounds (seven offensive). i Road to NCAAs getting bumpy SATURDAY'S GAME Ohio State (64) GRTA yl 1-1 EXIT 26 . ........................... ......... . - ............... .................. .... The Homestand: Feb.4 1:MHGA7,PnnState.53..... F...b.22: MICHIGAN 71, Wisonsin 59 k.............................Feb.24 Michigan tate72 M Feb% 29 CIA 75,Oi State64 You take the good, v.ou tae bd you take0 the~m both and there you h~ave the Michignan basketbati... team.~ MIehigani started itsc crucia or-game homes~ tandi in spectacular ashon. The Wove rnes roled. F Peb. n ate, ndntMe kk d fth.N.12 eis. B2 the .. thoiMchn tra ledfrm12down with t2,MInutes GA t. frem th7WLverhnes.iYesterday's win over Ohi o State kept the NCAAkT..namen.thoetalive.< Sullinger Dials Radinovic< Fuss-Chea.< Stockman< Billings Jenkins Nwankwo Marinchick Harris Smith Team Totals MIN 27 35 34 35 39 17 9 1 1 1 FG M-A 2-6 5-12 5-7 2-6 7-18 2-3 01 0-0 1-1 0-1 0-0 FT M-A 1-2 3-4 1-3 1-2 4-6 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 REB 0-T 0-1 2-3 4-7 3-7 0-0 3-5 0-1 0-0 0-0 041 0-0 1-3 A 1 1 1 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 F PTS 3 6 2 13 3 11 5 5 3 22 3 5 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 200 245511813-281519 64 FG%:.436. FT%: .611. 3-point FG: 5-18, .278 (Stockman 4-13, Sullinger 1-3,Billings 0-1, Fuss-Cheatham 0-1). Blocks: 4 (Dials 2, Radinovic 2). Steals: 9 (Stockman 4, Dials 3, Fuss-Cheatham, Radinovic). Turnovers: 15 (Fuss-Cheatham 5, Stockman 4, Billings 2, Billings, Dials, Sullinger, Team). Technical fouls: none. MICHIGAN (75) Crucial victory over Buckeyes keeps Michigan bubble-iciou Dill Brown Sims Horton Robinson Abram Harris Hunter Petway Mathis Harrell Wohl Andrews Bell Team MIN 3 25 21 31 37 30 17 6 24 2 1 1 1 1 FG M-A 0-1 3-4 4-7 1-6 5-11 6-8 2-8 0-0 5-7 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 FT M-A 0-0 0-0 0-0 8-10 3-3 4-4 0 0 0-0 2-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0+ REB 0-T 0-0 2-4 1-3 0-5 0-4 1-6 0-0 0-0 7-8 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-5 A 0 1 0 6 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 F PTS 0 0 5 6 4 8 0 10 3 13 0 20 1 6 3 0 1 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CHRIS BURKE Goin' to Work Michigan could have thrown in the towel. After a nauseating come- from-ahead loss to Michigan State on Tuesday, the Wolverines had every oppor- tunity for a massive, season-ending letdown. With road trips to Indiana and Northwest- ern looming, they still might. But not yet. And because of yesterday's 75-64 win over Ohio State, Michigan's NCAA Tourna- ment bubble is still afloat. "For us-to have any chance to keep mov- ing forward with our program, (this was) a critical moment," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "I thought our kids really answered the bell." Yesterday's victory, though, was far from the stuff of champions. It was sloppier than the Wolverines would have liked, thanks to 16 turnovers and a few defensive lapses. It was a little uglier. A little sloppier. It was also exactly what Michigan needed to restore a little bit of confidence. "Our next two games are road games, and we just had to get this win," forward Gra- ham Brown said. "We were coming off the big loss against Michigan State, so getting this big win over Ohio State gets our confi- dence up for those road games." So after all of the ups and downs of this season - losses to the likes of Boston Uni- versity and Minnesota and wins over N.C. State and Wisconsin - Michigan's season comes down to two road games and the Big Ten Tournament. And the Wolverines have one more chance to make this season everything it looked like it could be back in November. "We don't want to leave it up to the NCAA committee. We want to leave it up to ourselves and win as much as possible," sen- ior Bernard Robinson said. "If we can win a couple of more games and a couple in the Big Ten Tournament or hopefully, the whole thing, we'll be happy with any decision that's made. "We'll know we did as much as we could." To do that, the Wolverines are going to need to steal two games outside of Crisler Arena in a year where a road win has been harder to get than a suntan in Ann Arbor. What the Wolverines have going for them is that, on paper, they are deeper and more talented than either Indiana or Northwestern. What they don't have, though, is any more room for error. Be it home or away, Michigan has consis- tently proven itself to be one of the best first-half teams in the Big Ten. But en route to a 1-5 conference road BUCKEYES Continued from Page 1B Michigan was shooting just 68 percent before yesterday's game. "I thought that became somewhat of a contagious thing for us and a good one," Amaker said. mark, the Wolverines have too often faltered in the second half. It happened at both Wisconsin and Illi- nois. It reached a pinnacle in a second-half collapse at Minnesota, and occurred yet again at Iowa. And if it happens at Indiana or North- western, the Wolverines will have to kiss their NCAA Tournament at-large bid hopes goodbye. "We've talked about how (we need) to be tougher on the road, and we're going to find out," Amaker said. "We're going to have confidence - we should, having played four games and won three here. "It's going to be difficult. Any time you go on the road in this league, it isn't easy. We'll be feeling good about ourselves, we'll be confident and we'll certainly find out very quickly." It is a little bizarre to think that, after 25 regular season games, it's still unclearwhat to expect from Michigan. This team is extremely capable of storm- ing out of Indiana and Northwestern with victories. The Wolverines, without a doubt, could go to Indianapolis and walk off with the Big Ten Tournament crown. They've shown they can play with any team in this conference. They're deep and give opponents fits with their length. But Michigan could also flop away from home - again - and lose its last two, go home early in Indianapolis and be headed back to Crisler to host an NIT game follow- ing a regular season in which it failed to reach its goals. "We definitely have to come out and play the way we've been playing the last couple of games," Robinson said. "We need to run, rebound, get out on the break and defend well." And, let's not forget ... "We've got to get the wins," Brown said. You're not going to fool anyone into thinking that this has been a spectacular sea- son for the Wolverines. They've had chances to put themselves over the top in the race for the NCAA Tour- nament and haven't capitalized. On the other hand, they've had times where they could've folded and been erased from tournament contention. Just like yesterday. When they've needed to win, when there's been absolutely no alternative to winning, Michigan has succeeded more often than not this year. So now, the Wolverines have to respond to their biggest challenge of the year. It's tournament time already for Michigan. Win and keep the dream alive. Lose and, well ... The bubble keeps floating. The question is: For how long? Chris Burke can be reached at chrisbur@umich.edu "We're trying to see if we can keep the ball from entering into the post so easily," Amaker said. "We didn't do that very well. I thought their game plan was outstanding and they obviously put a lot of pressure on us." Michigan will look to fight past those problems when it goes on the road this week Totals 200 26-5317-1913-361318 75 FG%: .491. FT%: .895. 3-point FG: .375, 6-16 (Abram 4-5, Harris 2-4, Dill 0-1, Horton 0-3, Robinson 0-3). Blocks: 5 (Petway 3, Brown, Hunter). Steals: 10 (Brown 3, Horton 2, Robinson 2, Abram, Harris, Sims). Turnovers: 16 (Abram 5, Harris 3, Horton 3, Brown 2, Robinson 2, Sims). Technical fouls: none. Ohio State.............31 Michigan................... 40 33 - 64 35 - 75 At: Crisler Arena Attendance: 13,346 BIG TEN STANDINGS ,.:. t ; tRYAN WEINER/Dally Bernard Robinson hugs coach Tommy Amaker at the end of Michigan's Senior Day victory. Seni ors end losing streak Offense lights it up thanks to Brown's post presence Team Michigan State Illinois Wisconsin Iowa Michigan Northwestern Purdue Indiana Ohio State Penn State Minnesota Conference Overall W L W L 12 3 17 9 11 3 20 5 10 4 19 6 8 6 15 I0; 7 7 16 9 7 7 12 13 7 7 17 10 6 8 12 13 5 9 13 14 3 11 9 16 2 13 10 17 By Daniel Bremmer Daily Sports Editor Bernard Robinson and Colin Dill had seen it slip away before. In their three previous years playing basketball, Michigan's seniors had yet to snag a victory on Senior Day. This year, it was different. Robinson was his usual self, doing it all for Michigan, and Dill made his first career start in the Wolverines' 75-64 win over the Buckeyes. "If I had one word, I'd call it V% OUT OF. THE ZONE: Ohio State played zone defense for a five-minute stretch in the first half, and Michigan struggled to get good looks at the basket. After a string of misses, Amaker brought Brown back in off the bench, and the sophomore made a quick impact. On his first possession back in the game, Brown caught a pass from Bernard Robinson under the basket, and converted on a layup from the left block. On Michigan's next offensive possession, Brown again took a pass from Robinson, felt pressure coming and dished the ball to Petway on the oppo- site block for a layup with 10:35 left to play in the first half that knotted. the game at 17. The Wolver- ines would never trail the Buckeyes after that point. "Against all zones, you've got to get the ball down to the baseline to flatten out the defense," Brown said. "Then you get it to the middle to break down the defense, and that worked well for us early." Not liking what he had seen over those two possessions, O'Brien decided to go back to a man-to-man defense on his team's next trip down the floor. Yesterday's results: MICHIGAN 75, Ohio State 64 WIScoNSIN 82, Purdue 46 Tomorrow's Game: Wisconsin at Michigan State, 7 p.m. Wednesday's Games: Michigan at Indiana, 6 p.m. Illinois at Purdue, 7 p.m. Penn State at Ohio State, 8 p.m. Iowa at Northwestern, 8 p.m. fun. It's definitely been a fun time," Robinson said. "You learn a lot here. We've been through almost everything you can be possibly be through in bas- ketball. I've enjoyed every minute of it." In his 30 minutes of action, Robinson accumulat- ed 13 points, five assists and four boards. He also added two steals, giving him 54 on the season, and making him second in the category in the Big Ten. At times, Robinson seemed to be moving at full speed while everyone else was moving in slow motion. With just over three minutes to play in the first half, Robinson stole a pass from just behind the mid-court line and took the hall the other way. Robinson turned on the jets to breeze by three Ohio State defenders on his way to the basket, and he converted a layup. Dill played three minutes in the game and attempted one shot, a long-range 3-pointer, which he missed. With Michigan comfortably ahead in the game's final minutes, the Maize Rage chanted "We want Dill" until Amaker inserted the senior back into the game. "The last game is great, something you have been thinking about since your freshman year," Dill said. "Being able to come out here for your last home game and win is great." SHOOTING STREAK: In a season marred by incon- sistent shooting, Michigan seems to have found its stroke as of late. The Wolverines shot 49 percent for the game yesterday, and held the Buckeyes to 43 percent. "Our guys have been taking smarter shots and not seeking out their shots," Michigan forward Graham Brown said. "(They have been) just letting the shots come to them." The shooting margin spelled disaster for Ohio UP NEXT: RYAN WEINER/Uaily Indiana celebrates its win over Michigan. AT INDIANA The Wolverines will have revenge on their minds when they head into Bloomington on Wednesday. Indiana stole a 59- 57 victory at Crisier Arena on Jan. 11, That win was just one of five straight the Hoosiers ran off to start the Big Ten season. Since then, though, Indiana has fallen faster than XFL ratings. The Hoosiers will enter the game having lost four straight and seven of their last eight. Having not played a game since a loss at Northwestern last Wednes- day. they have had a week to ;i