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he Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 26, 2001- 7B
«Familiar faces will be foes in Final Four
By Nathan Unsley
Daily Sports Writer
It's like this every season. everyone gets excited about the "parity" in college bas-
ketball and the Cinderella performances in the NCAA Tournament, and then the
Final Four rolls around and all the teams are big schools from the power conferences.
And so here we are. We've come all this way, only to see two teams from the ACC,
-one from the Big Ten and one from the Pac-14.
Sure, watching the NCAA Tournament is frustrating. You probably threw M
down your pool sheet a long time ago (thanks a lot, Iowa State and North
Carolina) and decided to just be a fan.
And now, you just wish that someone other than four of the preseason top
seven teams would make the Final Four.
Well, instead of moping around the dorm room - as if there's really
enough room to mope - pick yourself up and watch the games next week. They will
not offer the promise of a no-name school from a no-name conference winning the
title, but they will offer the best that college basketball has to offer.
EAsT No.'A DUKE VS.WEST No.3 MARYLAND
Duke and Maryland have played six halves and an overtime this season, and have
proved only that they may be the most evenly matched teams in the land.
The Terrapins, losers of two of the three games this season, defeated Stanford
behind their wide-bodied big man, Lonnie Baxter and his 24 points and six
rebounds.
The key for Maryland was its shooting, as the Terrapins took advantage of their
team quickness and Baxter's strength to make 58 percent of their shots.
This will not be the case against Duke.
The Blue Devils offer the nation's best defensive player in forward Shane Battier
and a just-as-wide body inside with Carlos Boozer.
If Maryland is to win, they must find a way to do two things: Stop Jason Williams,
Polo seniors.
honored as
BlUe wins /
By J. Brady McCotlough
Oaily Sports Writer
Duke's superstar point guard, and find a way to get its own supposed superstar, Ter-
ence Morris, on track.
Morris has been less than dazzling to this point in the tournament, averaging less
than 10 points per game. For a plhyer that was a preseason All-America selection and
a candidate for national Player of the Year, that is unacceptable.
Duke's Naismith Award winner, Shane Battier, has been anything but Morris-like.
Battier has averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds per game in the tournament provid-
ing the Scottie to Jason Williams' Michael.
Maryland will need to use shooting guard Juan Dixon's defensive ability
to stop Williams from scoring at will and create fast breaks and easy bas-
kets for the Terps, which he has done at times in the tournament.
This game should be similar to the ACC Tournament semifinal game
between the two teams,,which Duke won on a tip-in by Nate James in the
closing seconds. Expect the game to go down to the last minute, with
Duke winning a close one.
Duke 83, Maryland 79
SOUTH No. 1 MICHIGAN STATE DVS. MIDWEST No.2 ARIZONA
Unlike the matchup on the other side of the bracket, Arizona and Michigan State
did not face off during the regular season.
The Wildcats have been on a roll of late, with their last loss coming at UCLA on
Feb. 15. The 10-game streak includes a 44-point victory at Southern Cal and a win at
Stanford to secure a share of the Pac-10 title.
Arizona features a starting five that may be more talented than any other in the
country, but will have to face a deep and physical Michigan State team that will push
the Wildcats around underneath.
Michigan State has had a relativedy easy road to the finals, facing every underdog
possible - every opponent has been a nine-seed or worse in each of its first four
games.
The Spartans have had some unasual heroes so far, as their star forward, Jason
Midviest
I IllinoiV 81
A ri zo)n,,
2 Arizori a 87
Sou th
1 Michigi 1 State 69
M icigan State
11 Termole 62
East
1 Duke 79
6 Southern Cal 69
West
1 Stanford 73
Mryaryld
3 Maryland $7
Richardsorn, has struggled with his outside shooting. In the regional final, it was
shooting gut ird Dave Thomas who stepped up with a career-high 19 points.
Michigan State will be able to call on championship experience from two of its
blue-collar 5
Arizona';
only Wildc
Michiga 1
will need t
Arizona,
ter Loren I
their custon
But in tl
Michigan ,'j
tars, Andre Hutson and Charlie Bell.
Eugene Edgerson, a member of the 1997 championship squad, is the
t to play in the Final Four.
State, which has played stifling defense to this point in the tournament,
slow the high-powered backeourt of Jason Gardner and Gilbert Arenas.
which relies on quickness on the perimeter and the shot-blocking of cen-
Voods to defend, will have trouble stopping the Spartans from scoring
iary 20-plus points per game on put-backs.
end, Arizona's talent will come through because of the cold-shooting of
tate's Bell and Richardson.
Arizona ''74, Michigan State 63
a
All the athletic director's men.
Athletic Director Bil Martin named 10 members t!> the committee to advise in the hiring of Michigan's next coach:
Current players
LAVEu. BLANCHARD - The isopho-
more forward led Michig;an in
scoring with 17.8 points, per
game.
CHRIS YOUNG - One of tv i o
returning seniors for neyr t year,
the center made 64 per tent of
his field goals to lead ttias
team.
Staff and Administration
WARDE MANUEL - Former Ath-
letic Director Tom Goss named
Manuel an associate Athletic
Director. Manuel is a former
defensive tackle for the Michi-
gan football team.
TED SPENCER - Spencer is the
director of admissions for
Michigan.
SUE GUEVARA - The Michigan
women's basketball coach is
tied for first on the all-time win
Wolverines after just five years.
No. 13 Michigan (14-9-1) honored
jtS three seniors, Melissa Karjala,
,hristy Lilley and Torye Santucci,
before their last game in Canham Nata-
torium Sunday.
Appropriately, the seniors will leave
Can ham the way that they deserve -
as winners. Michigan swept the South-
ern Division Tournament this weekend,
finishing 4-0, including two hard-
fought victories over arch-rival No. 17
Indiana, 6-5 and 10-9.
It was an emotional moment for the
Wolverines, as the seniors received
their flowers and embraced their par-
-nts to close out the first year of the
varsity Michigan women's water polo,
"A lot of players got teary-eyed
when we were doing the (flower) pre-
- sentations,. and that's how much (the
seniors) mean to this team," Michigan
coach Amber Drury-Pinto said. "And it
wasn't just the returning players, it was
the freshmen too. (The seniors) are the
lifeblood of this team."
The 2001 senior class, while being a
vital part of the team's success in the
water, will be remembered the most for
'their hard work and patience in bring-
ing former club players and recruited
scholarship players together.
° p "They've been everything to this pro-
,gram," Drury-Pinto said. "Coming into
the fall, we had a large group of fresh-
men and a returning group, and nobody
v'as really sure - they didn't really
know me that well. Our seniors really
ltepped up for us. They provided the
-eadership we needed, and it has contin-
ued throughout the whole season."
With less than two months left in the
season, all the younger Wlverines can
do is just try and get the most out of
the time they have left with the depart-
ing seniors.
"It's going to be so sad not to see
them around for a long time" sopho-
more Stephanie Morse said. "I've real-
y gotten to love the seniors, but we've
still eot a couole of months left with
Manuel
Former Mlayers
MIKE GRIFFIN - (1987-1990) Griffin carr oe off
the bench for Michigan in his three yeati s.
MARK HUGHES -(1986-1989) Hughes, a co-
captain in Michigan's championship yea r of
1989, has coached the Grand Rapids H >ops,
formerly of the CBA and now part of thf Inter-
national Basketball League.
tIM MCCORMICK - (1981-1984) Now an
announcer for ESPN college basketball .games,
McCormick won the MVP of the 1984 R JIT.
BUTCH WADE - (1983-1986) Wade just -finished
his first year as an assistant coach at !-aginaw
Valley State University. He co-captainedi the
Wolverines in the 198, t-85 and
1985-86 seasons.
RUDY TOMJANOVICH (196 Ef>1970)
.... - Wih Michael Jordanl out of
the league, the Rocket4 s won
the NBA Championshiri s in
1994 and 1995 under " Fom-
janovich.
Rudy T set the reboun iling
record for the Wolverihues in his
romjanovich career with 1,039.
list for the
BRENUAN UUONNLLL/Dally
Water polo said goodbye to its seniors for the first time as a varsity sport.
them, and we'll hold onto that."
Both games against Indiana were
tied at the end of regulation, just like
the first game one month ago in which
they tied 4-4.
But this time, there was an overtime
period, and Michigan took full advan-
tage, winning the first game in over-
time, and stealing Sunday's game in
sudden death.
"In sudden death it can go either
way," said senior captain Melissa Kar-
jala, who led the team in scoring for
the weekend. "No one gave up, and
everyone stayed on top (of their
game)."
Michigan's clutch victories over
Indiana were important for many dif-
ferent reasons. The Wolverines' sweep
of the Hoosiers gives them an open
road to the No. 1 seed in the Southern
Division Championships two weeks
from now. Also, Michigan stayed unde-
feated against its Eastern Conference
opponents.
Drury-Pinto, although satisfied with
the team's performance, wants to make
sure the Wolverines stay focused.
"They are big wins, but it's like I' '
told my girls, those are the games that
we need to expect to win," Drury-Pinto
said. "It's a big win, yes, but it's noth4
ing to cheer about. We made our jobs a
lot more difficult than they had to be"
The family atmosphere translated
into wins. The parents, players, coaches
and everyone around the program have
combined to make this inaugural year a
success. For proof, just look at how
Drury-Pinto measures her team's'
improvement.
"The thing that I use as a measure a
lot of times is the parents," Drury-Pinto
said. "They're coming in and they're1
like 'Oh my god, (the team) looks so,
fit, they're so much more smooth in the
water, their passes are really zinging
around.' I like hearing that."
JESICA s JtH NON) ,Di ly(
Sue Guevara represents Michigan coaches on the commifttr.
Ii
..
Y
M
To Members. of the University Community,
You are cordially invited to the 22nd annual
11
Food for Thought
Human Rights
The protesters accused the
U.S. of supporting a brutal
- South Vietnamese regime.
Where are the protesters now
when communist Vietnam is
sterilizing Montagnard women
with caustic chemicals?
Gary Lillie & Assoc., Realtors
www.garylillie.com
CANBEM rt .C HL
9754357
U NIVER ' ITY OF MICHIGAN'S
MI CHIGA N L EADE R S HI P AWARDS
Honoring students, faculty, and staff in the
following award categories:
Outstay iding Student Leader
Outstay ding New Member
Outstai iding Student Organization
Progra Fn of the Year
Adviso r of the Year
Studer i.Legacy
Tapest ry
Monday, March 26, 2001
Ceremony! begins prompty at 4:00 p.m.
Lydia Mendelssohn Theater
Receptiont to follow in the Alumni Center.
*
JOBS!!!
Summer Term
Apply now
at the Law Library-
Sponsored by: The Office of Student Activities and Leadership,
Division of Student Affairs, The Alumni Association of the
Universitv of Michion. and The Student Alumni Center.