Foul Trouble, Michigan Rebounds Spill Tigers out of NCAAs, 93-76

At midnight, Princeton turned into a pumpkin.

Michigan beat the Tigers 93-76 last night in Portland, Ore., ending the beautiful fairy tale that millions of credulous adults all over the country had wanted badly to believe in. The dragon wasn't slain, the glass slipper didn't fit, and the children went to bed crying.

But the mistakes that beat Princeton weren't at all fantastical. No rebounding, spotty defense, foul trouble for Bill Bradley--all these damned the Tigers and ruined their chances to reach the NCAA championship finals tonight.

The game began almost as a caricature of every Princeton game this season. Bradley sank a free throw, then proceeded to score on every conceivable shot, jumpers, breakaways, set shots from the corner, until Princeton led 15-14. Bradley had all but two of the Tigers' points.

But the seeds of disaster were evident. Robby Brown, Princeton's 6-9 center, had already missed two shots from inside, and Bradley was getting one try and one try only before the monstrous Michigan front line of Bill Buntin, Oliver Darden, and Larry Tregoning cleared the boards.

With six minutes to go in the half, Michigan ground its way into a 29-26 lead. Ominously, Bradley had collected his third personal foul, a charging violation.

Then Princeton guard Gary Walters hit on a hook, Bradley scored on a three-on-one break and on a hook. Brown added a jump shot, and the Tigers held a 24-29 lead with a chance to break clear. But Cazzie Russell and Buntin rapidly brought Michigan back.

As the half ended, Brown blew a dunk shot, and Michigan led 40-36. Brown had four fouls, and Bradley had three along with his 19 points. The fouls showed in the score; Michigan has had 17 free throws, scoring on 14, while Princeton had a paltry 2 for 4.

As the second half began, Michigan pulled inexorably ahead. Bradley was called for pushing Darden, a crippling fourth personal foul. Though Walters suddenly went beserk, scoring four straight baskets, beautiful work under the basket by Russell, Buntin, Tergoning, and Darden kept Princeton at a stable seven-point disadvantage. With Michigan leading 57-50. Brown fouled out, and the Wolverines ruled the boards almost without challenge.

Undentable

From then on, Princeton was unable to dent the Michigan lead. The Tigers had moved from a man-to-man into a zone defense, hopping like puppets to rattle the Michigan guards, but Russell and George Pomey merely found men open on the base line for easy baskets.

The last hope vanished when Bradley fouled out with five minutes to go and with Michigan in front 75-67. He had scored 29 points. Princeton promptly did just what everyone expected: they disintegrated Ed Hummer's tip-in with a single second remaining in the game was the only field goal that the Tigers scored after their star departed, and Michigan galloped to a 92-76 margin that was almost a footnote.

Although Bradley was the game's high scorer, the Wolverines key was Buntin. The 6-7, 225-pound center scored 23 points and dragged down 14 rebounds. Cazzie Russell was high for Michigan with 27 points.

The Ivy League will just have to wait for another superman, and another fairy tale.