. ems. # 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.