Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 28, 1994 TAG: 9403270125
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
It was over at the opening jump. Arizona's ball, Arizona's game. Final Four coming up.
They glanced at each other before the ref flipped the ball into the air, got that special feeling when they came downcourt, knew it for certain when Damon Stoudamire hit his first running jumper.
The Wildcats never had any doubt they would tear apart Missouri, and if that sounds cocky or presumptuous, tough. Their 92-72 victory to win the NCAA West final Saturday justified that faith and will carry them to Charlotte, N.C., next week against the winner of today's Arkansas-Michigan game.
Stoudamire, Khalid Reeves and Reggie Geary, arguably the best backcourt in the country, shredded Missouri from the outside, inside and on defense. Asked when they knew the game was over, Geary didn't hesitate a second:
"Tipoff," he said with a smile. "I looked at our eyes, and I saw our confidence."
The Wildcats also looked at Missouri's slow legs and wide bodies and realized how they could win.
"Missouri is a team that we thought didn't get back well on defense," said Stoudamire, at 5-foot-10 perhaps the best little man in college basketball. He scored 27 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had four assists.
"We felt if we got the rebounds, we could push them on the break."
All of Missouri's size and strength meant nothing when Stoudamire sank his first four 3-pointers. Missouri couldn't stop Reeves from slashing through the middle for most of his 26 points, and it couldn't do anything about the clever passing of Geary, who scored 14 points and had five assists.
But more than putting on an offensive show, these three guards pestered No. 5 Missouri to death on defense, swiping balls, denying shots, getting in the way of drives and sneaking in for rebounds.
Arizona, ranked No. 9 and coming off two straight years of first-round losses in the NCAA Tournament, is 29-5 but has gotten little respect this season. That will all change if Stoudamire, Reeves and Geary keep playing the way they did against Missouri (28-4), the Big Eight champion.
"We knew we had that burden," Stoudamire said about Arizona's previous early exits from the tournament. "But we knew if we got past that first game we'd be dangerous."
This was the most satisfying of victories for a team that had been pummeled by critics. They came back resolved to change their image, to run like wildcats, not play like pussycats.
"We knew the sky was the limit this year," Geary said. "But the Final Four is not a pleasure trip. We're not going to be happy just being there. We're looking to be playing Monday in the championship game."
Stoudamire, the smallest man on the court, scored 18 points in the first half to stake Arizona to a 48-34 lead. The Wildcats broke it open with a 15-5 run in just over three minutes that put them ahead 40-27.
Missouri got as close as eight points twice in the second half, the second time at 58-50, but Arizona blew the Tigers away with a 13-3 run that made it 71-53 with 7:25 left. At that juncture, Missouri's 6-9 center, Jevon Crudup, fouled out after scoring 14 points, and the game was all but over. Guard Melvin Booker, the Big Eight player of the year, was also held to 14.
Stoudamire is dubbed the "Iron Man" by his teammates, as much for his playing style as for his habit of taking an iron everywhere he goes to keep his clothes neatly pressed. He wears a fancy tattoo of his first name on his upper arm, just in case his opponents don't know who he is.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB