Ice Hockey vs. Miami Tomorrow, 4 p.m. (PASS) Joe Louis Arena SPORTS Men's Basketball vs. Temple Tonight, 7:35 p.m. (CBS) Atlanta The Michigan Daily Friday, March 20, 1992 Page 4, M' cagers reach Big Dance Temple's defense to provide challenge for young Wolverines by Albert Lin Daily Basketball Writer ATLANTA - Every basketball player, from a novice to a member of the high school varsity, dreams of it. Until you get to college, it is unattainable. But once you get there, it is your team's goal at the start of every season. It is the Show, the Big Dance. For the Wolverines' five rookies, the moment has arrived. They will play their first NCAA Tournament game tonight, the reward for a 20-victory season in their initial campaign. "This is something I've dreamed about since high school, grammar school," Juwan Howard said. For Michigan coach Steve Fisher, the game marks a return to the site where he started his improbable run to a national championship three years ago. Fisher coached his first two games as Michigan's new boss in the Omni, beat- ing Xavier and South Alabama in the opening rounds of the 1989 tourney. "It seems like yesterday on one hand, on the other hand it seems like ages and ages ago," Fisher said. "We're staying at the same hotel, and when I waked into the hotel, I had memories of smiling as we walked out - coming in very ner- vous, and going out extremely excited and happy. I hope we have similar re- sults." In the Temple Owls, Michigan faces an extremely smart, disciplined team. The Owls have gained a reputation as a slow-down team, but coach John Chaney insists that label is not true. Temple aver- ages 70.6 points and 57.5 shots per game - not far from the Wolverines' mark of 78.4 and 61.1, respectively. "I don't think we attempt to slow things down," Chaney said. "I think what we do is we approach the break judi- ciously. If the break is there, we take it. "I think it's just ineptness on our part that we don't score a lot of points in games. So it was just a bunch of self-in- flicted wounds on our part. If the ball drops, we'll score our numbers." The Owls shoot only 43 percent from the field, but they average 20 three-point attempts per game. That is part of the reason they were able to win the amount of games they have. The other reason, of course, is their defense. Temple plays a matchup zone, which combines many of the man-to-man de- fense principles in a zone situation. Each defender plays an area of the floor, but what separates this defense from a typical zone is that players will match up with any offensive player that moves into his area of the court, essentially creating a constantly switching man-to-man de- fense. But while Michigan may be worried about the Temple defense, rest assured the Owls are worried about Michigan's. "We find that our defense frustrates everyone we come up against, but their. defense also frustrates us," said Temple; senior Mik Kilgore, the Owls' leading scorer. "We have problems shooting the' ball, getting our defense started. But I feel if we play to the best of our defen sive capabilities, our offense will take care of itself." Temple reached the final eight of last> season's NCAA Tournament, but losf Mark Macon and Donald Hodge to the NBA. This years squad returns only five ' letterwinners, and Chaney considers hi'R club nearly as inexperienced as Michigan's. "When you lose (Macon and Hodge), you are left with youngsters who are not used to carrying this team. I think I prob, ably put too much of a burden on them," Chaney said. Michigan will be without the services of forward Rich McIver, who fractured." an ankle in practice Monday, according to Fisher. Guard Michael Talley is also questionable for action with a groin pull. Chris Webber a'nd Eric Riley look for a rebound against Michigan State this season. The Wolverines face Temple in first -round NCAA competition. Prime time arrives for 'M' icers by Ken Sugiura Daily Hockey Writer There's something about the postsea- son that brings out the best in some peo- ple. Certain players, it seems, "rise to the occasion," or "come through in the clutch," better than others. And this week- end at the Central Collegiate Hockey Association finals in Detroit, those play- ers, those who seem to "respond to the pressure" will come to the fore. When Michigan (30-7-3 overall) takes the Joe Louis Arena ice against upstart Miami (17-15-6) in the first semifinal to- morrow, Michigan coach Red Berenson will again have a chance to observe this phenomenon. "The pressure seems to bring the best out of some players, and other players, it crushes them. It's too much for them," he said. "It's interesting that different players become great playoff players." Among the current Wolverines, Berenson included forward David Roberts among his crunch-time performers. Ro- berts, whose numbers have fallen from last season, is ready to again prove his worth. "I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "It's kind of a way to redeem the season. I've kind of struggled this year, so hopefully I can put it all together this weekend and go out and have some fun." While Berenson can evaluate his team against such criteria, Miami coach George Gwozdecky has no such luxury. "I can't tell you about our players be- cause we've only been to the playoffs once since I've been here," he said. By upsetting Western Michigan last weekend in a 2-0 sweep, the Redskins will make their first-ever appearance in the CCHA semifinals. In making it to the Joe, No. 14 Miami may have found its first hero. Forward Brian Savage scored what a Redskin press release termed "the most important goal in Miami hockey history" when he beat Western goalie Craig Brown at 1:07 of overtime last Saturday to down the Broncos, 4-3. In addition, Savage tallied an assist scored the first goal in Miami's opening victory, a 3-1 triumph. While the Redskins are just beginning to understand playoff pressure, Roberts and his fellow Wolverines know the rou- tine well. Even still, Roberts can't find the source for his ability to respond. "It's something that you can't really explain," he said. "It's a feeling you get - you feel sharper, you feel like, 'Okay, this is what we've played all season for. This is the fun part."' Goalie Steve Shields is another player who gets the feeling. The sophomore has gained a certain degree of notoriety for his impressive play in Joe Louis. This season in four games at the Joe, he has had three one-goal games. "I think you just have to be a little more intense than you usually are," he said. "During the playoffs, you just have to stay intense the whole 60 minutes." That may or may not be a problem for Miami. Gwozdecky said that his players will be freewheeling. "I think that's what any underdog, es- pecially a team that's the fifth seed has got to go with," Gwozdecky said of his team's 'we've got nothing to lose' attitude. "I don't think there's a lot of pressure on us." Two Wolverines who may not suit up are forwards Mark Ouimet and Cam Stew- art. Ouimet suffered a shoulder separation last Friday in the first game of Michigan's two-game sweep of Ohio State, while Stewart has been ailing with a groin injury and missed yesterday's practice. Michigan's David Oliver is scheduled to play this weekend after his near concussion last Saturday against OSU. The winner of the Michigan-Miami contest will meet the Lake Superior State- Michigan State victor. I Mark uimet battles MSU at Joe Louis Arena earlier this season. The MKRISTOFFER GILLETTE/D ark tOimetbttlkesnMUatJoe oinea h se a.Maize and Blue return there tonight to take on Miami of Ohio in the CCHA semifinals. ally, Wrestlers in 14th after first day of NCAA meet by Tim Rardin Daily Sports Writer OKLAHOMA CITY - With only five wrestlers competing at the NCAA Championships, the possibil- ity was remote that the 14th-ranked Michigan wrestling team would bet- ter last year's 12th-place effort. With the second round of the winners' bracket complete, the Wolverines have shown the effects of having a shortage of wrestlers, as they find themselves in 14th place, with only two wrestlers remaining. Brian Harper (150 pounds) started things off well for Michigan, winning his preliminary matchup with Missouri's Chip Bunner, 7-5. However, Harper didn't fare so well in the first round, as he lost a close match, 5-4, to ninth-seeded Sepp Doppler of Brown. "I didn't feel like I was wrestling real well," Doppler said. "I was too tense and too conservative. " At 126, Jason Cluff also began the tournament well, earning a deci- sion over Vance White of Drake, 8- 1. The tide again turned in the sec- ond round, as Cluff fell to the No. 2 seed, Shawn Charles of Arizona State, 15-7. Cluff then was elimi- nated from the tournament by Northern Iowa's Andy Showalter. All-American Joey Gilbert, who is the third seed in the tournament, advanced into today's quarterfinals with relative ease. His first-round opponent, Eric DeVenney of Mis- souri, experienced life in the winners' bracket for only 57 sec- onds, as Gilbert registered his third fall of the season. Gilbert's second match, against North Carolina State's Clayton Grice, was only slightly more challenging, as Gilbert prevailed, 17-5. "I need to stay more focused in the first period," Gilbert said. "I was pleased that I didn't give up any bad points." Michigan's other All-American, eighth-seeded Lanny Green, cruised much as his lighter teammate Gilbert did, scoring a major decision, 15-5, over Paul Jackson of Boise State. Iin the second round Green: defeated ninth seeded Kyle Rackley of Cornell, 6-0. Jehad Hamdan (190) lost his first-round match to unseeded Todd Hartung of North Carolina, 10-7. Because their first-round opponents went on to lose their next matche$, both Hamdan and Harper were elim- inated from the tournament. 1 Careers in Travel J i , Study in Switzerland For a Travel Career in the U.S.A. f CTH CM AK COMPANY Engineering Career Choices Day Procter & Gamble Have you asked the following lately? Which major is right for me? - I've picked a major, but what classes will prepare me best for employment? - What kind of job do I really want? If so, come hear recent U of M (and other) Engineering grads from a Fortune 50 Company talk about opportunities available to different Engineering majors. Increase you job marketability with your choice of major and classest Attend either the morning or afternoon information session and return for the reception Who: Any student (especially Freshman and Sophomores) considering any of these V' Engineering degrees: CS, CE, ME, ChE, IOE, EE. When: Monday March 23rd at: 10:00-12:00 Information Session (Breakfast provided), 12:30-1:30 Lunch 1:30-3:30 Information Session (snacks provided), and 7:00-9:00 Reception. 10 7 .wfv" min 7-Week Course 'w7r '-at Classes Be in a . r%^ er 0-1 a v