The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 13, 2006 - 5B FAST BREAK Men's Basketball Saturday's Game PURDUE 84 - NO. 22 MICHIGAN 70 Defensive woes haunt Wolverines By Matt Singer Daily Sports Editor WEST LAFAYETTE - If defense really wins champi- onships, the Michigan basketball team shouldn't expect to earn any hardware in the near future. On Saturday, Purdue became the third consecutive team to benefit from Michigan's defensive woes. Com- ing into the game as the Big Ten's second-lowest scoring team, the Boilermakers netted 84 points against the hap- less Wolverine defense. "We couldn't really stop them." Michigan center Court- ney Sims said. "I didn't think our offense was that bad. We couldn't play defense for the third straight game.: With two of Michigan's best perimeter defenders - Lester Abram and Dion Harris - out with injuries, Purdue looked to exploit the Wolverines' backup guards. "The last couple of games, they were having problems with penetration," Purdue guard Bryant Dillon said. "So the coaches told us to be in attack mode." The Boilermakers' strategy paid off. Against man- to-man defense, Purdue's guards consistently blew past their defenders with quick first steps, forcing a Michigan post player to rotate over and help. More often than not, this left a Boilermaker forward wide open for an easy lay-up or a crowd-pleasing dunk. But the drive-and-dish wasn't Michigan's sole defensive weakness. In the first half, Purdue caught fire against the Wolverines' zone. The Boilermakers patiently worked the ball around the perimeter, eventually finding open looks from beyond the arc. They drilled 6-of-10 first-half 3-point attempts, which helped them build a commanding 20-point halftime lead. The Boilermakers' offense also dominated the Wolver- ines in the paint. Wide-bodied forward Gary Ware had control down low, backing in Michigan's post players and setting himself up for easy buckets. Ware's physical play allowed him to score 14 points in just 21 minutes. r, f¢- > Junior Brent Petway played just eight minutes In Saturday's HER MAN Continued from page 1B With the ball, the Wolverines struggled. Certain lineups included zero players who wanted to shoot. T Michigan offensive strategy looked like a game of hol potato. Amaker mentioned that his team's struggle to sco might be carrying over to the defensive end. On a veteran-laden squad, this lack of focus simply can't happen. At times, Horton plays like he wants to earn the nickname "Mr. Second Half". In Boston, he scored 16 of the Wolverines' 25 second-half points to lead his team to its first road victory of the still-early sea- son. In Champaign, Horton nearly single-handedly propelled Michigan to a comeback victory. And when Michigan earned its first victory over a ranked team, Horton was right there to score a game-high 23 point against the Spartans. A movement could have been started among Michigan basketball fans to mint coin emblazoned with the motto: "In Horton We Trust." So Horton's 2-for-14 performance in West Lafayett simply can't happen, especially with Abram and Harr out. And, in a year when you have your last shot at the BOILERMAKERS Continued from page 113 SAd 0 yet again "We just need to have some pride on defense," Sims said. "It seems like we have no pride - we're just trying to go back down the court and score" Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said, the Wolverines' defensive woes were rooted in their first-half offensive struggles. While Purdue took advantage of nearly every open opportunity early on, Michigan couldn't convert its clean looks. "It's demoralizing," Amaker said. "If you've ever played or coached, it's very difficult to maintain your energy and focus on the defensive end when you're not scoring." - But even when Michigan's shots started falling in the second half, the Wolverines failed to pick up any momentum defensively. Every time a couple Michigan shots fell, the Boilermakers stormed right back with a bucket. In the second half, Purdue scored a solid 37 points, and its lead never fell below 12. The Wolverines' recent defensive struggles have come as an unpleasant surprise for a team that jumped out to a 16-3 record thanks largely to its defensive pres- ence. Coming into the game against Iowa on Feb. 4, the Wolverines' opponents averaged 62.8 points per game - a solid total for a team that likes to run the fast break. Michigan had never given up more than 80 points in a game. But the Iowa contest triggered a monumental defensive collapse, and the Hawkeyes scored 94 points on 65-per- cent shooting. Against Ohio State five days later, Michi- gan once again gave up 94 points. And on Saturday, the Wolverines let Purdue's anemic offense put up 84 points on 61.2-percent shooting. Not surprisingly, Michigan lost all three games. "We have to play with a little more energy on (defense), a little more intensity," guard Daniel Horton said. "That's something I never thought I'd say about our team. Play- ing for coach Amaker, I think we've always had a passion about playing defense. But it seems like we've been lack- ing that lately." PLAYERS OF THE GAME Ron Coleman Michigan The sophomore guard scored a team-high 18 points. In a Wolverine lineup missing two starters, Cole- man did his best to boost Michigan, going 4-for-8 from behind the arc. Marcus Green Purdue The Subway Super Sub of the game carried the Boilermakers in the first half. The freshman had 18 points in the opening frame and finished with a game-high 23.£ WHAT DID YOU SAY? "Playing for coach Amaker, I think we've always had a passion for playing defense. But It seems like we've been lacking that lately." - Senior point guard Daniel Horton on the team's recent struggles on the defensive end of the court. KEY STAT 28 The number of minutes walk-on senior guard Hayes Grooms played on Saturday. SATURDAY'S GAME MICHIGAN 70 Player MIN FG M-A FT M-A REB O-T A F PTS RODRIGO GAYA/Daily Senior Chris Hunter goes for a block attempt against Purdue center Matt Kiefer. Singer inches closer in overall points while Wright wins again Scoging system: (Last game's points, overall points, single-game wins) coleman 35 6-12 2-2 4-7 0 3 18 Brown 19 0-1 1-2 2-5 1 3 1 Sims 23 1-2 5-8 1-3 2 3 7 Horton 27 2-10 4-4 0-0 2 1 8 Grooms 28 0-2 4-5 0-0 3 1 4 Shepherd 25 2-6 4-5 4-6 2 3 9 Harrell 8 0-0 2-2 0-2 0 0 2 Petway 8 1-3 3-4 1-1 0 2 5 Hunter 27 6-15 1-2 1-4 1 4 16 TEAM 1-3 TEAM TOTALS 200 18-51 26-341 14-31 11 20 70 Kevin Wright (D. Horton, J. Shepherd, B. Petway, T. Sanchez, P. DeVries) (22, 444, 9) Jack Herman (L. Abram, R. Coleman, J. Smith, K. Price) (18, 339, 4) Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine a scenario where my leading scorer was Jevohn Shepherd - and I still won. Saturday, in a game that was basi- cally over from the start, Shepherd had nine points, and I won. Meanwhile, Daniel Horton strug- gled to find an open look in the first half and sat out most of the second frame due to a thigh bruise. But in a game brimming with mop-up time, my second and third contributors came through to carry my team. Well, once again, I had just one active player, with two injuries and a redshirt limiting my team to Ron Coleman. Luckily, the way he played, I almost eked out the victory. Coleman led the team in points, and, once again, showed he has no problem hitting one from way - and I mean way - downtown. Unfortunately, I think there's only so long I can go with just one player. I hope you're reading this, training staff. Courtney Sims could have gone 0-for-20 on Saturday, killed my dog and insulted my mother, and I still couldn't say anything bad about him today. That's because on Wednes- day, Sims did all he could to keep Michigan in the game against a hot- shooting Buckeye team. He went 13-for-16 for 26 points and also col- lected a season-high 16 rebounds. But once Dion Harris went out with an injury, Sims has seen nothing but double teams and will keep see- ing them until the team gets healthy. With Dion Harris out with an ankle sprain, Chris Hunter's production is critical, both for the Wolverines and my team. Against Purdue, Hunter was one of the few Wolverines who showed any offensive ability at all. Although I doubt he called his first banked-in 3-pointer, Hunter generally looked sharp. The whole team could learn a lesson from his aggressiveness. Harris's absence also allowed Hayes Grooms to get significant minutes. But he won't put up many points. Player MIN FG M-A FT M-A REB O-T A F ware 21 7-11 0-2 0-1 2 3 14 Kiefer 23 2-6 3-5 0-3 2 4 7 Hartley 21 0-2 2-2 0-2 0 2 2 Lutz 35 4-6 5-6 0-2 1 2 14 Dillon 32 3-4 0-0 0-3 5 4 7 Riddell 11 0-0 0-0 0-2 2 1 0 Green 26 9-13 1-1 1-2 0 1 23 white 22 4-6 7-8 2-4 2 5 15 carroll 9 1-1 0-0 0-2 0 3 2 TEAM 1-3 TEAM TOTALS 200 30-49 18-24 4-24 14 25 84 FG%: 61.2 FT%: 75.0 3-point FG: 6-14, .429 (Green 4- 6, Dillon 1-2, Lutz 1-3, Kiefer 0-1, Hartley 0-2) Blocks: 3 (Ware, Kiefer, Dillon). Steals: 8 (Dillon 2, Riddell 2, Hartley, Kiefer, Lutz, Ware). Turnovers: 12 (Kiefer 4, White 4, Lutz 2, Dillon, Riddell). Technical fouls: None. FG%: 35.3 FT%: 76.5 3-point FG: 8-22, .364 (Coleman 4-8, Hunter 3-7, Shepherd 1-2, Grooms 0-2, Horton 0-3). Blocks: None Steals: 4 (Grooms 2, Hunter, Petway). Turnovers: 15 (Hunter 4, Grooms 3, Horton 3, Harrell 2, Coleman 2, Sims). Technical fouls: None. Purdue 84 PTS Michigan........ Purdue........... 27 47 43 - 70 37 - 84 At: Mackey Arena Attendance: 13,803 RODRIGO GAYA/Daily game. He has been nursing sore ribs since Michigan played Iowa. Big Dance, the collapse that seems to be imminent sim- ply can't happen. But this final five-game finish is where the older players can redeem themselves. They've been to the 'he NIT before and, as you know, they've won it. But t presumably, the thrill of being crowned the 66th best team in the nation doesn't quite compare to earning re your first - and, for the seniors, only - NCAA Tour- nament bid. Two more regular-season wins and one in the Big Ten Tournament should be enough to get the Wolverines in. Purdue seemed liked one easy one, but Michigan let that train pass on Saturday. This Wednesday's home game against Minnesota seemed like another, until the I- Gophers toppled Michigan State this weekend. Next Saturday, the Spartans will be looking for revenge, and n they'll have the Breslin Center crowd behind them. After that, the Wolverines play Illinois, Indiana and s Ohio State, all teams that have already beaten them. These five games are the most important this current s crop of seniors will play in their college careers. Because, as they're about to learn, time is running e out. ris -Jack Herman can be reached atjaherman@umich.edu. a season high. While Coleman and Hunter turned in solid perfor- mances, Michigan's leading scorer, Daniel Horton, was Player GP Min Pts R A Scott Bell (C. Sims, G. Brown, S. Harrell, A. Brzozowicz) (10, 397 3) Horton 22 33.5 16.0 2.6 5.7 Sims 22 24.3 12.7 6.5 0.8 Harris 21 31.5 12.1 3.3 2.8 Abram 15 27.5 11.5 2.9 1.3 Hunter 22 17.3 7.1 3.3 0.4 coleman 22 18.7 5.6 2.8 0.7 Brown 22 24.2 5.1 7.4 1.4 Petway 11 14.3 4.8 2.5 0.4 Smith 17 15.8 2.5 1.2 2.3 Shepherd 20 9.5 2.0 1.3 0.6 Grooms 12 5.8 1.0 0.3 0.8 Harrell 10 2.6 0.6 0.6 0.1 Ba 9 1.9 0.3 0.2 0 BIG TEN STANDINGS I Big Ten Overall SATURAYS RESULTS: Inw 7n IM~ F,7' Team Matt Singer (D. Harris, C. Hunter, A. Ba, H. Grooms) (20, 426, 6) Iowa 8-3 19-6 Ohio State 7-3 21-3 Wisconsin 7-4 17-7 Illinois 6-4 20-4 Mich. State 6-4 18-6 Michigan 6-5 16-6 Indiana 5-5 13-8 Northwestern 4-6 12-10 Minnesota 3-7 12-9 Penn State 3-8 11-11 Purdue 3-9 9-14 -IOWa , /UNDIANAt0 / z PURDUE 84, Michigan 70; NORTHWESTERN 73, IPFW 49 MINNESOTA 69, Michigan State 55; Wisconsin 82, PENN STATE 62; SUNDAY'S RESULT: _OHIO STATE 69, Illinois 53; season, getting kneed in the thigh. But it always happens in practice. This time it just happened in the game, so I'll be all right."