East Carolina

No. 23 Clemson (8-3) vs. Syracuse (8-3)Site: Jacksonville, Fla.Time: 1 p.m. todayTV: 11, 4Line: Clemson by 2Players to watch:Nealon Greene, Clemson: The sophomore quarterback completed 59 percent of his passes for 1,474 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is the first Tigers quarterback to rank in the Top 25 in passing efficiency (137.6) since 1984.Donovan McNabb, Syracuse: Not named the starter until the day of the opener, the redshirt freshman set an NCAA freshman passing efficiency record of 162.3.

ILLINOIS (6-5) vs. EAST CAROLINA (7-4)Site: Memphis, Tenn.Time: 1 p.m. todayTV: ESPNOutlook: Illinois jumped to a 21-0 lead against Penn State, but lost, 35-31, when the Nittany Lions drove 96 yards for the winning score. Illinois ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 14.2 points per game. On offense, Johnny Johnson has thrown for 2,245 yards and 15 touchdowns. Dana Howard of Illinois is the winner of the Butkus Award, presented to the best linebacker in college football. The last bowl appearance for the Pirates was a win over North Carolina State in the 1992 Peach Bowl.

Amanda White (Dulaney) is that rarest of college athletes -- a star in three sports at a Division I school.Now a sophomore, White began her Stanford career last fall on the cross country team, did the 100-meter breaststroke and 200 individual medley as the Cardinal won its third straight NCAA Division I swimming title and finished eighth in the 3,000 meters in the Pac-10 outdoor track championships.This fall she is one of the school's top three cross country runners after a fourth in the University of San Francisco Invitational and a sixth in the Cal-Irvine Invitational.

COLLEGE PARK -- Debbie Yow always has been a little claustrophobic when it comes to life's experiences, whether it meant becoming a cheerleader in an athletic family when she was growing up or becoming an administrator at the height of her career as a college basketball coach 20 years later.It has led Yow down a different path throughout most of her 44 years and ultimately brought her here, to the University of Maryland, where she was hired as athletic director three weeks ago, becoming the first woman named to the job in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

COLLEGE PARK -- Though he never declared his candidacy, East Carolina's Dave Hart Jr. said yesterday that he would no longer be involved in the University of Maryland's search for a new athletic director.Hart's decision, which came as the selection committee was about to send a short list of potential choices to university president William E. Kirwan, has led to speculation that Maryland will pursue Tulane athletic director Kevin White.Neither Hart nor White was officially a candidate, but both met with the committee as consultants.

EMMITSBURG -- The offense was spotty, the three-point shooting inaccurate and the game a helter-skelter mess that often resembled a free-for-all.But after losing every previous season opener since joining Division I six years ago, Mount St. Mary's coach Jim Phelan was not complaining after his team routed Central Connecticut, 76-63, in the Mount Tip-off Tournament last night at Knott Arena.The Mountaineers meet a tough assignment in the championship game tonight against East Carolina, a 78-51 winner over Columbia.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- For North Carolina, the top seed in the NCAA East Regional, it will be business as usual.For Arkansas and St. John's, two teams who have reloaded faster than anyone expected, it will be another opportunity to prove the preseason prognosticators wrong.For Rhode Island, today's second round at Joel Memoria Coliseum offers a chance to further enhance the Atlantic 10's reputation.North Carolina polished off East Carolina in methodical fashion 85-65, late Thursday night and appears much better positioned to make a run at the Final Four than it was earlier in the week.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Atlantic Coast Conference failure is behind them and the drive for the national title is on.That was the message last night at Joel Memorial Coliseum in the first round of the NCAA tournament's East Regional, as North Carolina rebounded from its defeat to Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament championship game.The Tar Heels were methodical and focused while defeating East Carolina, the only team in the tournament with a losing record, 85-65, to set up a 12:10 p.m. matchup tomorrow with Rhode Island.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- They have won 56 games in the NCAA tournament, more than any other school except UCLA, which dominated college basketball with only two interruptions from 1964 to 1975.The first and second rounds of the East Regional are an hour's drive from their home in Chapel Hill, Eastwhere they practiced at the Smith Center last night at a time corresponding with tonight's 10:20 tip-off.But there are still some clouds above the North Carolina Tar Heels, the region's top seed and the marquee name in the field of eight at Joel Memorial Coliseum.

Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has been contacted by Maryland athletic director Andy Geiger about filling the Terrapins' vacant head football coaching position.Sandusky, 47, said he talked with Geiger last week, but has not decided whether he wants to be interviewed by Geiger or Maryland's nine-member selection committee, which was announced yesterday."I've spoken with Maryland, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do because of my terms here with Penn State," said Sandusky.