Sports Monday Trivia How many straight CCHA Final Fours will Michigan have participated in after this weekend? (For the answer, turn to the bottom of page 2) Inside Sports M' Sports Calendar Tournament Pairings Q&A Sheran My Thoughts Men's Basketball Ice Hockey Women's Basketball Men's Volleyball Tennis Skiiing Monday 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 7 8 .. The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday March 16, 1992 On to The Joe: Icers sweep Bucks 'C Loney 's 'cheap shot' mars series by Andy De Korte Daily Hockey Writer "It was a classic cheap shot. You don't want to see that kind of stuff," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "There is no place for it in the game." Hockey violence. "Things got out of hand at the end of the game," Ohio State coach Jerry Welsh said. "The ref (Steve Piotrowski) stopped calling things. When (Michigan) started getting way ahead, sticks were flying and things like that happen." The event to which Welsh referred and which re- newed Berenson's objections to excessive violence oc- curred at the 12:15 mark of the final period Saturday night. Ohio State rookie Brian Loney blindsided =G Wolverine forward David Oliver with a cross-check to T the back of his head as they skated in front of the benches. Piotrowski termed the blow a "malicious high-stick" and sent Loney off the ice with a 10-minute C misconduct and a five-minute high-sticking major. Ohio State goalie Mike Bales lunges at forward Denny Felsner's shot in Friday's 4-2 Michigan victory. See VIOLENCE, Page 5 Wolverines won, 9-4, to sweep the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Felsner scored five goals in the se .Cagers stop Illini to reach 20th by Josh Dubow Daily Hockey Writer Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson was apprehensive about his team's fortunes entering this weekend's first-round playoff series against Ohio State (12-21-5 overall). Berenson's fears were warranted as his Wolverines (30-7-3) came out flat in Friday's first period. However, Michigan battled back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Buckeyes, 4-2. After the game, Michigan senior forward Denny Felsner predicted an improved overall team effort in Saturday's game. "I think you'll see a different game tomorrow," Felsner said. "We were off our game tonight. We were a little rusty." Felsner took the task in his own hands Saturday, scoring four goals in the Wolverines 9-4 victory to complete the sweep. Felsner opened the scoring just 18 seconds into the contest, lifting a backhand over sprawled Buckeye goaltender Mike Bales. "(Brian) Wiseman brought the puck in on a 3-on-2, and they tripped him," Felsner said. "On my way to the net, the puck just came to my stick and I was alone with Bales and beat him with a backhand." Felsner added his second of the night just three- and-a-half minutes later on another assist from Wiseman. Late in the first, defenseman Aaron Ward made an end-to-end rush and beat Bales at the 19:35 mark to give Michigan a 4-0 lead. "It was a four-on-four situation, and they had an extra forward out there," Ward said. "I broke in on the outside and they were checking me. I try it in practice all the time, and it never works. I just flipped the puck See SWEEP, Page 5 UG KANTER/Daily Saturday, the ries. by Jeni Durst Daily Basketball Writer The Wolverines slowly climbed upward in their last couple games toward 20 victories and an NCAA tournament appearance. Saturday, they made the final step toward that goal. In their last conference and home matchup of the season, Michigan (11-7 Big Ten, 20-8 overall) dropped Illinois (7-11, 13- 15), 68-59. "Now we can start thinking about the tournament," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said. "We're not play- ing as well as we can, but we've been on the upside in our last four games. We've defended better, stayed out of foul trouble, and re- Sbounded. We're happy with a 20- win season." It looked like the Illini might snub Michigan's chances at that 20th victory in the latter part of the first half. The Wolverines came out strong at the start of the contest, working down Illinois' shot clock with a powerful defensive effort. But as the first half reached the mid- point, Illinois began to beat them at their own game. The Illini picked up their defen- sive intensity, stepping into the pass- ing lanes and forcing turnovers. They grabbed rebounds and estab- lished an inside game. Keyed by a Rennie Clemons jumper in the lane, Illinois went on a 17-5 run to go up by six. During their scoring spurt, the Illini tallied __ 14 points inside the paint. The Wolverines kept close by means of two Jimmy King jumpers, the only points scored from the floor during Illinois' spurt. A couple of Illini misses allowed Michigan to head into the lockerroom down by only two. ployed a s capitalized turnovers. "We h turnovers - normally ha coach Lou H "The way we started, I thought some shots we were going to get the chance for costly turnov a big run, but then they turned it mentum and around on us and got the run," Fisher you have to said. can. The second half proved just the Led byi opposite. After the two teams traded Rose and fe baskets in the initial minutes, Michigan ti Michigan turned to the style of play stormed toa it had established at the beginning of left to play.] the contest. The Wolverines em- points on th Michigan faces mothering defense and on Illinois' ensuing ad some untimely - turnovers that we don't ve in the post," Illinois lenson said. "They made and we made some vers. It's a game of mo- d when you get it going keep it as long as you first-year guard Jalen Ilow rookie guard King, ied the score and then a 62-46 lead with 5:18 King, who hustled for 12 e afternoon, notched his eight second-half points during the run. Four of those points came off forced turnovers and two via an of- fensive rebound. Rose tallied half of his total in the latter portion of the second half, with all his points, excluding a three- pointer, coming from inside the lane. The rookie's 22 led all scorers, fol- lowed by Chris Webber with 13, and King. A first-year player also led the Illinois squad in point output as for- ward Robert Bennett notched 16. "The difference (in the second half) was that we turned up the in- tensity," Rose said. "In the first half, Illinois was getting all the loose See BASKETBALL, Page 4 T by John Niyo Daily Basketball Writer The NCAA selection committee passed its judge- ment on Michigan's season yesterday, and apparently wasn't as impressed as many others. Instead of the expected No. 3 or No. 4 seed for the Wolverines, they received the sixth seed in the Southeast Regional. Michigan will face No. 11 seed Temple Friday at the Omni in Atlanta. "I'll be honest, I was a little surprised that we were seeded where we were," coach Steve Fisher said last night. "But rather than dwell on that, we just have to get ready for Temple." It was an attitude shared by the players as well. "That just means that a lot of people around the country don't respect you," Chris Webber said. "So I think we'll be very loose. We don't have anything to lose, everything to gain." Starting times for the the first-round contests have not yet been announced, but it seems likely that - since emple in Atlanta the game will feature two high-profile teams - it will be a prime-time matchup on CBS. Temple, as an 11th seed, received one of the last at- large bids from the selection committee. After advanc- ing to the final eight of last year's tourney with guard Mark Macon (the eighth pick in last year's NBA draft), the Owls finished this season with a 17-12 record overall, going 11-5 in the Atlantic 10 conference. Temple won its first game in the Atlantic 10 tourna- ment, trouncing cross-town Philadelphia rival St. Joseph's, 75-59. The Owls dropped their next game to the eventual runner-up West Virginia, 44-41. Yes, 44-41. That final score caught Fisher's eye, too. He noted that West Virginia had only scored 10 second-half points in that victory against Temple, coached by John Chaney, and its slow-down style of play. Temple is deliberate on offense, and often throws a matchup zone against teams. The Owls shot only .429 See NCAAS, Page 2 'KNNET"SM"LLER"aily Rookie guard Jimmy King looks to dish to forward Chris Webber in Saturday's 68-59 victory over Illinois. Yesterday, King and the Wolverines received a sixth seed in the NCAA tournament and will play Temple Friday. Nittany Lions roar to Brothers in Arms victory in M' Invite by Mike Hill Daily Sports Writer Despite finishing with its second- highest score ever Saturday night, a 278.4, the Michigan men's gymnas- tics team had mixed feelings about placing second behind seventh- ranked Penn State, which won the six-team Michigan Invitational with a score of 281.60. "It was a great meet," Michigan coach Bob Darden said. "Still, I think all the guys would agree that our goal, and we have two more meets to do it, is to go over 280. Today, we were maybe one routine away from it. But it's a lot of the lit- ta th1-r . , th mit n... - si r t:o. The Wolverines jumped ahead with the help of Brian Winkler and Jorge Camacho. Winkler finished first on the floor with a 9.80, followed by Camacho with a 9.75. "It was great having the home advantage with the Olympic order," Darden said. "And obviously we did real well on the floor." Michigan had another good per- formance on the pommel horse, de- spite the seemingly tough judging. Glenn Hill placed second with an impressive 9.75 routine. And Mike Mott continued to excel on the horse with a 9.55. "Mike Mott did what we felt was nn of he h ttpr.-ni:t npc" *nrti by Tim Rardin Daily Sports Writer Imagine that it is 1968. A young man, who was working in a small town in Georgia only four years earlier, is now a student and wrestler at a small junior college in Colorado. Cliff Keen, the leg- endary Michigan wrestling coach, hears of the wrestler's talent and decides he wants him on his team. "I didn't even know who Cliff Keen was," the young man said. "I hadn't even heard of the University of Michigan before." Keen wasted no time. "I don't do any recruiting. If you come to Michigan. you come Former Michigan great Jesse wrestler, James Rawls, is deciding whether to attend Pittsburgh or Michigan, after compiling an unde- feated record on his way to a Pennsylvania state title his senior season. James decides to wrestle at Michigan, though he is not ini- tially sure that he wants to be a Wolverine. "My father never really pushed me to go here, but he was always in favor of it," James said. "I didn't realize that I wanted to be here un- til after I came. Now I have some- one's footsteps to follow." Now picture the same scenario a third time. It is two years later, 1001 Thi time -i i TeJe auul Ra wis' James twn sn ns