Oklahoma

A Baltimore soldier who was detained this week on an Army base in Oklahoma and charged with shooting five people in East Baltimore last month was cleared as a suspect by police yesterday, a day after city prosecutors dropped charges against him because of insufficient evidence. But Jerrell Hill, 18, remained jailed yesterday evening at the Comanche County Detention Center in Oklahoma, apparently because the paperwork required for his release had not been processed. A corrections officer confirmed by phone yesterday that Hill was being held at the Lawton, Okla.

PointsWally Szczerbiak, Miami, Ohio 43Marcus Wilson, Evansville 34Johnny Hemsley, Miami 31Donald Watts, Washington 28Mike Pegues, Delaware 23Monroe Pippins, Fla. A&M 23ReboundsKevin Ault, SW Mo. State 14John Bennett, Delaware 14Isiah Victor, Tennessee 14Chris Mihm, Texas 14Danny Moore, SW Mo. State 13Eduardo Najera, Oklahoma 13AssistsPepe Sanchez, Temple 9Mateen Cleaves, Mich. State 8Vernon Jennings, Miami 8Rob Mestas, Miami, Ohio 8Kyle Runyan, Evansville 8Can anyone shoot?The eight teams that played in the first games at the four sites yesterday combined to shoot 36.3 percent from the field (173-for-477)

Midwest Regional semifinalsAt St. LouisNo. 1 Michigan State (31-4) vs. No. 13 Oklahoma (22-10)Time: 7: 55 tonightTV: Updates on chs. 13, 9Line: Michigan State by 9Conference records: Michigan State won the Big Ten with a 15-1 record and also swept the conference tournament. Oklahoma went 11-5 in the Big 12 to tie for third.Coaches: Tom Izzo is 86-40 in four years at Michigan State. Kelvin Sampson is 103-54 in five years at Oklahoma and 279-202 in 16 years overall.Starting lineups: Michigan State: PG Mateen Cleaves (11.8 ppg, 7.2 apg, 2.0 spg)

Bobby Bowden of Florida State was denied his second national championship last night. Coaches whose teams have been named national champion by The Associated Press more than once by number of titles and years won:Five: Bear Bryant, Alabama (1961, 1964, 1965, 1978, 1979).Four: Frank Leahy, Notre Dame (1943, 1946, 1947, 1949).Three: Bernie Bierman, Minnesota (1936, 1940, 1941); John McKay, Southern Cal (1962, 1967, 1972); Barry Switzer, Oklahoma (1974, 1975, 1985); Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma (1950, 1955, 1956)

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Texas and Oklahoma finally have drawn a line in the sand -- literally -- in their decades-old feud over the Red River border.The two states formally agreed last week that their dividing line is the river's south bank, at the point where vegetation commences. Both legislatures endorsed the new state line. Gov. George W. Bush has signed the Texas measure into law.If Gov. Frank Keating approves the Oklahoma version, it's up to Congress to give final approval to the new boundary, aimed at ending jurisdictional confusion that long hampered law enforcement, wildlife officials and taxing authorities, among others.

No. 1 seed Michigan State isn't getting much acclaim -- and even less respect, if you listen to the Spartans -- in a Midwest Regional bracket that features two heavy underdogs and the defending NCAA tournament champion.Overshadowed by No. 13 seed Oklahoma, No. 10 Miami of Ohio and Kentucky, Spartans coach Tom Izzo struck the chord of no respect in yesterday's session with the media."Coming into the year, Mateen Cleaves was everybody's All-American," said Izzo, as he launched final preparations for tonight's 7: 55 Midwest semifinal against Oklahoma.

Bobby Bowden of Florida State was denied his second national championship last night. Coaches whose teams have been named national champion by The Associated Press more than once by number of titles and years won:Five: Bear Bryant, Alabama (1961, 1964, 1965, 1978, 1979).Four: Frank Leahy, Notre Dame (1943, 1946, 1947, 1949).Three: Bernie Bierman, Minnesota (1936, 1940, 1941); John McKay, Southern Cal (1962, 1967, 1972); Barry Switzer, Oklahoma (1974, 1975, 1985); Bud Wilkinson, Oklahoma (1950, 1955, 1956)

Yesterday's resultsSouth Regional semifinalsAt Knoxville, Tenn. St. John's 76, Maryland 62Ohio State 72, Auburn 64West Regional semifinalsAt PhoenixGonzaga 73, Florida 72Connecticut 78, Iowa 68Today's gamesEast Regional semifinalsAt East Rutherford, N.J.Duke (34-1) vs. Southwest Missouri State (22-10), 7: 38 p.m., chs. 13, 9Purdue (21-12) vs. Temple (23-10), 9: 55 p.m.Midwest Regional semifinalsAt St. LouisMichigan State (31-4) vs. Oklahoma (22-10), 7: 55 p.m.Miami, Ohio (24-7) vs. Kentucky (27-8)

A FIRE chief captured the thoughts of many Americans in describing the devastation of Monday's tornadoes in Oklahoma City: "It looks like the Murrah Building, but instead of nine stories tall, it's spread out over a large area."The toll in Oklahoma and around Wichita, Kan. -- at least 43 dead and an estimated 4,500 homes and businesses leveled -- was staggering. The destruction was even more anguishing because it bit into Oklahoma's capital, still healing psychologically from the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building four years ago.The last U.S. twister so costly, in 1985, killed 90. This century's worst such storm, in 1925, took 689 lives.

Yesterday's resultsEastAt BostonCinc. 72, George Mason 48Temple 61, Kent 54Miami 75, Lafayette 54Purdue 58, Texas 54At CharlotteTennessee 62, Delaware 52SW Mo. St. 43, Wisconsin 32Duke 99, Fla. A&M 58Tulsa 62, Charleston 53MidwestAt MilwaukeeUNCC 81, Rhode Isl. 70, OTOklahoma 61, Arizona 60Mich. St. 76, Mt. St. Mary's 53Mississippi 72, Villanova 70At New OrleansUtah 80, Ark. State 58Miami, Ohio 59, Wash. 58Kansas 95, Evansville 74Kentucky 82, New Mex. St. 60Today's TV games St. John's vs. Indiana, 12: 10 p.m., chs. 13, 9Maryland vs. Creighton, 2: 40 p.m.*, chs. 13, 9Arkansas vs. Iowa, 4: 50 p.m.*, chs. 13, 9Ohio State vs. Detroit, 7: 08 p.m.*, chs. 13, 9 * -- approximate timeInsideMidwest: Oklahoma becomes Arizona's latest first-round nightmare.

The Connecticut express is headed to St. Louis for the Final Four, a trip the Huskies have seemed destined to make all season. Maya Moore scored 25 points and undefeated and No. 1 seed UConn beat No. 6 seed Arizona State, 83-64, on Tuesday night in Trenton, N.J., to advance to the national semifinals for the second straight season and ninth time in 14 years. Renee Montgomery added 22 points for the Huskies (37-0), who will face Stanford on Sunday in a rematch of a national semifinal from last season.

Freshman Whitney Hand is doing all she can to bring Oklahoma that national title Courtney Paris guaranteed. Hand set career highs with 22 points and eight rebounds, and the top-seeded Sooners (31-5) rolled to a 70-59 win over fourth seed Pittsburgh in Oklahoma City on Sunday night to reach the regional finals of the NCAA tournament for the second time in school history. Oklahoma put the game away with a 20-2 second-half surge that included a wild right-handed scoop shot by Hand that bounded into the basket.

1 No end to Madness (Part 1): The NCAA tournament continues with Syracuse vs. Oklahoma (7 p.m., chs. 13, 9). Boomer Sooner goes the dynamite. 2 No end to Madness (Part 2): The next game (same channels) matches Gonzaga and UNC. The former was mentioned by the Spice Girls: "I really wanna Gonzigazag ha." 3 Icy hot: They're almost down to the NCAA Frozen Four. ESPN2 has a regional semifinal at 5:30 p.m.: Denver vs. Miami. Miami? Oh, that's the one in Ohio. 4 Doesn't matter?: A colleague says it doesn't matter that the Caps (vs. Tampa Bay, 7 p.m., Comcast Sports-Net)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -Todd Bozeman will always remember how he kept a promise to himself by returning to the NCAA tournament. Once there, however, the Morgan State coach and his Bears encountered a formidable obstacle last night: Player of the Year candidate Blake Griffin. Griffin and his Oklahoma Sooners, the South Regional's No. 2 seed, put a speedy end to Morgan State's tournament, pulling away early and winning, 82-54. Morgan State had played some tournament-bound schools in the regular season - beating Maryland and losing to Washington - but hadn't seen anybody like Griffin, the 6-foot-10 forward who entered averaging 21.9 points and 14.3 rebounds.

1 Afternoon delight: Productivity will be down across the region during Maryland's NCAA opener against California (sometime between 2:30 and 3 p.m., chs. 13, 9). 2 Time won't let me: Look for Steve Bisciotti at Ray Lewis' news conference (4 p.m., MASN), but he might be fidgeting because of the Terps game. 3 Sooner or later: Morgan State makes its NCAA Division I tournament debut, against Oklahoma (between 9:30 and 10 p.m., Channel 13). 4 Proud to be: an American: American faces Villanova in what amounts to a Wildcats home game in the NCAA first round (7:20 p.m., chs. 13, 9)

Terps women No. 5; Coleman honored col. hoops The Maryland women's basketball team rose to No. 5 in the latest Associated Press poll released yesterday, the Terrapins' highest ranking since they stood at No. 3 in the preseason. Ranked No. 9 last week, Maryland won at Georgia Tech on Thursday before routing then-No. 7 Duke, 77-59, on Sunday in College Park. The Terps (23-4, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) are a game behind first-place Florida State (23-5, 11-1) in the league standings.

MIAMI - One by one, the Florida players posed next to the crystal football they hoped to claim three days later in the Bowl Championship Series title game. When a photographer asked what the trophy would say if it could talk, cornerback Janoris Jenkins replied, "I want to go to The Swamp!" Told that the Oklahoma players had all but smooched the trophy during their time with it, Gators offensive lineman Kyle Newell quipped, "That's the closest they're going to get to it." Jenkins' words proved prophetic last night, as No. 1 Florida beat No. 2 Oklahoma, 24-14, at Dolphin Stadium to send the jewel to Gainesville for the second time in three years.

1 What a matchup: All right, Southern California vs. Oklahoma (7 p.m., ESPN2). Oh, it's basketball. We were all excited for a minute there. 2 Not tonight: Carmelo Anthony (left, with ball) and the Nuggets scored 132 points Tuesday night. We're guessing they won't get that many tonight against the Spurs (10:30, TNT). 3 Remember, you: are paying extra: Aren't you glad you get the NFL Network? Raiders at Chargers, 8 p.m. 4 Lake view: Wilde Lake faces Westlake for the Class 3A football title at M&T Bank Stadium (7 p.m.)

A week before the final standings are released and the Bowl Championship Series is already ticking people off. Oklahoma - not Texas - is headed to the Big 12 championship game with an inside track to the national title game by finishing ahead of the Longhorns in the BCS standings. Texas' victory against the Sooners in October wasn't enough to give the Longhorns the advantage in a three-way tie between Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech atop the Big 12 South. And that's sure to leave many in Austin feeling slighted.

Ladies' night 8:15 p.m. [ESPN] If you've had your fill of football this weekend, and it's been pretty much nonstop since Thursday, check in on two of the best women's college basketball teams in the country when No. 1 Connecticut hosts No. 4 Oklahoma. Keep your eyes on Maya Moore (UConn) and Courtney Paris (Oklahoma).