10A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 27, 1997
Minnesota celebrates first conference title since 1982 3
By Danielle Rumore
Daily Sports Editor
The Golden Gophers pranced around
Crisler Arena like they owned the place.
After their 55-54 win over the Wolverines,
they had every reason to celebrate. When
Bobby Jackson was fouled with 2.9 seconds
remaining and sank one free throw to seal the
game, the Gophers clinched the Big Ten
championship - their first since 1982.
And then they cut down the nets.
"We weren't going to lose this game,"
Jackson said. "This team is about playing
together as a unit. This is the second of three
goals that we've accomplished."
The Gophers, now at 25-2 overall and 14-1
in the conference, are almost guaranteed a
No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tourna-
ment.
Minnesota coach Clem Haskins, adorned
with Big Ten championship T-shirt and hat
and one one of Crisler's
nets hanging around his
neck, discussed cutting
down the nets on the road. t
"My (athletic director)S
came over to me and said, '
'It's OK, Coach, to cut the
nets down,"' Haskins said.
"I think there's a right way
and wrong way to do.
things. I try to show class
in defeat, and I try to show class the same
way when we win."
The only goal left for Minnesota to accom-
plish this season is winning the NCAA title,
according to Haskins.
The Wolverines, on the other hand, have
more modest objectives. They've dropped
four straight. They have three games left on
their regular-season schedule and will almost
certainly have to win all of them to receive
an invitation to the NCAA tournament.
THE STARTING LINEUP: Junior forward
Maceo Baston started in place of Jerod Ward
- Baston's first start for the Wolverines
since the Dec. 21 game versus Arizona at the
Palace.
It was the second straight game Ward
began on the bench.
Baston finished with 13 points and 12
rebounds, leading the team in both cate-
gori es.
UNCHARITABLE CHARITY: Yesterday's
game went down to the wire, but there's a
good chance the Wolverines may have been
on the other end of a one-point game had
they been more successful at the free-throw
line.
Last night, Michigan sank just 7 of 18 free
throws - bad enough for 38.9 percent - its
worst showing of the season.
Prior to last night's loss, the Wolverines
ranked sixth in Big Ten free-throw shooting
percentage at 69.1 percent. Bullock leads the
league at 90.7 percent, and last night he was
perfect at the line, sinking both of his
attempts.
"When you look at the stat line, 7 for 18
from the free-throw line was a crucial stat
that creeps up at you," Fisher said.
No Mo' Mo: Michigan forward Maurice
Taylor suffered a broken nose against
Wisconsin on Feb. 6 and has worn a protective
mask to protect his nose since the incident.
Last night, a few minutes into the first
half, Taylor removed the steamed-up mask
and kept it off for the entire game.
He finished with just six points and fo
rebounds - his worst performance since0
started wearing the mask during the Feb. 8
game against Penn State.
DEJA VU: The Wolverines hold a 45-16
record against the Gophers in Ann Arbor,
including a 26-2 record against Minnesota in
Crisler Arena.
The last time the Wolverines fell to the
Gophers, prior to last night, was on Feb.'25,
1982, the same year Minnesota won its last
Big Ten title.
Badgers closer to NCAA bid
MADISON (AP) - Ty
Calderwood's 3-pointer with seven sec-
onds left gave Wisconsin a 49-48 vic-
tory over Iowa last night and assured
the Badgers of their first winning Big
Ten record since 1974.
Wisconsin (10-5 Big Ten,17-7 over-
all) is riding a six-game conference
winning streak for the first time since
1951.
Duany Duany hit two straight 3-
point baskets to cap a 13-3 Wisconsin
run to tie the
game, 36-36, with
just under nine
minutes remain-
ing.
Cal derwood
pulled the Badgers
CONIFERENCE
Roud u
Roundup
ADVERT I SEMENT
V-VARSITY
C-CLUB
WINTRAMURAL
m =
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN'
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1
MEN'S SWIMMINGN
AT BiG TEN
CHAMPIONSHIPS
INDIANA UNIVERSITY
WOMEN'S
GYMNASTICSN
AT UTAH::
7:00 PW
WOMEN'S SWIMMINGN
LAST CHANCE INVIT
CANHAM NATATORIUM
MEN'S GYMNASTICSN
AT SANTA BARBARA INVIT, 7:00 PM
MEN'S TENNISN
VS. VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH
MEN'S BASKETBALL/V
AT ILLINOIS, 2:00 PM
WOMEN'S TENNISN
AT SAN DIEGO, 1:00 PM
MEN'S HOCKEYN
AT MIAMI, 7:00 PM
WOMEN'S CREWN
GOVERNOR'S CUP REGATTA
TAMPA, FL
MEN'S BASEBALL/V
AT STETSON, DELAND, FL, 7:00 PM
MEN'S TRACK & FIELD/V
SILVERSTON INVIT.
TRACK AND TENNIS BUILDING
WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD/V
SILVERSTON INVIT.
TRACK AND TENNIS BUILDING
2
WOMEN'S SWIMMINGN
LAST CHANCE 1'
CANHAM NATATORIUM .
WOMEN'S TENNISN
AT PEPPERDNE, NOON
MEN'S HOCKEYN
AT OHIO STATE, 1 00 PM
WOMEN'S CREWN
GOVERNOR'S CUP REGATTA
TAMPA, FL
MEN'S BASEBALLN
AT STETSON, DELAND, FL
1:00 PM
to within two points on a driving layup
with 17.2 seconds remaining.
Wisconsin got the ball back with
14.8 seconds left on Iowa's inbounds
play under the Badger basket, as the
ball came loose and Mike
Kosolcharoen dove to get it, then called
timeout.
Iowa (9-6, 18-9) had one last chance
to win the game, but Andre
Woolridge's last-second shot bounced
Big Ten Standings
Team Conf. Overall
Minnesota 14-1 25-2
Purdue 11-5 16-10
Wisconsin 10-5 17-7
lowa 9-6 18-9
Illinois 9-6 19.8
Indiana 8-7 21-8
Michigan 7-8 17-10Q
Michigan State 7-8 14-10
Ohio State 5-10 10-14
Penn State 2-14 9-16
Northwestern 2-14 7-20
off the rim. Woolridge led the
Hawkeyes with 17 points.
MICHIGAN STATE 67,0OHIO STATE 65
Jason Klein's only shot of the second
half, a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left,
provided the winning basket as
Michigan State beat Ohio State 67-65
last night.
The loss doomed Ohio State (5-10,
10-14) to its fourth straight losing
season - the first time that's hap-
pened in the school's 98 years of the
sport.
Klein, who finished with 13 points,
hit his big bucket after taking a pass
from Thomas Kelley, who passed the
ball out while driving the lane.
Antonio Smith later added a free
throw, with Ohio State's Damon
Stringer closing the scoring with a 50-
foot 3-pointer at the final buzzer.
Ray Weathers led the Spartans (7-8,
14-10) with 21 points, hitting 8 of 12
shots from the field including 5-of-8 3-
pointers.
The win assured Michigan State of a
winning record, and improved the
Spartans' chances of an NIT bid.
PURDUE 72, NORTHWESTERN 61
Chad Austin scored 20 points and
Jaraan Cornell added 15 to give Purdue
its third straight victory last night, a
72-61 decision over Northwestern.
The victory kept the Boilermakers in
second place in the Big Ten, a half-
game ahead of Wisconsin.
Northwestern (2-14, 7-20) fought
back to tie the game at 52 and again at
54.
But a pair of free throws by Mike
Robinson sparked an 8-0 Purdue run,
and the Boilermakers (11-5, 16-10)
sank 10 of 12 free throws in the final
2:02 to seal the victory.
The Boilermakers, who entered the
game averaging 43 percent from the
floor, shot just 36 percent (9 of 25) in
the first half.
LET YOUR NIKE STUDENT REP KNOW THE TIME AND LOCATION OF YOUR EVENTS FOR NEXT MOCNTH REACH HER AT JEN UNDER@NIKE C2ON
Spring
Studeni
C
mmencement
jumps toNB
LEXINGTON, Ken. (AP) -lRo
Mercer, the Kentucky forward w ho
leads the SEC in scoring, is giving
up his last two years of eligibl aty
after the season to enter the N1A
draft,
The widely anticipated decision
comes with No. 3 Kentucky
approaching postseason play, and
coach Rick Pitino has said that
Mercer's announcement wol
remove a distraction from the teami.
"Certainly Ron Mercer has ben
soncone special for us the past two
years," Pitino said. "He helped us
win a championship last year. He's
been a humble, hard-working play-
er since the day I met him."
Merccr, a finalist for playe(, of
the year awards, is averaging l8.1
points and 5.3 rebounds a game and
is expected to be one of thet
selections in the June draft.
The 6-foot-7 sophomore from
Nashville, Tenn., recently took out
an insurance policy that would pay
him $500,000 in case of a careera
ending injury during the rest of the
season.
Mercer's teammate, Derek
Anderson, sustained a season-end-
ing knee injury Jan18.
"The thing that happened
Derek made me think what cou
happen to me," Mercer said.
Mercer said he talked with his
parents last week about turning pro.
He said his mother wanted hit to
get his education.
"She told me to take some time
out and think about it," Mrer:;'
said.
FANS
Continued from Page 8A
and watch.
"There's only so much the fans can
do," Abramson said. "In the end, the
good teams usually come out on top, and
tonight, that was Minnesota"
And back to coaching the Wolverines
and not the fans for Fisher. But
Michigan students may get to see their
Wolverines on the Crisler hardwood
again this season. 0
Michigan may host a first-round NIT
game.
BUMBLED
Continued from Page 8A
Jackson for Big Ten player of the year
honors. Jackson had18 points, nine
rebounds and three steals yesterday and
helped hold Bullock to 12 points on
of-1 I shooting. 1
Michigan staked a 17-6 lead after con-
secutive 3-pointers from Conlan and
Bullock with 8:46 left in the first half.
But Minnesota reeled of a 14-0 run of is
own to take a 20-17 lead.
But the Wolverines came back with an
11-3 spurt to take a 31-25 lead into half-
time. The Gophers got as close as one in
the early stages of the second half, but
Michigan never trailed before a John
Thomas jump hook with 5:57 left g
Minnesota a 48-47 lead.
MINNESOTA (55)
FQ FT RE
MIN MA M-A OT A F PTS
James 27 1-2 0-2 0-4 2 1 2
Jacobson 21 1-4 2-3 0-1 2 4 9
Thomas J. 22 35 0.0 2-5 2 4 6
Jackson 37 7-13 34 1-9 0 2 18
Harris 33 4-9 34 01 7 0 12
Winter 15 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 3 0
Lewis 18 3-7 0-0 23 0 2
Tarver 17 0-0 0-0 01 0 2
Thomas C. 10 0-1 2-2 0-1 0 2 2
Totals 200 21-4610-156-301320 55
FG%: .457. FT%: .667. 3-point FG: 3-12,
.250 (Harris 1-3, Jackson 1-4, Jacobson 1-
4, Lewis 0-1), Blocks: 1 (Jackson). Steals:
6 (Jackson 3, Harris, James, Thomas J.).
Technical Fouls: none.
C
tSpeaker
rEntries
The Office of University Relations is making a
Call for Entries for a Student Speaker
at Spring Commencement
Saturday, May 3, 1997
9:30 a.m.
Michigan Stadium
The student speaker must be receiving a
bachelor's degree during Winter Term 1997 or
Summer Term 1997
Submit
" Curriculum Vitae (or resume) highlighting U-M
scholarship and campus leadership
" Typed draft of speech (no more than 5:
miniitP., in lanothl
SARA STILLMAN/Daily
Center John Thomas was just one of many Golden Gophers to cut down the Crisler
Arena nets last night in celebration of Minnesota's first Big Ten title since 1982.
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