Big Ten

Dino Gaudio listed all the little things his Wake Forest team did right during its rapid rise to No. 1. Then, he watched his Demon Deacons finally do them again. They ran, they rebounded, they defended - and, not coincidentally, they got two of their most dependable scorers back on track. Jeff Teague scored 27 points, freshman Al-Farouq Aminu added a season-high 26, and No. 7 Wake Forest bounced back yesterday after a surprisingly lopsided loss by routing visiting Boston College, 93-76.

DaJuan Summers (McDonogh) scored 21 points and No. 13 Georgetown (12-3, 3-2 Big East) had its best three-point game of the season in an 88-74 victory over No. 8 Syracuse last night. Eric Devendorf had 20 points and four three-pointers for the Orange (16-2, 4-1). No. 1 Pittsburgh 75, South Florida 62: The host Panthers (16-0, 4-0 Big East) struggled early for the second time in as many games since reaching No. 1. The Bulls fell to 6-10 and 1-3. No. 7 Michigan State 78, Penn State 73: The visiting Spartans (14-2, 4-0 Big Ten)

Can Florida become college basketball's first repeat champion in 15 years? The NCAA thinks so. The Gators were made the top seed in the 2007 tournament by the NCAA men's basketball committee, which selects 34 at-large teams and seeds the 65-team field. Florida was placed there with good reason, as Joakim Noah and four other veteran starters ran their postseason winning streak to 12 games with another Southeastern Conference tournament title yesterday. Coach Billy Donovan's gang did so at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, which happens to be the site of this year's Final Four.

.. Wisconsin soccer goalkeeper Alex Horwath (McDonogh) stands 6 feet 4, weighs close to 200 pounds and has a towering presence in the goal that is intimidating, to say the least. "I'm loud and I'm big, plus I'm athletic," said Horwath, a first-team Sun All-Metro choice in 2004. "And coaches like my presence." Horwath said he uses every bit of his height to gain an advantage and had these words of warning to Big Ten Conference foes or any other opponents: "I wouldn't recommend trying to push me around."

CapsuleWhere: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.When: 8: 15 tonightTV: Chs. 13, 9How they got here: Both won automatic bids as conference tournament champions, Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Michigan State in the Big Ten. The Blue Devils had little difficulty as the top seed in the East Regional, where they beat 16th seed Florida A&M, 99-58; No. 9 Tulsa, 97-56; No. 12 Southwest Missouri State, 78-61; and No. 6 Temple, 85-64. The Spartans did have a couple of tests in the Midwest Regional, where they beat No. 16 Mount St. Mary's, 76-53; No. 9 Mississippi, 74-66; and No. 13 Oklahoma, 54-46, then had to rally to defeat No. 3 Kentucky, 73-66, to gain their Final Four spot.

Going to St. Petersburg: After clinching the Pac-10 regular season championship, Stanford stumbled a bit lately. But with seniors Arthur Lee and Mark Madsen leading an experienced team that went to the Final Four a year ago, the Cardinal is battle-tested.Team on the rise: Discounting its loss yesterday against Duke, North Carolina (24-9) suddenly woke up in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. The Tar Heels have the combination of experience, with point guard Ed Cota and Ademola Okulaja, and raw talent in sophomores Brendan Haywood and Max Owens.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Ten minutes before the second semifinal at the Final Four last night, the Michigan State pep band kicked into the theme from "Rocky."The Spartans performed gallantly, but just like the cinema pugilist in his first big fight, they lost to a heavy favorite. Elton Brand made them groggy, and then Duke's backcourt delivered the finishing blows, as the top-ranked Blue Devils continued their run through the NCAA tournament with a 68-62 decision before 41,340 at Tropicana Field.

0 Times more than the champion was invited to the NCAA tournament from the Ivy League.2 Big Ten teams with 8-10 league records invited to the tournament, Indiana in 1990 and Wisconsin in 1994.3 Mid-American Conference teams invited to last year's tournament, the most in league history.4 Times the Atlantic Coast Conference received fewer than five bids since 1980, most recently in 1995. 9 Big Ten teams with .500 records or better in the league that didn't get invited during the 1990s.Pub Date: 2/26/99

It's hump day for Maryland.Coach Gary Williams would never think this way out loud, but the optimists among Terps basketball fans do. If Terence Morris and company can defeat No. 16 Illinois in the semifinals of the BB&T Classic at MCI Center in Washington today at 3: 15 p.m., it could be the springboard to a 12-1 start.The Terps (5-1) won't hear any boos until their Atlantic Coast Conference opener at North Carolina State on Jan. 6, the first time they will play on an opponent's court. No. 24 Maryland will get Seton Hall or George Washington in the BB&T tomorrow, then play five straight games at Cole Field House, the biggest being next Saturday's revenge bout with Kentucky.

1. CincinnatiConference: Conference USALast year: 27-6Tournament result: Lost to Temple in East second roundPlayer to watch: Pete MickealSkinny: The Bearcats have more experience than any other elite team.2. ConnecticutConference: Big EastLast year: 34-2Tournament result: Defeated Duke for NCAA championshipPlayer to watch: Ajou Ajou DengSkinny: With Richard Hamilton gone, more pressure falls on point guard Khalid El-Amin.3. AuburnConference: SoutheasternLast year: 29-4Tournament result: Lost to Ohio State in South semifinalsPlayer to watch: Chris PorterSkinny: The Tigers won't surprise people again, but they still must prove they aren't a fluke.

One of the forces behind the Atlantic Coast Conference's decision in 2003 to expand was the conference's desire to increase its television revenue, which in turn would increase the bank accounts of its member institutions, including Maryland. The league, with deep roots in North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic states, added attractive media markets with Boston College and Miami and, initially, expansion paid off. In 2004, the ACC sold its football broadcasting rights to ABC and ESPN for $260 million over seven years.

News item: The new book about to hit the shelves by Sports Illustrated reporter Selena Roberts portrays Alex Rodriguez as a guy who took steroids in high school and tipped pitches to opposing hitters in the hope they would reciprocate and help him pad his stats. My take: After all those steroids, you would think the guy wouldn't need any more padding. News item: Former Oriole Kevin Millar, sporting the goatee he was not allowed to grow in Baltimore, drove in three runs in the Toronto Blue Jays' 8-4 victory over the Orioles on Friday night at Rogers Centre.

The Members-Only Club is open for business. Only the right people with the right connections get in. You rabble, you unwashed masses, you "mid-majors," stay over there. You and you, OK, you look all right, but just you, not your friends. Is this what March Madness is supposed to be all about? Forget what it's supposed to be. This is what it is, more and more every year, just as it is in college football. Introducing basketball's version of the Bowl Championship Series, or at least the closest basketball has come to it. From the 12 so-called mid-majors getting at-large bids in 2004, to George Mason going to the Final Four in 2006, the NCAA has danced backward.

Victory No. 800 reminded Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun of something his father once told him as a boy: You're always going to be judged by the company you keep. And with the second-ranked Huskies' 93-82 victory over No. 8 Marquette last night, Calhoun joined Bob Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan, Mike Krzyzewski and Eddie Sutton as the only coaches to win 800 games in Division I history. "I looked around at that list, and I'm really happy to be in their company," Calhoun said.

Tyler Hansbrough scored 27 points to help third-ranked North Carolina beat visiting North Carolina State, 89-80, last night. Danny Green added 19 points for the Tar Heels (24-2, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who pulled away in the second half to win their 10th straight game. North Carolina shot 55 percent to improve to 12-1 against its nearby rival since Roy Williams took over at his alma mater before the 2003-04 season. Javi Gonzalez scored 18 points to lead the Wolfpack (14-10, 4-7)

Dino Gaudio listed all the little things his Wake Forest team did right during its rapid rise to No. 1. Then, he watched his Demon Deacons finally do them again. They ran, they rebounded, they defended - and, not coincidentally, they got two of their most dependable scorers back on track. Jeff Teague scored 27 points, freshman Al-Farouq Aminu added a season-high 26, and No. 7 Wake Forest bounced back yesterday after a surprisingly lopsided loss by routing visiting Boston College, 93-76.

Seton Hall celebrated its first Big East victory of the season the same day it honored its team that almost won it all 20 years ago. "We talked for a couple of days with the kids about carving a piece of the pie for themselves," Pirates coach Bobby Gonzalez said of the hoopla surrounding the return of the 1988-89 team that lost to Michigan in overtime in the national championship game. "We felt we could get one." They did by gutting out a 65-60 victory over No. 12 Georgetown yesterday to end a six-game losing streak.

A.J. Price scored 23 points to lead No. 4 Connecticut to a 76-61 victory over Seton Hall yesterday, the host Huskies' fifth Big East win since losing their conference opener to Georgetown. Hasheem Thabeet added 15 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots for UConn (16-1, 5-1 Big East). Jeff Adrien had 13 points and 12 rebounds, the senior's 40th career double double. UConn has won 22 of its past 24 games against Seton Hall (9-8, 0-5). No. 15 Xavier 73, La Salle 53: : B.J. Raymond scored 16 points and the host Musketeers (15-2, 4-0)

DaJuan Summers (McDonogh) scored 21 points and No. 13 Georgetown (12-3, 3-2 Big East) had its best three-point game of the season in an 88-74 victory over No. 8 Syracuse last night. Eric Devendorf had 20 points and four three-pointers for the Orange (16-2, 4-1). No. 1 Pittsburgh 75, South Florida 62: The host Panthers (16-0, 4-0 Big East) struggled early for the second time in as many games since reaching No. 1. The Bulls fell to 6-10 and 1-3. No. 7 Michigan State 78, Penn State 73: The visiting Spartans (14-2, 4-0 Big Ten)

North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow will not return to the team this season because of health issues related to her long fight against cancer. In a statement released by the school yesterday afternoon, the Hall of Fame coach said she doesn't have the energy to coach the way she has before. She has missed the past four games, starting Dec. 22 against Columbia in New York. Yow said she will revisit the decision no later than the end of the season. "Stepping away from coaching is one of the hardest decisions I have had to make, but I have great confidence in the experienced staff I have been working with for such a long time and the character of everyone involved in the program to respond positively to my decision," Yow said.