qw w w w w w w Who would have thought w _ sr THE EAST Georgetown, .. By JOE EWING Way back before the season started, if anyone would have told you that the Michigan basketball team would be a national power, you would have thought they were nuts. Who would have thought that after losing Tim Mc- Cormick and Eric Turner to the pros during the off- season, the Wolverines could be going into the NCAA Tournament as the top seed in a region? WITH HIGHLY-FAVORED Indiana and Illinois virtually returning everyone from last season, who would have thought that Michigan could clinch the Big Ten title before the season was over, cruising through the conference schedule with just two losses and becoming the first team in the nation to clinch an NCAA spot in the process? Who would have thought that a freshman from Can- ton, Ohio nicknamed "The General" could team up in the backcourt with a sophomore "Judge" to form one of the best guard pairs in the country? Who would have believed that a tall, skinny kid from Detroit could bang with the mammoths and be among the leaders in rebounding and scoring in a conference known for its gargantuan big men? WHO WOULD have thought that the Wolverines would have had a chance in a first place showdown with Iowa on the Hawkeyes' home court? Or that af- ter being humiliated at Crisler Arena by Indiana in the Big Ten opener, Michigan could come back and win for the first time every at Assembly Hall? Even an optimist would have been stretching it a little to believe that Michigan could accomplish all of these things. But in the case of the Wolverines this season, that optimist would have been right. Michigan is seeded number one for the regional playoffs and has shocked many by dominating the Big Ten and gaining a number-two ranking in most of the national polls. Gary "General" Grant and An- toine "Judge" Joubert combined into a backcourt tandem that can hurt opponents at both ends of the floor. A slender Roy Tarpley has become the league's top center, reaping many awards in the process. And the Wolverines have provided many surprises throughout the season. MICHIGAN GOT out of the blocks quickly to start the season, coming out on top in their first eight non- conference contests. After blowing out the Yugoslavian National Team, 100-87, the Wolverines notched victories against Detroit, Georgia, Youngstown State, Dayton, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Alcorn State and Rutgers. In each of those contests, Tarpley was the force for the Wolverines underneath, while Grant looked like anything but a rookie in the backcourt. However, in game number nine at Tennessee, something went wrong. The Wolverines got into foul trouble early, and both Grant and Tarpley fouled out midway through the second half.. Despite hitting on 52 percent of their shots from the floor and outrebounding the Volunteers 32-15, Michigan fell 81- 77. Tennessee made 29 of 34 free throws. WHILE THE loss to Tennessee was a letdown for the Wolverines, it appeared for a while that it might be only the beginning of their problems, as they drop- ped two of their first three Big Ten games. In the Big Ten opener on January 2, Uwe Blab and his Indiana- teammates handed Michigan its worst loss ever at Crisler, 87-62. The 7-2 center from West Germany scored a career-high 31 points and held Tarpley to just 12 to pace the Hoosiers. "If you saw them on Thursday (the day after the Indiana game)," said Michigan coach Bill Frieder, "you would've felt they never could have won another game. All of a sudden you think 'Oh-oh, we're going to go 0-18.' " MICHIGAN CAME back two days later and beat Ohio State, 87-82 on Joubert's career-high 27 points, but the following Thursday the Wolverines suffered another loss, this time at Illinois in overtime, 64-58. Tarpley had the hot hand for Michigan with 20 points, and guards Grant and Garde Thompson played up a storm on defense, but it just wasn't enough to pull the Wolverines through. Even with the two losses, though, Michigan didn't curl up and die. In fact they did quite the opposite as they turned things around and ran off one of the longest winning streaks in the country. Following the Illinois loss, the Wolverines went into Purdue and go Frieder his first win ever at Mackey Arena, 81-65. They then returned to Ann Arbor and blew out Minnesota, 97-56, to move into third place in the conference. TWO DAYS AFTER Minnesota, Michigan faced its next real conference challenge against Iowa, and Tarpley became the hero, sinking a layup at the buz- zer to give his team a 69-67 triple overtime win. The victory helped the Wolverines climb into the top twenty in the national polls. The next week Michigan blew out Michigan State 86-75, and then destroyed Kansas on national television to prove that Michigan basketball is for real. After three wins against Northwestern, Wisconsin and Purdue, the Wolverines got revenge against Illinois, 57-45, and moved to number three in the Associated Press national poll. They also set the stage for a first place showdown with Iowa. The following Thursday the Wolverines moved into Iowa City, determined to take sole possession of the Big Ten lead. And they did just that, as Thompson hit two shots from the top of the key to spark a late Wolverine comeback and 56-52 victory. From that time on, Michingan hasn't had to look back as they've held onto first despite scares against Minnesota and Michigan State, and through wins against Wisconsin, Northwestern and Ohio State. By JOE EWING When you think college basketball in the East,, the team that you do most of your thinking about is Georgetown. And all of the thought is well-deserved. The defending national champion Hoyas (30-2), led by center Patrick Ewing, are everybody's pick to take the East Region crown, as well as repeat their national title. And everybody is probably right. THE NUMBER-ONE ranked Hoyas have done nothing but dominate all season, they destroyed number-two St. John's twice in New York City in the past two weeks. Nonetheless, Georgetown coach John Thompson is a little cautious when looking- at his team's chances. "Most people are talking to us about repeating," said Thompson on CBS radio's selection day broadcast. "But I don't think that we can approach it from that perspective. We've got to ap- proach it from a purely one-game-at-a- time perspective." Thompson and crew were to get their start yesterday (results not available at press time) at Hartford, Conn. against Lehigh (12-18), a team that 'gets criticized for having backed into the tournament by winning the East Coast Conference tournament. "I'VE ALREADY gotten a little reac- tion from playing Lehigh in relation to their record," said Thompson. "But I've told the people I've spoken with it's obvious Lehigh did something to get in- to the NCAA tournament." But the Engineers shouldn't be any problem for the Hoyas other teams in the Easi Number-two seed Ge surprised many by kn Carolina in the Atla ference championship might have some surp MEANWHILE SYI which was a.foe of G Big East Conference Ewing lookt .However, some teams that have beaten the Hoyas this tt might be. season. orgia Tech (24-7) Southern Methodist (22-9), led by cocking off North Olympic center Jon Koncak, was also ntic Coast Con- one of the early season favorites in the game, and still national rankings until it fell on hard rises in store. times recently. However, the Mustangs RACUSE (21-8), still might have enough gallup left to eorgetown in the give the team from D.C. a run for its is one of the two money. 3 ri A coup should a] crown. I has ma losing ce should behind A have a s Favorit Possibli U =I .A = u a WHICH WAY TO LEXINGTON? - Georgetown's Pat Ewing, a shoo-in for NCAA player-of- be pointing the way to the Final Four, his club's probable destination. B~rLTLE OPf TE B p s o l , TL O F T H Eo A T E1 FN%. 0% the {ault" ests 0 omP '" tasealol an teir aes m'Y Pur r _ -Flt U C 7 3 > >07 n'm For rmore ir C N Band' EMe" als oeS nts theS ven pa ehe~ rnS So- es J~nynepoe 'te gg;nn S I% $ UC & 1 1.C 61 a - l l l Win by win High scorer MICHIGAN 80, Detroit 66 ....................................... Tarpley 21 MICHIGAN 63, Georgia 57 ..................................... Tarpley 22 MICHIGAN 103, Youngstown State 73 ........................ Rellford 20 MICHIGAN 87, Dayton 78.......................................Joubert 21 MICHIGAN 83, Western Michigan 59 .............................Tarpley 21 MICHIGAN 83, Eastern Michigan 72............................Tarpley 17 MICHIGAN 84, Alcorn State 81 .................................. Tarpley 29 MICHIGAN 93, Rutgers 77 ..................................... Tarpley 20 Iennessee 81, MICHIGAN 77 ..................................... Joubert 19 Indiana 87, MICHIGAN 62 .....................................Grant 16 MICHIGAN 87, Ohio State 82 ............... ...............Joubert 27 Illinois 64, MICHIGAN 58 (OT) .................................. Tarpley 20 MICHIGAN 81, Purdue 65.......................................Tarpley 23 MICHIGAN 97, Minnesota 56. ............................... Joubert 17 MICHIGAN 69, Iowa 67 (3 OT) .................................. Tarpley 21 MICHIGAN 86, Michigan State 75 ............................... Tarpley 17 MICHIGAN 96, Kansas 77........--..............................Grant 20 MICHIGAN 76, Northwestern 52................................ Tarpley 16 MICHIGAN 94, Wisconsin 81 ................................. Joubert 24 MICHIGAN 95, Purdue 84 ....................................... Tarpley 31 MICHIGAN 57, Illinois 45 ....................................... Tarpley 17 MICHIGAN 56, Iowa 52.................................. Tarpley 21 MICHIGAN 66, Minnesota 64....................................Tarpley 21 MICHIGAN 75, Michigan State 73 ............................... Joubert 18 MICHIGAN 88, Wisconsin 68 ............................... Tarpley 21 MICHIGAN 87, Northwestern 66............................ Tarpley 21, MICHIGAN 77, Ohio State 72................................... Tarpley 23 MICHIGAN 73, Indiana 71 ........................................Grant 18 the second round, Memphis State will play the winner of a clash between Gene Bartow's Alabama-Birmingham Blazers (24-8) and the pride of East Lansing, Jud Heathcote's Michigan State Spartans (19-9). Heathcote is billing his first-round season. They destroyed number-two St. Gene." If the Spartans, seeded tenth in the. region, advance to the second round, it'll be the battle of the MSUs and the Big Ten rep could give fifth- ranked Memphis State a battle. HEATHCOTE feels that the absence of the 45-second clock in the tourney will help his guard-oriented team. "We can keep the ball in Sam (Vincent's) hands even longer and be 'more selec- ... but Lee's potent too tive," he said. Duke, ranked in the top ten all season, is seeded third. The Blue Devils (27-7) won all of their non-conference games and then struggled through the Atlantic Coast Conference sked. Led by Mark Alarie and Johnny Dawkins, Duke is a strong contender for the Final Four. There are some name schools in this region that aren't going to do it this year. Those include Boston College, Pac-Ten champ Southern Cal and Iowa State, coached by former Michigan head man Johnny Orr. Favorite: Oklahoma Possible Darkhorse: Michigan State r %Iaps I '4 I caveX inlG resume SPECIRL LIMITED OFFER Have your resume typeset and printed by professionals. 50 for $36.50 Tisdale 4:N ... solidifies top-seed Sooners VIOLETS African violets I month, with cot Come and pick from our vast s 4l1owers (nea2 & CONSERVATORY IMMMMMMMM=MMMMMMM * THIS COUPON VI I 250/%OFF AFRICAN Regular $4.00 with Coupon $3.00. r~4ND1O M BTTLE OV lo4E mM %hi "Gimme a D Gimme an A Gimme an .. L . ..Y Give the MICHIGAN DAILY that old college try. CALL 764-0558 to order your subscription Printing by: 100 for INERAT7A $43.50. 4MM TEPRESS . Phone 665-5120 ° Typesetting by: *iGENErS1 GKnrliICS- Phone 761-8514 202 E. Huron, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 12 Weekend/Friday, March 15, 1985d Weekend/Fr