Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 21, 1992 TAG: 9203210244
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK SPORTS COLUMNIST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote breathed and spoke for many of his exalted brethren Friday after his Spartans squeezed past Southwest Missouri State in a Midwest Regional first-round game at Dayton Arena.
Simply put, coaches don't enjoy games when their basketball teams have to play psychologically as much as physically and mentally.
"When do we draw somebody who wants to run and gun?" Heathcote wondered after the Spartans' 61-54 victory over the Bears. "This was like last year, when we drew Wisconsin-Green Bay. These are very hard games to play.
"We were fortunate to win last year [60-58 over Wisconsin-Green Bay] and we were fortunate to win today."
Overmatched lower seeds realize they have no chance to win unless they control tempo and "shorten the game," as Miami of Ohio did impressively in its 68-63 Southeast Regional loss in Cincinnati on Thursday.
"Our key today, and in all games like this, is not patience of offense, but patience on defense," Heathcote said. "We had to play defense for 35-40 seconds every possession. We told our guys, `If you don't get defensive rebounds, your reward will be to play defense for 35 or 40 more seconds.' "
\ Alabama radio play-by-play man Eli Gold - win or lose by the Crimson Tide today against North Carolina at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati - knows where he's headed tonight.
"I have a Delta non-stop at 8:22 p.m. to Greensboro," said Gold, "and I'll be in Martinsville for Sunday's racing tripleheader broadcast by late Saturday night."
\ Cincinnati's rebuilt program wants to play Ohio State, but the Buckeyes - who do play several other Ohio Division I schools - refuse to meet the Bearcats.
So, when Ohio State athletic director Jim Jones called Cincinnati athletic director Rick Taylor this week to ask for more Southeast Region tickets for the Buckeyes, Taylor tried a package deal.
"I offered him 300 tickets if they would play us a home-and-home series," said Taylor, whose Bearcats advanced to Sunday's Midwest second round in Dayton Arena. "He said he'd talk it over with [coach Randy] Ayers."
Jones never called Taylor back.
by CNB