THIS BUD'S FOR YOU By BUDDY MOOREHOUSE It's tournament time again.. . ... basketballs fill the air March Madness: ... Ah, what a glorious time of year! The snow is melting, the days are get- ting longer, and the tube is filled with plenty of great basketball. With the NCAA Championship ging full tilt, the NIT winding up, and the high schoolers finishing up their state championships, there is certainly no shor- tage of quality roundball being played. ... All of the upsets in the NCAA tourney are making-crow-eaters out of the many so-called "experts" who chastised the tournament selection commit- tee for inviting schools such as St. Joseph's and Alabama-Birmingham to compete in their tourney. ... Speaking of upsets, St. Joseph's stunning victory over top-ranked DePaul last Saturday dealt a crushing blow to Chicago's sports fans, who have had about as much to cheer for lately as the sports fans in Detroit. The Windy City has been Blue Demon-crazy for the past three years, but if superstar Mark Aguirre decides to take the NBA's money and run next year, it could mean that the Chicagoans will have to wait a while longer until they get a champion. . . It'll be the Mormons against the Catholics tonight when Brigham Young and Notre Dame square off. I wonder which side will have the "omnipotent sixth man" advantage. . .. It has been a banner year for college basketball in Kansas, as three teams from the state are still alive in the NCAA tournament-Kansas, Kan- sas State, and Witchita State. One of them will be eliminated for sure when Kansas and Witchita State square off tomorrow. The Final Four: Bud's Studs .. All of the upsets in the NCAA have made it easier to predict a Final Four, so with that in mind, here are my picks to earn the trip to Philadelphia: In the East, Virginia is definitely the cream of the crop. With 7-4 All- American Ralph Sampson leading the way, the Cavaliers will prevail over the likes of Notre Dame, Brigham Young and Tennessee. The West regional features four squads of equal merit, but Illinois will prevail because of the experience it gained in the tough Big Ten season. LSU is playing better than anyone else in the tournament now, making them a sure bet to carry the Midwest. -And with DePaul and Kentucky out of the way now, Indiana seems vir- tually assured of winning the Mideast. Who will wear the crown of National Champion this year? It'll be the Tigers of LSU beating.Virginia in an exciting season finale. ... Will someone tell me why Indiana, champs of the Big Ten, had to play its first round in Dayton, Ohio, while Illinois, who finished third in the league, got to play its first round in sunny Los Angeles? Some things just don't seem fair. Big Ten hanging tough ... In the other tournament, the oddsmakers say that Minnesota is now the favorite to win the NIT title, followed by Purdue and Michigan. The Wolverines, with odds of 9-2, are ahead of even Syracuse, the team that plays host to them tonight. .:. The Big Ten has rolled up an impressive 8-1 record thus far in post-season play, evidence of its national superiority. The Pac-10, meanwhile, has no teams left in either post-season classic. Five Big Ten Teams are still playing. Flint Central guard Eric.Turner, who will be suiting up to play for the Wolverines next year, has been named to the Parade Magazine All- American second team. Lansing Eastern's Sam Vincent, who will follow brother Jay at Michigan State next fall, was named to the first team. The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 19, 1981-Page 9 BLUE BATSMEN S WING SOUTHIFOR WARMUP Baseball's back in season! By LARRY FREED Last year the Michigan baseball team was the Cinderella story in NCAA baseball, advancing to the College World Series before bowing out. With only two seniors leaving the team, second-year head coach Bud Middaugh has reason to be optimistic, but he still remains cautious about the upcoming season. "WE'RE A DECENT ball club, but we- are not an awesome team. We're still pretty young," Middaugh said. One of the Wolverines' main strengths lies in their pitching. The majority of last year's pitchers are returning, led by senior Mark Clinton. In addition to Clinton, the Wolverine pitching staff includes sophomores Scott Dawson, Steve Ontiveros, and Scot Elam. "Our staff is still very young. Eight out of our nine top pitchers are fresh- men and sophomores," Middaugh said. "We still need a 'stud' on our staff. Someone who could consistently get the batters out." JIM PACIOREK, WHO led the team in home runs and RBIs, will once again lead the hitting attack. The Wolverines will be hurt by the graduation of shor- tstop George Foussianes, who led the team in batting last seasson. Picking up the slack will be catcher Gerry Hool, outfiderGreg Schulte, and first baseman Tim Miller. "Last season we relied too much on our defense," said Middaugh. "Hopefully we'll become more produc- tive offensively." Although most of last, season's star- ting line-up is returning, nothing will be definite until after the team's spring trip is completed, according to Mid- daugh. THE WOLVERINES' annual spring trip to Florida begins tomorrow with a doubleheader against New York Tech. The 14-game exhibition excursion in- cludes contests against the University of Miami, Bowling Green, and Glassboro State. The Wolverines' first regular season game4 is a home doubleheader against Grand Valley State on March 31. Unlike the Wolverine line-up, the Big Ten received a face-lift during the off-season. In a move to reduce travel expenses, the conference was divided into two divisions; the Eastern division containing Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, and Michigan State, and the Western division, which has Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Min- nesota and Northwestern. IN ADDITION TO the new conferen- ce format, the Big Ten has also im- plemented a new play-off system. This system allows the top two teams in each division to enter the playoffs with the winner advancing to the Mideast Regional Tournament. "The new playoff system makes the conference more wide open, because the winner of the division does not receive an automatic berth into the Regionals," Middaugh explained. The Wolverines, who are ranked eleventh nationally by one press agen- cy, had a good recruiting year. Michigan acquired many pitchers and infielders, including Michigan all- stater Chris Sabo, who, according to Middaugh, has a shot at a starting position. 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