Blue Devils

Are expectant mothers adding Marissa and Kristi to their lists of baby girl names today? Are thousands of Marylanders budgeting for $175 Final Four seats? If the General Assembly chooses to rewrite the lyrics to "Maryland, My Maryland," will it include laudatory references to Head Coach Brenda Frese? If not - why not? With their 92-89 overtime victory over Duke on Sunday, the Maryland Terrapins women's basketball team accomplished something their Y-chromosome-toting counterparts in College Park never have: They won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament after capturing the regular season title, too. Their position as one of four top seeds in the March Madness tournament is virtually assured.

Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham each scored 25 points, and Villanova rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat upset-minded American, 80-67, in the first round of the NCAA tournament last night in Philadelphia. The third-seeded Wildcats (27-7) needed a late 19-2 run to fend off the Patriot League champions. The 14th-seeded Eagles (24-8) sizzled from three-point range early and pushed Villanova to the brink. The loss ended the Eagles' 13-game winning streak. "It wasn't that we took them lightly at all," Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

It won't be easy, but Maryland fans should be consoled by the fact that in the debacle at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday, they got caught up in a long-awaited, much-needed renaissance. Atlantic Coast Conference basketball has returned to its former glory. Duke is part of it, having looked like the best team in the country in the 85-44 throttling and likely being rewarded for it with the top spot in the polls today. North Carolina and Wake Forest are part of it, too, having been ranked No. 1 for a combined eight of the 10 previous weeks.

The situation for Duke was dire. The Blue Devils were uptight, confused and stunned. And their opponent in yesterday's NCAA men's lacrosse semifinal, Cornell, was rolling. The Big Red had just rallied from a seven-goal deficit in the second half and tied the game with 17 seconds remaining. It looked as if the crowd of 52,004 at M&T Bank Stadium was about to witness one of the most surprising comebacks - and collapses - in NCAA tournament history. Instead, Duke did two things it has done better than any other team this season: strike quickly and finish strong.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Duke's uncharacteristic season ended last night with an equally non-traditional exit in the first round of the NCAA tournament, as Virginia Commonwealth made the game-winning shot for a 79-77 upset and halted the Blue Devils' streak of nine straight Sweet 16 appearances. VCU guard Eric Maynor, whose late-game heroics were the reason the Rams beat George Mason to get the Colonial Athletic Association's automatic bid, again played an integral role in his team advancing. This time, his 15-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining propelled Virginia Commonwealth into the second round of the tournament for the first time since 1985.

Pace and fatigue How much gas does Duke have in its tank, and can it play at its preferred fast pace? The Blue Devils blew a 10-3 second-half lead against Cornell, largely because Duke lacks depth and it tired in the fourth quarter on a very hot day. Hopkins used three midfields and played five attackmen against Delaware, and would love to be within striking distance after three quarters. Battle for the ball Will Stephen Peyser and Jamison Koesterer take care of business in the faceoff game?

Cornell is trying to re-establish itself as a serious contender. Delaware is Cinderella and will become the fan favorite on college lacrosse's biggest stage. There's really not a big party if Johns Hopkins isn't invited, and the Blue Jays are back again, trying to win another national championship. But the biggest story in lacrosse the past two seasons has been about Duke, and one of the closing chapters will be written Monday when the Blue Devils beat Hopkins in the national championship game.

COLLEGE PARK -- If there was one glaring difference between Maryland and Duke heading into yesterday's game at Comcast Center, it was the five seniors in the Terps' rotation compared with the least-experienced team at Duke since World War II. Well aware that time is dwindling to end their college careers on an upswing, Maryland's veterans finally played as if something were on the line and pulled together for a convincing 72-60 win against No. 16 Duke...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Whenever No. 2 Duke needed a goal yesterday in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament final, it was Matt Danowski who found the back of the cage or cleared the way for his teammates with his daunting presence. In front of a favorable home crowd at Koskinen Stadium and led by Danowski's three goals, the Blue Devils beat No. 3 Virginia, 12-9, for their first ACC title since 2002. "I kind of let the game come to me and not try to force anything or push something that's not there," Danowski said.

If the encroaching parity in college men's lacrosse asserts itself in the NCAA tournament, it's going be a perilous ride for a number of favorites, starting with this weekend's first-round games. The danger signs seem clear for schools such as Albany and Maryland. The fifth-seeded Great Danes, who have had their best season at Division I, have never won a playoff game at that level, and they will face an athletic, unselfish, senior-laden Loyola team that could win a shootout in its first postseason game since 2001.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - -How do you resurrect an ailing football program? It all starts with winning more games. But there's so much more. Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis passed for 2,171 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, but the rising senior says that's not enough. Lewis has made himself an emissary for reviving Duke's football program. In public appearances, he talks about rising attendance, the community becoming more engaged and Wallace Wade Stadium undergoing much-needed renovation.

Golf Mickelson shoots 68, trails by 2 in return at St. Jude Returning to work for the first time since disclosing last month that his wife has breast cancer, Phil Mickelson got off to a solid start in the St. Jude Classic with a 2-under-par 68 that left him two shots behind the early leaders Thursday. He wore a pink ribbon stitched into the side of his white cap and at times looked fatigued. Jose Maria Olazabal shot a 66 and was tied for the lead with Mathias Gronberg and Chris Stroud.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - - The NCAA tournament semifinal between Syracuse and Duke was billed as a meeting between offensive juggernauts. The Orange held up its end of the deal - convincingly. Seniors Kenny Nims and Pat Perritt each had four goals and one assist to spark No. 2 seed and reigning national champion Syracuse to a 17-7 rout of the No. 3 seed Blue Devils in a NCAA tournament semifinal at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. The Orange improved to 15-2 and earned its seventh trip to the championship final since John Desko succeeded Roy Simmons Jr. as coach before the 1999 season.

FOXBOROUGH, MASS. - The next time Duke gets an opportunity to play in the NCAA Division I men's Final Four lacrosse tournament, maybe it should borrow former first lady Nancy Reagan's line, and "just say no." Enough is enough. For the third straight year, Duke came into the final four as one of the hottest teams in the country, and for the second straight year the Blue Devils were eliminated in the semifinals, this time losing to Syracuse, 17-7, Saturday at Gillette Stadium. The first two losses were bad for morale because Duke had the two best offensive players on the planet in attackmen Matt Danowski and Zack Greer.

A year ago, the "D" on the helmets of the Duke men's lacrosse team could have stood for "disrespect." Last season, the Blue Devils made the Final Four as the No. 1 seed with an 18-1 record, a 10-game winning streak and lofty expectations of capturing the school's first NCAA championship. They were also the targets of intense hostility from lacrosse fans critical of the NCAA's decision to grant an extra year of eligibility to 33 team members. Those players' 2006 season was cut short by the university after it investigated now-discredited sexual-assault allegations against three players.

During the previous two seasons, Duke coach John Danowski used the star system to fuel his offense - almost everything ran through All-America attackmen Matt Danowski and Zack Greer. The Blue Devils are using the same offensive system in 2009, but it's now built on balance and a team concept. A year ago, an opponent had a reasonable chance of beating Duke if it could stop or control Danowski or Greer. But who do you stop now? Do you face-guard attackmen Ned Crotty (21 goals, 47 assists)

DURHAM, N.C. -Thunderstorms delayed the start of Navy's first-round NCAA men's lacrosse game by approximately 30 minutes Saturday night. And after losing, 14-5, to Duke at Koskinen Stadium, the Midshipmen looked as if they were still recovering from a lightning strike. Navy was burned time and time again by third-seeded Duke's electric offense. While the likes of Zach Howell, Max Quinzani, Mike Catalino and Ned Crotty racked up point after point, the Midshipmen didn't score until 13:27 remained in the third quarter.

Jon Scheyer was falling out of bounds when he made a heady play to keep one loose ball alive. David McClure tipped another one to a teammate to deny Texas a last chance. Because Duke is doing all the little things right, some of the biggest things remain very real possibilities. The second-seeded Blue Devils made every clutch play in their 74-69 victory over the seventh-seed Longhorns last night in the East Regional in Greensboro, N.C., propelling them into the second weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006.

Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham each scored 25 points, and Villanova rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat upset-minded American, 80-67, in the first round of the NCAA tournament last night in Philadelphia. The third-seeded Wildcats (27-7) needed a late 19-2 run to fend off the Patriot League champions. The 14th-seeded Eagles (24-8) sizzled from three-point range early and pushed Villanova to the brink. The loss ended the Eagles' 13-game winning streak. "It wasn't that we took them lightly at all," Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

University of Virginia coach Dom Starsia recruited Bryant coach Mike Pressler as a high school player, and the two have remained close. If Pressler stays at Bryant, the Bulldogs will become a factor in Division I lacrosse, Starsia said. "I think Mike is having a blast right now, building from scratch and taking it to Division I," Starsia said. "If they can keep him, which means one of the traditional big boys doesn't lure him away, he will take that Bryant program very close to its potential.