The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - April 6, 1992 - Page 5 BASKETBALL FIOTEBOOK Rookies compare Michigan to UNLV by Albert Lin and John Niyo Daily Basketball Writers Michigan's precocious rookies raised some eyebrows yesterday when they insinuated that they want to win tonight partly to avenge UNLV's loss toDuke in last year's semifinals. "When I was in high school, I had a lot of faith in UNLV," Jalen Rose said. "I felt I was part of the team and it hurt me when they lost almost as much as it hurt them. So I think that is a factor. "They played with a lot of heart," he added. "They could hurt you from the inside and the outside. They were always being questioned just like we are. But we overcame that, just like they did." Chris Webber agreed, though he cautioned that the Wolverines want to win for themselves, first and foremost. "I can relate a lot more to UNLV than I can to a Michigan or a Duke," Webber said. "Not because of the academics, or anything like that. But just because of the makeup of the players. "I remember people criticizing (former UNLV forward) Larry Johnson, because every time he scored, he would smile. That's the same thing I do. I remember (former Rebel center) George Ackles was screaming on every rebound. That's the same thing Juwan (Howard) does. "We don't do it because of them, though. I think the biggest reason we relate to them is because they had fun no matter what they did." Webber thinks that he was not alone in his thinking. "My friends at home, not because of the baggy shorts or the run- and-gun style of play - I think a lot of people in the inner-city related to that and to UNLV," Webber added. "I think a lot of kids in the inner- city - I know when I go back to Detroit - they look at us just like we did to UNLV because we have fun." WHO DO YA TRUST?: Despite his heroics Saturday, James Voskuil made a play as time ran down that almost gave Cincinnati new life. Voskuil fouled Nick Van Exel on a three-pointer with 19 second left and Michigan up 76-69. The shot dropped pulling the Bearcats within four and a free throw attempt to follow. Voskuil stood in disbelief but Jalen Rose came over to comfort him. Rose spoke into Voskuil's ear for a bit and then did the same with Chris Webber., What did Rose say to Voskuil? It depends who you listen to. "I just told him that he was having a great game and don't worry about it because were taking this game home," Rose said. Not quite according to Voskuil. "He said, 'They're just gonna foul me and I'm going to make two free throws and no one will remember the foul'." MAKING HISTORY: Duke is in its fifth straight Final Four and its third consecutive title game, making it only the fourth school in history to play in the championship three straight years. Ohio State (1960-62), Cincinnati (1961-63), and UCLA (1967-73) are the three who have done it thus far. The Blue Devils are also bidding to become the first repeat champions since UCLA won its last of seven in a row from 1967-73. The other who have done it back-to-back? Oklahoma State in 1945-46; Kentucky 194849; San Francisco 1955-56; Cincinnati 1961-62; and UCLA 1964-65 and 1967-73. ACC EXCELLENCE: If Duke wins tonight the Blue Devils would be- come the first team since North Carolina in 1982 to start and finish the regular season at No. 1 and win the NCAA tournament. Duke would also be the first school since that Carolina squad to win the title with two or fewer losses. ALL-TIME ALL-TOURNAMENT: Christian Laettner surpassed Elgin Baylor this year to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA tourna- ment history. He has 288 points in his 22 career games going into tonight's tilt. Laettner is also fifth all-time in tournament rebounds with 162 and second in steals with one less then forward Oklahoma guard Mookie Blaylock's 32. Everyone knows Laettner is a great player but reaching the Final Four in each of your four seasons certainly helps. WHOSE COACH K?: Everyone knows about the incredible success Duke has had in the last seven years, making the Final Four in every sea- son but 1987. But Michigan coach Steve Fisher has his own remarkable run going. Fisher has a chance at his second National Championship in only his third full season at Michigan's helm. And by beating Cincinnati Saturday, Fisher moved past Ed Jucker - who ironically coached the Bearcats in the early 60s to two champi- onships and one second place finish in his first three years - into first place with the NCAA tournaments highest winning percentage. Fisher is now 12-1, winning at a .923 clip in his three tournaments. ANN ARBOR FESTIVITIES: For those fans who are unable to get tickets or Minneapolis or to make the trip, Crisler Arena will open at 8:30 tonight so people can gather and watch the game on big screen TVs. In addition, a pep rally will be held tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. at Crisler to welcome the team home regardless of the outcome of tonight's game. The Wolverines will go directly from Metro Airport to Crisler and are ex- pected to ride by 4:30. Both events are free. INJURIES: Duke's senior starter Brian Davis will probably watch what will be his final game as a Blue Devil from the sideline tonight. Davis suffered a severe high ankle sprain in Saturday's semifinal game against Indiana. Sophomore Grant Hill is also banged up, but is expected to play, start- ing in place of Davis. "They are going through some treatment, but Brian is very doubtful for the game," Krzyzewski said. "We will probably get a reading on that (today). As of right now, I would say that he would not play. Brian has a high ankle sprain. I haven't seen one for 17 years, and we've had three this year. He's a tough kid. If it's possible for him to give us some min- utes, because of his experience, it will help. We can certainly use him." Howard missed yesterday's press conference as well staying at the team's hotel in bed sick. "He was not feeling well before the game," Fisher said. "Hopefully it's only a 24 hour bug. He's back at the hotel under doctor's orders. He'll play. Hopefully he'll be 100 percent, but right now we've got two or three guys coming down with something. Hopefully we'll le ready to go to- morrow night. "Juwan had stomach cramps and a little fever," Fisher added. "But you'd had to shoot Juwan with a gun to keep him from playing." Voskuil steps up to lead Blue Junior's (double) clutch play in second half sparks 7-0 run by Albert Lin Daily Basketball Writer MINNEAPOLIS - The talk throughout the regular season and NCAA tournament surrounding the Wolverines has been mostly about the famed Fab Five. But coach Steve Fisher said be- fore the tournament started that in order for Michigan to advance deep into the NCAAs, a "Mr. X" would have to step up and spark the Wolverines. Last weekend against Oklahoma State it was Eric Riley; Saturday night it was junior forward James Voskuil. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native finished with nine points and four re- bounds in 13 second-half minutes. He also combined with Ray Jackson to hold Cincinnati's leading scorer, Herb Jones, to 14 points on five-for- 13 shooting. ' "I am happier than I've ever been about my basketball right now," a smiling Voskuil said after the game. "I went to a small high school and was not heavily recruited. But I wanted to be part of the best. This is what it's all about." Never were Voskuil's contribu- tions more important than during a 1:38 stretch of crunch time. Michigan had fought back from a halftime deficit to take a 58-56 lead, but the Bearcats answered with a pair of Anthony Buford free throws to tie the score with 5:58 remaining. It was then that Voskuil went to work, igniting a 7-0 Michigan run by driving the lane and double-clutch- ing a shot off the glass while getting "fouled. He. added the free toss 'to complete the three-point play. A minute and a half later, Voskuil rebounded a missed free throw by Jalen Rose and was fouled taking the ball aggressively to the basket. He converted the second of his two shots to cap the run, giving Michigan what proved to be an in- surmountable lead. "He's a good player," Fisher said. "He started most of our games last year ... so it's not like we drugged him in off the street and brought him in. He can play." Michigan also got a boost from another member of its seeminglylost junior class. Point guard Michael Talley provided solid ball handling in his 13 minutes of action. "We came off the bench and did what we had to do," Talley said of he and his classmate Voskuil. "I was prepared and Coach knew. He gave me the opportunity, and I came through." Saturday's victory continues to prove what the rookies have been saying all year - namely that it takes a total team effort to consis- tently come out on top. "A lot of our bench were starters last year," frosh Jimmy King said. "So we have great players confiIg off the bench and we need that so- nior, upper-class leadership." Michigan coach Steve Fisher talks with forward James Voskuil. Voskuil's three-point play helped key a 7-0 second-half Wolverine run. Stanford rolls over Lady Toppers, 78-62 LOS ANGELES (AP) - Stanford won its second NCAA title in three years yesterday with one veteran and one new, fresh face. Junior center Val Whiting had 17 points and 13 rebounds and fresh- man forward Rachel Hemmer had 18 points and 15 rebounds as the Cardinal defeated Western Kentucky 78-62. The victory margin matched the largest ever in a women's NCAA championsip game, achieved on three other occasions. The Cardinal (30-3) beat the Lady Toppers (27-8), playing in their first-ever NCAA championship game, without hitting a basket in the final 9:59. After the Cardinal took its biggest lead, 65-44, with 10:01 to play, Western Kentucky capitalized on turnovers and climbed back into the game with a 15-3 run, cutting the lead to nine on Kim Pehlke's fourth 3-pointer of the day and Trina Wilson's free throw with 2:23 left to play. The Cardinal made 13 of 17 free throws after hitting its last field goal. Junior point guard Molly Goodenbour, a member of Stanford's 1990 championship team, was named the tournament's most outstanding player, with Whiting and Hemmer making the all-tourney team, along with Pehlke and Virginia's Dawn Staley.. Goodenbour had 28 points and 12 assists in the Final Four, hitting four key 3-pointers in the Cardinal's 66- 65 victory over top-ranked Virginia in the semifinals. Pehlke finished with 16 points, and Lisa Lang added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Leading 37-27 at the half, Stanford quickly padded its lead, moving ahead 59-35 on a three free throws by Christy Hedgpeth with 13:20 to play. She scored 10 points during the spurt and finished with 17. The Cardinal took charge of the first half with a 15-6 run that turned a 17-16 Western Kentucky lead into an eight-point Stanford advantage with 4:20 left in the half. Whiting and Hemmer controlled the inside, and the Lady Toppers couldn't hit from outside. They shot 28.6 percent from the field in the game. Hemmer scored 10 of the Cardinal's first 18 points and fin- ished the period with 12. She and Chris MacMurdo controlled the boards, combining for 17 rebounds. The Lady Toppers, who beat Southwest Missouri State 84-72 in the semifinals, played in the 1985. and '86 Final Fours, losing in the semifinals each time. This year, they entered the tournament seeded fourth in the Mideast and upset top-seeded Kentucky and No. 2 seed Maryland on the way to Los Angeles. Stanford, which defeated Auburn to win the 1990 title, was beaten in the semis last year by eventual champion Tennessee. In Saturday's semifinal, Stanford edged past No. 1 ranked Virginia, 66-65. The Cardinal took the lead Lang for good on a Kelly Dougherty free throw with 26 seconds remaining. Whiting led Stanford with 28 points and 12 rebounds. In the first semifinal, Western Kentucky defeated Southwest Missouri State, 84-72. Earlier this season the Michigan women's team defeated the Lady Toppers. WEBBER Continued from page 1 der. A victory tonight would finally settle the score.' Back in December, the resent- ment carried over to the game in the form of trash-talking, Webber says that he looks back - way back - to that first Duke game. After one slam, Webber informed Laettner that he had just been dunked on by a rookie in front of a 'One time he had a dunk and said something like, 'That's how it's done little kid." - Chris Webber Michigan forward national television audience. And Laettner had words of his-own for the upstart frosh. "One time he had a dunk and said something like, 'That's how it's done little kid,"' Webber said. "But after the game, we congratu- lated each other. It was all in fun." Now as the two teams get set to square off one more time, all eyes will be focused once again on that matchup inside. However, Webber says that it would be a mistake for him to do the same. "I can't make this Chris Webber- Laettner," Webber said. "It's Michigan-Duke." And the media is now "looking" Fy ', b }. ::. n.~'~4 --4 ,t.