Puckin9 The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, February 27, 1979-Poge FOUR CONFERENCE TEAMS SHOOT FOR TOURNEYS Frantic finish in Big Ten Kissing your sister icers will take it By BILLY SAHN In less than'a 24-hour period this past weekend, Michigan's hockey team was transformed from a bunch of sleep-walkers on skates to a group of hard hitting, angry young men. The change took place in Duluth, where the Wolverines were mauled Fridaynight, 12-3, but regrouped to skate to a 3-3 overtime tie Saturday night. This transformation was in part due to the Bulldog's relatively weak performance in the second game. However, I hesitate to explain Saturday night's result as due to the Bulldogs' evident lack of concentration. Rather, the Wolverines were the decisive factor in the game. The Blue icers were incensed over their humiliating defeat Friday night against the Bulldogs. They were mad as hell, and this condition was ap- parent on the ice Saturday night. "We were totahly embarrassed Friday night," said Wolverine goalten- der Bob Sutton, who manned the nets for Michigan in the tie game. And, according to star center Dan Lerg, the Wolverines knew what they had to do the second night. "We were desperate," said Lerg. In essence, Saturday night's tie score was as good as a win for the luckless icers. It was a moral win, according to Coach Dan Farrell. They outplayed a team that is likely to end up in the NCAA playoffs, in front of a partisan Bulldog crowd. The Wolverines played 70 minutes of great hockey in the overtime game, something which has not happened to this team in a long, long time. Although there were many fine performances for the Wolverines in the game, Sutton's name stands out. Sutton sparks surge The sophomore played a phenomenal game in the nets for Michigan. Each successive save was more impressive than the one before. His stats clearly imply this: In 70 minutes of play, Sutton had a total of 46 saves, let- ting only three pucks get by him. Contrast this t the night before when goaltender Rudy Varvari made 35 saves in 54 minutes of play, letting 11 shots get by for UMD scores. "I had some really good practices this past week," remarked Sutton. "The key factor for me was that I was mentally prepared before the game." This preparation proved invaluable. Leading his team, Sutton proved to himself that he has the ability But Sutton believes ability is only half the game, mental attitude is the other half. And with a record of 0-8-1 in league starts, the former Penn player has had a tumultuous season. But something clicked the other night, and Sutton hung in tough, stopping Duluth cold in their tracks. He and his teammates displayed unusual aggressive behavior for this struggling team. More importantly, he proved to his coach that he could do it - come through under heavy pressure. "This was the first time we've had good goaltending in weeks,; said Farrell. And nobody knows better than Farrell how bad goaltending can hurt a team. Michigan's lack of quality net play has shipwrecked the Wolverines this year. If youroffense can only generate on the average three to three-and-a- half goals per game, without solid goaltending, you're sunk. And so the icers have struck the Sutton ocean floor. The same sad story. The reasons why are old news: injuries, inexperience, minimal offense and practically no defense. The statistic of 111 league goals for Michigan compared to 180 against is chilling. It's academic to discuss where the Wolverines would be in the WCHA standings if they had more performances from their goalies like they did Saturday night. According to Farrell, his decision to go with Varvari for 16 out of 30 league games was based on his estimation that he was the best netminder on the team. However, his record of 5-11-0 does not impress me as deserving all those games played. As most goalies will tell you, you've got to play to get better, to develop. Practice is not the answer. Sutton has got to play more to develop. And the same holds true for Peter Mason, who as a freshman, has the time and potential to develop into one of the better goaltenders inthe league. The point is, if Varvari didn't click, why did Farrell hold back with Sut- ton and Mason? The fans will have to wait until next season to find out the answer. It's too late now. MAY GET THREE NIT BIDS: By GARY KICINSKI The unpredictable Big Ten season is finally coming down to its predictable hectic finish - and with four teams still in the race, just about anything can happen. Before the season, a lot of people predicted a close race, but nobody thought it would be this close, and nobody thought there would be this many teams involved. With two games remaining, Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State are locked in a three-way tie for first place with 12-4 records. Purdue is just one game back at 11-5. CONCEIVABLY, the Spartans, Buckeyes and Hawkeyes could each win both of their remaining games and finish in a three-way tie. None of the three leaders play each other again, but the Buckeyes must travel to West Lafayette on Saturday to face the Boilermakers. So there might be just a two-way tie. But then again... Obviously, the possibilities are en- dless. But the Big Ten has drawn up some relatively simple tie-breaking procedures, which definitely give an edge to Michigan State. Iowa appears to have the easiest schedule ahead, facing Michigan and Northwestern at home. The Hawkeyes should be flying high after upsetting the Buckeyes by 15 points last Saturday. Chalk up a likely two victories. MSU hits the road for games at Min- nesota and Wisconsin, and shouldn't f '! worse than a split. And Purdue hosts Indiana prior to the Ohio State match, no easy task in itself, but one the Boilermakers ought to han- Tournament drive Top Four MICHIGAN STATE at Minnesota at Wisconsin IOWA Michigan Northwestern Michigan St. Iowa Ohio State Purdue Conf. All W L W L 12 4 20 5 12 4 19 6 12 4 17 8 11 5 21 7 OHIO STATE at Wisconsin at Purdue PURDUE Indiana Ohio State gain bids to the 24-team National In- vitational Tournament. Here are some other possibilities and tie-breaking procedures: IF THE NCAA takes two teams and there's a three-way tie for first, the champion would be determined on the basis of won/lost record between the three teams. MSU again has the edge, here, with an unblemished 4-0 record against Iowa and OSU. If MSU were to somehow lose and Iowa and the Bucks tie for first, and two. teams were awarded NCAA bids, the Hawks would go according to the second criteria - best overall won/lost percentage. Iowa and OSU are 14 against each other. Thus, the Spartans are undoubtedly in the driver's seat. If they win their last two games, they can't possibly lose out on the title. Either Iowa or Ohio State will most likely get an at-large bid, and Purdue's chances of an NCAA spot are slim, barring some wild upsets this final weekend. have much troublethere. The Spartans' four losses this year have all come on the road, but they have ripped off eight conference wins in a row after double disasters at Michigan and North- Western. They're at the top of their form - expect two Spartan victories also. , OHIO STATE also must play on the road, at Wisconsin and Purdue. The Bucks probably had some wind taken out of their sails by the Iowa loss at home, but should be able to handle the Badgers. But problems could arise at Purdue's Mackey Arena. Expect no dle. This supposition would leave Iowa and MSU tied for the title with 14-4 records. In the event of a tie for the title, the Big Ten will determine the champion in one of two ways, depen- ding on whether the NCAA decides to send a second representative to the national tournament or not. THE . BIG TEN champion automatically qualifies for the NCAA Mideast Regional, and the NCAA has the option of selecting a second team (not necessarily a second-place team) to the tournament. In the example given, if the NCAA chooses not to have a second Big Ten team, the Spartans and Iowa would hold a playoff game at a neutral site to determine the lone conference representative. If the NCAA allows a second team as expected, MSU would go automatically as the champion, on the basis of head- to-head competition with Iowa (the Spartans won twice). In that event, the NCAA would probably choose the Hawkeyes as an at-large team. The teams left out in the NCAA cold are still considered heavy favorites to T, ST EVE'S LUNCH * We Serve Breakfast All Day Try Our Famous 3 Egg Omelet * with your choice of fresh bean sprouts, mushrooms, * green peppers, onion, ham, bacon, and cheese. See Us Also For Our Lunch & Dinner Menus 1313 S. University Tue-Fri 8-7, Sat 9-7, Sun 10-8 ,', Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG Dribble to NCAA 's MICHIGAN STATE guard Earvin Johnson drives against Michigan forward Thad Garner in one of the Spartans' nine straight victories which have propelled them into a first place tie in the Big Ten. MSU plays their last two games at Minnesota and at Wisconsin. Join the Daily Sports Staff Big Ten to reap rewards TUES SPE N 0O . HALF nO V.~ BEI Wednesday-'i IN Beer & Liqu4 Friday-150 HI 2-5 p.m. -(while .... 310 Maynai HOURS: 1 PM-2 AM, FR SAT. 11 AM- LAY CIAL P.m. ~PCE By GARY KICINSKI Remember back in October when Big Ten basketball coaches were touting the conference as the best league, top to bottom, in the country? Apparently ,he league has made believers out of some people, as, for the first time ever, there may be five eams from the same conference invited to a post-season tournament. The tight race for first-place honors has virtually assured the Big Ten of placing two teams in the NCAA tour- nament, and according to the NIT president Paul Carlesimo, as many as three teams from the, conference are being considered for that tournament. The Big Ten champion automatically qualifies for a spot in the. NCAA's Mideast Regional, and a second team is also expected to be selected. The Big Ten conference is one of the few con- ferences which has had two teams par- ticipate in the tournament every year since it became permissible for a second team to be selected in 1975. i The NIT is then expected to select the two remaining teams from the four- team scramble and is considering, for the first time, granting a bid to a third team-Illinois. "We think the NCAA might take two U-M CENTER FOR AFROAMERICAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES I k :."A a "VA" ER teams," Carlesimo said. "Michigan State and Iowa look to be that two. We're looking to take at least two more Big Ten teams, and Illinois had been in the top 10 for a long time and they have only nine losses." The sixth-place Illini currently sport the same league record as Michigan-7- 9, but the Illini had set the world on fire with their preseason streak of 12 straight. Their overall record is 19-9, which betters fifth-place Indiana's overall slate of 17-11. Illinois hosts Nor- thwestern and Indiana this week. It is the overall record that the NIT is looking at, emphasizedCarlesimo. "We feel very strongly that there'll be two teams from the Big Ten, and when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, Illinois with nine losses will be a factor." Carlesimo oversees a five-member board of selectors entitled the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basket- ball Association (MIBA). The five schools represented are Fordham, St. John's, Manhattan, New York Univer-. sity, and Wagner. Madison Square Garden, which hosts the final round,. also provides some input, said Carlesimo. When looking at teams, Carlesimo said, "We look at wins, losses, major winstand major losses, rankings and outstanding players. We try to stay away from teams with losses in double figures." The MIBA will be convening this weekend to examine the candidates and will announce the 24 bids one hour after the NCAA announces theirs, which is scheduled for 3:30 EST this Sunday, March 4th. Like the NCAA, the NIT has expan- ded its tournament by eight teams, from 16 to 24. But Carlesimo doesn't feel that the tournaments are spreading themselves too thin. "We still feel that the quality deser- ves two tournaments," he stated. "The NCAA has to take a batch of teams regardless of their records (due to automatic qualification)." Only the Best In Hairstyling and Professional Haircare Products UM Stylists at the UNION l-f Price on ,or 7-10 pm ot Dogs they lost) - P rd St. I. 11:30 AM-2 AM, 1-2 AM 4 :..:Y+:::... ?;{:. . ...... WDEE and Eastern Michigan University welcome Waylon .Jennings and the original crickets at BOWEN FIELD HOUSE Saturday, March 10 at 8 pm 1 4.... BELL'S Greek Pizza Open 11IAM PIZZA