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