ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 30, 1997 TAG: 9703310151
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK THE ROANOKE TIMES
Kentucky goes for two in a row Monday night in the NCAA men's basketball championship game.
The RCA Dome's two corporate mascots are Nipper and Chipper, but Monday night, the big bubble will be a 'Cat house.
Kentucky wore down Minnesota's superior pressure in Saturday's semifinal nightcap of the Final Four, and will defend its NCAA basketball championship against Arizona, which advanced with an upset of North Carolina.
A capacity crowd of 47,028 watched UK's 78-69 victory over the Big Ten champions set up a title battle of Wildcats for the 59th NCAA crown.
Kentucky has six of those. Only UCLA (11) has more. Arizona (24-9), the Bruins' Pacific 10 Conference neighbor, will be playing in its first final.
``I have a tremendous amount of respect for our guys,'' Pitino said. ``They overcame a lot, from foul problems, to cramping, and they dug deep down.
``I can't say enough about [point guard] Wayne Turner. He took pressure, and gave pressure, and he battled and played 39 minutes of great basketball with only one turnover. It's mind-boggling to do what he did.''
Pitino's team will try to become the eighth to win at least consecutive titles. The Wildcats also did it in 1948 and '49, the last time they reached the Final Four in back-to-back seasons.
The Southeastern Conference champions (35-4) also will be bidding to tie their school record for victories in a season, set by the '48 team.
Kentucky's full-court trap and 3-point shooting gave coach Rick Pitino's club a lead, and the Golden Gophers (31-4) didn't help themselves in the second half. A bruising game with absolutely no flow, 28 fouls were called in the second half. This didn't help the Gophers.
Minnesota, which had cut a 10-point UK lead to 36-31 at halftime, was within four when coach Clem Haskins became angry after a charging call on forward Courtney James under the hoop. James' basket was disallowed, and Haskins jumped up and down, bending his former NBA forward's body low and getting a technical from Big Ten official Jim Burr, who also called the James personal.
Haskins then tore off his suit jacket, threw it, left the coach's box and engaged in a heated conversation with ACC official Frank Scagliotta. A trainer finally pulled Haskins away.
``The emotions were flowing kind of high right then,'' Gophers center John Thomas said of his team's subsequent rally.
``It was just an emotional reaction at that time,'' Haskins said of the technical. ``I don't plan technical fouls.''
Pitino then called on star guard Derek Anderson, who has been out since tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament and having reconstructive surgery in mid-January. Anderson made both free throws on the technical and left the game. It was missed shots at the opposite stripe and turnovers that eventually doomed the Gophers.
Minnesota led 52-51 when the Wildcats scored 14 of the next 18 points during a five-minute span in which the Gophers had five of their 26 turnovers, which UK converted into 23 points.
``They did a great job of pressing us, and we didn't do a good job of taking care of the basketball,'' Haskins said.
``We came out a little too anxious,'' said Minnesota star guard Bobby Jackson, who scored a game-high 23 points. ``We had the jitters, and we didn't handle it very well.''
Kentucky's lead was 62-56 when Haskins' weary club then missed five of its next eight free throws. That was damaging, because Minnesota had an edge on the backboards and in shooting accuracy.
``This is a sophomore-dominated basketball team,'' Pitino said of his retooled team that lost three NBA rookies, not to mention Anderson earlier this season. ``It really blows me away what this team has done. I'm very thankful to be here.''
Ron Mercer, the Wildcats' All-America sophomore forward who already has declared Monday night's game will be his last in college, had problems with leg cramps and played only 34 minutes. The Wildcats' front line was mired in foul problems throughout the second half, too.
``You usually don't see this kind of performance from a young team,'' Pitino said after his team's eighth straight victory. ``I'm kind of blown away by their grit.'' NOTE: please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. 1. Minnesota coach Clem Haskins makesby CNBa point with referee Frank Scagliotta. color. 2. Ron Mercer (33) of
Kentucky and Sam Jacobson of Minnesota converge on a loose ball in
the first half Saturday night.