Sunday marked the last day of spring break for Michigan students, not many of whom wandered back to this frigid town early enough to catch a big college basketball game.
The fans who stayed in warmer locales for a few extra hours didn’t miss much, however, mostly because Illinois played like it wanted to be in Acapulco.
Illinois shot a horrendous 29.5 percent and couldn’t capitalize on the few opportunities it did get, namely a load of first-half rebounds and Michigan turnovers. The Wolverines’ defense took over during the second half, helping the home team erupt on 24-5 run that effectively ended the game.
Michigan (15-11 overall, 9-5 Big 10) wound up with a 63-51 victory over Illinois (17-9, 8-6) before 13,562 fans-few tan, most pale-but it wasn’t really a close ballgame.
Still, even though the Illini didn’t play well, the defeat likely does little to dampen their chances for an NCAA tournament invitation. They probably will earn a bid with 10 conference victories, and they have two home games left.
Michigan, for the same reason, desperately needed this game. The Wolverines, with a dismal non-conference record, likely cannot afford any more losses at home.
Michigan coach Steve Fisher conceded that his squad might require 11 conference victories to make the NCAA tournament, one more than Big 10 teams traditionally have needed.
The Wolverines are in third place in the Big 10. Illinois dropped into a tie for fourth.
The difference between the teams Sunday was the utter lack of Illini offense. Illinois never led, and was tied only at 3-3.
“I know my offense wasn’t there,” said Illinois point guard Kiwane Garris, whose four points equaled his season low. “I know they kept me out of the shots I wanted. We didn’t come here and do what we wanted to do.”
The Wolverines shut down Garris, both as a shooter and as a driver. They also double-teamed Illini center Shelly Clark, who rarely looked comfortable in the post despite his team-high 14 points.
Michigan intercepted several passes intended for Clark, leading to fast breaks and easy buckets.
“It seemed like they scouted us really well,” Clark said. “They knew a lot of plays we ran and they pressured us out of the offense.”
How bad was it? For starters, Illinois set season lows for points scored and shooting percentage. The Illini were 4 of 25, or 16 percent, on three-pointers and 11 of 23, or 47.8 percent, from the foul line.
Garris made just 1 of 8 shots and shooting guard Richard Keene just 4 of 15.
“They played excellent defense, but we didn’t shoot it well, either,” said Illinois coach Lou Henson.
Michigan began to break open the game with 16:29 left, after Illinois climbed within 34-30. The Wolverines, who were outrebounded 23-18 during the first half, began to tighten up inside and to control the boards.
And over the next 10 minutes, Michigan ran away. The Wolverines sprinted out on fast breaks and hammered the ball inside. The 24-5 run included two dunks, two baskets off fast breaks and six free throws-and left Michigan ahead 58-35.
“We played hard defense and we stopped them from scoring, and that generated our offense on the break,” said Michigan forward Maurice Taylor, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. “We went to the boards more aggressively than in the first half and more aggressively than usual.”
Taylor said the team discussed rebounding at halftime, and then outboarded Illinois 20-13 during the second half.
Illinois failed to take advantage of its rebounding advantage and 11 Wolverines turnovers in the first half. Several Illini players missed putback attempts.
“They had the ability to get easier shots than we did,” Henson said. “I think that was the main factor in the ballgame.”
