COLLEGE BASKETBALL : WEST REGIONAL : Colonials: Don’t Let Clock Hit Midnight

The full-page ad appeared in both Seattle daily newspapers Thursday and urged the city’s basketball fans to “dream the dream with the Cinderella team.”

That would be the George Washington Colonials, one of the last at-large teams wedged into the NCAA tournament’s 64-team field and the 12th-seeded team in the West.

Still alive after beating New Mexico and Southern University, the Colonials have embraced the rags-to-riches role. Not only did the university spring for the newspaper ad (total cost: about $14,000), but at a Thursday news conference Coach Mike Jarvis showed reporters a book of fairy tales, including the story of Cinderella, he had received from a fan.

The Colonials (21-8) may need all the magic they can find tonight in the Kingdome when they face Michigan in the West Regional semifinals. Vanderbilt and Temple will play in the other semifinal.

Having beaten UCLA and the clock last Sunday to stay alive in the tournament, Michigan (28-4), the West’s No. 1 seeded team, enters the regional semifinals with a surge of confidence, according to forward Chris Webber.

“It didn’t take away from our confidence,” Webber said of Michigan’s 86-84 overtime victory over the Bruins. “If anything, it boosted our confidence. It showed us the heart we have.

“When you’re down 19 points, it’s easy to start arguing or doubting yourself. That never happened with us, although I hope we don’t have to go through that again.”

After their victory over Southern, George Washington players found seats in Arizona’s McKale Center and watched the Wolverines’ comeback.

“In the first half, UCLA played as well as they had played all year,” Colonial forward Bill Brigham said. “In the second half, when Michigan turned up its defense, (it) looked like an NBA team.

“We have to play like UCLA played in the first half. We have to stay composed, not let their size and strength pull us out of our game.”

The most intriguing aspect of the game will be the matchup between Yinka Dare, George Washington’s 7-foot-1 freshman center from Nigeria, and Michigan sophomores Webber and Juwan Howard, both 6-9. Dare averages 12.6 points and 10.4 rebounds and has blocked 83 shots.

The other semifinal could be determined by how well Vanderbilt’s cerebral and well-balanced offense, which relies on cuts and screens, fares against Temple’s matchup zone defense, a trademark of Owl Coach John Chaney.

“We’ll have to have patience, get the right shooters in the right spots,” Vanderbilt (28-5) forward Bruce Elder said.

Temple, which has a 19-12 record after opening the season at 10-10, gets almost all of its scoring from three perimeter players--Aaron McKie, Rick Brunson and Eddie Jones. The Owls start two juniors, two freshmen and a sophomore, and there is only one senior on the roster.

“I kind of characterize this team like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” Chaney said. “Every time they got out of town, it was ‘Who are those guys?’

“You aren’t supposed to win with three guys scoring all the points. I don’t know who these guys are.”