COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S FINAL FOUR NOTES : It’s Tough to Watch, Tough to Play

Michigan-Kentucky provided the first overtime at a Final Four since the 1989 championship game, which was won by Michigan over Seton Hall, 80-79. Saturday was the fourth anniversary of that game.

Four of Michigan’s last eight games--victories over Michigan State, Illinois, UCLA and Kentucky--have gone into overtime.

“Hard on my heart,” forward Ray Jackson said. “Hard on my body, too.”

Said teammate Rob Pelinka: “We just want to keep everybody tuned in to their TVs. You can’t get off the couch when Michigan plays.”

Michigan and North Carolina met Dec. 29 at a tournament in Hawaii. Michigan won, 79-78.

“This will be a game between two fantastic traditions and two fantastic coaches, Steve Fisher and Dean Smith,” Pelinka said.

Smith has won 743 games, Fisher 99.

Actor Nick Nolte, whose latest project is a movie about college basketball called “Blue Chips,” was sitting among a group of coaches in the Superdome on Saturday.

At halftime of the North Carolina-Kansas game, he bolted up the aisle trying to flag down Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, but couldn’t reach him. Instead of Krzyzewski, Nolte wound up chatting with former California coach Lou Campanelli, who was fired during the season.

Note to the viewing public: Nolte has sought input from others, including Indiana Coach Bob Knight.