The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - March 11,1991 - Page 5 Andy Gottesman Gotta Love It Now Is the Time for AD ' ' J 'I wild student support There's a picture in the Athletic Administration Building - kind of hidden above the stairwell that leads to the basement where Sports In- formation is located - that depicts Michigan's 1984 post-season Na- tional Invitation Tournament champion men's basketball team. The photograph is probably placed in such a non-visible position because the NIT, in the minds of Michigan fans, doesn't compare to the 1989 NCAA Tournament. Incidentally, pictures from that heroic tournament grace walls from the offices of James Duderstadt to Steve Fisher. That NIT picture used to seem pretty distant; after all, this is Michigan and its teams are supposed to go to the best post-season events (although fans should have learned their lesson after spending Christmas in Gainesville instead of Pasadena). But now it seems the NIT isn't so bad. As a matter of fact, this tournament has a lot of positive aspects. First of all, the Wolverines could actually win this thing. Although their 14-14 overall record doesn't compare to most of the teams in the draw, most of the teams in the draw simply don't compare to Michi- gan. Let's face it, NIT-bound second- and third-place teams from con- ferences like the MAC, Big Sky and WAC don't have any advantage over the eighth- and ninth-place teams from the Big Ten. Losing by 97 points to UNLV in the first round of the NCAAs will not be nearly as satisfying as beating somebody like 17-game-winner Providence in Madison Square Garden. That is, if Michigan fans are really as crazy as they say they are. For years, people have cried about how Crisler Arena is so quiet because the Athletic Department sticks spirited students in the rafters while they put at courtside alumni who have seemingly taken a vow of silence. But with the privilege of better seating also comes a responsibility to support the team through good times and bad. Students may get a chance to show they deserve those courtside seats later this week, when the Athletic Department has promised they can buy any tickets for NIT games held at Crisler on a first-come, first-served basis. Even if Michigan does not host a tournament game, the fans should be sure to show their support. Whether you're a die-hard or a just a big-game fan, television ratings should go through the roof in Ann Ar- bor Thursday night when Michigan takes on Colorado in Boulder. And if students are fortunate enough to be able to purchase tickets for a future NIT game at Crisler, they must make the most of the opportunity. In 1985 and 1986, the years immediately after Michigan's NIT championship, the Wolverines won the Big Ten. Perhaps their brief demotion this season will result in championship photographs of the four-letter variety in the coming seasons. And that is a better possibil- ity - since fan support can be crucial to success - if students decide the NIT is a big enough event to warrant their attention this year. Big Ten Through Mar. 10, 1991 Final Men's Basketball Standings Iowa tops Buckeyes, denies OSU sole title At Iowa City, Iowa, Rodell Davis scored 19 points and Kevin Smith, a 37 percent free throw shooter, hit three foul shots down the stretch as Iowa (20-10) denied Ohio State an outright Big Ten ti- tle, 80-69. Ohio State (25-3) fell to 15-3 in the league, the same as Indiana, but Ohio State beat Indiana twice this season for the league's auto- matic NCAA berth. No. 3 Indiana 70, Illinois 58 At Champaign, Ill., Eric Ander- son scored 20 points for the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers (27-4) raced to a 16-2 lead, then held on as Illinois (21-10) tried to come back several times. Illinois was led by Andy Kaufmann with 21 points. Purdue 77 Northwestern 48 Northwestern (5-23, 0-18) became the first Big Ten team to lose all its conference games in a season when Purdue (17-11, 9-9) handed the Wildcats their 19th straight loss. Northwestern has lost 22 straight in the Big Ten dating to last season and 46 consecutive Davis road games. The overall losing streak is the longest in Wildcat history. Minnesota 80 Wisconsin 70 Rob Metcalf sparked a 27-7 second-half run with two three- point shots and a three-point play as Minnesota (12-16, 5-13), ended its season with a victory over Wisconsin (14-14, 8-10). KE.NNETH II MOLLER/DUl Michigan State's Dwayne Stephens blocks an Eric Riley shot in the second half. Stephens helped lead a stifling Spartan defense in MSU's 66-59 victory. Conference tournaments conclude a AssociatedPress BIG EIGHT Missouri won the Big Eight tournament Sunday but not the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Tigers, who are on NCAA! probation, got 31 points from Doug Smith and beat No. 13 Nebraska 90-82. In Saturday's semifinals, the Tigers (20-10) beat another NCAA+ tournament team, No. 14 Okla- homa State. Nebraska (26-7) was making its first appearance in the Big Eight's championship game. Every other conference team has appeared at least once. BIG EAST No. 21 Seton Hall 74, George- town 62 At New York, Seton Hall won its first Big East championship and ended the Hoyas' longshot run at the title. The Pirates, who won their first two games in the tour- nament on buzzer-beaters by Oliver Taylor, took control early in the second half at Madison Square Garden and led by as many as 11. The Hoyas (18-12) took their only lead of the game at 32-31 on Alonzo Mourning's jumper 53 sec- onds into the second half. Seton Hall (22-8) was the fourth seed in the Big East, the lowest-ranked team ever to win the tournament. ATLANTIC COAST ' No. 7 North Carolina 96, No. 6 Duke 74 At Charlotte, N.C., Rick Fox guided North Carolina to its 12th ACC championship, scoring 25 points in the most lopsided confer- ence tournament final since the Tar Heels beat North Carolina State 87-50 in 1968. The Blue Devils (26-7) were assessed two technicals, one on coach Mike Krzyzewski and an- other on Christian Laettner. North Carolina (25-5) was look- ing for payback after taking an 83- 77 beating from Duke in its regu- lar-season finale at Chapel Hill. BIG WEST No. 1 UNLV 98, Fresno St. 74 At Long Beach, Calif.,' top- ranked UNLV heads into the de- fense of its NCAA title with its winning streak at 41 after beating Fresno State 98-74 in the Big West title game. Anderson Hunt scored 23 points and Larry Johnson had 22 for UNLV (30-0), which will try to become the first team to repeat as national ,champion since UCLA ended its run of seven straight ti- tles in 1973. MID-AMERICAN E. Michigan 67, Toledo 66 At Detroit, Marcus Kennedy scored 21 points, including the game-clinching free throw with 6 seconds left, as Eastern Michigan held off Toledo and won the Mid- American Conference tournament. Eastern (24-6) led by 4 points at halftime and by as many as 8 before Toledo (17-7) came back. Toledo cut the deficit to 51-50 with 8:09 to play and trailed 64-63 on a 3-pointer by Keith Wade. _n_ n- .____:_."..:i:._"_______}_i:}.:}'rv:_":a":":".::".:_":::":::.?'r:":"."v:::"__o'_______________ :: ofv:'^: F 7u U- Conference Games All Games TEAM Ohio State Indiana Illinois Michigan State Iowa Purdue Wisconsin Michigan Minnesota Northwestern W L PCT. 15 3 .833 15 3 .833 11 7 .611 11 7 .611 9 9 .500 9 9 .500 8 10 .444 7 11 .389 5 13 .278 0 18 .000 W L 25 3 27 4 21 9 18 10 20 10 17 11 14 14 14 14 12 16 5 23 PCT. .893 .871 .700 .643 .667 .607 .500 .500 .429 .179 .: . " ":{o,}:""::";"" ".".*'r"."ti":."":".*}.*.:"':"Y.*. . . . . . .::".. ."."'r..v.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : i:.; MICHIGAN (59) Player TFG FT R A PF TP Hunter 1-1 2-2 3 0 4 4 Voskuil 3-6 0-0 5 0 5 6 Riley 3-7 5-6 5 1 4 11 Calip 7-18 6-6 3 4 2 21 Talley 4-11 3-6 1 3 2 11 Taylor 2-7 1-2 5 2 1 6 Mitchell 0-4 0-1 1 0 2 0 Pelinka 0-2 0-0 1 0 0 0 Mclver 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0 Totals 20-56 17-23 28 10 20 59 3-pt. goals: 2-12 (Calip 1-4. Taylor 11-22. Voskuil 0-2. Talley 0-3. Pelinka 0-1). FG%- .357 3-pt. FG%- .167 FT%- .739 Blocks: 0 Turnovers: 10 (Calip 4. Voskuil 2. Riley 1, Hunter 1, MccIver 1.. Taylor 1). Steals: 3 ( Voskuil 1, Calip 1, Taylor 1.) MICHIGAN STATE (66) Player TFG FT R A PF TP Stephens 2-3 2-2 2 1 1 6 Steginga 2-3 0-0 7 1 5 4 Peplowski 3-4 1-4 7 1 5 7 Smith 10-21 2-2 10 ' 5 3 24 Montgmry 6-6 4-5 3 4 2 17 Zulaf 0-1 0-0 3 0 1 0 Hickman 3-7 2-5 5 0 2 8 Penick 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 Weshinsky 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0 Total 26-48 11-18 37 12 20 66 3-pt. goals: 3-6 (Smith 2-5, Montgomery 1-1). FG%- .542, 3-pt. FG%- .500. FT%- .611. Blocks: 0. Turnovers: 21 (Hickman 5, Steginga 5, Stepphens 4, Smith 3, Peplowski 2, Montgomery 2. Steals: 1 (Montgomery). SPARTANS Continued from page 1 draws players away from the outside shooters. We didn't do that this time." Michigan led for much of the first half, until Parish Hickman's free throw gave Michigan State a 17-16 lead at 4:48. The Spartans led at halftime, 25-21, and owned its biggest lead, 43-31, at 13:10 of the second half. But the Wolverines regrouped and tied the score, 48-48, when Smith U center Eric Riley hit a free throw with 8:06 remaining in the game'. However, Michigan never re- gained the lead. After a Mike Pep- lowski layup, Smith sank a running three-pointer to give Michigan State a 53-48 lead. The Wolverines threatened one final comeback at 1:51, when guard Michael Talley drove the right wing. Spartan forward Matt Steigenga blocked Talley's laynp ball against the glass, drawings a goaltending call and his fifth foul. The MichiganEnsian Yearbook is currently accepting applications for the position of Editor-in-Chief for the 1992 MichiganEnsian. Anyone interested is encouraged to apply. Applications may be picked up at our office,- located in the Student Publications Building, 420 Maynard St. Applications must be returned to the office by Friday, March 15, 1991. K\NNEITHSMULLER/lLiy Michael Talley shoots in the second half of Michigan State's victory. s s t a ' C t *4301 1 RESTAURANT -CHEF JAN 26 years of experience TOP GOLD MEDAL WINNER OF DETROIT COBO HALL NATIONAL CONTES Sponsored by Michigan Restaurant Association Michigan chefs De Cuisine Association NOW HIRING FOR OUR NEW PLYMOUTH ROAD STORE FOR THESE PART-TIME POSITIONS: CLERK/CASHIERS PRODUCE CLERKS STOCK CLERKS DELI/PASTRY CLERK BLUE RIBBON BEST CHEF AWARD: IN WASHINGTON D.C. 8 ;-M> ?o o 7mm VOTED #I BEST ORIENTAL FOOD 'W AMW / i'