The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 1, 2004 - 13A Showdown in the Garden It all comes down to this: the NIT Championship Game at Madison Square Garden tonight. With a win, Michigan will be one of only two teams in all of division I college basketball to end its year with a postseason win. The team is coming off of a 25-point dismantling of Oregon, while Rutgers overcame Iowa State's late-game heroics for an overtime victory. The crowd at Madison Square Garden was largely behind Rutgers, as it will undoubtedly be tonight. Here's how the Daily basketball writers see the teams shaking down. TONIGHT Mihian(99 Big 'Ten, 22-1. overall) vs, R tes (7-40 Big East, 2042) T "me t 7 p t. Ma°snSquare Garden m ESPN Dion Harris - The unassuming freshman has been swaggering a lot more lately, thanks to some sharp shooting from the field during the postseason. Tues- day night, he made the most of his looks once again, shooting 50 percent from the floor on the way to 14 points. He'd get the edge in most matchups, were he not up against Rutgers' most consistent threat. Key stats 10.0 points per game 77.3 percent on free throws 34 percent on 3-pointers Shooting guard Edge: Key stats 15.5 points per game 4.8 rebounds per game 90 made 3-pointers Ricky Shields - The junior had been the star of the Scarlet Knights until Douby emerged in the postsea- son. He crossed the 1,000-point total for his career in Rutgers' two-point loss to Syracuse earlier this sea- son. In his third year at Rutgers, the 6-foot-4 guard has averaged 15.5 points per contest. '.I Graham Brown - The sophomore's physical play has been invaluable for the Wolverines during their NIT run. He chipped in nine points in Michigan's victory over Oregon on Tuesday, but managed to grab just two boards. He will be need- ed greatly tonight with Rutgers featuring multiple big bodies down low. Key stats 4.5 points per game 4.1 rebounds per game 56 total offensive boards Power Forward Edge: Key stats 5.6 points per game 6.6 rebounds per game 50 percent from the field Sean Axani - At 6-foot-8, 235 lbs., Axani meas- ures up pretty evenly with Brown down low. But Axani is a senior, a team captain and a smart play- er when it comes to rebounding. Case in point: In Rutgers' win over Iowa State, Axani hauled down 17 rebounds to go with eight points. Michigan - The Wolverines have two players that could start for most Division I teams: center Chris Hunter, who is in mid-season form following an injury-ridden regu- lar season, and guard Lester Abram, who is back at full-strength. Hunter added 10 on Tuesday night thanks to excellent shooting, and Abram has adjusted to his role of com- ing off the bench after coming back from his shoulder injury. Freshman forward Brent Petway seems to improve with every game. Bench Edge: Rutgers - With Douby now supplanted in the starting lineup, Rutgers relies on sophmore center Adrian Hill and junior guard Juel Wiggan to provide a spark off the bench. Hill is one of the Scarlet Knights' best rebounders and can defend well in the interior. Wiggan is second on the team in assists, despite averaging just under 22 min- utes a game. Prediction All year long, Michigan has had trouble playing in front of raucous crowds on the road. And despite the fact that there will likely be upwards of 2,000 Michigan fans in Madison Square Garden tomorrow night, the rest of the place will be packed with Rutgers faithful that make the short trip over from New Jersey. But Michigan is playing as well as it has all year, as evidenced by the Wolverines' explosive dismantling of Oregon on Tues- day. The Wolverines are deeper than the Scarlet Knights and are playing with a tremendous amount of confidence. If Robinson can slow Douby, and Michigan can come up with some type of presence on the inside, then the Wolverines have enough talent to walk off with the title. Michigan, 74-70 LEWIS Continued from Page 10A hoops player, who, amazingly, pre- pared himself for life simply by shooting free throws. In small quantities, the ads aren't actually that bad - the spots are certainly better than the cheesy PSAs that schools run dur- ing every televised college sport- ing event. My biggest problem, besides the fact that it feels like the NCAA is stalking me, is that the same two ads play over and over and over again. Why?! If the NCAA really needed to bombard us with images of athletes who actually go to class, couldn't it at least have designed a few more versions of the ads? The message might have some merit. But how effective are the ads going to be when they're shown during one of the biggest events in collegiate sports? Maybe, if they run a few more million times, they will start to counteract all of the commercialism and hype surround- ing the Final Four. Somehow, I doubt it. But the NCAA is relentless. And I am defenseless. I have to watch the Final Four this weekend. So I might as well prepare myself to sur- render to the psych major and the free throw shooter. I can already feel the NCAA taking over my brain. There are over 360,000 NCAA student athletes ... Over 360,000 NCAA student athletes ... Over 360,000 ... Courtney Lewis can be reached at r 9:18 p. nt cmlewis@umich.edu £Nati... . hamponship Gmt The PmichiI n Dij(ll IFIED CRUITME I ~se - ~- S Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the The God Old Na#j " ~gtalgia ng AN A CAPPELLI\ COM Featuring......... iCks a e Michigan League of the '30g to '80g IPETITION '' . " «._ " ""' ~ "'' .. rdc Janes Tht Ap 8:: Sursd ay iri 1st 34 pm lichigan League allroom aAdmission 58 Greene The Friars The Gentlemen Gimble The Harmonettes Kol Kakavod Kopitonez The Sopranos Need a job for next Fall/ Winter?? Earn some and excellent SALES EXPERIENCE asa Classified Sales Account Executive. We are looking for dedicated individuals who are energetic and adaptable, with excellent communication skills. IIyou tbinkyou li te bill, d bTHE MCHIGAN DAILY AN 420 MAYNARD to pick up an application form and sign up for an interview. We are located next to the Student Activities Building. t B" Clarence Moore and the Yellow Jackets find themselves in the Final Four, but many of this year's participants will still be going pro in something other than sports. Free Divers Incorporated Beginning SCUBA Glass $25 OFF Scuba Class with Ad -.Mdglw I I