Texas Tech

Regional semifinalsEast RegionalTomorrow at Greensboro, N.C.Old Dominion (28-3) vs. Duke (26-6), 11: 30 a.m.Tennessee (30-2) vs. Virginia Tech (28-2) *Mideast RegionalTomorrow at CincinnatiConnecticut (29-4) vs. Iowa St. (24-7), noonClemson (26-5) vs. Georgia (25-6) *Midwest RegionalTomorrow at Normal, Ill.North Carolina (28-7) vs. Purdue (30-1), 8 p.m.Rutgers (28-5) vs. Texas Tech (30-3) *West RegionalTomorrow at Los AngelesLouisiana Tech (28-2) vs. LSU (25-7), 10 p.m.Colorado State (33-2)

The conversation is likely to be similar on the top floors of the Kansas City, Mo., hotel where the NCAA men's and women's basketball committees are meeting this weekend to pick the field for next week's tournaments.Besides the difficult task of figuring out which teams get invited, both committees are likely to struggle over whom to award their final No. 1 seed.Just as with the men, three of the women's top seeds appear set. Purdue (28-1), Tennessee (28-2) and Louisiana Tech (24-2), the top three teams in the national polls and in RPI ratings, are overwhelming favorites to get No. 1 seeds when the tournament pairings are announced around 5 p.m. today.

Everything and nothing has changed as the NCAA women's tournament heads into its second weekend, with two top seeds gone and Tennessee still cruising.Going into the tournament, Stanford was seen as perhaps the only viable challenger to Tennessee (35-0). Instead, with starters Vanessa Nygaard and Kristen Folkl out because of knee injuries, Stanford became the first No. 1 seed -- men's or women's -- to lose to a No. 16 seed. Alison Feaster led Harvard to the 71-67 upset on the Cardinal's home court.

The story is familiar. Professional sports starts something. Colleges rip it off.There are three-point lines and shot clocks. There are narrow goal posts and AstroTurf, not to mention coaches suffering from styling gel overdose. Now, college sports -- maybe the University of Maryland to be specific -- can thank the pros for something else: naming rights to arenas or stadiums.To pay for a new basketball arena, the campus in College Park needs $20 million to $25 million in private money to pay for part of a cost that may be as much as $106 million.

The year was 1985.The place was Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.By becoming the first conference to send three of its teams to the Final Four and the second of three leagues to have two members play each other for the national championship, the Big East was the beast of college basketball.But the beast eventually became a bust.Now, more than a decade removed from that history-making event and seven years after sending the last of its teams to the Final Four, the Big East has another chance. But the Southeastern Conference, once thought of primarily for its football, has an even better chance.

East Regionalat Georgia Dome, AtlantaGeorgetown (28-7) vs. Texas Tech (30-1)Time: 7: 40TV: Chs. 13, 9Line: Georgetown by 7Outlook: The third-seeded Red Raiders, who have won 23 straight since a Dec. 27 loss to Eastern Michigan, are seeking their first appearance ever in a regional final. Georgetown is led by speedy sophomore G Allen Iverson (24.9 ppg), and senior F Jason Sasser (19.3, 7.8 rpg) is the go-to guy for Texas Tech. The Hoyas were No. 4 and the Red Raiders an all-time best No. 8 in the final regular-season rankings.

ATLANTA - Massachusetts is No. 1, Georgetown is the favorite and both of them are envious of what Arkansas accomplished the previous two years.Texas Tech could have picked a better region than the East in its quest for some national recognition. Being an afterthought is nothing new to the Red Raiders, but even when people should be talking about the most accomplished season in the program's history, all the folks back in Lubbock want to do is shout over some broken glass.Texas Tech plays a third-round game against Georgetown tonight (7: 40)

ATLANTA -- The Southwest Conference built its reputation on football, so it was appropriate that its basketball history came to a close at a football stadium, with one of its teams doing a pretty good job of blocking and tackling.The SWC never has produced an NCAA basketball champion in its 82 years, and it never will, after Texas Tech's physically brutal 98-90 loss to Georgetown at the Georgia Dome last night.The second-seeded Hoyas (29-7) will be in search of their first Final Four appearance in 11 years tomorrow, when they play Massachusetts in the East Regional final.

What about Texas Tech?I couldn't let Paul McMullen's erroneous observation in his article on the men's NCAA basketball tournament selection process (March 10) go uncorrected.He stated, "Besides No. 1 Kentucky, only two teams went unbeaten in conference play this season, and both lost in their conference tournaments." He should have said, "Besides No. 1 Kentucky and No. 7 Texas Tech . . . "This year, Texas Tech (28-1, 17-0) became one of only four teams in the 81-year history of the now-defunct Southwest Conference to go unbeaten in conference play.

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Arizona-Iowa game was midway through the second half yesterday at the University Activity Center when the public address announcer reported a partial score from the NCAA East Regional:Texas Tech 63, North Carolina 38.It was the sound of a powerful conference's reputation shattering along with the backboard that was shattered at that game.What does ACC stand for this year? Average Caliber Conference.Not that Carolina losing to Texas Tech was a shock. It wasn't TTC even an upset.

Maryland punter Travis Baltz and linebacker Alex Wujciak were among 24 players named to the 2009 Preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference team. News media members attending the ACC Football Kickoff on Sunday and Monday participated in the voting. Baltz, a two-year starter, was a first-team All-ACC selection last season after leading the league in punting average (41.1 yards). The junior was a consensus all-conference choice in the preseason publications and a second-team preseason All-America choice by Athlon.

Utah is the best of the BCS busters. Brian Johnson threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, and the No. 7 Utes upset fourth-ranked Alabama, 31-17, in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans last night to finish 13-0. With the victory, Utah became the first team from a non-Bowl Championship Series conference to win two BCS bowls. The Utes beat Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. Johnson's pinpoint passing led Utah to a 21-0 first-quarter lead, and the Utes refused to wilt when Alabama pulled to 21-17 early in the second half.

Buffalo gives Ball State its first defeat, 42-24 col. football Ball State fumbled away its perfect season. The 12th-ranked Cardinals coughed up the ball four times and Buffalo scored off each turnover, routing the previously unbeaten team, 42-24, last night in the Mid-American Conference championship game at Ford Field in Detroit. Ball State (12-1) finished the regular season undefeated for the first time since 1949 but entered the game without much of a shot to bust into the Bowl Championship Series because it trailed Utah in the standings.

In the hair-splitting universe of the Bowl Championship Series and college polls in general, Oklahoma deserves to be ranked ahead of Texas for No. 2 (behind unbeaten Alabama) by the length of a couple of links on a first-down chain. The most obvious argument that supports Texas' claim to No. 2 - and to be positioned to play Missouri for the Big 12 title Saturday and possibly challenge 'Bama in the national championship game - is the simple fact that the Longhorns beat the Sooners, 45-35, on Oct. 11. Both Big 12 rivals finished the regular season 11-1.

I harbor no great love for either Texas or Oklahoma. That said, I couldn't help but feel bad for the Longhorns on Sunday as they watched a team they had beaten pass them in the Bowl Championship Series standings. I understand the reasons the Sooners surged to No. 2. Their 65-21 demolition of Texas Tech, the only team to beat Texas, was no doubt impressive. Despite playing five ranked teams and the Big East champion, they failed to reach 45 points only twice in 12 games. But the argument against the Sooners is incredibly simple and elegant in its evocation of the basic reason we play games.

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.

A sampling of columns from around the country this week: Wide-outs: the NFL's divas A scourge is sweeping across the NFL landscape. It boasts the preening of Terrell Owens, the showboating of Chad Ocho Cinco, the sneer of Randy Moss. They are appreciated and even celebrated in some corners, condemned and vilified in others. Pampered yet petulant prima donnas, thy name is wide receiver, and they have become the game's brightest celebrities and, oftentimes, biggest headaches. So what makes receivers such different cats who crave attention with the same hunger they want the ball?

All the top teams took care of their business and the Bowl Championship Series standings were unchanged at the top yesterday, with Alabama and Texas Tech holding the top two spots and Florida, Texas and Oklahoma poised to move up. The Crimson Tide ran away from Mississippi State in the second half of a 32-7 victory that kept Alabama on top of both the USA Today coaches' poll and the Harris poll. Alabama has a .9787 BCS average. Texas Tech (.9698) remained second in the polls and first according to the computer ratings during a week off. The Red Raiders head into their fourth straight game against a ranked opponent, this time at Oklahoma, in control of their national title and Big 12 championship hopes.

Alabama and Texas Tech, and their perfect records, were on top of the Bowl Championship Series standings yesterday. Texas, Florida and Oklahoma, all with one loss, are lurking and ready to take advantage if the front-runners fall. Penn State's loss to Iowa on Saturday left the Crimson Tide and Red Raiders as the only unbeaten teams in the BCS conferences, making it easy to sort out the all-important first two places in the BCS standings this week. First-place Alabama (.981 average) was No. 1 in the Harris and USA Today coaches' polls.

Under Armour makes Texas Tech deal Under Armour Inc. is set to announce Monday an $11 million agreement with Texas Tech University to become the university's exclusive performance footwear and apparel outfitter. The five-year agreement gives Under Armour the right to provide uniforms, apparel and footwear to each of the university's 17 varsity athletic teams. The Baltimore sportswear company, which has signed similar deals with the University of Maryland and other schools, will make the announcement at a news conference Monday.