0 Page 4- The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday- February 11, 1991 Blue victory centers on Riley by Phil Green Daily Basketball Writer It wasn't quite Bill Russell versus Wilt Chamberlain, but Saturday's center match-up of Eric Riley and Acie Earl arguably pitted the Big Ten's two best centers. Earl, Iowa's leading scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker, was named Big Ten Player-of- the-Week last week for scoring 43 points, snar- ing 21 rebounds, and swating ,way 1 .nt in Iowa's three games. Thursday night, he picked up where he had left off, tallying 24 points to lead the Hawkeyes past Michigan State, 71- 67. He currently leads the conference in blocked shots, ranks seventh in scoring, sixth in shooting percentage, and 10th in rebound- ing. Riley rates second in the Big Ten in both blocked shots and rebounds, but he has played inconsistently on offense. He's the Wolverines fourth leading scorer, averaging 10.8 points per game. That includes impressive outings like his 18 point performance against Duke, and some not-so-impressive ones, like his eight point effort against Wisconsin, which he fol- lowed with a dismal two point showing versus Indiana. Whichever center played most effectively Saturday would probably lead his team to vic- tory. Defense provided the difference. Both cen- ters performed well on the glass, and neither put up outstanding point totals. However, Earl's 10 points were well below his 17 point seasw, average while Riley's 11 met his usual output. "We planned to double team him (Earl) every time they threw it inside," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said of the Wolverines' de- fensive scheme. "We did a pretty good job of having someone in his face every time he caught it. We wanted him to shoot it from the outside, we didn't want to give him post passes for baskets and it wasn't just Eric, it was everybody." On the other end of the floor, the intimidat- ing Earl served as the backbone of the Iowa press. Last month, the press dismantled the Wolverine attack, creating 54 turnovers and a one-point Hawkeye victory. Saturday, though, Michigan successfully inbounded the ball, of- ten to Riley. "We had Eric Riley there, and it's a lot easier to throw it to a seven-footer," Michigan inbounder Freddie Hunter said. "They had guards on him." Riley passed it to the quicker Wolverines who took it directly at Earl, resulting in fast- break lay-ups or short jumpers. "I don't know that we gave Acie much help," Iowa coach Dr. Tom Davis said. "I think Acie's the kind of player who needs help, whether it's good team ball movement to get open or defensive play to help him, we ex- posed him too many times defensively." When Michigan employed its press, Riley, like Earl, waited as the last line of defense. Unlike Earl, Riley wasn't left exposed by his teammates. When Iowa set-up its halfcourt of- fense, Riley was there to clog the middle and shut down the Hawkeye inside attack. Eleven points doesn't generally account for a dominating evening for any center, but in this battle of the Big Ten's two best big men, Riley's performance on both ends of the floor contributed enough to help pace a Michigan victory. Big Ten Through Feb. 10, 1991 Men's Basketball Standings Conference Games All Games TEAM W L PCT. W L PCT. Indiana 10 1 .909 22 2- .917 Ohio State 9 1 .900 19 1 .950 Illinois 8 3 .727 18 6 .750 Michigan State 6 5 .545 13 8 .619 Wisconsin 5 5 .500 11 9 .550 Iowa 5 6 .454 15 7 .682 Michigan 4 6 .400 11 9 .550 Minnesota 3 7 .300 10 10 .500 Purdue 3 8 .272 11 10 .524 Northwestern 0 11 .000 5 17 .227 I . 'n". 4. a- 'a. 'a. 'a. a- 4 a 4. 4. 4. 4. 4. 4. Z. . BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK IM-turned-Big Ten sensation Freddie Hunter boxes out Iowa's Jay Webb to snare a rebound during Michigan's 84-70 victory over the Hawkeyes. 6M' hopes to find future in OSU's past by Theodore Cox Daily Basketball Writer It's awesome babeee! Michigan getting some prime time in front of me, Dicky V. That means only one thing, it's the Big Ten on Big Monday. The Wolverines will join Ohio State, Dick Vitale, and ESPN at St. John Arena in Columbus for tonight's Big Ten showcase game at 9:30 p.m. This is the first of two straight Mondays where Michigan will be seen on ESPN as next week the Wolverines host Purdue._ Saturday's victory over Iowa was a must win for Michigan if the team had any hopes for the NCAA tournament. The pressure is off of the Wolverines tonight, as a minor miracle might be needed to beat the the Buckeyes, who are cur- rently ranked number three in the nation. "We're going to have to play exceptionally well, get some breaks, maybe hope they don't shoot real well," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said. "We're going to have to get real lucky, but better teams have been beaten by poorer teams. So we're going in to win, we're not going in waving the sur- render flag." Ohio State (9-1 Big Ten, 19-1 overall) is battling with Indiana for the conference title, while Michi- gan (4-6, 11-9) is just battling for a tournament berth. THE TOTAL SPORTS NETWORK s: .::::::30 pm hifo S t.b n hen a Ohio State beat the Wolverines a month ago at Crisler, 67-57. Michigan was playing one of its best games until about three-quar- ters of the way through the game. At that point the Buckeyes had a 43-42 lead. But Ohio State coach Randy Ayers called a timeout, and turned the game over to his court leader, Jimmy Jackson. The 6-foot- 6 forward then went on a scoring terror that was a nightmare for Michigan. The story of Ohio State's rise to national prominence is a Fisher favorite. Last year, the Buckeyes began their season slowly, in a similar fashion to Michigan this year. In Ayers' first-year as head coach, his team went 3-5 early in the Big Ten season. But he turned things around when his team beat tenth ranked Louisville in over- time, 91-88, after trailing by 17 points in the second half. The Buckeyes spurted to a 10-8 confer- ence record and captured a NCAA tournament berth, their first in three years. They then survived an overtime thriller with Providence, winning 84-83 in the first round. Ohio State fell to eventual champion Nevada- Las Vegas in the second round. Fisher hopes his young team can make the same turnaround. And a victory tonight just might do it. Building blocks: Earl, Riley boost top totals by Andrew Gottesman and Jeff Sheran Daily Basketball Writers BLOCKING BONANZA: Iowa's Acie Earl, who entered Saturday's game needing four blocks to break the school's single-season record, managed only two against the Wolverines. Earl, with 78 for the season, leads the Big Ten in that category. Michigan's Eric Riley, second in the conference with 58 blocks, out- did Earl Saturday by rejecting three shots. However, Earl did win the goaltending contest by swatting away two Michigan shots on their way down. CRISIS AT CRISLER: Iowa's loss Saturday was the Hawkeyes' 10th consecutive defeat in Ann Arbor. Overall, Michigan holds a 64-45 edge in the series. SHOOTING UP: Michigan shot over 50 percent for the first time in Big Ten action Saturday. Their 53.6 rate from the field was the Wolver- ines' third-best shooting performance for the season. AROUND THE BIG TEN: BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Sophomore Calbert Cheaney scored 18 points to go over the 1,000-point career mark as fourth-ranked Indiana beat Purdue 81-63 Sunday in the Big Ten. The victory kept the Hoosiers (22-2) tied for the Big Ten lead with Ohio State at 10-1, and completed a two-game sweep of state rival Pur- due this season. Indiana beat the Boilermakers 65-62 in West Lafayette last month. Trailing 41-27 at halftime, Purdue ran off nine straight points to get within 46-40 with 13:04 left in the game. Matt Painter and Linc Darner had consecutive 3-pointers in the spurt* for the Boilermakers, who dropped their fifth straight Big Ten game to fall to 11-10 overall and 3-8 in the conference. Indiana rookie Damon Bailey added 13 points and Jamal Meeks and Pat Graham 10 each. Jimmy Oliver and Chuckie White scored 17 each for Purdue. AROUND THE NATION: FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - There's -a big difference between No. 1 and No. 2. And that's what has UNLV rolling toward the record books. Everything that might have worked against the top-ranked Rebels was there. Playing No. 2 Arkansas. On the road. Even trailing at halftime for the first time all season. It didn't matter. With Stacey Augmon leading the way with 31 points, the top-ranked Runnin' Rebels ran away to a 112-105 victory over the Razorbacks on Sunday for their 31st consecutive win. In ending the Razorbacks' winning streak at 20 games, UNLV with- stood the first-half pressure of a record crowd of 9,640 at Barnhill Arena and went on a 16-2 run to start the second half to take control of the game. The Rebels (20-0) trailed 50-46 at the half before seizing control and taking a 62-52 lead with 16:19 left. Ayers Jackson SHERAN Continued from page 1 "I'm in better shape than I used to be," Voskuil explained. "The foot injury didn't al- low me to do any leg workouts, so when I came back, my conditioning wasn't as good as it is now." Neither were the Wolverines. The most obvious change for Michigan Saturday was its handling of the press - on offense and defense. Nine inbound turnovers signed, sealed, and delivered the prior de- feat, as Iowa pressed the Wolverines into oblivion. This time, Michigan broke the Hawkeye press and disabled Iowa's offensive machine with equal skill. The key element was Fred- die Hunter. Hunter saw his first six minutes as a Wolverine in Iowa City. Last night, he flaunted the progress he has made as Michi- gan's top scrambler, and turned the Iowa press into little more than an inconvenience for the Wolverine offense. "The thing that destroyed us at Iowa City was the press, and we did an excellent job there," coach Steve Fisher said. "It started with Freddie Hunter, who took it out every time and made great decisions." However, Hunter's most obvious im- provement was his offensive play. The 6- for the change. "For the first time, maybe, in the whole Big Ten season, we shot 50 percent from the field," he beamed. "In order to win, we need to do those same kinds of things." The other reason was Michael Talley. His 21 points and five assists speak for them- selves, but his decision-making and virtually error-free play at point guard - one turnover in 37 minutes - steered the Wolverines to victory. Even Talley was pleased with his performance. "I think I did a pretty good job of making good decisions and attacking their pressure the right way," Talley said. "We seemed to run at the right times and slow down at the right times." Fisher expressed bitter disappointment af- ter that January loss at Iowa. He looked like a coach at his wit's end, trying to find his first Big Ten victory and fend off his critics simultaneously. His tone was ominous. "We're 0-3 and looking up the barrel," he said after the 79- 78 failure. Last night, he took on a tone of quiet en- joyment. Knowing his team needs five or six more victories to earn an NCAA bid, Fisher seemed to reflect the attitude that the Wolverines were destined to win the re- mainder of their games, and they had just pocketed the toughest one - the first. IOWA Continued from page 1 pointer, and the Wolverines never looked back. Only seven minutes into the game, Michigan began to put the Hawkeyes away. Leading, 14-9, Michael Talley stole a pass off Michigan's press, and Eric Riley finished the play with a put-back dunk. Just five seconds later, Riley blocked a shot at the other end, and Demetrius Calip hit a 10-footer to give Michigan an 18-9 lead. With 6:27 left in the half, Freddie Hunter hit a layup to give the Wolverines a 28-17 lead, and Iowa never again got the margin down to single digits. Talley, Voskuil, and Hunter all achieved career highs, with 21, 14 and 11 points, respectively. Hunter, who inbounded the ball for Michigan, also excelled in helping Michigan break Iowa's press. "It started with Freddie Hunter, who took the ball out each time and made good decisions," Fisher said. "I told Freddie I'd much rather he take a 5-sec- ond call than toss it in and maybe have it stolen. "Talley did a nice job, knowing when to penetrate and when to pull it back and Calip made the right decisions about when to pass it in." Iowa was plagued by problems on both ends of the floor. "I think we were stationary on offense," Iowa's Jay Webb said. "I think we were hurting on one-on- ones. Most of the time, we'd only have one guy back; they spread our press out." w