The Pirates had been the 3-seed in the West, but their tough physical defense, led by P.J. Now it was Monday night and the opponent was Seton Hall. The shot missed, but Higgins was there for the rebound and a quick put-back with two seconds left. Rice scored 28 on 12-of-24 shooting, Illinois’ Kenny Battle knocked down 29 and it was tied 81-81, with Michigan having a chance at the final shot. But one of the great games in Final Four history ensued. Illinois won the Midwest bracket as the #1 seed and the Illini were expected to win it all. It was an all-Big Ten battle in the national semi-finals. Fischer was taking his team to Seattle for the Final Four. Then Rice knocked down 32 more in a 102-65 rout of Virginia. The first-team All-American scored 34 in a 92-87 win over North Carolina. Rice had a monster weekend at the regionals. Michigan was playing loose, with nothing to lose and their talent was coming to the fore. The opponent in the regionals at Lexington would be North Carolina, the same team who eliminated them in this round in 1988. The Wolverines made the Sweet 16, although that was expected. Bo Schembecler, the legendary football coach who doubled as athletic director, told Fischer that his services would not be required for the tournament, and assistant coach Steve Fischer was named interim boss. When head coach Bill Fischer took the Arizona State job right before the 1989 NCAA Tournament, things got worse. But after a third-place finish in the Big Ten, they looked ready to go into the books as an underachieving disappointment. The 1989 Michigan basketball team was loaded with talent, from All-American forward Glen Rice to talented sophomore Sean Higgins, to the low post duo of Terry Mills and Loy Vaught to their fine point guard Rumeal Robinson.
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