2002-03 BKM vs. Michigan State -- Postgame Notes
1/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Michigan extended its winning streak to 13 as the Wolverines defeated Michigan State 60-58 in front of a sellout crowd of 13,751 in Crisler Arena. The last time Michigan won 14 straight games was part of the 16-game winning streak in 1985-86.
LaVell Blanchard moved into a tie for 12th on Michigan's all-time games started list with 98 career starts, matching Rumeal Robinson (1988-90) and Phil Hubbard (1976-79).
| | Hunter was big on defense with a pair of blocked shots. |
Michigan's 13-game winning streak continues to be the second longest streak in the nation. Oklahoma State made it 14 straight with a 79-70 win at Texas Tech earlier today. Louisville also has 13 consecutive victories.
The win over Michigan State was U-M's first in nine tries dating back to Jan. 10, 1998, when the Wolverines downed the Spartans 79-69 in Crisler Arena.
Bernard Robinson Jr. followed up his second career points-rebounds double-double with 13 points, seven rebounds, one block and one steal against the Spartans.
With 13 points against the Spartans, Bernard Robinson Jr. currently has 982 points in his three-year career at Michigan. The junior wing needs only 18 points to become the 38th player in Michigan history to score 1,000 career points.
Bernard Robinson Jr. connected on his first three-pointer since the Wolverines defeated UCLA 81-76 on Dec. 28, 2002. It was Robinson's sixth triple of the season.
The Wolverines opened the game with their freshman class of Daniel Horton, Lester Abram and Graham Brown scoring the first 15 points of the game. The three frosh combined to score 35 of Michigan's 60 points. Horton led the way with 17, while Abram and Brown added 14 and four, respectively.
Gavin Groninger hit the 116th three-pointer of his career with a triple from the right corner at 3:32 in the first half. It snapped a five-game field goal drought for Groninger.
Michigan's bench and student section celebrate the Wolverines' first victory over the Spartans since Jan. 10, 1998. | |
Michigan's 13-game winning streak ties for fourth best in U-M history. The longest winning streak in the school's history is 17 games from Jan. 12-March 15, 1985.
Michigan improved its record in the Big Ten to a perfect 6-0. The last time the Wolverines started the Big Ten season 6-0 was during the 1976-77 season, when they opened the conference season with eight consecutive wins.
Michigan extended its Big Ten winning streak to six games. The last time the Wolverines won six consecutive games in the Big Ten was during the 1997-98 season. Michigan's last seven-game conference win streak was part of an eight-game streak during the 1993-94 season.
With the 60-58 victory over Michigan State, U-M has won 10 consecutive home games for the first time in 13 years. The last time Michigan posted 10 straight home wins was during the 1989-90 season. The last time U-M had 10 or more win in a single season was in the 1999-2000 season when it went 12-5 inside of Crisler Arena.
For the 13th straight game, Michigan had at least three players score in double figures. Daniel Horton scored 17 points, Lester Abram scored 14 and Bernard Robinson Jr. totaled 13. Dating back to last season, Michigan has had at least three players score in double figures in 25 of its last 26 games.
Chris Hunter had two blocked shots against the Spartans, his second coming with less that one minute remaining in the game and protecting Michigan's four-point advantage. Hunter has now recorded at least one block in five straight games, raising his season total to 27.
LaVell Blanchard connected on a pair of free throws with 10.0 seconds remaining in the game to give Michigan a 60-55 advantage and its first win over Michigan State in five years. The two free throws moved him into sole possession of eighth place on U-M's all-time free throws made list with 354, surpassing Gary Grant's total of 353 (1985-88).
Blanchard's pair of free throws give him an even 800 career Big Ten points.
Daniel Horton finished the game with 17 points to push him past the 300-point mark in his career. Horton now has 302 career points.
Chris Hunter surpassed the 100-point mark today with seven points. Hunter has scored 104 career points.
Michigan improved its record to 5-2 when wearing the maize jerseys this year. The Wolverines are 6-2 in their white jerseys and 2-2 in their blue jerseys.
