Michigan Pulls A Webber, Loses

Midwest Region

In 1993, Chris Webber. Now, Maceo Baston.

Two talented Michigan players losing track of timeouts in the closing seconds of a big game and asking for one that didn’t exist.

Webber’s blunder three years ago helped cost the Wolverines a shot at a national title. Baston’s mistake Friday night wasn’t as major, but it still helped Texas seal an 80-76 victory that ousted Michigan in the first round of the tournament for a second straight year.

“It was unlike what happened four or five years ago,” said Michigan coach Steve Fisher, losing track of his years.

In 1993, Webber called for a timeout in the closing seconds against North Carolina, leading to a technical foul and free throws that helped the Tar Heels clinch a victory.

“The timeout didn’t have anything to do with the game,” Fisher said. “Texas just beat us. They played a little bit better than we did.”

Brandy Perryman hit two free throws with 3.2 seconds left to wrap up the victory for Texas, right after Michigan’s Louis Bullock had driven for a layup to bring the Wolverines to within 78-76.

But Baston then signaled for a timeout and the Wolverines, who didn’t have one remaining, were assessed a technical foul.

Reggie Freeman led Texas with 22 points. The Longhorns also got eight points in the closing minutes from Lamont Hill.

Texas 80, Michigan 76

Texas (21-9) - Clack 7-14 0-1 15, Freeman 7-21 7-9 22, Alvarado 4-8 1-2 9, Hill 4-11 2-4 12, Vasquez 1-4 0-0 2, Coleman 0-0 0-0 0, Perryman 4-8 3-4 14, Warmsley 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan 3-3 0-0 6. Totals 30-69 13-20 80.

Michigan (20-12) - Conlan 0-2 0-0 0, Taylor 8-18 0-0 16, Baston 9-12 5-7 23, Fife 2-5 2-2 8, Bullock 5-14 7-8 18, Mitchell 1-5 0-0 2, Morton 0-1 0-0 0, Oliver 0-0 2-2 2, White 2-6 3-4 7. Totals 27-63 19-23 76.

Halftime-Texas 43, Michigan 34. 3-Point goals-Texas 7-27 (Perryman 3-5, Hill 2-5, Clack 1-5, Freeman 1-10, Vasquez 0-2), Michigan 3-11 (Fife 2-3, Bullock 1-5, Morton 0-1, Mitchell 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Texas 33 (Freeman 9), Michigan 46 (Baston 15). Assists-Texas 17 (Freeman, Perryman 5), Michigan 18 (Conlan, Bullock 5). Total fouls-Texas 20, Michigan 18. A-18,418.

Louisville 82, Tulsa 80 (OT)

DeJuan Wheat overcame an injured hand to hit six 3-pointers en route to 33 points for the Cardinals.

Wheat, who went 15 minutes without scoring after getting 22 points in the first half, found his touch just in time for Louisville to overcome a 12-point deficit and force overtime with a 13-1 run over the final 3:41 of regulation.

Wheat hit a 3 and free throw in the final 47 seconds of overtime.

Tulsa (22-8) - Seals 5-17 9-16 22, Ruffin 8-9 5-6 21, Poindexter 3-4 2-2 8, Bonner 3-7 1-2 7, Thompson 1-3 0-0 3, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Gendron 0-1 0-0 0, Love 4-7 1-2 13, Hernadi 1-2 0-0 2, Rollo 0-0 2-2 2, Maldonado 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-51 20-30 80.

Louisville (21-11) - Sims 0-4 2-4 2, Dantzler 0-2 2-4 2, Smith 0-3 0-0 0, Rogers 4-9 3-4 11, Wheat 10-18 7-9 33 Kiser 1-5 0-0 3 Flynn 2-2 7-8 11, Walker 7-11 6-8 20. Totals 24-54 27-37 82.

Halftime-Louisville 38, Tulsa 31. Regulation 70. 3-Point goals-Tulsa 8-22 (Love 4-7, Seals 3-12, Thompson 1-2, Bonner 0-1), Louisville 7-18 (Wheat 6-11, Kiser 1-3, Rogers 0-2, Sims 0-1, Dantzler 0-1). Fouled out-Thompson, Sims. Rebounds-Tulsa 38 (Ruffin 16), Louisville 27 (Sims 5). Assists-Tulsa 16 (Thompson 5), Louisville 16 (Kiser 4). Total fouls-Tulsa 28, Louisville 24. A-NA.

Villanova 92, Portland 58

Kerry Kittles recovered from a bout with stomach flu to score 19 points as the Wildcats routed the West Coast Conference tournament-champion Pilots.

Villanova’s biggest lead was 44 points, the last time at 75-31 with 11:50 left.

Portland (19-11) - Daniels 6-11 0-1 12, Brainard 3-11 0-0 8, Klosterman 1-10 0-0 2, Anderson 3-11 0-0 6, Holton 3-4 0-0 6, Metoyer 1-2 0-0 2, Flicker 0-3 0-0 0, Rainwater 1-3 0-0 2, King 6-14 1-4 15, Palumbis 0-0 0-0 0, Stonehouse 2-2 0-1 5, Collins 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-72 1-6 58.

Villanova (26-6) - Eberz 6-12 3-3 18, Kornegay 5-6 1-2 11, Lawson 4-5 3-4 11, Williams 2-7 1-2 6, Kittles 7-12 2-3 19, Couture 0-0 0-0 0, Cox 0-2 0-0 0, Celestand 1-5 2-2 5, Noone 1-2 0-0 3, Brown 3-6 1-2 8, Fragakis 0-0 0-0 0, Penn 2-7 2-2 7, Gregg 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 32-65 17-22 92.

Halftime-Villanova 46, Portland 17. 3-Point goals-Portland 5-20 (King 2-4, Brainard 2-5, Stonehouse 1-1, Collins 0-1, Rainwater 0-1, Klosterman 0-1, Daniels 0-2, Flicker 0-2, Anderson 0-3), Villanova 11-24 (Kittles 3-4, Eberz 3-8, Noone 1-1, Brown 1-2, Penn 1-2, Celestand 1-3, Williams 1-3, Cox 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Portland 35 (Brainard 5), Villanova 46 (Kornegay, Lawson 10). Assists-Portland 15 (Holton 5), Villanova 22 (Williams 10). Total fouls-Portland 16, Villanova 11. A-NA.

Wake Forest 62, NE Louisiana 50

The Demon Deacons got 18 points from Rusty LaRue and withstood the Indians’ second-half rally without putting ailing stars Tim Duncan and Tony Rutland back in the lineup.

LaRue played point guard in place of Rutland, who was limited to 11 minutes because of a sprained right knee.

Wake Forest survived 14 minutes without Duncan, their All-America center sapped by a stomach virus.

Northeast Louisiana (16-14) - Edwards 3-9 0-0 6, Dillon 3-9 2-2 8, Newton 3-8 1-1 7, Jones 5-8 0-1 10, Marshall 6-15 0-0 13, Stokes 2-7 0-0 4, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Childress 0-0 0-0 0, Cook 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 23-61 3-4 50.

Wake Forest (24-5) - Allen 1-5 3-4 5, Perral 5-7 3-4 14, Duncan 3-9 4-5 10, LaRue 6-10 2-2 18, Braswell 2-7 5-7 9, Goolsby 1-4 0-0 3, Amonett 0-0 1-2 1, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Stringfellow 1-4 0-0 2, Rutland 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-49 18-24 62.

Halftime-Wake 35, NEL 18. 3-Point goals-NEL 1-10 (Marshall 1-5, Cook 0-2, Dillon 0-3), Wake 6-15 (LaRue 4-5, Perral 1-2, Goolsby 1-2, Rutland 0-3, Braswell 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-NEL 29 (Marshall, Stokes 7), Wake 43 (Duncan 12). Assists-NEL 8 (Jones 4), Wake 11 (Braswell 4). Total fouls-NEL 23, Wake 8. A-NA.