DETROIT - While it may seem longer to the casual observer, the Michigan-Detroit basketball rivalry was renewed just six seasons ago. In the intervening campaigns, each program's fortunes have risen - and fallen.
That was never more evident than yesterday afternoon when the teams squared off at Cobo Arena. Cobo Hall was packed, but not with basketball fans.
Just two doors down from the arena, the team table tennis championships were underway and fans were swarming to catch a glimpse. In the adjoining room, an indoor amusement park occupied a ballroom with all the accompanying pageantry.
So with all of the glitz and glamour surrounding the clowns and clubbers, no one came to watch the amateur entertainers. Much to the chagrin of Detroit athletic personnel, a smattering of fans - just 5,612 - occupied the red seats of Cobo's lower bowl.
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| MARGARET MYERS/Daily Michigan center Robert Traylor makes a pass through the outstretched arms of Detroit forward Perry Robinson. Traylor scored nine points and pulled down six rebounds in Michigan's 54-53 victory. |
Just two seasons ago, when Michigan's roster consisted of a bunch of future transfers and youthful promise, the same two teams drew almost twice the number of fans. That cheering contingent, heavily saturated with Michigan fans, was nowhere to be found yesterday.
Possible causes are abundant: Thanksgiving weekend, Michigan's poor 2-1 record, a by-the-skin-of-their-teeth save at Towson. Whatever the reason, Michigan had little support. Upon Travis Conlan's entrance with eight minutes left in the first half not even a whimper was heard.
Maybe the Michigan fans knew something those in attendance did not.
After the first 10 minutes, in which Detroit's press handcuffed the Wolverines, Conlan returned with his recovering wrist to give them a needed spark. Or at least he tried.
The game, with Michigan holding a 13-12 advantage, never turned into the rout one might expect with the co-captain's return.
From the beginning, Conlan attempted to do all he could. He seized the duty of sticking to Detroit's best player, Derrick Hayes.
He commandeered the ball, attempting to break the Titans' press by himself, even dribbling with his broken wrist. But the effort was not enough. Attempts to stretch the Michigan lead beyond three points were unsuccessful, occasionally due to missed shots, but more often because of the pressure.
The Wolverines threw the ball away 27 times, the highest total this season. Turnovers are becoming Michigan's primary nemesis, according to coach Brian Ellerbe.
"We're going up instead of down," Ellerbe said after noting the extraordinary number of giveaways. "We handled the pressure in segments, then we go into ruts."
Fortunately for Ellerbe and the Wolverines, Detroit's entire game was a rut. The Titans, who finished with a 10-rebound advantage as well a 10 fewer turnovers, kept Michigan in the game with their horrendous shooting.
Overall, Detroit converted on 31 percent of its shots from the field. That embarrassing effort, combined with Michigan's 21 second-half points, led both teams to see which would falter first. In fact, the last minute of play was the comedy of errors one might predict. With 56 seconds to play and Michigan leading by a point, Robert Traylor showed his versatility.
The 6-foot-9, 300-pound center stood his ground as Hayes charged in his direction. While both fell on their respective backsides, the jolt of Traylor's landing must have jarred the referees' perspective.
In a surprising move, the referees ruled in favor of Traylor and Michigan regained possession. Just 30 seconds earlier, Louis Bullock pulled a similar "flop" from his bag of tricks to spark Michigan's hold on the lead.
After Detroit forward Brian Alexander scored on an up-and-under move with 15 seconds left, Michigan's fate appeared sealed as the Detroit fans erupted into a frenzy of cheers.
"I thought it was over," Alexander said.
But as is often the case with Michigan, the thought was far from the actual occurrence.
In the nail-biting reality that the Michigan basketball team seems to enjoy, a clock malfunction left the fans and players hanging in suspense.
Once the appropriate time - at least by Ellerbe's watch - was restored to the clock, Maceo Baston supplied the heroics.
Unlike the predictable last-second play where Bullock drives to the basket only to make the shot or be fouled, the guard swung the ball to Conlan, who relayed it to Traylor. The center proceeded to make the game-winning pass to a driving Baston, who laid in the game-winner.
The layup and ensuing foul saved Michigan from a near embarrassment - for the second time in a week.
With all the action in the last minute of play, the absentee Michigan fans would have left satisfied after seeing a tight game.
If they hadn't been watching ping-pong.
12-01-97
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