University of Oregon
Michigan
Michigan Ends Ducks' Run in NIT
03/30/04 | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK (AP) _ Michigan coach Tommy Amaker was worried about Oregon's offense. The Ducks should have concerned themselves with the Wolverines' attack.
Michigan (22-11) came out hitting on all cylinders Tuesday night and routed Oregon 78-53 in the NIT semifinals. The Wolverines will play Rutgers for the championship Thursday night after the Scarlet Knights defeated Iowa State 84-81 in overtime in the opener of the doubleheader.
``We got a great defensive effort against an outstanding offensive team,'' Amaker said. ``Things can be contagious either way. We made some shots and they didn't. We were fortunate, but we never forgot how explosive and dangerous they are.''
Led by Luke Jackson, the second-leading scorer in the Pac-10 this season, Oregon posed a defensive challenge for Michigan. The Ducks (18-13) averaged 75.7 points per game, third best in the Pac-10. But Amaker's team took over early, hitting 59 percent of its shots in the first half to build a 14-point lead. Michigan hit 54 percent for the game.
The Wolverines got consecutive 3-pointers from Chris Hunter, Daniel Horton and Lester Abram in an 11-0 run that put them in front to stay. Michigan converted eight of 12 3-point attempts in the first half.
By midway through the second half, the Michigan lead had stretched past 20 points and the Wolverines coasted after that.
Dion Harris led Michigan with 15 points while Horton had 14 and nine assists. Jackson led all scorers with 17 points, but Oregon shot just 34.5 percent.
``They played extremely well, especially on the offensive end,'' Jackson said. ``We just didn't do what we had to on defense and I thought their big guys did a good job dominating in the second half. They took the momentum and ran with it.''
