Michigan
Minnesota
Make It A Dozen: Blanchard Leads U-M Past Minnesota
1/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team won its 12th consecutive game Wednesday night (Jan. 22), defeating Minnesota 75-63 in front of 11,468 fans at Crisler Arena. The Wolverines (12-6, 5-0 Big Ten) converted on an array of long-range shots in the late minutes of the game to improve their Big Ten record to an unblemished 5-0.
| | Blanchard's season-high 28 points moved him into ninth place on U-M's career list. |
With Minnesota holding a two-point advantage with under eight minutes remaining in the game, Blanchard exploded for three triples in a four-minute span and the Wolverine defense held the Gophers to just one field goal in the final seven minutes to put the game away.
Michigan took control of the opening tap but turned the ball over immediately, leading to an easy Minnesota layup and 2-0 lead. U-M went down and evened the score as freshman center Graham Brown (Mio, Mich./Mio-AuSable HS) scored a nice turnaround move down low. Brown then stole a Gopher pass and fed it to freshman guard Lester Abram (Pontiac, Mich./Northern HS), who hit a spinning shot in the lane to put Michigan ahead by two. Minnesota answered with five straight points from Rickert to take a 7-4 lead with just over 18 minutes remaining in the first half. The Gopher defense held U-M scoreless for nearly three minutes before Robinson stole a pass and took in for a wide-open dunk to cut Minnesota's lead to one at the 15:40 mark.
The Gophers came out the of the first media timeout and connected on another three-pointer to push the lead to 10-6, but Robinson came back and knocked down a jumper from the baseline. Following four unanswered points from Minnesota, freshman center Chris Hunter (Gary, Ind./West Side HS) got on the scoreboard with two points from the free throw line cut Minnesota's lead to four points. The two teams traded buckets the next two trips down the floor, as Horton hit his first shot of the game to draw Michigan within four at 18-14 with 11:42 remaining in the first frame.
Horton's basket would be Michigan's last field goal for nearly seven minutes, as U-M was held to four points from charity stripe. The Michigan defense kept Minnesota at bay, allowing just three points during its scoring drought. The Wolverines finally broke out their shooting slump when Robinson put down two points as he was fouled. Robinson converted on the free throw and trimmed the Gopher lead to 21-19 with 6:31 left until halftime.
Michigan came out of a timeout and held Minnesota without a bucket on its next two possessions. Robinson then collected four straight points from the free throw line to give Michigan a 23-21 lead, its first since the opening minute of the game, with 4:40 to go until the break. Abram increased the lead to four points with two free throws of his own, but the Gophers responded with a triple, their first bucket in nearly seven minutes. Sophomore forward Chuck Bailey (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King HS) then scored his first basket, and Horton grabbed an errant Minnesota shot and took it the length of the court to help U-M sustain a 29-24 lead with 2:11 left. In the final minute, the Gophers knocked down their sixth triple of the half, but Blanchard came back down and hit a shot on the wing as time expired, sending U-M to the locker room with a 32-31 edge.
Robinson led Michigan at the break with 11 points and six rebounds. Rickert paced the Gophers with seven points but committed three first-half fouls. The Wolverines won the rebounding battle in the first half, 25-17, but Minnesota used a 6-0 advantage from the three-point line to stay within reach.
Blanchard opened the second-half scoring with five straight points, including his first three-pointer, but Minnesota answered with five points of its own to knot the score at 34-34. Blanchard scored another two points from the line, while Horton and Hunter combined for Michigan's next five points. The Gophers stayed close, as Rickert scored four of Minnesota's next seven to pull ahead 50-44 with 13:03 to play. Robinson's layup on the next possession cut the Gopher lead to four heading into the media timeout.
The Wolverines used five points from Horton and a bucket from Blanchard to tie the score at 53 apiece with 9:25 remaining. Following a pair of free throws from both Abram and Blanchard, Minnesota reeled off two straight triples to regain a 59-57 lead at the 7:48 mark. That would be the Gopher's final lead of the game, as Michigan outscored Minnesota 18-4 in the final seven minutes to get the victory.
The Wolverines return to action on Sunday (Jan. 26) against Michigan State at Crisler Arena. The 1 p.m. contest will be televised by CBS Sports.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
