'M' grabs No. 3 seed, will face Davidson

CHICAGO - In the Westin Hotel's Mayfair Room, Michigan players and coaches waited until the last possible moment to learn their NCAA Tournament fate, prompting Michigan guard Louis Bullock to state the unthinkable: "Maybe they forgot about us."

Bullock's comment was in jest, of course, after the Wolverines capped off a perfect weekend with a victory over Purdue in the finals of the inaugural Big Ten Tournament yesterday at the United Center.

The atmosphere of the conference room was that of excited anxiety as the players, donning their championship hats, watched ESPN for the announcement of the 64-team tournament field.

The team waited throughout seven of the eight brackets until, by process of elimination, the Wolverines figured out that they were heading south. And then Michigan's name appeared on the screen.

The result: The Wolverines (24-8) as the No. 3 seed in the South regional will play Davidson (20-9) - the No. 14 seed - in Atlanta's Georgia Dome on Friday. The time of the game will be determined later today.

If Michigan gets by Davidson, the Wolverines could face No. 6 seed UCLA - the 1995 NCAA champions. If Michigan manages to make the Sweet 16, then perennial college basketball elites Kentucky and Duke could be on the horizon.

Michigan hasn't won a NCAA tournament game in four years. Last year, former coach Steve Fisher and the Wolverines failed to qualify for the tourney, instead going on to win the National Invitational Tournament last April. In 1996, the seventh-seeded Wolverines lost to Texas in the first round. In 1995, the Wolverines also lost in the opening round, falling to Western Kentucky.

The United Center - one of this year's Midwest regional's first round sites - was a place the Wolverines would've been happy to return to after their successful conference tournament run in the Windy City.

"We wanted to come and play here next week," said Big Ten Tournament Most Valuable Player Robert Traylor. "I guess we'll have to take Atlanta by storm."

Some players had a problem with the seeding. They were disappointed and confused because Purdue received a No. 2 seed only hours after being defeated by Michigan.

"We thought we deserved to be a No. 2 seed," Traylor said.

Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe, in his first year at the helm of the Wolverines, said he's not too familiar with Davidson, the winner of the Southern Conference tournament.

"I don't know a whole lot about Davidson," Ellerbe said. "I know they have a great coach."

Not only was it a successful weekend for Michigan, but for the state in general. Five teams - Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Detroit and Western Michigan - received bids to the tourney. One surprise was that the Broncos made the tournament over bubble teams like Iowa.

"It makes our losses against Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan look not as bad," said Bullock, referring to early-season defeats at Crisler Arena.

As expected, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and Arizona recieved the No. 1 seeds. The tournament begins Thursday with the East and West regional first-round games.

03-09-98