Valparaiso

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Forgetful of a postseason custom, Lonny Baxter had to be pushed to center court before the start of Maryland's NCAA run. Steve Francis, another of the Terps' tournament rookies, knew exactly where to go.The biggest mistake Maryland made against Valparaiso yesterday at the Orlando Arena came during the player introductions, when Baxter had to be reminded to meet his opponent at center court and shake hands. Baxter got there late, but the Terps got to the finish line with an 82-60 first-round win.The No. 2 seed in the South Regional, Maryland wasn't perfect, but it did some exemplary work against a Crusaders' zone in the first half, then turned up the defensive pressure after 15th-seeded Valparaiso crawled to within six points early in the second.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Brian Watkins didn't tear the roof off the Orlando Arena yesterday with any thunderous dunks or spectacular shots in his first appearance in an NCAA tournament game.He simply came off the Maryland bench with 3: 38 left in the first half and helped change the complexion of the game with his muscle and grace under fire.Watkins knew just how to handle Valparaiso's hulking 6-foot-11, 260-pound center Zoran Viskovic, who was consistently beating Lonny Baxter inside for baskets to keep the Crusaders in the game.

Imagine this.Cinderella has been replaced at Valparaiso University by a fun-loving, guitar-playing and country-singing group of players who also know how to play some basketball.It's not that the Cinderella tag of 1998 has grown old around the school.It's just that Valparaiso coach Homer Drew wants the 1999 Crusaders, with nine new players, to establish a new identity."I don't wear any rings from last year or anything that identifies that team," Drew said. "That team provided enough fellowship for our family to last a lifetime.

COLLEGE PARK -- They're going to Disney World.Actually, their fans might have time to pose with Mickey and Minnie, or visit Epcot Center, but Maryland has work to do this week in Orlando, Fla. The Terps will be the top draw at that South Region site, but they'll head to the NCAA tournament with mixed emotions.Maryland is the No. 2 seed, but the Terps kicked themselves for wasting a chance to gain the program's first No. 1. Their upset loss to North Carolina in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament was made all the more painful because Auburn and Stanford, the competition for the fourth and final top seed, also lost Saturday.

The University of Maryland basketball team will begin the NCAA tournament Thursday in Orlando, Fla., against Valparaiso, which staged one of the most dramatic NCAA upsets last March. The Terrapins (26-5), ranked in the top five in the nation for most of the season, were seeded No. 2 in the South Regional.Mount St. Mary's (15-14), which earned its second NCAA Division I tournament bid and coach Jim Phelan's 800th career victory on the same night last Monday, is headed to Milwaukee as a 16th seed to take on the Midwest Regional's top seed, Michigan State.

ST. LOUIS -- Their memorable NCAA tournament was over, yet Valparaiso's fans didn't want their moment to end after last night's 74-68 loss to Rhode Island.So they stayed in their seats long after the game was over and cheered. And chanted. They wanted one more moment with their players, one more opportunity to show their appreciation.And thus Valparaiso, which has provided one special moment after another in the tournament, provided yet another -- a curtain call.A locker-room gathering in which every single individual was in tears was interrupted so that the players and coaches of the team could walk onto the Kiel Arena floor en masse to acknowledge their thousands of fans.

ST. LOUIS -- At the home of Jim Harrick, it had been a constant occurrence ever since his Rhode Island team upset top-seeded Kansas Sunday -- setting up tonight's NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal against Valparaiso. The phone would ring about 11: 30 p.m. and the voice on the other end, in almost mocking tone, would chant: "We're coming after youuuu. Our guys are soooo fired up."For most coaches, it might be cause to request a phone number change. Harrick didn't bother: The caller was his son, Jim Harrick Jr.Tonight's Valparaiso-Rhode Island game would be interesting enough, matching the lowest remaining seed in the NCAA tournament (the Crusaders are 13th)

VALPARAISO, Ind. -- There's barely a breeze outside the Valparaiso Athletics-Recreation Center, making the 35-degree temperatures on campus somewhat tolerable. Still, Paul Sawyer has to be cold, standing on the bed of a pickup truck with "No. 1" painted on his bare chest."It feels great. I'm just out here waiting to greet my team," said Sawyer, an Arizona native, who was taking a break from classes at Valparaiso just after noon yesterday. "I'll be out here as long as I have to. The cold? I don't feel it. I guess I'm going on adrenalin."

The Baltimore chapter of the Valparaiso University Guild met Sunday at 2 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church in Ellicott City."Maybe they were just there having a prayer meeting," Laura Reiners was saying yesterday. "Maybe that's what it took."Reiners, Valpo '92, is the daughter of Carol Dausch, Valpo '63. She still can't believe that her mom missed their alma mater's shining moment.When the Valpo-Florida State game began at 2: 20, approximately 25 area alumni were inside the church, discussing fund-raising plans for the school.

SALT LAKE CITY -- St. Joseph's renaissance season turned ragged yesterday, but the Hawks had enough savvy -- and good fortune -- to plow past Pacific, 75-65, in a West Regional opener at the Huntsman Center.St. Joe's backcourt of Rashid Bey and Arthur Davis supplied the savvy, hitting 15 of 27 shots and scoring 41 points.Pacific, a school that hadn't been to the NCAA tournament since 1979, supplied the good fortune. The Big West champion shot a miserly 39.3 percent, coughed up 17 turnovers and failed to take advantage of opportunities.