The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • 45

The Modesto Bee Saturday March 25 1989 0-3 Sports Hosting a Final Four means big money to host cities By JIM COUR The Associated Press SEATTLE The NCAA men's and basketball Final Fours in Seattle and Tacoma could bring a bonanza of as much as $50 million for the economies of the two cities the executive director of the Seattle Host Committee said talking restaurants hotels food shopping the whole said Bob Walsh renting boats they're doing cruises they're The 1984 men's Final Four was held in the Kingdome in Seattle The 1988 women's Final Four was held in the Tacoma Dome Tacoma is about 30 miles south of Seattle This year both Final Fours are scheduled meaning a gigantic boost to the Seattle-Tacoma economy The Final Four will be held in Tacoma Friday night and next Sunday The Final Four will be played in the Kingdome next Saturday and Monday night about a 45-minute drive on Interstate 5 between the two domes Walsh thinks the Final Four will be worth $40 million for economy while the women's Final Four will bring between $7 million and $10 million to economy The 1984 Final Four brought in between $30 million and $35 million for Seattle he said Interest and enthusiasm for the Final Four has never been greater Walsh said A top ticket for the three-game event that sells for $55 is being sold for $1700 a ticket by scalpers he said Tickets for the Final Four went on sale in April 1988 There were 250000 applications for the tickets on sale In a lottery the event was an immediate sellout The Kingdome seating capacity for the men's Final Four is 39082 the same as it was in 1984 In Tacoma where Louisiana Tech won the women's Final Four last season interest is up from last year Walsh said Last Tacoma Dome games averaged 11500 in attendance The Tacoma Dome will seat 18910 for the women this year and Walsh expects more fans than last season believe that a lot of people who will be in Seattle will want to go down to Tacoma and watch the games because in the Walsh said Walsh hopes Seattle can do an even better job this year than it did in 1984 hope it will be better but done it once and maybe people tend to get a little bit he said know people are expecting for big things for Walsh said Seattle wants to make this Final Four better for everyone involved except the scalpers are going to he warned going to be in difficult situations if they get caught They're going to be watched very NCAA: Favorites turn tabies on underdogs Stanford faces toughest task Cardinal women visit defending champions in Midwest final NCAA Women REGIONAL FINALSToday MIDWEST At Ruston La Stanford vs Louisiana Tech WEST At Austin Tex Texas vs Maryland EAST Bowling Green Ky Long Beach St vs Tennessee MIDEAST At Auburn Ala Auburn vs Mississippi know where they've been and they know where they want to go and that makes a big she said The Lady Techsters find a way to get points and rebounds Van-Derveer said Kathy Steding said playing on home court bother her but she admitted Stanford will have to stay focused on what it has to do in order to win a team playing very well right now but we realize that in order to beat Tech have to play even she said Louisiana lack of mental sharpness against LSU meanwhile was a source of concern for Paulette Stall we get everything together and play as a unit it will be tough to beat Stanford We have to play much Stall said The Associated Press RUSTON La Fourth-ranked Stanford faces its toughest test yet on Saturday when it visits No 3 Louisiana Tech the defending national champion in the finals of the NCAA Midwest Regional Tech the top seed advanced with an impressive 85-68 victory over Louisiana State Stanford was a 98-74 winner over No 8 Iowa in other semifinal Tech brings a 31-3 record into the title game Stanford (28-2) is on a 22-game winning streak Tech also is 111-3 at home since its 8000-seat Assembly Center opened in December 1982 can assure that Louisiana Tech will play better against Stanford than we did against said Tech Coach Leon Bar-more win have to play better They're the best team San Jose The Associated Press seen this Barmore said Stanford presents even more problems when they hit from the outside The Cardinal was 8-for-10 from 3-point range against Iowa Stanford Coach Tara VanDer-veer said Tech which marked the 1 1th straight season of reaching the final eight in the NCAA Tournament will have an edge because of its tournament St dismisses Berry CONTINUED from D-1 game been telling people all year that we've been doing things that we're not supposed to be doing and tonight was an example" said Illinois Coach Lou Henson guys have guts They die You have to beat With the game tied 50-50 Stephen Bardo sank a free throw Illinois rebounded after he missed his second foul shot and Bardo hit a 3-pointer seven seconds later for a 54-50 lead Sullivan countered with a 3-pointer but Anderson came back with six straight points a turnaround shot over Ellison a lean-in jumper at the free throw line and another jumper to give Illinois a 60-53 edge with 10:03 to go- Louisville pulled to 64-62 on 3-pointer with 8:30 remaining but the Cardinals then missed three chances to tie the game or take the lead Gill then hit a spinning bank shot to start a 7-0 run that gave Illinois a 71-62 lead with 5:42 to go The Cardinals never were closer than seven after that and the final margin was the biggest of the game SYRACUSE 83 MISSOURI 80 at Minneapolis Trailing 47-40 the Orangemen went on a 16-0 tear led by Sherman Douglas with six of his 27 points As Missouri missed 1 1 straight shots and Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens pulled down rebound after rebound Douglas college all-time assist leader was there to trigger Syracuse's potent fast break Matt Roe and Stevie Thompson scored before Douglas set up a Coleman dunk With 16:11 to play Douglas hit a tough fadeaway jumper from the right baseline to give Syracuse a 48-47 lead It was the Orangemen's first lead of the game and they were not headed Billy Owens added 23 for Syracuse (30-7) Missouri (29-8) tried to stay close by fouling late in the game But Douglas sealed the win by hitting six free throws in a row Why did Missouri keep fouling Douglas? Coach) Jim Boe-heim didn't fall off a turnip Missour Coach Rich Daly said knew what he was doing when he sent him up East Regional DUKE 87 MINNESOTA 70 at East Rutherford NJ In the opener the Blue Devils Final Four qualifier in 1986 and '88 moved one step from another trip by taking charge early Brickey scored seven straight points to cap a game-opening 14-4 burst and Duke(27-7) and seeded second never trailed It was suffocating man-to-man defense that Minnesota Coach Clem Haskins credited with ending the Gophers' Cinder- The Associated Press Robert Brickey goes for slam dunk Friday SAN JOSE Bill Berry was dismissed as San Jose basketball coach on Friday two months after 10 players quit the team and accused him of and Athletic director Randy Hoffman said no replacement has been chosen Berry 47 compiled a record of 142-144 losses in 10 seasons as the Spartans' head coach San Jose finished 5-23 last season losing all 12 games it played after the Jan 18 walkout "The university would like to take its basketball program in a different direction on and off the court'' Hoffman said far as I'm concerned when discussing the effects of the walkout by the former players a head coach should not be removed in midseason based solely on the desires of student-athletes One also should not retain a coach based solely on those same actions He said the 10 players involved in the walkout will not be allowed to return to the team The players complained that Berry constantly belittled them with profane terms and also had physically abused players and said they would never play for San Jose State again unless he was fired Berry was working under a one-year contract that expired after the season During his tenure the Spartans qualified for the NCAA tournament in 1980 and made the National Invitation Tournament in 1981 but missed out on postseason play the next eight seasons year was difficult educational and one I will continue to said Berry who was not at the press conference in a prepared statement taking the job I was told by some this was a burial ground I 10 years later still view it as a proving ground and an excellent challenge in the upper division in our conference (Big West) six out of 10 years while ranking in the bottom three teams in facilities and budget seven athletic directors in 10 years addresses the positives that the players and coaches worked for in The Associated Press Bill Berry talks with walk-on player Craig MacPherson during game in February ella dreams The Gophers simply had a devil of a time getting their offense in gear in the early minutes when they committed five turnovers Duke with crisp passing and ball movement capitalized on the goofs to build a 22-9 lead and Minnesota never fully recovered do a lot of hand-checking which they don't allow in the Big Haskins said prepared for it and we never got to run our offensive sets Minnesota (19-12) and seeded 11th in the East got 26 points from Willie Burton but failed in its quest to reach a regional final for the first time GEORGETOWN 69 NC STATE 61 at East Rutherford NJ Valvano said he had the perfect plan to beat Georgetown Almost wanted to prove we could run and play with them in the first five said Valvano we would play the next 30 minutes trying not to lose and have a chance to win it in the last said Valvano accomplished that by being down only by three with two minutes to play" Phase Two was to control the inside-outside combination of Alonzo Mourning and Charles Smith The Wolfpack also did that limiting Mourning to 12 points and holding the flu-bitten Smith to a single foul shot But the resourceful Hoyas still found a way to win we keep winning ugly take it" said Georgetown Coach John Thompson Asked if he thought his Hoyas could win a game when Smith their captain and inspirational floor leader was held without a field goal for 32 minutes Thompson said not if you asked me before it started But got a lot of confidence in the rest of the kids and they got accustomed to the idea that Smitty play or if he did be that Smith took just two shots and had one point Stepping into the breach was junior guard Dwayne Bryant who scored a career-high 21 points including five of six from three-point range and senior Jar-en Jackson who chipped in with 17 points It was also Bryant who made the crucial three-point shot to give Georgetown a 62-56 cushion with 63 seconds remaining after the controversial walking call that length of Berry came to San Jose State in 1979 after serving two seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan State his alma mater which won the NCAA championship that spring He also was an assistant coach at California from 1972-77 His son Ricky played under him at San Jose State and now plays for the Sacramento Kings Hoffman who is launching a national search for a head coach said he wants the next coach order of priorities to recruit retain and graduate Tubbs interested in Kentucky post TODAY: Two Final Four berths The first half of the telecast which featured Indiana-Seton Hall and Oklahoma-Virginia received an 113 rating The later games North Carolina-Michigan and Arizona-Nevada-Las Vegas got an 111 rating The highest rating for a regional semifinal was a 12 for the 1985 Georgetown -Loyola-IUinois game CBS has televised regional semifinals in prime time since 1982 AUBURN SEARCH An Auburn official heading the search for a new basketball coach met with Mack McCarthy to discuss the job The Birmingham News quoting an unnamed source close to the Auburn Athletic Department reported that associate athletic director Hindman Wall was in Chattanooga Thursday to meet with McCarthy McCarthy was an assistant coach at Auburn for seven years under Sonny Smith who announced earlier this week that he was accepting the head coaching position at Virginia Commonwealth after 11 seasons at the Tigers' cqach Wall cduld not be reached for comment on Friday From Bee news services LEXINGTON Ky Oklahoma basketball coach Billy Tubbs said Friday night that he would be interested in the vacant coaching position at Kentucky although he said he is not an official candidate for the job willing to listen to anyone who wants to talk to me" he told The Associated Press Oklahoma closed its season at 30-6 Thursday night after losing 86-80 to Virginia in the Southeast Regional The Kentucky position came open Sunday when Eddie Sutton announced his resignation The Kentucky program is under investigation by the NCAA which has charged the school with 18 alleged violations Tubbs said he talked with Kentucky Athletics Director-designate Newton this week but not about the vacancy don't look for jobs but I said Tubbs who has been at Oklahoma for the past nine seasons HAPPY TO LOSE Legalized sports books who look to the Final Four as one of the biggest betting events say they will willingly tke their financial lumps if hometown favorite Ne- NCAA Notes vada-Las Vegas makes it to Seattle State law prohibits betting on the Runnin' Rebels who are a game away from the Final Four Final Four is right behind the Kentucky Derby and the Super Bowl as a major betting event for Bob Gregorka of the Frontier Hotel race and sports book said we'll gladly take the loss Most of the hotel owners are big supporters of UNLV and want to see the Rebels in the Final Four I don't think you'll see a tear in Las Vegas if they get The Rebels upset No 1 -ranked Arizona Thursday night 68-67 and face Seton Hall today in a game that will determine the Western Regional representative to the Final Four A victory by UNLV could present the same predicament for the state's three dozen race and sports books they faced two years ago when the Rebels made the Final Four in New Orleans REGIONAL RATINGS The NCAA basketball telecast on CBS Thursday night received the highest ratings for a regional semifinal since 1985 up for grabs overtime where you think you can win When the underdog you go for the wrin and get out of The Rebels had lost to Arizona 86-75 in December in Tucson With the Rebs seeded fourth few including Tarkanian gave them a second chance I thought UTEP was really good and might be the team that got out of this Tarkanian said Indiana just takes UTEP apart and I think Indiana must be awesome So what do I In other West semifinal the difference between the two teams was less subtle As Carlesimo said after his team shocked Indiana 78-65 just had better players and more of Seton Hall better players than Indiana? Absolutely PJ Carlesimo instead of Bobby Knight? You bet Jifet the way it is on the way to Seattle For a moment it appeared he wouldn't even get a shot off and didn't square to the basket until he saw the man guarding him Kenny Lofton had fallen to the floor after the two collided Suddenly dramatically he was transformed into an NCAA hero from a regular-season goat For it was Hunt who inexplicably drove for two points in the final second when the Rebels trailed UC-Irvine by three He made the basket and his team lost the game And it was Hunt who equally mysteriously threw the ball to Mookie Blaylock for what were the game-deciding points in a 90-88 loss to Oklahoma But that was then and this is the NCAA tournament UNLV trailed by two with 30 seconds to go when Jerry Tar- kanian called time out rather us shoot the three-pointer than go for two" he said unknowingly affirming theoiy the favorite you go inside for two ana go into CONT1NUED from D-1 prophet PJ Carlesimo also known as the Seton Hall coach when he says the Pirates have as good a chance to win the NCAA title as any team left? This must be the best balanced and least predictable tournament in NCAA history There might not be a Kansas or North Carolina State but there are a dozen Seton Halls Bobby Knight himself a victim had perhaps the best explanation for the upsets teams are he said teams that continue to play aggressively often win while those that get cautious Knight was right Nevada-Las Vegas played as if it had nothing to lose against Arizona casting up three-pointers it had missed with regularity at its sub-regional in Boise In the end it beat No-l ranked Arizona when Anderson Hunt Inade one with four seconds left.