Michigan
Penn State
Michigan Ousted in Big Ten Tournament First Round
3/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Penn State (14-14) started the contest with the first five points before a Kevin Gaines (Las Vegas, Nev./Clark HS) layup in transition put the Wolverines on the scoreboard. Penn State maintained its five-point lead at 9-4 before an 8-3 Michigan run brought the Wolverines back even at 12-12. The Michigan run was ignited by freshman LaVell Blanchard (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS), who scored four points in that stretch, including his only three-pointer of the half. As a team, the Wolverines struggled from behind the arc, with a first-half percentage of .167 (2-of-12).
Penn State answered Michigan's challenge and used strong play off the glass to go on a 10-0 run of its own and push the lead to double digits at 22-12. Penn State outrebounded the Wolverines 27-19 in the first half, which allowed the Nittany Lions to gain the early lead. Michigan sophomore Leon Jones (Battle Creek, Mich./Winchendon Prep) broke a 5:17 scoreless stretch for the Wolverines with a layup. After Penn State's lead grew to as much as 11 at 27-16, Michigan came back with 11-2 run to cut the deficit to two at 29-27. A three-pointer from Gavin Groninger (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield HS) along with five points from Blanchard aided the Maize and Blue surge.
Despite Michigan's struggles shooting the basketball (32.3 percent, 10-of-31) as well as rebounding, the Wolverines went into the intermission trailing just 31-29. Blanchard's nine points led the Wolverines, while senior Vignier came off the bench to lead Michigan with five rebounds in the first stanza.
Like the first half, Penn State began the second half with a spurt and pushed its lead up to nine at 41-32. Michigan's fortunes continued to struggle as Gaines drew his fourth foul of the contest at the 17:43 mark of the second half and was forced to the bench for much of the rest of the contest. However, Vignier became an offensive force in the low post for the Wolverines as he scored 13 second-half points on an array of hooks and mid-range jumpers. In fact, a put-back on the offensive glass from Vignier knotted the contest at 48, which was the first time Michigan had pulled even since it was 12-12 early in the first frame.
Penn State's perimeter offense began to find its groove midway through the second half as the Nittany Lions knocked down a couple of triples to regain the lead 55-50. The Nittany Lions shot 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from beyond the arc in the second half to ignite their offense. Another three-pointer from Blanchard allowed Michigan to cut its deficit to 57-55, but the Wolverines could not get over the hump as Penn State went on a 9-3 run to put the game out of reach. Penn State iced the game with good free throw shooting down the stretch -- 14-of-18 in the second half -- as Michigan was unable to mount the late comeback.
N O T E S
-- Peter Vignier's double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) was his first of the season and the fourth of his career.
-- With 14 points against Penn State, Big Ten Freshman of the Year LaVell Blanchard raised his rookie season scoring total to 390 points in 28 games (14.4 average). That is the sixth-highest point total by a freshman in U-M history, trailing Jalen Rose (591 in 1991-92), Mike McGee (531 in 1977-78), Chris Webber (528 in 1991-92), Phil Hubbard (482 in 1975-76) and Louis Bullock (432 in 1995-96).
-- Michigan's loss was its first ever in the opening round of the league tournament. The Wolverines won the inaugural tournament and split two games last season. Michigan's four all-time wins in the Big Ten Tournament are still a league best.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
