COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S FINAL FOUR : Duke, Michigan Turn Tide : Game 1: Cincinnati jumps to an early lead, but too many missed shots lead to a 76-72 victory for Wolverines.

Defensive pressure helped Cincinnati reach the Final Four and it helped the Bearcats open a seven-point second-half lead over Michigan Saturday at the Metrodome in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament.

But a strong press is reliant on a consistent offense.

And when the Bearcats broke down offensively against Michigan, they couldn’t keep the pressure on the young Wolverines.

Gratefully unburdened, Michigan pulled away to win, 76-72, reaching the championship game for the second time in four seasons.

The Wolverines (25-8) will play defending NCAA champion Duke (33-2) Monday night.

For the first 25 minutes against Cincinnati, it looked as if too many turnovers would be the undoing of the careless Wolverines, who made 15 turnovers while falling behind, 50-43.

“Turnovers in the first half were killing us,” Michigan Coach Steve Fisher said. “They had eight more shots than we did, and we gave them too many easy baskets, many of them the result of turnovers.

“We made the kind that make you pull your hair out.”

Michigan’s response was to attack with its own stingy defense.

Cincinnati went cold, making only two shots during a 12-minute span during which the Bearcats were outscored, 22-8.

During the game-breaking run, Michigan made one turnover.

“When you don’t score, you can’t press,” said Cincinnati Coach Bob Huggins, whose team ended the season with a 29-5 record after making its first appearance in the Final Four since 1963. “It’s hard to press off a (missed shot). We didn’t get the clock stopped enough to get into the press.”

Michigan’s rebounding dominance took on more importance.

With Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard combining for 28 rebounds, the bigger Wolverines outrebounded the quicker Bearcats, 46-30.

“We just didn’t get it done on the boards,” Huggins said. “They beat us to death. You don’t get outrebounded by 16 and win too many games.”

Still, when forward Herb Jones made a three-point shot from the top of the key with 3:59 to play, ending an 11-2 run by Michigan during which Cincinnati missed all eight of its shots, the Bearcats’ deficit was only 65-61.

At the other end, Anthony Buford poked the ball away from Webber, leading to Buford’s layup that cut Michigan’s lead to 65-63.

Fisher called time out.

Afterward, reserve forward James Voskuil made a three-point shot from the top of the key, increasing Michigan’s lead to 68-63.

A junior who has been overshadowed this season by the Wolverines’ Fab Five all-freshman starting lineup, Voskuil played a key role in the victory, sparking Michigan by scoring nine points in 14 minutes.

Michigan never trailed again after Voskuil made a three-point play with 5:41 remaining, drawing a foul as he made a hanging jumper in the lane, then adding a free throw to give the Wolverines a 61-58 lead.

His three-point shot was also a crusher for the Bearcats, but they trailed by only 70-67 after Buford made a three-point shot with 1:53 left.

Rose missed a short jumper at the other end, but as the rebound headed out of bounds, teammate Jimmy King tapped it back to Rose, who was fouled as he clutched the ball.

Rose made two free throws.

“That was the play that broke our back,” Huggins said.

King, a freshman guard, also hurt the Bearcats with a team-high 17 points, making three of four three-point shots. Webber, a 6-foot-9 freshman forward, scored 16 points, making eight of 12 shots. He also had 11 rebounds.

Rose, a freshman guard, had 13 points and nine rebounds. Howard, a freshman center, had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Cincinnati, which won its previous 10 games, was led by junior guard Nick Van Exel, who scored 21 points and had five assists. Buford scored 18 points, but missed 11 of 17 shots.

Cincinnati made only 30% of its shots after halftime, a shortcoming that proved too much for the Bearcats to overcome.

It took them out of their game.

* HAND OF EXPERIENCE

Former starter James Voskuil comes off the bench to score nine points in the second half to spark the Wolverines. C9