COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Michigan Wins; Tarkanian Is Loser in Debut

Maurice Taylor scored 16 points and freshman Robert Traylor scored five of his eight points down the stretch in leading No. 17 Michigan to a 73-65 win over DePaul at Ann Arbor, Mich., in the first round of the Preseason NIT.

Jermaine Watts scored 30 points for the Blue Demons.

The Wolverines, who held DePaul to 33% shooting, will play host Friday night to Weber State, which ruined Jerry Tarkanian’s coaching debut at Fresno State with a 102-86 victory over the Bulldogs.

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No. 16 Arkansas let a comfortable lead get down to six with 2:19 to play before Jesse Pate, a junior college transfer from Florida, made seven consecutive free throws and the Razorbacks notched a 75-67 Preseason NIT victory over Northeast Louisiana at Fayetteville, Ark. The Razorbacks will play host to Arizona in the second round Friday night. . . . Ryan Minor, a preseason All-American, and Ernie Abercrombie scored 18 points apiece, helping lead Oklahoma past Jackson State, 99-68, in a Preseason NIT game at Norman, Okla. The Sooners, who will play Georgia Tech in the second round, also got a good game out of 6-11 Jason Yanish, who came off the bench and had career highs with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Said Minor, who made only six of 15 shots before fouling out with 5 1/2 minutes left: “I played OK, but it wasn’t up to my personal standard.” Minor averaged 23 points per game as the Big Eight player of the year last season. . . . Highly regarded Georgia Tech freshman Stephon Marbury, fighting a case of tonsillitis that required a shot before the game, scored only 16 points, making six of 14 shots, in 31 minutes, but Matt Harpring scored 24 and the Yellow Jackets defeated Manhattan, 87-67, in a Preseason NIT game in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. Georgia Tech will play host to Oklahoma in the second round.