ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
NONE OF THE FOUR finalists has been this far in the NCAA Division III Tournament before.
Rowan (N.J.) College men's basketball coach Dr. John Giannini thinks Illinois Wesleyan has the best inside game in the country, while the Titans' coach, Dennie Bridges, isn't sure his guys can get a rebound away from Rowan.
Hope (Mich.) College's Glenn Van Wieren says Franklin & Marshall's offense is the best his team has faced, but if the Diplomats' coach Glenn Robinson heard him say that in October, he would have let out a big laugh.
``We've been what I would call an overachieving team,'' Robinson said Thursday at the Salem Civic Center, site of today and tomorrow's NCAA Division III men's basketball championship. ``I didn't think I'd be standing here talking to anybody about a basketball game this time of year.''
Yet Robinson's Diplomats (29-1) are as much the team to beat as any in this weekend's games. The matchups - F&M-Hope and Rowan-Illinois Wesleyan - are even and unpredictable.
``Any of these teams could win two games, and any could lose two games,'' Giannini said.
Rowan (26-4) has won its four NCAA Tournament games by an average of 28.25 points, while the Diplomats beat that at 29.75. IWU (27-2) and Hope (26-4) are winning by 14.25- and 13.25-point margins, respectively. If the numbers haven't impressed each coach, the players have.
``The thing that worries me most is how well they play the offensive boards,'' Bridges said just hours after Giannini called Bridges' frontcourt ``the best in the country.''
Illinois Wesleyan's Chris Simich, Bryan Crabtree and Jon Litwiller all stand 6-6 or better and average 19.0, 17.9 and 13.6 points, respectively. The Profs aren't shabby, either. Their frontcourt of school-leading scorer Terrence Stewart, Lamonte Harvin and Demetrius Poles goes 6-6, 6-5 and 6-8.
Franklin & Marshall and Hope each have outstanding big men in Mike Mehaffey and Duane Bosma, but the best matchup might come in the backcourt, where the Diplomats' leading scorer, Jeremiah Henry, will face Hope's sophomore phenom, Joel Holstege. Henry, however, missed Thursday's practice with the flu and is questionable for the semifinal.
``There's been a lot of sickness on the team,'' said Robinson.
While no team has won the Division III title, F&M and Rowan have the most final four experience. F&M went in 1979 and 1991 and Rowan's been in 1993 and 1995. Hope and Illinois Wesleyan have never been. That doesn't mean they will be intimidated, though.
``These guys aren't afraid of anything on the basketball court,'' said Hope guard Matt Spencer, whose Flying Dutchmen teammates are past the second round for the first time in school history. ``That has a lot to do with where we are.''
``We've had great crowds all year,'' Simich said. ``I know we're going to come out and play as hard and as well as we can.''
That might be the only thing every team can count on this weekend.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by Staff: Men's division III final fourby CNBmatchups.