The Dally Tar HeelFriday, April 3, 19927
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The heralded and the unknown head to Final Four
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Def ending-champ Blue Devils eye repeat
Editor's note: This is the third in a
four-part series.
By Neil Amato
Senior Writer
AChristian has guided the Blue Dev
ils to the Promised Land (of 10,000
Lakes), but tradition is pointing Duke to
no-repeat hell with UNLV and
Georgetown.
Starting Saturday in Minneapolis,
Duke will try to do what no team has
done since the 1 973 UCLA Bruins: win
back-to-back NCAA titles. UNLV tried
to do it last season but got burned by the
Blue Devils. Georgetown seemed poised
to repeat in 1985, but Villanova shot
heavenly and sent the Hoyas to hell.
God, however, seems to be on Duke's
side. So does the NCAA.
Duke (32-2), extending its Final Four
run to five straight years, is still smiling
about the divine intervention it received
in Philadelphia. The Miracle on Broad
Street Christian Laettner's 17-foot
turnaround swish as time expired
gave Duke a 104-103 overtime win
versus Kentucky in the East Regional
final.
What may have helped Duke even
' more was the NCAA's decision not to
' suspend Laettner for purposely step
' ping on Kentucky's AminuTimberlake
in the second half.
Everyone knew Laettner would not
be suspended. He's the god of college
basketball and he proved it in the
Kentucky game, going 10 of 10 from
the field and 10 of 10 from the free
throw line. Also, the NCAA didn't want
- to mess up a dream semifinal and lose
money. Duke-Indiana is a match made
in well, enough cliches for now
and having Laettner on the bench would
make the game less enjoyable.
The NCAA and CBS (are they inter
changeable?) said before the NCAA
Tournament began that the order of the
semifinals would not be determined until
Monday. However, a Duke-Indiana tilt
had the NCAA and CBS salivating so
much that they announced Sunday that
Go west, young woman, for NCAA gold
By Bryan Strickland
Assistant Sports Editor
They love L.A. They love it.
For four women's collegiate basket
ball programs, this weekend's trip to
Los Angeles marks the culmination of a
successful season. The fabulous four
some Virginia, Stanford, Western
Kentucky and Southwest Missouri State
will vie for the 1992 NCAA Tourna
ment crown at the Los Angeles Sports
Arena.
This year's Women's Final Four of
fers an interesting mix of perennial pow
ers and virtual newcomers. There is
Virginia, always the bridesmaid, never
the bride. The Cavaliers are making
their third consecutive Final Four ap
pearance. And there's Stanford. The
1990 NCAA champions are making
their third straight Final Four trip.
Then there's Western Kentucky. The
Hilltoppers have logged some time in
the limelight, appearing in the Final
Four in 1985 and 1986, but they entered
this year's Mideast regional as the No.
4 seed.
Finally, there is Southwest Missouri
State, the longest of the longshots. The
Bears, seeded eighth in the Midwest
Region, formed the first team below the
fourth seed ever to reach the Final Four.
The Bears have won 21 straight games
but still suffer from a lack of respect
from the Tournament Selection Com
mittee. The Women's Final Four kicks off
Saturday at 12:32 p.m., when SW Mis
souri State (31-2) battles Western Ken
tucky (26-7).
Thirty minutes after game one. East
champion Virginia (32-1 ) will play West
titlist Stanford (28-3). As in the men's
tourney, the winner of the women's
East-West semifinal showdown will be
the overwhelming favorite to take the
title.
The championship game is slated for
4:05 p.m. Sunday and can be seen on
Channels 2 and 5.
Saturday's Virginia-Stanford game
is a rematch of a 1990 national semifi
nal clash. In that meeting, the Cardinals
rolled to a 75-66 victory and went on to
capture their only national title.
Virginia senior guard Dawn Staley,
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Duke Blue Devils
Record: 32-2
Coach: Mike Krzyzewski, 1 2th yearat
Duke (295-110), 17th overall (368
169) Key Players: Christian Laettner (21.9
ppg, 7.8 rpg), Bobby Hurley (12.9
ppg, 7.8 apg)
Road to Minneapolis: Defeated
Campbell 82-56, Iowa 75-62, Seton
Hall 81-69, Kentucky 104-103 (OT)
Semifinals: vs. Indiana Saturday, 8:1 2
p.m., Metrodome, Minneapolis
Keys to the game: No injuries, no
losses.
the game would get the prime-time start.
And why shouldn't it be prime time?
After all, these are the 32-2 Duke Blue
Devils, the team that has not lost a game
all season at full strength. This is the
team that shot 54.8 percent from the
field and hit 42.8 percent of its 3-point-ers.
This is the team that has a 22-3
record in the NCAAs since 1988.
Duke's two losses this year came
when junior point guard Bobby Hurley
was injured. Hurley, Duke's all-time
assist leader, broke his foot in the First
half of North Carolina's 75-73 win at
the Smith Center Feb. 5.
In that game, Laettner had a rare
mental lapse. He scored 1 2 points on 4-of-1
1 shooting and missed two shots in
the lane in the final 40 seconds. That
won't happen often to Laettner.
Hurley also did not play in the Blue
Devils' 72-68 loss against Wake Forest
in Winston-Salem Feb. 23. Duke had a
six-point lead late but fell apart down
the stretch.
The Blue Devil-Hoosier matchup is
WOMEN'S
ROAD TO
FINAL FOUR
LOS ANGELES
1 9 9 2
who Thursday was named National
Player of the Year for the second straight
season, hopes her top-ranked Cavaliers
can avoid a repeat performance.
"All the other awards, they're nice
and everything, but I think what every
athlete strives to do is win the national
championship," Staley told reporters at
last November's Operation ACC
Women's Basketball. "I think our team
has done pretty much everything but
that. It's our number one priority."
In addition to the 1990 disappoint
ment, head coach Debbie Ryan's Cava
liers fell short of the ultimate prize
again last year. Virginia lost the 1991
title game 70-67 in overtime to Tennes
see. But with Staley at the helm, the Cavs
are the favorites to be crowned champi
ons of this year's March Madness. The
5-foot-5 Staley can do it all, averaging
14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Just how versatile is Staley? For the
season, she has compiled six double
doubles: three combined points and as
sists, two combined points and rebounds
and one combined points and steals.
Yes, Staley had 10 steals in a Nov. 30
victory against Temple.
Staley is the only player in ACC
history, male or female, to combine for
more than 2,000 points, 700 rebounds,
700 assists and 400 steals.
Despite her exploits, Staley is only
Virginia's third-leading scorer this sea
son. Junior center Heather Burge, who
had 28 points in Saturday's 70-58 re
gional final win against Vanderbilt, leads
the Cavaliers in scoring and in rebound
ing (17.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg). Senior guard
Tammi Reiss is second in scoring (16.6
PPg)-
For third-ranked Stanford, which
reached the Final Four with an 82-62
thumping of Southern Cal last Satur-
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also a battle of superior coaches, coaches
who go back a long way. Duke coach
Mike Krzyzewski played under
Indiana's Bob Knight at Army and
coached under him at Indiana, and their
teams play a similar, physical, man-toman
defense.
Krzyzewski, however, does not want
to be viewed as Bobby Knight's dis
ciple. In 12 seasons in Durham,
Krzyzewski has made a name for him
self, going 295-1 10 overall and 3 1 -7 in
the NCAA Tournament. He has made
the Final Four six out of the last seven
seasons.
Last season, Kansas coach Roy Wil
liams won the Final Four's mentor-vs.-disciple
game, beating Dean Smith in
the semifinals. Kansas was unheralded
last season; Duke is the favorite this
year.
Duke has the talent to repeat, but its
mental toughness will be put to the test
after the emotional win last weekend in
Philly.The Blue Devils, however, know
they can beat anyone. With Hurley
healthy, they should beat anyone. Duke
is 15-1 in the NCAA Tournament when
Hurley plays.
Before the season, Laettner said the
mystique of repeating was a media cre
ation. "The only reason it is talked about is
because it's something to write about,"
Laettner said. "That's fine. What I think
should be taken into account is it's very
hard to repeat in anything. It's a very
unique thing to repeat and that's why
you all make such a big deal of it. I know
we'll be excellent. I don't know if we'll
repeat, but we'll be very good."
Monday in Durham, Laettner was
named Kodak Player of the Year. He
accepted the trophy and smiled, but
he's won individual awards before.
"This award is nice," he said, "but I
hope there's another trophy waiting for
us in Minneapolis."
Will the Blue Devils lose?
When hell freezes over.
Of course, Bob Knight has that capa
bility. UVa. senior guard Tammi Reiss (32) leads
day, 3-pointers are the name of the
game. In the win against the Trojans,
the Pac-10 champion Cardinal drained
1 2 3-pointers, including six from Molly
Goodenbour, who led the team with 22
points.
In Saturday's second game, Cheryl
Burnett's Cinderella SW Missouri State
squad is just thrilled to have made it this
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Cincinnati hopes for Minneapolis miracle
Editor's note: This is the last in a
four-part series.
By Doug Hoogervorst
Staff Writer
For the Cincinnati Bearcats there is
no hype about its Fab Five or its coach's
bullwhip or its chances to repeat. Actu
ally, hype and the Bearcats have not
exactly gone together despite their Fi
nal Four berth.
But at last check, hype was not a
requirement for the NCAA Final Four
just four tournament victories.
Cincinnati (29-4), the Great Mid
west Conference champion and the
NCAA Midwest Regional champion,
has collected four victories in a row,
actually 10 in a row, making it the
hottest team in the Final Four. UC will
play Michigan Saturday at 5:42 p.m.
Still, how the Bearcats, ranked 12th
by the Associated Press before the tour
nament began, became so successful is
a mystery to many. And as the un
known, Cincinnati has been handi
capped as the team least likely to win in
Minneapolis.
So without much national respect,
head coach Bob Huggins, in his third
year at Cincinnati, has taken a team of
10 transferred players out of an 11-man
roster and turned it into a cohesive,
smothering defensive team.
That trapping defense has been the
key to the season. It also has produced
some impressive statistics, reflecting
Cincinnati's success with the Carolina
esque trap.
The Bearcats have forced 20.9 turn
overs a game and have averaged 9.2
steals. Bearcat opponents have scored
58.9 points per game, leading to an
average Cincinnati victory margin of
20.3.
Cincinnati's regular-season numbers
were impressive. However, the Bearcats
have continued to play at an equivalent
level in the NCAA Tournament. UC
has won its NCAA Tournament games
by a margin of 20.8 points.
The Bearcats' best player is 6-foot-4
the Cavaliers into this weekend's Final Four
far. "I don't think it's really hit me that
we're in the Final Four," Burnett said.
"We're definitely the underdog and
that's fine with me.
"We're still the team that half the
coaches in America don't know any
thing about."
See FINAL FOUR, page 9
Cincinnati Bearcats
Record: 29-4
Coach: Bob Huggins, 3rd year at Cin
cinnati (67-30), 11th overall (235
102) Key Players: Herb Jones (18.2 ppg,
7.1 rpg), Anthony Buford (15.2 ppg,
47 steals)
Road to Minneapolis: Defeated Dela
ware 8547, Michigan St. 77-65, UTEP
69-67, Memphis St. 88-57.
Semifinals: vs. Michigan Saturday,
5:42 p.m., Metrodome, Minneapolis
Keys to the game: Forcing turnovers
with its trapping pressure. Corie Blount
and Jones must avoid foul trouble.
senior Herb Jones, the Midwest
Region's Most Outstanding Player.
Jones averages team highs in points
(18.2) and in rebounds (7.1).
Despite his height, Jones is an effec
tive scorer in the paint, shooting 56
percent. Making him doubly tough to
defend is his ability to shoot from the
outside. He has hit on more than 42
percent of his 3-pointers this season.
After Jones on Cincinnati's scoring
Pitch
losing streak and a poor outing in the
first round of the NCAA Tournament,
where UNCalmost lost to Miami (Ohio).
After UNC beat a more athletic Ala
bama squad in the NCAA's second
round, several players sounded off
against Tar Heel doubters.
"A lot of y'all didn't think we had a
chance to go far," Davis told writers in
the Lexington locker room.
Despite finishing third in the ACC at
9-7, UNC beat No. 1 Duke and made its
annual pilgrimage tothe Sweet 1 6. Smith
said his team had progressed well.
"It's nice seeing your pupils im
prove," Smith said.
The Tar Heels kept the Ohio State
game tight, and, with a little luck, they
could have been prepping for a second
straight Final Four. Instead it is time to
start preparing for next season.
"We just have to wait until our time
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list comes exterior threat Anthony
Buford, a 6-3 senior guard, at 1 5.2 points
per game. Backcourt mate Nick Van
Exel provides the Bearcats with yet
another 3-point shooter, averaging 12
points.
Expecting Cincinnati's players to hit
their scoring averages would be a mis
take, however. The Bearcats employ a
nine-man rotation to execute their game
long, full-court trapping defensive pres
sure. Center Corie Blount and forward
Terry Nelson complete Cincinnati's
starting lineup.
The 6-10 Blount has been an unsung
player this season. Named junior col
lege player of the year last season, Blount
has anchored Cincinnati's defense by
providing a much-needed shot-blocker
at the back end of the full-court pres
sure. He has been the major addition to
Cincinnati's lineup in 1992.
Erik Martin, Allen Jackson, Tarrance
Gibson and Jeff Scott all average more
than 10 minutes of playing time. That
allows UC to keep fresh players in the
game on defense, again, the key to the
Bearcats' success.
Still, in spite of the team's success,
the Bearcats have not won much recog
nition even in their own home city.
"Here, even in our own hometown,
we'rejust beginning toeducatepeople,"
Huggins said about his program's rec
ognition. Don't believe the hype. Or lack
thereof.
from page 6
comes," said point guard Derrick Phelps.
"We had our time, and now it's over.
It's time to refocus and start getting
ready for next year."
Phelps said he would relax and con
centrate a little more on his school work.
"I think I'll just rest," Phelps said.
"I'm not the kind of person who just
goes out and shoots all the time."
George Lynch, a rising senior for
ward who averaged 1 3.9 points per game
in '9 1 -92, said: "We won't be labeled as
a young team. We will have a lot of
experience back."
True, UNC will be a veteran club, but
it will be losing its only outside shooter
and not really gaining any quickness.
One out of three is bad in this case.
Ironically, it was that outside shooter,
the one who needed practice the least,
who was in the Dean Dome honing his
shot Wednesday,
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