ION THE TUBE
Major League Baseball
I Seattle vs. New York
■ ESPN (34), 5 p.m.
Tuesday
April 1,1997
ARIZONA
Davison
Dickerson
Bramlett
Bibby
Simon
Terry
Edgerson
Harris
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
29 3-9 3-3 4-7 0 2 9
24 1-8 2-2 2-4 0 0 5
27 1-3 1-1 3-6 15 3
38 5-12 6-6 2-9 4 1 19
40 8-18 14-17 1-3 1 1 30
33 2-6 2-2 0-2 5 1 8
15 0-0 2-2 0-5 0 2 2
19 2-2 4-8 4-7 1 4 8
NCAA Championship
FINAL SCORE
KENTUCKY ig
min m-a
Mercer 41 5-9
Padgett 30 5-16
Magloire 14 0-1
Turner 28 4-9
Epps 38 4-13
Prickett 21 1-4
Mohammed 25 6-11
Mills 22 5-9
ft rb
m-a o-t a pf tp
1-1 5-9 6 5 13
4-4 0-1 0 5 17
0-0 3-4 14 0
0-1 1-4 5 5 8
0-0 0-5 4 0 11
4-5 1-5 15 6
0-6 7-11 0 3 12
0-0 0-1 1 2 12
Arizona steals the show
■ mm. i ne wuacais oecame trie
first team ever to beat three No. 1
seeds and win the championship
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Now there’s only one
No. 1 left for the Arizona Wildcats — them
selves.
Arizona, the team that was supposed to
be a year away, just needed an extra five
minutes to win its first NCAA basketball
championship.
Led by the backcourt of junior Miles Si
mon and freshman Mike Bibby, Arizona
kept Kentucky from repeating as national
champion with an 84-79 overtime victory
Monday night.
With three juniors, a sophomore and a
freshman in the starting lineup, next year
was supposed to be the one for Arizona. In
stead, the Wildcats (25-9 overall) made their
first championship appearance a thrilling
one in a game featuring 20 ties and 18 lead
changes.
r ourtn-seeaea Arizona Decame tne nrst
team in tournament history to knock off
three No. 1 seeds — Kansas, North Carolina
and now Kentucky, the winningest pro
grams in college basketball history.
“We just wanted it more than them,” said
Simon, the game’s MVP. “Their legs were
dragging, they were in foul trouble. We just
wanted it more.”
Kentucky was trying to become the sec
ond repeat champion since UCLA’s stretch
of seven straight titles ended in 1973. Duke
repeated as champion in 1992.
“It’s been the most fun I’ve ever had as a
coach,” Kentucky’s Rick Pitino said. “I
walked off the court feeling very proud.”
Instead, Arizona won the first overtime
championship game since Michigan beat
Seton Hall 80-79 in 1989.
“The thing that I’m so pleased about is
this is a tough group of Cats,” Arizona head
coach Lute Olson said. “At halftime, we
talked about the toughest team mentally and
physically would win the basketball game.”
Simon, who missed the first 11 games of
the season because of academic problems,
finished with 30 points. Bibby, the son of
former UCLA star Henry Bibby, who won
three college championships himself as a
player, had 14 of his 19 points in the second
half.
Arizona became the team with the worst
Turn to NCAA Page 12
fifi
The thing that I’m
so pleased about is
this is a tough
group of Cats. At
halftime, we talked
about the toughest
team mentally and
physically would
win the basketball
game.
— Lute Olson
Arizona head coach
-99
Wildcats’ guard
Miles Simon
celebrates
Arizona’s 84-79
victory over
Kentucky Monday
night. Simon’s 30
points keyed the
Wildcats’ win.
UO Women’s Tennis
The Oregon women's tennis match
scheduled for April 1 against the
University of Portland has been
canceled, Oregon head coach Jack
Griffin said. Portland coaches re
quested the match be canceled af
ter realizing its 1997 spring sched
ule was overbooked.
The Ducks (7-7 overall, 2-4 Pacific
10 Conference), who are now No.
48 in the nation, have one remain
ing home match against Washing
ton on April 11.
UO Golf
The Oregon men's golf team fin
ished in sixth place out of 24 teams
at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate
March 27 in Santa Barbara, Calif.
The Ducks shot a three-round total
of 885, shooting rounds of 297,
291 and 297. Ben Crane led the
way for Oregon, finishing in a tie for
seventh place overall with a 217.
Chris Cone and Jeff Barney tied for
18th place at 220, while Derek
Croskrey and Ryan Lavoie tied for
69th at 228.
Ducks open spring practice today
I ■ FOOTBALL:
® A total of 11
starters will
return from the
Ducks’ 1996
team that
finished at 6-5
The Oregon football team will start its
preparation for the 1997 season today with
the start of spring practice at Autzen Stadi
um at 4 o’clock.
More than 80 players are expected to at
tend today’s workout, among them 11
starters who helped the Ducks to their 6-5
record last season. In all, 41 returning letter
men will return to the team today.
Offensively, Oregon will return four
starters from the 1996 team that finished No
14 in the country in scoring and No. 18 to
tal offense.
Tailback Saladin McCullough will return
after setting a school record in 1996 with 15
rushing touchdowns, while racking up 685
yards rushing in just seven games.
Among the top additions to this year’s of
fensive squad is junior-college transfer Akili
Smith. Smith threw for 3,212 yards and 32
FOOTBALL
touchdowns, which
earned him first-team all
America honors in the ju
nior college ranks.
On the other side of the
ball, five starters will re
turn to a defense that was
second to last in the Pacif
ic-10 Conference in 1996.
Peter Sirmon will move from inside to
outside linebacker to fill the losses of Der
rick Barnes and Reggie Jordan.
Kevin Parker, the Ducks’ reserve tailback
in 1996, will move to the secondary.
Spring practice will end April 26 with an
intrasquard scrimmage at Autzen Stadium.