The Vault: Michigan vs. Seton Hall, 1989 (Part 1)

We've been away for a bit, getting caught up in doing summer-type things. Sorry. Here we are again with our next edition of The Vault, taking a look at the 1989 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game between Michigan and Seton Hall. You might be interested to know that you can order it from at NCAA On Demand or from Amazon.

Start of the First Half (as written by CDB):
0:07	I forgot that Michigan's road to the Final Four that year was fraught with peril, whereas Seton Hall not only looks like world beaters, but they get their own cutesy graphics package to explain it to us. (The cannon they chose seems anachronistic. I don't think pirates with buckle shoes had breech-loaders –GZ)
0:55	I also forgot that I hated Andrew Gaze for many years after this game, and I could not explain why.
1:30	Mike Griffin is the name of the fifth starter on the 1989 team you can never remember. OK, I can never remember. (No, it's clearly "we" –GZ)
2:16	The simplicity of the court design strikes me as charming. It's actually not distracting as you try and watch the game.
2:49	Brent points out that Michigan resembles Syracuse, Seton Hall's Achilles' Heel in the Big East. I'm going to have to trust him on this, but clearly, the resemblance does not extend to a comparison between the hairstyles of Steve Fisher and Jim Boeheim. (PJ Carlesimo looks like a shaved bear, or maybe just like Zack Galifianakis. As if there's any difference. –GZ)
4:21	Bill Simmons keeps complaining about the use of non-traditional camera angles when covering the NBA, and yet, here's a long establishing shot for an entire possession. He's right though, the mid-court shot works best.
5:56	Seton Hall is playing some exceptionally tough defense. Not punishing as much as it is tough man-to-man. I'd say they're choking off the passing lanes for Michigan, but that's just a cheap joke at P.J.'s expense.
7:52	Sean Higgins just made a huge mental mistake by tossing to Rumeal Robinson back across the time line. Oy...
8:23	Sweet shooting stroke by Rumeal, but it's only a two...and then, turnover leads to a quick fast break and more Michigan points. 12-8, Maize and Blue, 14:16 left.
9:11	Glen Rice draws an offensive foul, and I guess I just forgot how amazing Rice was throughout this whole tournament, even if Brent makes a horrible "wild Rice" joke coming back from "commercial".
11:00	I forgot that Rumeal was a freshman non-qualifier, back when such things existed.
13:50	Just sort of a sloppy sequence here. Nothing to add, I just hadn't written anything in a while. Seriously, the sloppiness continues for about two and a half more minutes. Rumeal had a 2-on-1 and decided not to make the pass which would have been an easy layup and couldn't make his own shot drop.
15:41	Mike Griffin looks like Opie Taylor's older cousin, while Ramon Ramos looks like he's 50.
16:51	First gratuitous iso shot of Mrs. Fisher in the stands. Michigan's cleaning up on the offensive glass.
17:26	Nice pass by Griffin inside to Rumeal. Brent notes that it feels like Robinson is headed for a huge night. I am loathe to disagree.
18:43	For all of the Fab Five's many flaws, we can thank them for saving us from the tyranny of short shorts and t-shirts under the jersey in basketball.
19:11	Seeing a Seattle with the Kingdome in the skyline just feels strange to me.
20:57	Seton Hall's on a 9-0 run, and in comes Demetrius Calip for...Higgins. 12-0 run now for the Pirates. Yar.
21:52	Apparently Andrew Gaze's father is the John Wooden of Australian basketball, and now Billy Packer is on a rant about the use of rent-a-international players. I don't think he's wrong, but if you look at what ended up happening, Andrew Gaze was the exception rather than the rule. I am left to wonder whether or not Andrew Gaze's father is bigger than Wayne Bennett in Brisbane (Not twenty times bigger! –GZ).
23:47	In watching these older games, I miss the constant score bug. In writing these notes, I've lost the score and it's tricky to pick back up where it is.
24:14	The smallest man in Division I basketball is named Mookie. I find this amusing. (I'm just amazed that the Charlotte Hornets existed in '89, and that Muggsy Bogues was playing for them –GZ)
25:16	Glen Rice just is a sharpshooter, even if it was just a 2.
25:51	I'm now convinced that Andrew Gaze and Christian Laettner share a hairstylist.
26:26	Have you ever, in your life, met or heard of another man named Loy?
26:57	It stuns me how much they actually called traveling back in the day. Another Michigan turnover, but we're tied at 28, with 3:46 remaining.
27:36	Ramon Ramos looks like a Puerto Rican Frankenstein. Seriously, he's scaring the small children. And Glen Rice, Deadeye again. Oh and they just pointed out that Glen Rice is closing in on Senator Bill Bradley's NCAA Tournament scoring record.
29:06	That was a great forced turnover by Michigan, followed by an awful bit of transition work and an even worse no-call.
29:37	Billy Packer was nowhere near as annoying in 1989 as he is today, but this could be a relative thing when paired with Brent. I'm just saying. (Having Brent on this broadcast has actually kept me from putting on this DVD at times. It's a national championship and Brent has dissuaded me from watching, he's that bad. –GZ).
31:16	Gratuitous Bo sighting #1. You get the feeling that Bo will become a leitmotif as this game moves forward.
32:00	That is NOT a "marvelous" story about Rumeal Robinson being abandoned by his mother in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is a nice story about the people who adopted him. Let's please be clear about the difference here.
33:49	Rumeal hits the front half of a one and one near the end of the half. Important for later?
Halftime	Michigan's up 37-32 at the half. We'll see what happens. (You can really hear the old snare rhythms as we fade out, with the reminder that Michigan has a long history of unflattering cheerleader uniforms –GZ)