Final Four

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Dominating the women's Final Four, there's the Tennessee story, and then there's the coaching story.The Tennessee story is easy enough. With two wins, the Volunteers will earn an unprecedented third consecutive NCAA title and only the third undefeated season since the NCAA started holding the tournament in 1982.On the other hand, "It's time you see some new faces here," Arkansas coach Gary Blair said, referring to himself and N.C. State coach Kay Yow, both making their first appearance in the Final Four.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Add another frustrating chapter to the University of Maryland's history in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.The winningest Terrapins basketball team ever had its season ended by St. John's, which scored 23 straight points and went on to a 76-62 victory in the semifinals of the South Regional at Thompson-Boling Arena last night.Fourth-seeded Ohio State, which defeated No. 1 seed Auburn, 72-64, last night, will meet the Red Storm in the South final tomorrow. The winner moves on to the Final Four next week at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.The site of the national championship became the goal of Maryland last summer, when junior-college transfer Steve Francis arrived to complement several returning starters and expectations soared.

Philadelphia -- Three years ago, when he was a backup midfielder waiting his turn in the team's pecking order, University of Maryland senior Bill McGlone witnessed his first NCAA tournament final four debacle. Virginia drilled the Terrapins, 14-4, before a huge crowd at M&T Bank Stadium, then went on to win its third national championship. Last year, McGlone had a direct hand in helping Maryland overcome a 5-5 start by reaching another final four, this time at Lincoln Financial Field. There, McGlone went through a painfully familiar experience, as Duke jumped all over the Terps early, then cruised to an 18-9 rout in the semifinals.

ST. LOUIS -- A year ago, on a similar Sunday afternoon in a similar Midwestern domed arena, there was dancing and singing and jubilation. The Florida Gators had vanquished Villanova to reach the Final Four for the first time, and the midcourt scene came straight out of New Year's Eve. When it happened again yesterday, when the top-seeded Gators held off No. 3 seed Oregon, 85-77, in the Midwest Region final to earn a second consecutive trip to college basketball's...

ST. LOUIS - Sean May, the hottest player in the NCAA tournament, lumbered through an ineffective start. Rashad McCants, maybe the most talented, was too cool to get on the floor after loose balls. North Carolina, the nation's highest-scoring team, got outrun and muscled away from the basket early, as it attempted just one free throw in the first 26 minutes, but its laissez-faire attitude finally disappeared and so did Michigan State, which was bounced out of the Final Four by the Tar Heels, 87-71, last night.

INDIANAPOLIS -- George Mason coach Jim Larranaga was not able to get Bobby Plump - the hero of the 1954 Indiana high school champion team immortalized in the movie Hoosiers - to speak to his players before playing last night's game. But the players were visited Friday by another former star whose team's story got the Hollywood treatment: Harry Flournoy of 1966 NCAA champion Texas Western. "I told them, when we went into the tournament, no one expected us to do well. We were a small school and no one expected us to do what we did," Flournoy said yesterday, recalling his remarks to the players.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- There are a few similarities between Duke and Florida going into tonight's second NCAA semifinal game here at the Charlotte Coliseum, but the biggest is that neither team was supposed to get this far.There also are some contrasts, but the most significant is that the Blue Devils have been nearly annual visitors to the Final Four and two-time national champions during the past decade; the Gators have never been to college basketball's showcase...

ST. LOUIS -- Mateen Cleaves has the reputation.Wayne Turner has the crown.Those are the perspectives of the two point guards in the pivotal matchup of the Midwest Regional final at the Trans World Dome today.Cleaves and the Michigan State Spartans against Turner and the defending champion Kentucky Wildcats.Forget about winning ugly. Disregard those awkward-looking jump shots. And don't even bring up the rare occasion when their offense takes the night off.These guys have a common bond, and it is about winning.

The NCAA should consider moving its men's basketball Final Four to a different venue, given the teams that have advanced to New Orleans for Saturday's semifinals. Instead of the Louisiana Superdome, it seems more fitting that the games be played on a local speedway or playground. Coaches, start your offenses. Kansas might have the best fast break in college basketball. Consider what the second-seeded Jayhawks did to top-seeded Arizona in the first half of Saturday's 78-75 victory in the West Regional final at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif.

ATLANTA - Every day since the University of Maryland basketball team arrived here last week for this year's Final Four, the bus carrying the Terrapins back to their airport hotel has taken the same exit off Interstate 85. It's the exit that reads, "Virginia Avenue, College Park." Though Gary Williams is not a superstitious coach, the routine is one of many signs that point to Maryland winning its first NCAA men's basketball championship. The Terrapins will get that opportunity when they meet Indiana tonight at the Georgia Dome.