ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996 TAG: 9603130048
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
NONE OF THE FOUR finalists are considering the third-place game for their resumes.
There is one item certain to be omitted from the agendas of the Division III men's basketball Final Four participants. Nowhere on any team's list will you find this entry: Saturday - Play in third-place game.
Division III is one of the few tournaments that still holds a third-place game these days. Division I hasn't played one since 1981, when Virginia beat Louisiana State 78-74 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.
Franklin & Marshall's Glenn Robinson, in his 25th year of coaching at the Lancaster, Pa., school, doesn't plan on playing for third this Saturday afternoon at 4:30 in the Salem Civic Center. ``I don't even want to think about it,'' he said.
Seconds later, however, he did. ``It's an opportunity to end on a win,'' he said. ``But it's very difficult to prepare for. When you lose, the bottom drops out of your players' stomachs.''
Robinson coached the Diplomats to a victory in the 1979 third-place game. His coaching counterpart at Rowan, Dr. John Giannini, has been on the sidelines in two of the past three consolation games, and his Profs have won both times. They beat Trinity (Conn.) 105-72 in 1995 and downed UMass-Dartmouth 95-74 in 1993.
``I hope this year isn't a repeat of our recent semifinal games,'' he said. ``Against Augustana two years ago, they had a player named Crook Anderson who made seven of nine 3s, and last year Manchester made its first seven 3-point shots.''
``We have another extremely difficult draw this year.''
Rowan faces Illinois Wesleyan in the semifinals Friday at 8 p.m. In his 31 years as the Titans' head coach, Dennie Bridges never has played in a Division III third-place game, and he hopes the first time doesn't come this weekend. ``Nobody really wants to play in it,'' he said. ``Somebody's going to have a great season and lost their last two games. You have a very empty feeling about playing again.
``What it does for the tournament is it sells tickets for two nights. At Division III, we have to be aware of our obligation to help pay our way. If playing is a way to help raise finances, then who can say it's bad to play a basketball game?''
According to officials close to Division III coaches, there is a split opinion on whether the third-place games should continue. Chris Pohl, an NCAA assistant director of championships for the Division III Final Four, said eliminating the game has been discussed, but sentiment is against that.
``We came to the conclusion that participation is such a focus and as long as the teams are there, we might as well give them the opportunity to participate.''
Glenn Van Wieren, longtime coach at Hope (Mich.) College, said he isn't planning on having to participate in the third-place affair, but if his Flying Dutchmen fall on Friday, he'll be more than happy to crank it up again on Saturday.
``If we're in it, everybody is going to play; I'm going to make it a positive experience,'' he said. ``For us to have another game, I'm excited. To me, it's such a statement about life; it's OK to lose, now let's see how you react to losing. Plus, it enables your players to see another basketball game.''
FINAL FACTS: Hope will be arriving this afternoon at the Roanoke Regional Airport. Rowan will arrive at 8 p.m., F&M will arrive around midnight, and Illinois Wesleyan is expected to arrive Thursday at 1 p.m. ... Giannini has the highest winning percentage (.814) of any active Division III coach. ... Approximately 400 more tickets were sold Tuesday morning at the civic center.
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: B&W chart. color chart.by CNB