Villanova

Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham each scored 25 points, and Villanova rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat upset-minded American, 80-67, in the first round of the NCAA tournament last night in Philadelphia. The third-seeded Wildcats (27-7) needed a late 19-2 run to fend off the Patriot League champions. The 14th-seeded Eagles (24-8) sizzled from three-point range early and pushed Villanova to the brink. The loss ended the Eagles' 13-game winning streak. "It wasn't that we took them lightly at all," Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

Villanova (0-0) @Maryland (0-0) Time -- 6 TV -- Tape delayed by Comcast SportsNet at 7 p.m. tomorrow Radio -- 1300 AM, 105.7 FM Series -- Maryland leads 8-2 Last meeting -- Maryland won, 7-3, on Sept. 6, 1980 Maryland offense vs. Villanova defense -- First-year starting quarterback Jordan Steffy will be throwing against a 3-3-5 defense that uses three safeties in a scheme similar to what the Terps will see against West Virginia. Villanova's secondary will face one of the top receivers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, though, in Darrius Heyward-Bey.

College basketballSpalding's Snowden, All-Met guard, commits orally to VillanovaDerrick Snowden, an All-Metro point guard from Archbishop Spalding, committed orally to Villanova on Monday for 2000-2001 and beyond.Snowden, 6 feet, averaged 16.0 points and 7.0 assists as a junior last year. He's the first private-school player to be named Anne Arundel County's Player of the Year since the award began in 1980."He's as good as you want," said Rick Landers, who was an assistant coach at Spalding the past few years.

PHILADELPHIA -- Could this be the year? Well, with nearly half a season gone for many teams, this could be the first time in 21 years that no Big 5 team makes the NCAA tournament.If they issued invitations today, only Temple would make it. And when they issue invitations in March, the Owls, for the 14th time in 15th years, probably will make it. But, right now, they are it. And they're no lock.In its 43rd year, the Big 5 has had only three dry NCAA years -- 1957, 1976, 1977. Does anybody else notice an every-generation trend?

Mark Karcher, St. Frances' 6-foot-5, 215-pound senior swingman, is one of the nation's most sought-after Division I basketball prospects.But could you see him as an equally talented quarterback?Nearly eight years ago, at Collington Square Recreation Center, Karcher was exactly that. He could throw a football better than he could dribble a basketball."I started playing football when I was 7, and I played for four years. I was good," said Karcher, 18."I was bigger than most kids my age. I looked down on everybody.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- California and Villanova provided an interesting contrast yesterday in the second round of the NCAA tournament's East Regional at Lawrence Joel Coliseum. While one team was exceeding expectations, the other wan't close.The Bears, who came into the season unranked and seemingly in turmoil after the sudden firing of coach Todd Bozeman, are in the Sweet 16 and will play top-seeded North Carolina. The Wildcats, who once hoped of winning a national championship with freshman Tim Thomas, are out.A 75-68 victory by fifth-seeded Cal over fourth-seeded Villanova was not so much an upset as it was a statement.

A year ago, Dave Marks was playing for his father, Randy, Villanova's lacrosse coach.Last night he played against him, contributing an assist in No. 5 Johns Hopkins' 17-9 victory over unranked Villanova (4-3) before 1,027 at Homewood Field.This curious switch in allegiance originated last May in College Park, where father and son were watching Hopkins play in its fourth Final Four in five years."Dad, will you call Coach Seaman and see if he's still interested?" Dave said, referring to Hopkins coach Tony Seaman.

TC Villanova (0-0) at Maryland (0-0)Site: AstroTurf Field, College ParkTime: 1 p.m.Outlook: Maryland, which advanced to last season's NCAA title game, is led on offense by Matt Hahn and Andrew Whipple, and Brian Dougherty is back in goal. Maryland defeated Villanova, 15-6, last year. Villanova, which finished 6-9 last season, returns 13 seniors.UMBC (0-0) at Navy (0-0)Site: Rip Miller Field, AnnapolisTime: 2 p.m.Outlook: UMBC has almost its entire team returning and is trying to put some talented freshmen into the mix. Navy is rebuilding its offense around Geoff Walker and Andy Ross with a large group of newcomers.

TTC :CollegesSt. Frances' Karcher commits to VillanovaSt. Frances forward Mark Karcher, The Sun's boys basketball Player of the Year last season, orally committed to Villanova. Karcher, 6 feet 5, led the Panthers to their first No. 1 ranking, averaging 24.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists."I'm pretty sure of my decision," Karcher said. "I like the campus, the coach, the team and academic program." Karcher, who hadn't made any other official visits, had narrowed his choices to Villanova, Kentucky, Clemson, Miami (Fla.

Five players scored in a 5-0 third-quarter run to help Maryland come back and defeat Villanova, 12-6, in the Terps' men's lacrosse opener yesterday before 363 in College Park.Matt Hahn and Frank Radin each scored two goals to lead the Terps. Maryland, which outshot Villanova 41-18, has won 11 of its past 12 openers.Maryland, which trailed 3-2 at halftime, put the game away by going on another five-goal spurt to end the game. Dave Marks scored three goals and Marc Cadin made 18 saves to keep the Wildcats in the game.

Villanova scored five straight goals late in the second period and then held on for a 10-9 victory over Towson to capture the Colonial Athletic Association tournament title at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Saturday night. The win gave the Wildcats (11-5) an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Division I playoffs. Seedings for the tournament will be determined Sunday night. Towson finishes its season at 7-10. The Tigers, who trailed by five goals at halftime, pulled within three several times in the second half and cut the lead to 10-9 on two straight goals, the last by sophomore attackman Tim Stratton with 43.3 seconds left.

Towson kept its bid alive for an NCAA Division I playoff spot with a 10-2 victory over visiting Drexel on Wednesday night in a Colonial Athletic Association semifinal game at Johnny Unitas Stadium. No. 2 seed Towson (7-8 overall, 5-2 conference) will host No. 4 Villanova in the conference championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Villanova upset top seed Hofstra, 9-7, in Wednesday night's other semifinal. The winner of the conference championship receives an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA tournament.

Tonight's NCAA men's tournament semifinals in Detroit: Connecticut (31-4) vs. Michigan State (30-6) Time: 6:07 Outlook: Luckily for UConn, C Hasheem Thabeet's message on his Facebook page was just an April Fool's Day joke. The 7-foot-3 center posted a comment that read: "OMG!!! Why me? So I failed a drug test. Not goin to Detroit. ..... " Unfortunately for Michigan State, Thabeet, who averages 13.5 points and 10.9 rebounds, is playing. The No. 1-seeded Huskies beat No. 3 seed Missouri, 82-75, to win the West Regional and advance to their third Final Four.

SATURDAY's results Villanova 78, Pittsburgh 76 * Scottie Reynolds makes a half-court dash for the game-winning shot with 0.5 of a second left to send the third-seeded Wildcats to the Final Four for the first time since their shocking run to the 1985 championship. Dwayne Anderson scored 17 points for Villanova, which responded to the top-seeded Panthers' physical play by converting 22 of 23 free throws in the East Regional final. Connecticut 82, Missouri 75 * Freshman Kemba Walker scores 23 points as the top-seeded Huskies hold off the Tigers to win the West Regional and earn a trip to the national semifinals.

Dwayne Anderson and Dante Cunningham each scored 25 points, and Villanova rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat upset-minded American, 80-67, in the first round of the NCAA tournament last night in Philadelphia. The third-seeded Wildcats (27-7) needed a late 19-2 run to fend off the Patriot League champions. The 14th-seeded Eagles (24-8) sizzled from three-point range early and pushed Villanova to the brink. The loss ended the Eagles' 13-game winning streak. "It wasn't that we took them lightly at all," Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

A.J. Abrams had 26 points and Damion James added 16 to lead No. 6 Texas to a 67-58 victory over No. 15 Villanova last night in the Jimmy V Classic in New York. Abrams, who had 18 points in the second half, and James, the Longhorns' other leading scorer, combined to score 16 straight points for Texas (7-1) when it pulled away to a double-digit lead late in the second half. Villanova (8-1) had pulled to 41-38 with 10:54 to play on a layup by Dante Cunningham, who led the Wildcats with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Towson (3-7, 1-5 CAA) @Villanova (7-2, 5-1) Time: 1 p.m. Site: Villanova (Pa.) Stadium Radio: 1570 AM Outlook: The Tigers are coming off a loss at Delaware that pushed their losing streak to three games. The Wildcats had a big win over New Hampshire and are averaging 27 points behind sophomore RB Aaron Ball, who has 793 yards and seven TDs. Villanova has been using two quarterbacks this season, Chris Whitney and Antwon Young. Both have been effective of late, combining for 639 yards and six TDs in their past four games.

Villanova @Georgetown 7 P.M. [ESPN] Mr. Flip knows his college hoops, so he's telling you there's no way Villanova, with guys like Pinckney and Jensen, can beat the mighty Hoyas of Ewing and Williams. Kansas @Texas 9 P.M. [ESPN] The Jayhawks are No. 4, the Longhorns No. 12. Texas has beaten Kansas in the past two games played in Austin, but those games were played in 2004 and 2006.

Towson has been hampered by turnovers, penalties and stalled drives for most of the season, and though those problems surfaced again yesterday against Villanova, the Tigers still had a chance at a comeback in the final minute of the game. Sean Schaefer threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Harrison with 52 seconds left, but a failed two-point conversion helped the Wildcats escape with a 14-12 victory. The loss keeps the Tigers in last place in the South Division of the Colonial Athletic Association with a 1-6 record heading into the final regular-season game at James Madison on Saturday.

Villanova (0-0) @Maryland (0-0) Time -- 6 TV -- Tape delayed by Comcast SportsNet at 7 p.m. tomorrow Radio -- 1300 AM, 105.7 FM Series -- Maryland leads 8-2 Last meeting -- Maryland won, 7-3, on Sept. 6, 1980 Maryland offense vs. Villanova defense -- First-year starting quarterback Jordan Steffy will be throwing against a 3-3-5 defense that uses three safeties in a scheme similar to what the Terps will see against West Virginia. Villanova's secondary will face one of the top receivers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, though, in Darrius Heyward-Bey.