The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 10, 2000 - 15 Mg man Stephens helps bottom line 2000 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Thurs. Mar. 9 Fri. Mar. 10 Sat, Mar U1 Sun. Mar. 12 Minnesota comeback falls short, Iowa wins By Chris Duprey Daily Sports Editor *CHICAGO - Penn State's Jarrett Stephens is a consensus first-team All-Big Ten pick. He's averaged almost 19 points and II rebounds a game, and he's heard just about every accolade - and criticism - that's been thrown his way. Stephens had just 10 points yester- day against Michigan. The senior was- n't his usual dominating self, and he wasn't able to bull over Peter Vignier te he has done to so many other fenders in the Big Ten this season. But, most importantly, his team won, advancing to today's quarterfinal against Ohio State. And Stephens' col- legiate career has been extended for at least one more day, since the Nittany Lions would need an upset win today to earn an NIT berth. That's the bottom line for Stephens, a 6-foot-7, 255-pounder who can best described as a hoss - mostly mus- e, a little bit of fat and a lot of deter- mination to prove that he isn't a "tweener," he's a player. "I would like to think I'm a matchup problem. I want to be the kind of person that everyone hates to play against," Stephens said. "I'm not as big as any other post player in the league, but I try to use my quickness, my body and my strength." Stephens is too physical for any of chigan's smaller forwards to guard , so Vignier answered the call. He kept a forearm in Stephens' back and kept him a safe distance from the basket for most of the after- noon. The leading scorer on most teams would feel pressured to get his aver- age, if for nothing else other than ego. But the patient Stephens took the me as it came to him, saw the or,and distributed the ball to his teammates out of the post. So instead of Stephens scoring 22 points, his point guard Joe Crispin did. Stephens' inside-outside ball move- ment helped produce four double- WH EELER Continued from Page 14 neffective Asselin and a foul-trou- bled Young, hit a long jump shot from the corner and a bucket inside on the ensuing possession, bringing the Wolverines back from a double- digit deficit halfway through the sec- ond half. He pumped his fist in the air and yelled at his jubilant teammates, and I realized that he had become Michigan's leading scorer on the eight. Where had all this emotion come from? Vignier was the team scholar who refused to help his teammates with book reviews or essays before the season because he was too shy. But his face after the game - as, long as his body is slender - revealed why Vignier was psyched during yesterday's Big Ten Tournament game. As a senior, this was his last shot *n this single-elimination conference MICHIGAN (66) FG FT REB MIN MA M-A 0 A F PTS lanchard 39 3-11 6-7 2-8 3 s 141 Smith 27 3 4 2 2 1 1 2 4 8 Asseln 7 0 2 -0-0 1 3 0 1 0 Groninger 39 4 14 2 2 0-4 3 4 13 Gaes 2 0 -5 '12 02 44 4 Jones 31 3-8 0.1 1 1 3 4 6 Young 8 12 2-2 1-20 4 4 Vignier 27 7-12 2-5 5-11 1 1 16 Totals 200 23 58 1521 12 36 16 27 66 FG% 397, FT% 714 3point FG, 4 19, 211 (Blanchard 2Groninger 2) Blocks. , (Vignier 2, Blanchard, Jones, Young) leals 3 (Blanchard, Smith, Vi nier). Turnovers: 13 (Gaines 3, Blanchard 2 Smith 2, Groninger 2, Vignier 2, Jones, Young). Technical Fouls: none. PENN STATE (76) FG- FT REB MIN M-A M-A 0T A F PTS Stephens 35 4-8 2-2 3 7 3 3 10 Ivry 3 5-10 5,5 1-3 4 4 17 Jakson 2 0-0 0-0 1-4 0 0 0 Joe Crispin 5-14 10-12 2 9 93 22 Jon Crispin 35 2-7 00 0-1 53 6 Watkins 4 0.0 0.0 -0 0 0 0 Cline-HuM 32 8-t 3 2 7 2-6 1 3 18 Smith 21-2 14 0 1 3 Hanta 2 4 0.90 00 0 1 0 Tals I 254 298 12 40 22 18 76 FG% 463. , 714.pont FG 620, 300 Oon Crispin 2, Joe r a ny 2). Blocks 6 (sackon 2, Stephens, Ivory ib eard Banta) Steals: 7 (Stephens 2, Ivory 2, Clne-Heard 2, Ratkins) Tur novers: 12 (o Cris n S Stephens 3 Jon Crispin 2, Ivory, Cline Heard) Technical Fouls none (4) Illinois (6) Indiana Game 8 (1) Ohio state (a) Michigan Gay (9) Penn St. (9) Penn St (2) Michigan St. r u G (7) Iowa 9 (7) Iowa (10) Minnie t r; e (3) Purdue (6) Wisconsin m (l) Wisconsin Al games played at Unitod CefNter,,Chicago. (11) N we% rim All ipoff tines are Eastern Standard Time. Games 8. 9 and 10 are televised on CBS. Other games are televised on ESPN networks. Cin1Cy lo-ses Martin, culyetourney CHICAGO (AP) - Iowa got off to a fast start and a big lead, thanks to Kyle Galloway's hot 3-point shooting. Still, the I lawkeyes struggled to put undermanned and scrappy Minnesota away in the Big Ten Tournament. Not until Galloway hit four free throws in the final 15 seconds and a Minnesota 3-point attempt Just before the buzzer bounced off the rim was the victory secured. The Hawkeyes survived a furious Gophers rally for a 81-78 victory last night. Minnesota, its roster short-handed and its program reeling from an academic cheating scandal, trailed by 21 points early in the second half and was still behind 72-55 with 8:3) to go. But Terrance Simmons brought the Gophers back. Just not all the way. Simmons had 18 second-half points and scored Minnesota's final 10 durin a 23-7 run that pulled the Gophers to within one with 5.9 seconds to go. His 3-pointer at the buzzer for a tie went off the rim and Minnesota headed home with a gallant effort and a seven-game losing streak. The Gophers, under a self-imposed, one-year ban from postseason play fol- lowing a program-shaking academic scandal, lost on a day the school announced that 17 current and former athletes face possible discipline for their role in the cheating. (Coach Dan Monson said none of them are current players. Minnesota was without its best player, center Joel Przybilla, who quit the team last month after he was suspended for missing classes. The Gophers also missed forward John-Blair Bickerstaff, out after breaking his leg in February, and had only four players on their roster who'd ever played in the three-year-old tournament. WisCoNsiN 51, NORTHWESTERN 41: When the Big Ten's best defense and the league's worst team meet, one things for sure: It's going to be ugly. Mark Vershaw scored 1 7 points and had five assists yesterday as Wisconsin beat Northwestern 51-41 in the lowest-scoring game ever in the Big Ten Tournament. The 92 points broke the mark of 98 scored in Northwestern's 54-44 victory over Penn State last year. Wisconsin, the sixth seed in the tourna- ment, will play third-seeded Purdue in today's quarterfinals. Penn ,tale.........,,..31 45 - 66, -76 At United Center, Chicago . Attendance. Not Available digit scorers for Penn State, the type of balance the Nittany Lions have had trouble finding all season Stephens played quarterbac4, running the offense from the low blocks en route to a three-assist afternoon. Somewhere, the great Big Ten hoss- es of the past - guys like Iowa's Jess Settles, Michigan's Robert Traylor and Minnesota's Courtney James - are smiling at what Stephens has accomplished this season. In a strong league like the Big Ten, players of Stephens' build and talent are becom- ing increasingly valuable. "Ile brings the best out of a lot of players," fellow Penn State big man Carl Jackson said of Stephens, his practice opponent every day. "lie's the Charles Barkley type. There's no doubt in my mind" that Stephens will play in the NBA. "It's just a matter of someone giving him a chance to do it." showcase, and probably his last game against a Big Ten team. Michigan will probably land a spot in the National Invitational Tournament next week, but it won't be against another regular-season foe. Then again, in the Wolverines' minds, there's always the chance that yesterday's loss was the end of their season. And for Vignier, the end of his college basketball career. It makes sense, then, that he bolt- ed out of the shadows against Penn State, in the tournament which his team won as a sophomore - Ellerbe's first year as Michigan's coach. The sun is setting on Peter Vignier's basketball career: It may not have been an illustrious one, or even one that a Michigan sports fan will remember in five years. But to an RC student who watched Vignier duck under the low ceilings in Fast Quad, it will never be forgotten. r | FRIENDS WORLD PROGRAM MEMPHIS. Tenn. (AP) -Kenyon Martin knew his season was over before he hit the floor. Cincinnati's star player, perhaps the best in college basketball, was setting a screen in the opening min- utes of Cincinnati's Conference USA tournament opener yesterday, when he bumped into Saint Louis' Justin Love. Martin's ankle turned underneath him as he fell, breaking his right fibula and ripping several ligaments. Gone in that instant his drieams of leading top-ranked Cincinnati to its first national championship since the 19%0s and the days of Oscar Robertson. "I didn't have any control over it," Martin said quietly after Cincinnati's 68-58 loss to Saint Louis, Sitting in a wheelchair with his foot in a cast, Martin said he told Angelo Colosimo that his leg was broken as soon as the doctor came onto the floor. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Martin was selected the Conference USA player of the year Wednesday, and is the favorite for national player of the year honors. He led the conference with 19.5 points and 10 rebounds a game. He also had the top field-goal per- centage (57 percent) and is the career blocked shots leader for both Cincinnati and Conference USA with 292. He set the single-season mark with 107. With Martin, Cincinnati set a reg- ular-season record with 28 victories. The Bearcats also had the first unde- feated record in conference play at 16-0. Martin will play again. Colosimo said doctors will insert a screw into Martin's ankle, and that he should be able to start running again in eight weeks. That won't be soon enough for the Bearcats, who had been looking for a No. I seed in the NCAA tournament. "This was their chance," coach Bob Huggins said. "You just have very few chances I think in life to be special, and we've gone through a lot." STUDY ABROAD SUMMER PROGRAMS Earn college credit, choose from one of two exciting learning experiences June 10, - July 1, 2000 (6-credits) A two-week "hands-on" exploration of London and its multi-ethnic culture and history, followed by one week in Northern Ireland examining its continuing conflict INCLUSIVE COST $4,100 A non-refundable deposit of $600 due on April 1, 2000 Full payment due May 1 limited to 20 students I June 8, - July 3, 2000 (3 credits Environmental Studies 3 credits Spanish) An introduction to the environmental issues of - Costa Rica, through field trips, seminars and readings, and Spanish langauge immersion experience including home stays INCLUSIVE COST $3,800 A non-refundable deposit of $600 due on April 1, 2000 Full payment due May limited to 20 students FRIENDs WORLD PROGRAM ONGISUAND LOWESTPRICES! HIGHEST QUALITY! FASTESTSERWCE! ® 1002 PONTIAC TR. 994-167 Ha El N \ m mvm.........