The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 12, 2004 - 5B
Talkin' the talk
"Coach Amaker expects us to shoot at
least 25 free throws a game."
- Michigan sophomore Graham Brown, after the
Wolverines were able to get to the foul stripe just three
times in their disappointing loss to the Hoosiers.
YESTERDAY'S GAME
Indiana 59
Michigan 57
Players of the game
Sean Kline
(Indiana)
Coming out of nowhere, Kline hit
three huge shots in the second half,
then blocked Lester Abram's attempt
at a tie with five seconds left.
Dion Harris
(Michigan)
Harris connected on 6-of-11 from
the floor (3-for-6 from behind the
arc) for 15 points to make up for a
lack of scoring from Daniel Horton.
'Individua'
efforts hr
Blue offenise
By Dan Rosen
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan coach Tommy Amaker came right out and
said it.
He said it as soon as he got to the podium for his
postgame press conference. To him, yesterday's two-
point loss to Indiana came down to one thing.
"We played as individuals (in) the first half," Amaker
said. "I take full responsibility for that. We had poor
shot selection, and I don't think that we have done that
all year."
The Wolverines dug themselves a deep hole in the
first stanza by shooting 28 percent from the field and
scoring 19 points, both season lows for a half. They
didn't get to the foul line until halfway through the sec-
ond half and shot just three times from the charity
stripe on the night.
Michigan players blamed selfish play for the ugly stat
chart. They said that they settled for tough looks rather
than making the extra pass. As a team, the Wolverines
have averaged 14 assists per game in their 10 wins and
just 11 in three losses. In the first half against Indiana,
Michigan had four.
Point guard Daniel Horton admitted that he personal-
ly took some bad shots.
"It wasn't anything conscious, like, 'Guys, I'm not
going to pass it to him,' " Horton said. "I think you get
caught up in the game, and you try to do some things
that you're not accustomed to doing. I think that's what
happened to us."
Yesterday was uncharacteristic for Michigan this sea-
son. The Wolverines have had balance on offense
because they've tried not to force the action into one
player's hands.
They let the game dictate who takes the most shots.
Four players average double figures in points-per-game.
A number of different guys could lead the team in scor-
ing on any given night.
"The go-to-guy is the open guy," Amaker said of his
team's offense. "And (tonight) we (didn't) seem .o
understand that."
Michigan's misses also helped Indiana get rolling.
"I think that the tough shots that we took led to those
easy shots on their end, you know, fast-break shots and
wide-open threes like that," Michigan's Chris Hunter
said.
'M' honors Hubbard
in halftime ceremony
Despite physical play, teams
combine for seven free throws
YESTERDAY'S GAME
Indiana (59)
FG FT REB
Perry
Moye
Leach
Strickland
Wright
Wilmont
Kline
Ewing, Jr.
Team
MIN
17
38
21,
40
39
23
19
3
M-A
0-5
4-6
3-10
5-11
4-7
5-12
3-4
0-1
M-A
1-2
0-0
0-0
0-0
2-2
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-T
0-3
1-5
1-3
0-5
1-9
1-4
1-2
0-1
1-5
A
0
0
0
5
3
0
1
0
F
3
1
0
2
0
2
2
PTS
1
9
6
14
11
12
6
0
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Michigan sophomore Lester Abram has his shot sent back by
Indiana's Sean Kline in the second half yesterday.
And the Hoosiers were hungry enough to take advan-
tage. They had lost two in a row before yesterday,
including a 34-point drubbing by Wisconsin in their Big
Ten opener. Coach Mike Davis admitted that he hadn't
slept much at all lately because he's been worrying
about his team.
So once the Hoosiers got some easy baskets and a
l'ead, they were visibly energized.
The Wolverines seem to agree that they have to get
back to their old style of offense, the one that showed
up for the furious second-half comeback yesterday.
"I'm not sure if this is the next step in the growth
process," said Amaker from the podium. "But it's a hard
lesson to learn this afternoon."
By Daniel Bremmer
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan basketball program
is continuing to look to its past as a
source for inspiration.
At halftime of yesterday's 59-57
loss to Indiana, the Wolverines raised
No. 35 to the rafters
as they retired the
number of former All-
American Phil Hub-
bard, the second
retired number in the
last year.
"It means a whole lot to me," Hub-
bard said. "When I was at Michigan,
(the team) always talked about getting
our jersey retired.
"I played in the Olympics (in
1976), but having my jersey up (in the
rafters); it's a big event for me."
Hubbard is 14th on Michigan's all-
time scoring list (1,455) and fourth on
the all-time rebounding list (979).
Hubbard became the second former
Wolverine to have his number retired
since coach Tommy Amaker took over
the program three years ago. Former
All-American Rudy Tomjanovich's
No. 45 was retired last February.
"I think we're doing what we've
been delinquent in doing, which is
honoring our past," Michigan Athletic
Director Bill Martin said.
Martin spoke of Michigan's rich bas-
ketball tradition - something which
may not be as well-known among
younger students and fans - by para-
phrasing a quote from Fritz Crisler, for-
mer Michigan football coach.
" 'Tradition is something you can't
go down to the corner store and buy,' "
Martin said. "It's something that you
have to earn decade after decade by
doing what is right, bringing in quali-
ty young men and women and perpet-
uating the ideas of the institution."
As a player on the court, as a leader
and as a successful professional, Hub-
bard embodies what the Michigan
basketball program stands for.
"His successes as a Wolverine play-
er and in his professional life are truly
something to be proud of, and some-
thing to be honored," Amaker said.
Hubbard became the third Wolver-
ine in the history of Michigan basket-
ball to have his jersey retired. In
addition to Tomjanovich, former
NCAA Player of the Year Cazzie Rus-
sell had his No. 33 retired in 1993.
While at Michigan, Hubbard led
the Wolverines to the national cham-
pionship game in 1976 - ironically, a
loss to Indiana.
The following year, Michigan won
the Big Ten outright and reached the
Elite Eight.
After being selected by the Pistonsi
at No. 15 in the 1979 NBA Draft,
Hubbard spent two seasons with
Detroit before being traded to Cleve-;
land, where he would spend the rest of
his 10-year career.
Hubbard retired in 1989 with a
career average of 11 points and five
rebounds per game.I
In 1997, Hubbard returned to the
NBA as an assistant coach for theI
Atlanta Hawks. Currently, Hubbard isI
an assistant with the Philadelphia
76ers.
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME: Indiana
forward Sean Kline had six points,
two rebounds, an assist and a block
yesterday.
A quiet 19 minutes, right? Not
exactly.j
The 6-foot-8 junior's three buckets
came when Indiana needed them most
- down the stretch - as the
Hoosiers put away the Wolverines.
Kline alone had three of Indiana's
final five field goals.
"He played with a different spirit
tonight," Indiana coach Mike Davis
said.
With 6:50 to go, Kline's falling
turnaround jumper pushed the
Hoosier lead back to seven points, 50-
43. Then, with under three minutes
remaining, Kline scored on back-to-
back Indiana possessions to extend a
five-point lead to nine.
"Our guards had been making plays
all game long, but in the second half
their shots started not to fall," Kline
said. "We kind of got lackadaisical on
offense, but when the shots are there,
you've gotta step up and make plays."
UNCHARITABLE STRIPE: In a season
in which Michigan's free-throw
shooting has been less consistent than
Bobby Knight's moods, yesterday
was no different.
But against Indiana, it wasn't exact-
ly a good performance or. a bad per-
formance for Michigan - it was
hardly a performance at all.
Michigan shot just three of the
game's combined seven free throws,
hitting two of its attempts.
"I don't think I have ever been a
part of a game when the two teams
combined for (just) seven free
throws," Amaker said.
Indiana sophomore guard Bracey
Wright attributed the game's lack of
free throws to the officiating, which
allowed the teams to play very physi-
cally.
"(The refs) were just letting us
play," Wright said. "They were letting
us beat each other up."
Robinson
Brown
Sims
Horton
Abram
Mathis
Harris
Petway
Hunter
TEAM
Totals
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
39 8-18 0-0 2-6 1 2 16
8 1-4 0-0 1-3 0 2 2
18 1-5 0-0 0-5 0 0 2
39 3-13 1-2 0-3 4 3 7
27 4-10 1-1 2-6 0 3 9
26 2-4 0-0 1-4 2 0 4
31 6-11 0-0 1-2 3 1 15
5 1-1 0-0 0-2 0 0 2
7 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
3-4
200 26-68 2-3 10-351011 57
FG%: .382. FT%: .667. 3-point FG: 3-18 (Har-
ris 3-6, Horton 0-6, Robinson, Jr. 0-3, Abram
0-2, Sims 0-1). Blocks: 6 (Hunter 3, Sims 2,
Mathis). Steals: 6 (Horton 2, Robinson, Jr. 2,
Abram 1, Harris 1). Turnovers: 5 (Abram 3,
Mathis, Harris). Technical fouls: none.
Indiana.....................29
Michigan..................19
30 - 59
38 - 57
At: Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor
Attendance: 13,328
BIG TEN STANDINGS
Conference Overall
Team W L W L
Wisconsin 2 0 11 2
Penn State 2 0 8 5
Illinois 1 1 10 3
Michigan 1 1 10 3
Purdue 1 1 11 4
Iowa 1 1 8 4
Indiana 1 1 7 6
Northwestern 1 1 6 7
Minnesota 0 1 8 5
Michigan State 0 1 5 7
Ohio State 0 2 8 7
Saturday's results:
WISCoNSIN 77, Michigan State 64
Northwestern 77, IowA 68
PENN STATE 64, Ohio State 47
Purdue 58, ILLINOIS 54
MINNESOTA 57, Princeton 53
Yesterday's results:
Indiana 59, MICHIGAN 57
Tomorrow's Games:
Iowa at MINNESOTA
Wednesday's Games:
Illinois at NORTHWESTERN
Penn State at MICHIGAN STATE
Wisconsin at PURDUE
Totals 200 24-56 3-4 6-37 9 11 59
FG%: .429. FT%: .750. 3-point FG: 8-19,
.421 (Strickland 4-7, Wilmont 2-7, Moye 1-1,
Wright 1-3, Perry 0-1). Blocks: 8 (Leach 4.
Moye, Wilmont, Kline, Ewing, Jr.) Steals: 1
(Strickland). Turnovers: 13 (Moye 3, Leach
3, Strickland 3, Perry 2, Wright, Team). Tech-
nical fouls: none.
MICHIGAN (57)
f
r
ri
UP NEXT:
First Half * Made FG Second Half
9-32 (1-7 3-pt) 17-36 (2-11 3-pt)
28 percent (14 percent) o Missed FG 47 percent (18 percent)
Courtesy of mgoblue.com
Michigan struggled to get any points in the paint in the first half against Indiana. While the Wolverines were able to penetrate
more during the second half, in the end, their performance wasn't enough in the losing effort.
MEN
Continued from Page 1B
them down 29-19 at halftime.
Michigan had just four points from
its interior players and missed an
array of jumpshots. Horton, last sea-
son's Big Ten Freshman of the Year,
continued his shooting woes by fail-
ing to hit a field goal until there was
7:27 remaining in the game.
The Wolverines' stellar interior
defense in the game's first 15 min-
utes kept them in the contest, espe-
cially by holding center George
Leach, who was coming back after
knee surgery, in check. But the
Hoosiers were able to penetrate
toward the basket starting at the end
of the first half, extending their lead
to 41-25 with 15:19 to go. Michigan
then made a quick run, cutting the
deficit to nine with 11:21 left after
it started to look inside more offen-
sively.
"We have a taller team than they
have, and we better low-post play-
ers, I think," Abram said. "We just
didn't utilize that (in the first half)."
Michigan then played strong
down the stretch, but Indiana (1-1
Big Ten, 7-6 overall) found ways
to counter the Wolverine attack,
headlined by the emergence of
Kline on the inside.
A 3-pointer by freshman Dion
Harris with 3:38 to go cut the
Indiana lead to five, leaving
Michigan to ponder what could
have been.
"If we came out with that same
intensity and that same fire in the
first half, we would not have been
down by that much," said sopho-
more center Chris Hunter, who
played seven minutes in his first
game back after knee surgery in
early December.
AP PHOTO
Chris Hill (left)
MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan has the week off
before taking on Michigan State
Saturday in East Lansing. The
Spartans have been more disap-
pointing than a J. Lo movie so
far this season, collapsing
under the pressure of an insane-
ly tough schedule. Michigan
State fell 77-64 to No. 21 Wis-
consin on Saturday, dropping to
5-7 on the season. But the Spar-
tans will make a charge to turn
their season around at some
point. Will the Wolverines be
their first victim?
RYAN WEINER/Daily
The Wolverines retired the number of former All-American Phil Hubbard yesterday.
* BURKE
Continued from Page 1B
No matter the explanation, the truth is that a team that
looked better than Indiana on paper was unable to get the
job done.
What makes Michigan's offensive mediocrity even
more baffling was that the Wolverines turned it over just
five times in the entire game.
Prior to yesterday, the Wolverines lowest turnover total
for the season was 13.
But the Wolverines' "selfishness" led to one-and-done
possessions - Michigan grabbed a measly four offen-
have here at Michigan."
For the last 15 minutes, Davis' fears were becoming a
reality. Michigan's quickness was leading to steals and
easy baskets.
The crowd was alive and the Wolverines' offense
began to click - it was beginning to look reminiscent of
last year's spectacular Michigan comeback from a 15-
point deficit to Wisconsin.
Despite that remarkable win to open the 2003 Big
Ten season, if you don't play 40 minutes of solid bas-
ketball, you put yourself in a position where you either
make miraculous shots at the end of the game, or you
lose.
HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED
Team
1. Connecticut
2. Duke
3. Arizona
4. Stanford
5. Wake Forest
6. Oklahoma
7. Kentucky
8. Georgia Tech
9. Saint Josephs
Record
11-1
10-1
9-1
11-0
9-0
10-0
9-1
12-1
11-0
This weekend's results
Beat No. 6 Oklahoma 86-59
Beat Virginia 93-71
Lost to No. 4 Stanford 82-72
Beat No. 3 Arizona 82-72
Beat Clemson 78-63
Lost to No. 1 Connecticut 86-59
Beat No. 20 Vanderbilt 75-63
Lost to No. 12 North Carolina 102-86
Beat Duquesne 78-61
This week's games
Georgetown; at North Carolina
N.C. State; Wake Forest
at USC; at UCLA
California
at Texas; at Duke
at Oklahoma State; Missouri
at Mississippi State; Georgia
Virginia; Maryiand
Ford ham; at Xavier