01 Page 4 -The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday - April 6, 1992 BEAR 'CATS Continued from page 1 giving Michigan the extra energy it seemed to lack. The Wolverines began to assert themselves on the boards, getting. second and third opportunities many times down the floor. At the other end, Cincinnati seemed to be stalling, very frequently settling for wild hooks and off-balance jumpers. With the score tied at 58, Michigan went on a 7-0 run that es- sentially put the game out of reach. Voskuil had four points and a key rebound in that stretch. The Wolverines once again left, their celebrating on the court. They are now one step away from their ultimate goal and are focused to- wards tonight's matchup. "It's not over," junior Michael Talley said. "There's still one more, and then we can celebrate through the entire summer." MICHIGAN (76) PGFO t'Rob. Mi. M-A M-A O-T A F Pts. Webber 36 8-12 0-2 4-11 2 1 16 Jackson 20 1-2 1-2 2-5 1 1 3 Howard 33 3-9 6-7 3-8 4 4 12 Rose 37 4-13 5-6 3-9 3 2 13 King 37 5-9 4-4 3-5 0 2 17 TaIley 13 1-3 2-3 0-0 2 4 4 Riley 10 1-1 0-0 1-3 0 2 2 Voskuil 14 2-4 4-5 3-4 0 1 9 Totals 200 28-5 8-11 10-36 14 13 68 FG- .472. FT- .759. Three-point goals: 4-8, 00 ing 3-4. Voskull 1-2, Rose 0-2). Team rebounds: 1. Blocks: I (Webber). Turnovers: 17(Jackson 4, Webber 3, Rose 3, Howard 2, King 2, Riley 2, Talley). Steals: 6 (Webber 3, Howard, Talley, Voskuil). Technical fouls: none. CINCINNATI (72) FG FT Rob. Min. M-A M-A O-T A F Pte. .Nelson 19 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 4 Jones 34 5-13 2-2 1-5 0 1 14 Blount 27 0-3 1-2 1-4 2 4 1 -Buford 35 6-17 4-4 0-1 1 4 18 Van Exel 36 7-15 5-10 3-5 5 4 21 Martin 30 4-10 2-3 7-10 0 3 10 Scott 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 3 0 Jackson 6 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Gibson 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 200 26-64 14-21 14-30 8 22 72 FG- .406. FT- .667. Three-point goals: 6-22, -273 (Jones 2-6, Buford 2-7, Van Exel 2-7, Martin"0-1, Gibson 0-1). Team rebounds: 3. Blocks: 4 (Blount 2, Van Exel, Jackson). Turnovers: 9 (Jonas 3, Van Exel 3, Blount, 8uford, Martin). Steals: t1 (Van Exel 4, Buford 3, 1'elson, Jones, Martin, Gbson). Technical fouls: none. Michigan-................38 38 - 76 Cincinnati . ... 41 31 - 72 At Mtrodome: A-50,379 (paid) 71 Blue Devils defeat IUreturn to finals from staff reports MINNEAPOLIS - Just when the defense of their national champi- onship seemed in jeopardy for the second straight game, the Duke Blue Devils used an overwhelming defen- sive effort to create just enough of a second-half surge to carry them past Indiana, 81-78, in an NCAA semifi- nal Saturday night. The Blue Devils (33-2) in ad- vancing to a championship game Monday night against Michigan, gave the Hoosiers their first Final Four defeat under coach Bob Knight since 1973. That loss by Indiana, also in the semifinals, put the UCLA Bruins in position to win a seventh consecu- tive championship. Duke can be- come the first team to repeat since then with a victory over the Wolverines at the Metrodome. A remarkable 31-6 surge by Duke, which came over a period of 12 minutes 38 seconds and began at the end of the first half, turned a 12- point deficit into a 13-point lead with 10:28 to play in the game. Bobby Hurley's 26 points, which tied a career high, included four first-half 3-point field goals that kept the Blue Devils close when the Hoosiers began to take control. Hurley's shooting became even more essential with Christian Laettner limited to just eight points in the game on 2-for-8 shooting. But Indiana (27-7), despite hav- ing four players foul out and with Eric Anderson limited to two points, put together a shocking comeback in the final two minutes that cut a 9- point Duke lead to three with 24 seconds to play. Todd Leary, an Indiana sopho- ,more who averaged just 3.6 points this season, made three 3-point shots within a 27-second stretch in the fi- nal minute. When Matt Nover made two foul shots with 24.6 seconds to play and Hurley stepped on the base- line against Indiana's full court pres- sure, the Hoosiers had the ball and a chance to tie the game with a 3-point shot. But a 3-pointer by Jamaal Meeks from the right baseline fell short, and Antonio Lang made two foul shots for the Devils with 13.6 seconds to go. Nover made a 3-point shot with six seconds co play, but that was all Indiana could lust r INDIANA (78) FO FT Rob. Min. M-A M-A O-T A FPtm. Cheaney 28 4-13 2-4 2-7 1 5 11 Henderson 32 6-9 2-2 2-5 1 5 15 Nover 20 3-4 2-2 2-3 0 3 9 Reynolds 25 1-4 0-0 0-4 4 4 2 Bailey 22 4-8 0-0 1-3 0 5 9 Meeks 18 1-2 1-2 1-3 8 2 3 Anderson 26 1-6 0-1 2-4 1 2 2 Graham 28 6-9 5-5 0-7 0 5 18 Leary 1 3-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 9 Totals 200 29.68 12-16 12-29 15 33 78 FG- .500. FT- .750. Three-point goals: 8-15, .533 (Leary 3-3, Bailey 1-1, Henderson 1-1, Nover 1-1, Cheaney 1-3, Graham 1-3, Anderson 0-2, Meeks 0-1). Team rebounds: 1. Blocks: 3 (Henderson). Turnovers: 17 (Meeks 5, Nover 3, Reynolds 3, Cheaney 2, Henderson, Bailey, Anderson, Graham). Steals: 6 (Reynolds 3, Henderson, Anderson, Meeks). Technical fouls: coach Bobby Knight. DUKE (81) PG FT Rob. Min. MA A O-T A FPte. Lang 27 1-5 2-2 1-3 0 3 4 Davis 25 1-3 3-7 3-5 0 2 5 Laettner 39 2-8 4-7 1-10 1 3 8 Hurley 37 7-12 6-8 0-0 4 2 26 T. Hi 32 3-10 4-5 1-2 0 2 11 G.Hit 29 6-9 2-4 3-6 6 5 14 Parks 9 3-5 2-3 1-1 0 1 8 Clark 2 0-0 5-6 0-1 0 0 5 Totals 200 23-62 28-42 10-3011 18 81 FG- .442, FT-.6.67. Three-point goals: 7-11, .636 (Hurley6-9, T. Hill 1-1, Laettner-1) Team rebounds: 4. Blocks: 6 (G. Hill 3, Lang. Davis, LaHttner). Turnovers: 12 (Hurley 4. Laettner 2, T. Hill 2, G. Hill 2). Steals: 5 (Hurley 2, T. Hill 2, Davis). Technical fouls: none. Indiana.............. 42'36 - 78 Dke -.... 3744-81 At Metrodome: A-50,379 0 0 KENNETH SMOLLER/Daily Cincinnati's Eric Martin leans in as he shoots over Michigan center Eric Riley during Saturday night action. Martin scored 10 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the Bearcats' losing effort. k TheR Matchups This is the game's marquee position. Third- team All-American Bobby Hurley is a great ball handler and distributor and can stick the open shot. He is also a hard-nosed, tenacious Defender who raises his level of play in big games, as evidenced by his 26 points in Saturday's Duke victory over Indiana. vantane: ic wan Michigan's Jalen Rose, as coach Steve Fisher is fond of saying, simply "knows how to play." Rose has been as close to a go-to guy as the Wolverines have had all year. At 6-foot-8, he has the ability to play all over the court, but his height advantage will be negated if Hurley is not guarding him. Thomas Hill is the unsung member of Duke's starting five, averaging just under 15 points a game. He can stick the open shot, but is best at driving tothe hoopand outleaping his defender. Texan Jimmy King is probably the Wolverine who has made the most improvement during the season. Hehasanaccomplished scorerand defender and everyone knows about his skywalking ability. Skill-wise these two are very similar, but King is more a focus for his team, especially on the defensive end. Advantage: Duke Duke's Grant Hill is the Blue Devils' version of Rose -a 6-foot-7 player with complete skills and tremendousversatility. He filled in admira- bly earlier this season at the pointwhen Hurley broke his foot. He has good perimiter abilities, but is more of a slasher. Fellow Texan Ray Jackson has begun Michigan's defensive stopper. He is also a great rebounder, but he does not yet demon- strate the skills that Hill possesses. Dntonio Lang stepped into the starting lineup Nhen Hill went out with an injury and has stayed there ever since. He is a good shot- locker, but is not used much at the offensive nd. He gets most of his point in the paint off of ebounds or good feeds. A van ge: ic r:an Everyone knows about Chris Webber. He has benefited the most from Rose's ascent, which alleviated some of the pressure placed on him. He is a shot-blocker and rebounder extraordinaire, and is a terror to opponents in the lane. Christian Laeuner may be the best player in the NCAA. He has all the skills needed to successfulatthenextlevel. Hehadanoff-game vs. Indiana, scoring only eight points, so expect pim to bounce back in his last college game. Juwan Howard has shown flashes of bril- liance, but he can't compare toLaettner at this point. He is an aggressive player who throws his weight around, and he did a good job limiting Laettner's impactwhen these twoteams met in December, even though the Blue Devils' center scored 24 points. Duke's Thomas Hill charges into Indiana's Jamaal Meeks during the Blue Devils 81-78 victory over the Hoosiers in Saturday night's national semifinal game. Duke will try and defend its title against Michigan in tonight's title game. Advantage: UUKe Duke's bench has been depleted by a severel sprained ankle to starter Brian Davis, forcin Grant Hill into the lineup. But frosh centel Cherokee Parks had eight points in ninE minutes and figures to get more playing time. Advantage: Michigan Neither team goes deep into its bench, but Michigan's is made up of former starters with valuable experience who can still play. CHAMPIONSHIP Continued from page 1 1 ake Jackson's lead then, call it The 'toung and the Restless -- at least the way the Michigan players are talking.. "We don't want to wait until next year," Chris Webber said. "We want to win it now." So does Duke, quite obviously. A victory tonight would give the Blue Devils their second straight national championship, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since UCLA's reign ended in 1973. "What Mike Krzyzewski has done at Duke is unheard of," Mich- igan coach Steve Fisher said yesterday. "They have had a phe- nomenal, phenomenal run. They put themselves in a position year after said. All that adds up to a marquee matchup, one that will captivate the entire nation. Too much hype? Maybe, but if any one game de- serves it, it's this one. Especially based on their last meeting, the early-season thriller almost lost. "Now they're a lot better," he added. "They went through a tough Big Ten season and they're playing their best ball now. We've got to be ready to play." Most analysts seem to think they will be and the Blue Devils are a six and a half point favorite. "We don't mind being an under- dog," Rose said. "Being an underdog has gotten us this far. We can't worry about the oddsmakers." Webber couldn't agree more, be- cause the oddsmakers and analysts picked Michigan to lose to both Oklahoma State and Ohio State previously. "I saw Dick Vitale and Jim Valvano on television and someone asked them who would win the game," Webber said. "I was hoping IAdvantage: Duke x ml_ L. J