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Saturday, Nov. 23
The Indiana Daily Student

sports

IU downs Michigan 70-63 for 8th consecutive time

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Make it eight in a row and one closer. \nIU coach Mike Davis continued his shutout of Michigan coach Tommy Amaker Sunday afternoon with a 70-63 win in Crisler Arena in snowy Ann Arbor, Mich.\nWith the Hoosiers shooting like a John Wayne classic, Amaker walked off the court with his eighth consecutive loss to IU and 10th in a row this season. \nThe win helps IU improve to 12-11 overall and 7-5 in the Big Ten, inching closer to the coveted NCAA Tournament bid. \nBut the Hoosiers wouldn't have been in Sunday's game if wasn't for the marksmanship of everyone on the team -- including junior guard Bracey Wright.\nIU finished with 14 three-pointers -- the most since the team made 15 against Kent State in the NCAA Regional Final on March 23, 2002 -- 14 free throws, and seven two-point baskets.\nWright said it was about time his team's shots began to fall like they did Sunday.\n"Yeah, as a team it was," he said. "We haven't shot that well as a team and for those guys to come out and knock down all those shots like that, that really gives our team confidence."\nThe assault was led by a career high from freshman Robert Vaden who finished with 18 points including four three-pointers and three steals. \n"After I hit my first shot I felt pretty comfortable out there," Vaden said.\nMichigan was subject to another career high, this time from sophomore walk-on Errek Suhr, who thanks to a cut over Marshall Strickland's right eye that forced him to come out in the game's early minutes, scored nine points and went three for four from behind the arc. \n"I'm never told whether I'm going to be playing or not," Suhr said. "Everyone's got to be ready. This season, everyone's got a chance."\nRebounding from a 13-point loss to Ohio State, those two were not to be outdone. \nJunior guard Marshall Strickland also knocked down four three-pointers, the first time all season, en route to 14 points and five assists.\nHe said the game just came to him.\n"Just (in) the rhythm of the game," he said. "I always seem to get on rhythm in this game."\nTwo other Hoosiers scored in double digits, helping IU shoot 60.9 percent from behind the arc and 45.7 percent from the field. \nFreshman A.J. Ratliff hit two three's and finished with 11 points and classmate D.J. White ended with 10 points. \nIn his first start since he sprained his left ankle Feb. 2 against Penn State, Wright ended with seven points, including his first three pointer away from Assembly Hall since Dec. 28 when IU played Ball State at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis -- a span of 23 straight misses.\nHaving learned to play without Wright, Vaden said he knows that once Wright comes back to full strength the Hoosiers can be a force late in the season.\n"Once he gets it going, I know he was kind of rusty tonight, but once he gets it going, we've got me, him, D.J., A.J. -- playing the way he played tonight -- then we're going to be a pretty tough team to beat," Vaden said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.

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