Georgia State

ATLANTA - He is one of college basketball's last remaining dinosaurs, part of a colorful and almost extinct breed that roamed the game's landscape before three-point shots and seven-figure coaching contracts. Even before Dick Vitale. Still as feisty and nearly as indefatigable as he was during the 17 seasons he spent at the University of Maryland, Lefty Driesell is doing much the same thing that he has done throughout a 39-year career on the college level. Winning. Just as he rebuilt programs at Davidson, Maryland and James Madison, Driesell has turned heretofore hapless Georgia State into an NCAA tournament team.

BOISE, Idaho - Most games this season, Georgia State's backcourt felt comfortable letting it fly from the outside. The Panthers set a school record with 267 three-pointers this season, seventh in the nation. Their usual strength helped lead to their downfall in a 79-60 loss to Maryland at Boise State University Pavilion. Georgia State shot just 18 percent from three-point territory and 31 percent overall for the game. "We didn't shoot," Georgia State coach Lefty Driesell said. "Thomas Terrell, who was our second-leading scorer this year, was 2-for-11, and Kevin [Morris]

EMMITSBURG -- This was the kind of game that can help a struggling basketball squad.Mount St. Mary's was the beneficiary last night at Knott Arena, outlasting Georgia State, 97-92, in overtime to win its Holiday Tournament for the 10th time in 12 seasons.It was only the third victory of the season for the Mountaineers, who have not been cohesive on offense and have been suicidal with turnovers."This really helps our confidence," said Mount St. Mary's coach Jim Phelan. "We had to get a win against a decent team.

ATLANTA -- The exclusive club of NCAA Division I coaches who have won 700 or more games yesterday gained its 11th member.Almost 38 years after he won his first game as a college coach, Georgia State's Lefty Driesell secured career victory No. 700 at the Sports Arena as his Panthers defeated North Florida, 84-74, before a crowd of 1,108.It was Driesell's third try at win No. 700, losing to Florida International in the final game of last season and Georgetown in the season opener Wednesday.

AFTER THE MARYLAND Terrapins lost at home to North Carolina in January, the popular post-game spin was, well, the Atlantic Coast Conference is a lot tougher this season after two down years, so what do you expect? Who could argue at the time? Duke was the nation's No. 1 team. Maryland had been a top-five preseason pick. A 12-0 start had helped Wake Forest climb as high as No. 3. A 10-0 start had helped Virginia crack the Top Ten. And North Carolina was on a roll that would carry it to the top of the national polls.

Maryland men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon impressed many people -- this sports blogger included -- during Wednesday's introductory press conference. But he made a strong impression on Lefty Driesell, who coached Maryland from 1969 to 1986, long before Turgeon was picked to replace Gary Williams. Driesell was the coach at Georgia State when Turgeon coached at conference rival Jacksonville State from 1998 to 2000. Even though Driesell mean-mugged Turgeon before games (as Turgeon pointed out Wednesday)

Lefty Driesell might have retired from coaching basketball at Georgia State eight days ago, but it doesn't appear he will be away from the game all that long. Driesell said yesterday he is going to talk to the Atlanta Hawks in a couple weeks and one of the job possibilities is "they might have me scout the East Coast since I'll be living in Virginia Beach." Driesell said he "settled on a home" in Virginia Beach on Thursday. "My wife, Joyce, wants to live in Virginia Beach," said Driesell, 71, who had 786 victories when he walked away from Georgia State.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Maryland Terrapins keep moving farther away from home, yet they continue to run into familiar sights. On Thursday at Arrowhead Pond, the Terps will be nearly 3,000 miles from their College Park campus when they square off against another neighbor in the Georgetown Hoyas. One can thank the NCAA tournament selection committee - which seeded five East Coast teams in the West Region's opening weekend in Boise, Idaho - for the unusual course charted by the Terps. Maryland knocked off Northern Virginia counterpart George Mason in the first round, then whipped former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell's Georgia State Panthers to reach the Sweet 16. Next up is Georgetown, located maybe a 20-minute drive from College Park.

EMMITSBURG -- It was difficult to tell the winning coach from the losing coach last night at Knott Arena.Jim Phelan of Mount St. Mary's was not at all happy about his team's lack of cohesiveness in an 88-69 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore in the Mountaineers' annual Holiday Tournament.Conversely, Bobby Wilkerson was trying to be upbeat after his third straight defeat as coach of the winless Hawks."Something is just not clicking," Phelan said. "We can't get everybody playing well together.

Tracy Smith had 18 points and 11 rebounds to help North Carolina State beat visiting Georgia State, 69-53, in the season opener for both teams Thursday night. Julius Mays scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime for the Wolfpack (1-0), which shook off a bad shooting night and the stubborn Panthers to win its 16th straight opener. N.C. State won despite shooting 41 percent and missing 13 of 16 3-point attempts. Ousman Krubally had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Georgia State (0-1)