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The Battalion
Michigan edges Seton Hall for title
Robinson s clutch free throws give Wolverines 80-79 victory
SEATTLE (AP) — Rumeal Rob
inson made two free throws with
three seconds left in overtime to give
Michigan its first national
championship and cap the improba
ble ride of interim head coach Steve
Fisher with an 80-79 victory over Se
ton Hall Monday night.
Fisher had taken over the Michi
gan team just two days before the
NCAA tournament began and
coached them to the six victories
needed for the national
championship.
The championship game was the
fifth to go into overtime and the first
since Loyola, Ill., beat Cincinnati 60-
58 in 1963.
Glen Rice was the player who car
ried Fisher and the Wolverines to
the title with 31 points in the final,
giving
him an NCAA tournament
record 184, breaking the 24-year-old
mark of 177 set by Bill Bradley of
Princeton.
Robinson, who finished with 21
points and 11 assists, got his chance
to be the hero when he was fouled by
Gerald Greene, who had missed the
en d of a one-and-one with
remaining and Seton Hall lead
ing 79-76.
Terry Mills hit a turnaround
jumper with 56 seconds left to bring
the Wolverines within one. Seton
Hall worked the 45-second shot
clock down and John Morton, who
rimshed with 35 points, tossed up an
airball with 11 seconds left.
Michigan brought the ball down-
coui t and Robinson began a drive to
the basket when he was fouled be
fore shooting. Robinson nailed the
free throws and, after two Pirate
timeouts, a final desperation 3-
pointer banged off the glass and rim
and Michigan had its first national
championship in three title-game
appearances.
Michigan lost to UCLA 91-80 in
1965 and to Indiana 86-68 in 1976.
Rice opened the overtime with a
jumper that was answered by An
drew Gaze’s 3-pointer, his first field
goal of the game. The teams ex
changed leads three more times,
with Seton Hall’s final lead coming
on a 3-pointer by Morton with 2:4i
to play.
Morton scored 22 of Seton Hall’s
last 28 points in regulation, includ
ing a 3-pointer with 25 seconds re
maining to tie the game 71-71.
Michigan led 59-49 on a 3-pointer
by Rice with 8:26 to go. Seton Hall
ran off eight straight points, Morton
scoring the last six and, after an ex
change of free throws, Rice hit a 3-
pointer that gave him the NCAA
tournament scoring record and the
Wolverines a 64-59 lead with 6:05 to
play.
With Michigan leading 66-61,
Morton ripped off six straight points
as Seton Hall’s defense came away
with two steals, and the Pirates had
their first lead of the second half
with 2:14 to play.
A free throw by Daryll Walker
gave the Pirates a two-point advan
tage and Rice once again got the lead
back for Michigan with a 3-pointer
with 1:03 to play.
After Morton threw up an airball
with 53 seconds left, Michigan ran
the clock down to 34 seconds before
Sean Higgins made two free throws
for the three-point lead that was
erased by Morton’s 3-pointer.
Michigan had a chance for victory
in regulation, but Rice missed a long
jumper with two seconds to play.
Higgins added 10 points and nine
rebounds for Michigan, 30-7. Rice
added 11 rebounds.
Walker and Greene each finished
with 13 points for Seton Hall, 31-7,
which was making its first Final Four
appearance in just its second NCAA
tournament.
Seton Hall stayed outside in the
first half with 14 of its 32 field goal
attempts coming from 3-point
range, while Michigan decided to
test things inside.
The problem for the Pirates, who
averaged 14 3-pointers per game in
the regular season, was that they
only managed to make four of the
long jumpers. The last two — by
Greene and Morton — capped a 12-
0 run that turned a six-point deficit
into a 26-20 lead with 6:48 left in the
first half.
Ag diamond stars
host games tonight
It’s home sweet home for the Ag
gie softball and baseball teams to
night.
The softball team returns home
for one of the last times this season
as they take on Texas-Arlington in a
doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. at
the Lady Aggie Softball Field. The
game is A&M’s first at home since
returning from a two-week road trip
in California.
The top-ranked Aggie baseball
team also will be in action tonight
when A&M hosts Sam Houston State
at 7 p.m. at Olsen Field.
A&M (33-1) will be putting their
ranking and a 36-game home win
ning streak on the line against the
Bearkats, who lead the Southland
Conference. SHSU (24-13) has al
ready visited College Station once
this season and suffered a 9-1 defeat
to the Aggies. Tonight’s game fea
tures 25-cent hot dog night at Olsen.
The A&M softball team (17-15)
meets the Lady Mavs (22-12) for the
third time this season. The Lady Ag
gies lost the other two meetings.
their first games of the season, 5-3
and 2-0.
Lady Aggie Coach Bob Brock said
his team is excited about playing ball
right now.
“We’re looking forward to our
games this week and getting back
out on the field again,” Brock said.
“Our destiny is ahead of us this
month. If we can beat Texas-Arling
ton, that would give us a good start.”
There are two players in question
for tonight’s games. Outfielder Tory
Parks has had a high temperature
and first baseman Carrie Heightley
still has an injured ankle from a
game in California.
A&M went on the California trip
with a 13-5 record but dropped 10
of 14 games.
Brock said the team began to
come on toward the end of the trip.
“We lost some games in Califor
nia,” he said. “But by the end of the
trip, we were playing with a lot of in-
tesity. I hope that’s something we
can carry over.”
Major league baseball just doesn’t match up to college ball
Finding quality baseball in Texas is not
hard this year. With the Aggies playing like
never before and the rest of Texas’
Southwest Conference teams making a
name for the state, Texans are in prime
baseball territory.
But college baseball popularity usually
doesn’t reign in Texas once the Rangers
and Astros start the regular season. Pro
baseball, with its rich history and appeal to
fans, takes priority over all levels of the top
spring sport.
Unfortunately, professional baseball in
the Lone Star state hasn’t been up to par
the last few years. The Rangers and Astros
have had a hard time keeping up with the
rest of Major League Baseball lately, as far
as playing a game that is fun to watch. The
Rangers just haven’t been winning and the
Astros, well, they’re just boring.
With this state of MLB in Texas, and
seeing how college baseball has grown in
popularity recently, it’s easy to see how
college ball’s enjoyment value rates way
above pro ball.
I can’t dish the whole boring factor of
pro ball off on the Texas’ teams, though.
They’re just a couple of squads that play
professional “baseolah” in the states.
But the alternative is blossoming now.
College baseball has enjoyed a boom since
ESPN began covering games the earlier
part of this decade. That’s not the reason
college ball is so enjoyable though — ESPN
has only brdught to light the good points
the sport has had for years.
More than any other reason, college
baseball out-ranks pro ball because of the
element of rivalry. There’s no rivalry in pro
ball that compares to a matchup like the
Arizona State Sun Devils against the Miami
Hurricanes or the Aggies against the
Longhorns.
Sure, Major League ball has a few
rivalries that go way back, but most of the
teams are new or have made a move over
the years. On the other hand, baseball
playing colleges were around before pro
i teams. And, since colleges don’t switcn
cities, baseball rivalries nave had a long time
to grow. A&M and Texas have been playing
SWC baseball since 1915.
On the field, pro baseball players are the
closest thing to error-free players there is in
the sport. But that can make for boredom
instead of excitement.
It’s fun to see the wild pitches, throwing
errors, baserunning errors and just plain
silly mistakes college players make. Errors
get fans involved in a game because fans
have more empathy for college jocks than a
high-paid pro player.
And how about that 162-game pro'
season adding a little more boredom to the
game. After 20 or so spring practice games
and about 10 more post-season matchups,
pro ball gets near the 200-game mark for
the top two teams. That’s too much baseball
for most fans.
On the other hand, Division I teams are
limited to 60-game regular season
schedules by tne NCAA. Post-season
conference and regional tourneys, and the
College World Series make the season
about 75 games long for top NCAA
Division I teams.
Now that’s a bearable season —just long
enough for the best teams to rise to the top
and then battle it out for the national
championship. Fans don’t get exhausted
with attending games several days a week —
week after week — like in the pros. But they
can get really excited for two or three
college games a week over a much shorter
season.
Then there is the element of cost for
baseball games. Not many people can
afford to buy tickets to 81 or more home
games to see their pro team. Even making a
game once a week is expensive.
But a few dollars per ticket for a college
game is reasonable enough to take one in
almost anytime. And the other costs like
snack prices and parking are also less
expensive.
When you consider all these things, pro
baseball just doesn’t hold up to college ball.
So don’t fret if the Rangers and Astros bore
you, for the first few months of the season,
you have the chance to see some more
exciting baseball.
Texas A&M
30 th Anniversary
Blood Drive
April 10-14
Commons 10
MSC10
SBISA10
Med. Sci. Library 10
8
6
6
6
the
BLOOD CENTER
at Wadley
Another Service of Student Government,
Alpha Phi Omega and Omega Phi Alpha
(t
Are you interested in the
performing arts?
Want to have fun too?
Maybe you should consider
MSC OPAS
(The Opera and Performing Arts
Society of Texas A &M University)
Information sessions will be held
April 6th in 510 Rudder and April
11th in 410 Rudder at 7:00 p.m.
Applications for membership will be available
at the sessions and in the OPAS cubicle in
216 MSC after April 6th.
For more information call 845-1515.